A dog & his stick

Mortimer isn't what you would call a fetch & return dog. If you throw a stick for him he will, in all likelihood, wait for you to catch up with him or lie and chew it. However he does realise that other dogs like sticks and they are great way to get his friends to play. Last weekend was a case in point.


First he sized up who was arriving

Looks like the gang's arriving

Next thing was to locate a stick

Mmmm this one looks good

Now he needs to attract some attention

Look what I've got!

C'mon Zelda

You know you want it!

At last - the chase

Come & get it!

At last Zelda (who's nickname is The Exocet) catches up

Wrestling for the prize

And Zelda wins

Success

New friends

Mortimer's life seems to be one long social whirl at the moment, we're not sure we can keep up. Last Sunday he (with us in supporting roles) were asked to lunch by Patricia & David. They are puppy trainers for the Guide Dog Association but are currently waiting for their next puppy and felt the need for some doggy company. However they are gluttons for punishment as they had a friend staying who brought with her two Golden Retrievers (Sheldon & Hugo) and they also invited Jim with his guide dog Zelda (or was it Zelda accompanied by Jim?).


First however was the normal Sunday morning meet but with even more dogs as Mary, another guide dog owner came along. Now I confess to getting a bit of name overload and I keep wanting to call her dog "Quidditch" which I know is wrong, it may be Quizzie but I've lost the plot!

Hey Mortimer! New dogs arriving!

Anyway they all played beautifully together, the younger ones tearing about and the elders (Sheldon is 13 and has arthritis) looking on, although they did seem to be there when the treats were handed out.

3 dogs 3 paws on the ground

I'm not sure but I think they're all mad

Please Miss, can I have some more?

Planning trouble

I'm not going with you - I'm staying

Anyway after playing we meandered back to Patricia & David's. As soon as you walked into the kitchen you could tell it was the home of dog lovers as there was a huge pile of canine toys in the corner, as each dog went past they grabbed a toy. Some (Mortimer) ran into the garden with a 'chase me,chase me' look.

C'mon - chase me!

While others, like Zelda, decided to disembowel.

Zelda in shred mood

Judy (owner of Sheldon & Hugo) was immense fun and with a wicked sense of humour which, I'm pretty sure, she'd passed on to her dogs. Andrew was sitting on the sofa with a coffee and one of them, I don't know who, put his nose under the cup and with a quick flick managed to upend it in Andrew's lap! When I say I don't know who it was definitely one of the dogs not Judy.


At one point the dogs were milling about and they looked like caged sharks, circling us for treats.

Someone must have biscuits

Think it's you!

Have you got more than me?

Needless to say Mortimer spent the evening flat on his back, completely exhausted.


Update


I wrote this post last week and saved it as a draft waiting to publish. Sadly since then Sheldon has passed away. We only met him once but he was such a nice old fellow and not at all bothered by the young pups tearing round him. We'd like Judy to know we're thinking of her.

Doggie playdate

It seemed that over the winter we missed seeing a lot of dogs, people walked at different times of the day and were eager to get back into the warm. Now that the sun is out and the days are longer we're catching up with some old friends.


Lola hadn't been seen for a few months but last week I was driving back from the farm shop when I spotted her being walked down our lane. I dashed back home then loitered at the end of our drive and practically kidnapped her when she walked past.


But she seemed delighted to see Mortimer.

Here I am!

Lovely to see you

Mmmm nice grass

C'mon Lola you've had a rest now

See you soon

I think Mortimer would like another playdate soon!

Fairweather friends

Sunday 4th March was a horrible day here in the Fens. Cold, grey and raining and in the afternoon wind driven wet snow. But we put on our foulies and off we went for our 10 a.m meet in the orchard. Mortimer was keen, he always seems to know that it's Sunday and he'll meet up with his friends but he was disappointed,nobody came.


Forward to Sunday 11th March and it was a glorious day, we were first in the orchard and Mortimer sat patiently.

Waiting patiently

First Zelda arrived.

In hot pursuit

And then Suki.

Nothing like a good scrummage

We did question as to why nobody had come out the previous Sunday and apparently neither Zelda nor Suki like the rain. Zelda (remember she is a guide dog) wouldn't leave the  shelter of the car port but Suki wouldn't even leave the house! Both big girls blouses!


But the beautiful weather brought lots of dogs out including this chap who is 15, deaf and partially blind,

Game old chap

his kennel mate wasn't quite sure of all the attention.

Mmmm you're a bit bigger than me

All the running around tired Zelda out but Mortimer was keen for more,

C'mon then guys!

but when he did stop it was only to see who might give him a biscuit.

Patricia's usually good for a treat

Friends reunited

The last couple of Sundays have been without Zelda, the guide dog, as the weather has been just too nasty for Jim to venture out much. But today was glorious, chilly but sunny.

Gang of three

The only problem was that as Zelda hadn't been in the orchard for a while she did keep stopping to have a bite or two of apple, leaving Mortimer and Suki to charge about.

Come on Zelda!

Just us then Suki

Snow dog

Yey! Snow

Mortimer loves the snow, he was only six months old at the time of the last heavy fall and we kept losing him in the drifts! This time he's bigger and couldn't wait to get out there this morning. The first thing he did was to run round the garden in circles, occasionally burying his nose in the snow and tossing snowballs in the air.

Mmmmmm tasty!

Most of his friends were out & about and all seemed to be enjoying themselves. The only one with any problems was the little Yorkshire Terrier who was desperate to join in the fun but kept getting ice balls.

Snow friends

 

 

They're all hoping for a long wintery spell!

Mortimer in 2011

Mortimer - January to December 2011

New friend

Because we are spending so much time working on the house our Sunday morning dog walk has become the highlight of our social life. The usual suspects are Zelda the guide dog and Krispin the trainee. The last few weeks have also given us Hamish who is a retired guide dog. This week we were joined, much to the delight of Mortimer, by Suki a Japanese Akita.

Introducing Suki

Suki is only a month older than Mortimer and has the same energy so it wasn't long before they had made acquaintances and were off.

Plotting

Complete obedience

Why does Mortimer always look so dishevelled?

And the best thing is Mortimer spends the rest of the day like this…

Exhausted

Old friends & new

You may remember that on Sunday mornings we try to be in the orchard at about 10 a.m so that Mortimer can have a play with Zelda, Jim's guide dog. Unfortunately we've been so busy with the house that we've missed a few. But this week we made a real effort and managed to meet up.  Zelda ad Mortimer find that windfall apples make for a great game.

Zelda finds first

Sensing a distraction, Mortimer's off

This week however Mortimer was in doggy heaven. Patricia & David, who puppy train guide dogs, have a new addition - Krispin.

First sighting of Krispin

Krispin is a gorgeous bundle of trouble who was keen to play with the big boys.....

Too big to fit

Mortimer didn't seem to mind

Doggy hug

However at just 18 weeks old Krispin flagged early and needed a healthy snack for an energy boost.

Looking weary

As well as Krispin, David & Patricia are looking after Hamish for a few weeks. 'Handsome Hamish' is 10 and a retired guide dog. Although happy to see the other dogs he was more content to lie in the cool grass.

Meeting Hamish

Enjoying retirement

Complete obedience

Dog bundle

Back home & exhausted

I think Mortimer will be setting the alarm for next Sunday.