City Boys Go Country...

A trip to Mincher today on a 'photographic assignment' for a friend... it was to photograph her dogs (seven cavs, a lab and a papillon - oh and her chickens!) so I took the boys for an outing. It's always a bonus to visit  someone who welcomes canine children.
Well. Hugo was the first to disgrace himself. My boys are not usually fond of water so when he fell in the stream I can only surmise that he didn't realise the surface weeds did not mean he could walk on water. Hardly believed when the other two followed suit. And that's not to mention almost losing them down the drive as they all took off- we presume in pursuit of rabbits.
So on the one weekend that I did not have to wash Stirling for a show, all three had to have a bath when we got home...
I then took the opportunity to photograph my own dogs when they were all squeaky clean!

Mr Manky

My show dog!!!

At least Reilly only got wet belly-down

Bliss @ the end of a long weekend

Warning - Dog Blog...
I had entered Stirling in 3 dog shows in Cambridge this weekend, which resulted in a wee bit of travel and a very looong day today. Long for me, and long for my two home boys who, with me not going in to work daily, are not currently used to slumming it alone...
I was away for 12 1/2 hours, and of course with no web cams installed I really have no idea if they missed me or not.
Or do I?
Both Hugo (usually Mr Independent) and Reilly settled in for big, long cuddles when I got home. I think that told me they were very glad to have me back. It was delicious. I took the photo below with my toe on Photobooth as I did not want to disturb them lol.

And show results for the weekend? No CCs for Stirling this time, but happy with how we went nonetheless, with RDCC, RBOB and NZBOB Sat, IOB and NZOB Sun. It was great to see the CCs and RCCs being shared around actually, and a cavalier also went Best in Group today.
I also had the pleasure of handling Mignon's little tricolour baby, Romeo to 3 Baby Puppy of Breeds, and BABY PUPPY IN SHOW today at Central Toy Dog :)

The Ringmaster

Him. The one in the middle. Mr Stirling.

Being a pretty crappy day weather wise, it was inside for me and my family today. The dogs did what I have discovered they must do every day when I am not here - sleep. I sat at my computer upstairs and busted out another 1000 words.
It did begin to clear towards the end of the day, but with wet grass outside, I had to coax them all out to even go for a pee!

However at about 6 o'clock they decided it was time to get active. Well Stirling did. These short clips were taken after he had led Hugo into the downstairs bedroom for a bit of light-hearted, very noisy argy-bargy, followed by thundering up the stairs, round and round the bedroom above me, and down again and round the lounge mussing everything up! That's when I pulled out my phone to record them. As they show, Stirling was calling all the shots! I love how he keeps the older boys young.

Enjoying Summer (At Last)

 Yes, I am playing silly buggers with these photos - poor dogs - not much better than dressing them up in teeny tiny human clothes, is it? I must say none of them were particularly impressed with me, hence having to hold Reilly's chin up to get his one done!

It's paying homage to actually having seen the sun for a few days on end now. The boys and I enjoyed a proper walk in Botanic Gardens this afternoon - long time since this has happened, what with 2 weeks inside on a block course, and Reilly with a bung eye.

I was prepared to manage three mad dogs considering this hiatus. However I was surprised and pleased to have three relatively compliant dogs on short leashes for a change. I am not sure what has initiated this change in behaviour - perhaps having me home for longer? Equally I am not at all sure that it will last. Next time we might just be back into being pulled any-which-way in the direction of an attractive smell...

My Little Pirate Dog(s)

It may look as though he's giving you a wink, but really, his eye is still very sore and sensitive to the light. Reilly is (hopefully) recovering from a corneal ulcer, which has seen him a very miserable little dog for the past three days. Within the past afternoon he does seem to have brightened, so maybe the antibiotics are kicking in.
Worst case scenario he could have lost an eye. Add that to his missing teeth, some extracted and some just 'lost', and a real pirate I would have had.

PS Looks like Hugo's aspiring to join him. Not with the ulcer, but with the missing teeth... His front tooth is uber wiggly and it's not as if another will grow in it's place once it falls out... Boo.

Cute KIds

Some favourite shots from yesterday that I am keeping on my blog for posterity...

Karissa

The Eyes Have It

I promise this is not going to become a movie review blog, but I have a new release to share today!
My fellow dog-loving friend Kate and I went to see Red Dog today, at my favourite cinema, the Lido. It was a lovely film, which grew some great characters, least of the all the title character, Australian Kelpie - Red Dog. Partly based on a true story of the Pilbara Wanderer, it was bound to bring an emotional reaction from me in any case; thank goodness for the tissues.
The unspoken loyalty between dogs and their 'masters' (or the 'canine masters' and their humans), is often communicated via a look. The Red Dog 'gazes' captured and used to tell the story are what sold it for me.

Bit like my own boys.

  

How to make the most (?) of a rainy day

In my little patch of the world right now, the weather is pretty darn rank.
For the holiday season, this is not the best thing. But being of Pollyanna leanings, it's not the worst either. A day like today gives one the perfect license to do sweet Fanny Adams all day, and that is just what I did.
Actually, on my lazy, languid road today,  I did achieve something. Bear with me as I meander towards its reveal.
I am almost at the end of my very first 365 challenge - completing an entry/photo a day on this blog. That, coupled with the fact that next year I will have the opportunity through not working full-time to manage my time creatively, new challenges for 2012 are in order. I'm not talking big change-your-life and heal-the-world challenges, or a bucket list, more like things I have been meaning to do, achieve or get back in to.
One of those things is reading. An addiction to the internet and far too much time in front of the TV, coupled with compulsory academic reading for my studies, has curbed my reading habit considerably. Once a voracious reader I have not completed a novel for two years!
Rediscovering the joy of reading is on my 'list', which will soon appear on a re-modelled blog. But rather than wait till the new year, I decided to start today, when the rain has kept us all indoors.
For the first time in eons, I made my coffee this morning, and went back to bed to read... this resulted in falling asleep again and not waking till 10am! (That's way late for a girl for whom being up by 7:30 is late, even in the weekends).
I then took my book downstairs and read intermittently throughout the day. This was not made easy by my furry friends however, as the pics below show... However as with other tasks I have set myself, I am determined to push through the 'barriers' to read at least a novel a month; my new-look blog has a page on which to record my reactions to them!

Portrait of a Pet

My intention today was to blog about our end of year picnic at school... but postponement due to rain put paid to that.

Instead I bring you a very honest portrait of my Reilly that I captured yesterday. I love it when 'people portraits' reflect the subject, and truly believe pet portraits can do same. 

The is Reilly is, as Reilly does. Gotta love him!

Ready, regardless.

Christmas Ribbon Pde tomorrow for our Tiki Cavalier KCS club. Weather forecast is a bit iffy but we three here have all had a bath and are ready regardless.

It's a day for the kids really, held at the gorgeous property Mincher at Coatesville. Lots of fun classes (fastest biscuit eater, fancy dress...) and Santa floats by in a boat. so I truly hope the rain stays away...

Luck, Love or Good Behaviour?

Every day as I arrive home from work, I look for three little canine noses squeezing our from beneath the garage door as it opens. Today I got the fright of my life as two furry bodies hurtled towards my car before I had even hit the automatic garage door opener. They had come from the back of the house, outside the fenced section. If the fact that they were out did not freak me out enough, that there were only two sent my heart in to rapid palpitations. It's amazing the scenarios that can run through your mind in a short space of time. Fortunately a sharp bark from behind the garage door allayed the fears that I had lost one... but questions remained, and still do.
I think I have backtracked to figure the escape route. My own fault, coupled by a dodgy gate lock, which I have had fixed many times. I guess that it did not close properly after I had hung out some washing this morning. Because the gate sticks at the bottom, it looks and feels like it has closed, but as these re-enactment pics show and as is often the case when I'm at the washing line, persistent little noses can coax the gate open when it's not fully snibbed. From the inside, that is. The gate had closed again, and I imagine they could not get back in to the section, even if they had wanted to. My forensic examination saw scratch marks at the bottom of the gate from the outside, so I figure they have tried.
So how they got out is probably ascertained. However the questions that remain unanswered include...
How long were they out?
Did they roam and then return?
Who lead who astray?
How come one stayed inside?
Was it love, luck or good behaviour that kept them safe?
and a question I prefer to remain unanswered anyway... What if???

Oh, a couple of questions for any readers who know my canine kids...
Who do your suspect was the initiator of the escape plan?
And which one stayed inside?

Be Good Boys!

It's goodbye to my boys for three whole days, as they go off to Aunty Mignon's while I go to conference in Rotorua.
I hope Reilly does not go all "I'm the man" as he did last weekend with Ritchie, because there's a bitch on heat. And I hope he eats his dinner!
I hope this one here, Stirling, doesn't pee anywhere he ought not.
I hope Hugo dos not get the itchies and start chewing his legs off.
And I hope they all cope without sleeping on the bed with their mother - spoiled brats.

Coming At Ya!

Puppy Portraits

Next year I really am going to have a Dog Blog.

Today's photos were taken at the leash off area at the Botanic Gardens, where we spent a good hour this afternoon after work.

Each dog was relatively obliging for a short period of time! Stirling only until some big dogs came along...

Whaddaya mean, no chicken necks?

My Smiley Reilly is the canine equivalent of a fussy child eater.
He would survive on a diet of chicken if I could afford it, and needs encouragement to eat something different. As it is, he is generally fed a BARF diet, which includes raw beef, green tripe, veal bones, veges and... chicken. Usually in the form of chicken frames or chicken necks.
If a couple of necks adorn the plate (yes, plate - he does not like to put his nose in a bowl) as a sweetener, he can usually be encouraged to eat whatever else is on the menu.
Tonight's canine culinary treat was cooked sheep hearts with rice and veges. Cooked with love. Stunk the kitchen out in the process as usual. Stirling and Hugo LOVE this bi-weekly concoction. Reilly needs encouragement to partake.
This look is as he realises there are no chicken neck accompaniments tonight. Duh, Reilly, that pink stuff is MINCED chicken necks? Eventually the penny dropped.

It's all in the way you hold your tongue

For one reason or another, it'd been way too long since the boys and I had walked our well trodden path to Kauri Point Reserve, as opposed to taking a ride there by car. But we did just that today. 

It was a brilliant spring day, making the loss of an hour we experience tonight with Daylight Saving kicking in, pretty much a non issue, as we look forward to longer days, and evening walks.

We spent quite some time just moseying around in the balmy weather, which caused quite a bit of heat-releasing panting from the boys.

Though not completely evident in these photos, I am often amused at the differences in my boys' tongues as they pant. One goes in and out, in and out, another's curls up at the end, while the third forms a kind of cute tunnel in the middle. Bit like being a tongue-rolling or non-tongue-rolling human

Can you guess who does what?

Fathers' Day at my house

So, Fathers' Day today, and yes, I have a wonderful Dad whom I naturally think of whenever this day rolls around. But having no kids of my own, I can't celebrate alongside someone as most women my age and stage do.
But, dear readers, I realised today that I DO have a Dad in my house, and his son also lives here, so I (tongue in cheek) made Fathers' Day about these two. Little Reilly and his offspring Stirling.
Young Stirling's idea of a happy time with Dad is shown in the short clip above. Just like many Dads, it's pretty obvious that Reilly would just like some time out on this auspicious day...
A long walk this afternoon and chicken for dinner for this canine Dad. And cuddles tonight in bed too lol.

Will he still be Smiley Reilly?

Reilly before - so trusting!

Reilly went to the dentist today. Tell-tale bad breath was confirmed by a diagnosis last month that he needed 4 teeth extracted.
When I picked him up however, I was told he had needed TEN taken out! Poor little bugger. No wonder he looks miserable. (see video) And I am not going to venture near his sore little mouth to see if he can live up to his nickname any longer - Smiley Reilly.
So for shock factor and a party trick I chose to keep his little bloodied rotten teeth... gross I know. But also strangely fascinating.

Apparently he was a very brave boy, and did not even cry when he was left by himself. Must've been the happy drugs.

Schedulus Interruptus

Stirling, your shifty eyes give you away...

I am trying really hard to stick to a pre-planned schedule to ensure that my study, work and other commitments don't all get left to the last minute. I have even scheduled in my exercise, including that which includes the dogs.
Tonight I was scheduled for a decent dog walk and then some study, and left work smartly to fulfill my obligations.

A brief confirmation demo

I did not anticipate that I would arrive home to have to deal with the 'busy work' of two of my canine companions. The photos are not a fair representation of what I was actually greeted with. This was a sizable hole beneath the fence between me and the neighbours. (No, not you, Rachel!) So I had to plug the hole with a plank, refill it and cordon it off to discourage future explorations...
Then there were the culprits to deal with. They were easily identified by the state of their paws and legs, which were clogged with dirt, including 'dags' (for you sheep farming folk) of mud that could not be extracted by hand or comb, between their paws and throughout their feathering. They had obviously been digging for a considerable time. Reilly, with his clean while paws, was the innocent, Hugo and Stirling the perpetrators. It took some thorough washing to remove the clods.
Then of course there was the house to deal with, as I had not spotted the problem till the boys had thundered through the house, leaving a trail of dried mud behind them.
No wonder I needed a wine after all that! Hmmm, not only did the clean up affect the schedule, but even one glass of wine is notorious for stalling the study...

Reilly and Me

I have recently decided, now that I have three furkids, that taking one at a time when I am out and about would be fun. Far more manageable, and no guilt factor at leaving just one behind.
Today it was Reilly's turn because he was the reason I was going out anyway - he needed his annual vaccinations. So off the the vets we went - more about that later - then on to Hudsons Petfood for our chicken necks, tripe and beef blocks, and finally a visit to the new Animates store in Takanini. (Funny - the pic on the link to this store features a cav!)

Ali

There we met the subject of today's photo - Ali the cavalier. Ali was there with her Mum and Dad, and their other cavalier Bella.
Now cavalier folk are always super pleased to see another cav and start a conversation, and this was no exception. Especially as it transpires, that this is Reilly's litter sister! She was the sweetest little thing, doing good work for the SPCA. Tried to get a photo of her and her brother, but Reilly was more interested in the big goat who was also sitting outside the entrance....

Chloe

It's not the first time we have met one of his sisters - this photo (right) is from another chance meeting - at the Botanic Gardens - where we came across Chloe (aka Bonnie, who lived with us for a time as a puppy).

Reilly

But back to my Reilly, who cried when he got his injection, whined all the way through getting his nails clipped, and yelped enough to bring tears to my eyes when the vet took him out the back to get his anal glands cleared (yuk) while I talked to the assistant about his next treatment...

I had suspected he needed his teeth cleaned and scaled as his breath was a bit iffy, but I had not anticipated that he would require two teeth to be extracted. My dear little problem dog, it will break my heart to leave you there... but we will both try and be brave! 

Winter Warmers

I had planned to actually MAKE a photo today, with and idea stolen from Pintrest, but the fickle Auckland weather put those plans to rest. It blighted the first walk the boys and I had had for a week too, freezing my buns off because I had not worn enough clothes, and starting to rain on our return home. This despite leaving in glorious sunshine...
Needless to say, after giving all three a half-bath (low lying dogs post rain always return muddy), the heater was a magnet for them all. I love the doggy sandwich they made.
And I love it on these cold winter nights when I have three eternal hot water bottles spaced out along my body... natural winter warmers!