Happy Birthday Maud and Millie

Tomorrow is Maud and Millie's Birthday- they are two!! 
We have had so much improvement since we have picked them up from the dogs home last December, you would not think these are the same dogs.They are confident,..

...relaxed..they love running around in the car and poking their head out of the window...

....they bark (!) - they used to be completely silent...

and they are really developing their own personalities.. Maud the deep thinker.....

the pheasant-chaser,  full of affection, pushy, the independent minded one,
and Millie,

cute,obedient, now slowly getting more affectionate and also demanding cuddles.
Very good at giving you a mighty shove with her nose in your side when she wants to go out .

What fun little personalities they are .

Yes, there are still some problems. They are slowly learning nothing frightening is going to happen when they are put in front of their bowl of food.
Goodness knows what happened earlier in their lives, as they still feel very insecure and threatened about getting fed.But with patience and not making a big deal about it , it is getting better, and lately they even go in sit in front of their bowl when they are hungry.

So here's to Maud and Millie- a very happy Birthday...

.....and many, many more happy years and many happy returns.
These two adorable dogs are from a dogs home, and if you think of getting a dog, please consider re-homing a dog from a home... they all deserve a chance !!

Have a great rest of the week!
XOXO
Bea

Take it easy....

It's been a while since you've heard from Maud and Millie or as we sometimes call them the Maudster and Millicent.We do lots of silly names in this house.Thomasina has become Sinaassen for some reason and she responds to both- see -cats are clever!Or at least they understand treats and things- but so do the two pups.
The last month has been very good for them as I have spent much more time with them.The anxiety levels are going down a lot and no more ( or very seldom ) anxious sprinkling and accidents from Maud.We had that a lot when she first came.Not sure how she was treated before she came to us, but anything would set her off..Trying her to get inside from the garden.. trying to give her her breakfast.. calling her....she would cringe and sprinkle ..I got pretty handy with the wipes and antibacterial sprays.
She is pretty relaxed now.Here she is checking out the rabbit trail on the green this morning .." hmmm!"

"And this smells of rabbit too!"

They have their own routine.
First round of the green:
-Rabbit trail sniffing.
You will only see two bottoms.The rabbits presumably are holding their breath.

They will never forget where the rabbits were earlier..
"This is were the rabbit was last time "..

And this is an activity which can't be curtailed..
"Talk to the hand cause the ear is not listening. "" I can't hear yooooooooo".

Second round of the green :
-Crazy running..

-Obstacle race
   

-Chasing

And then obviously a rest..

and a cuddle.They have been so good this week and such a solace.The house is a sick bay with my 16 year old cat Gibson being gravely ill with kindey failure.

Such a gorgeous and lovely cat.
They all know and are concerned and in their own way try to say to Gibson " we care about you, are you OK?".And tip-to-ing around the house.Going very carefully to him, not touching, tiptoing away.They know the kitchen, were Gibson is lying is out of bounds .So the walks are a great way of being a bit more cheerful and getting rid of some energy.Having a break.Taking it easy.....Dogs bring your blood pressure down they say..

I don't doubt it for a minute...





                                               
          

The first day of spring

The first day of spring and the first dandelion- we are most definitely on our way to spring now!

We had not been for proper walks for a while as I had some knee problems, but I have got myself some new stout walking boots

and pills and heat treatment and it seems to be OK more or less  at the moment so out we went.

There are always loads of things to sniff in the field- I wish I had a sense of smell like a dog!   

                         

Or maybe better not !!

There are still a few pheasants hiding away in the undergrowth..

On the way back we came across this nest- it probably was too early for eggs !!

Just imagine having to have your little chicks in there - it looks so cold and bleak..

 

On the way back, Millie and Maud loves to play fight- and Millie especially likes to bite Maud in the back leg-

 

Which usually after loads of chasing and a nice meal, leaves them completely pooped- so then I finally have some time to do their blog!

Cosy evenings in

It's luckily getting lighter and lighter in the evenings so we can start nice evening walks again.

But I think however,what the pups love most of all, is, after the walk and the dinner,is the cosy evening in, on the sofa in the study.

There is a lot of playing, throwing of balls that need to be caught, cuddling and trying to cuddle up to the cats going on. If only I wasn't on the computer.A reproachful eye is shot at me.

Although it can be used to catch up on some needed sleep..

But overall, the opinion of the pups is: less blogging, and more playing.

It just makes Maud sad to think of all the time that could be spent playing.
I think their favourite game is our morning "sock game".
I try to put on my socks, and they try to eat the socks.

That's pretty good- and I still win but I guess one day I won't and will have to buy new socks.
But it's worthwhile seeing little doggies smile so what will be will be!

A walk in the field

It was such a glorious country side here in the South West of the United Kingdom, so even though the day was overcast we headed out to strech our legs for a bit.We live right on the edge of a village and can turn left straight into fields and bridle-ways, so the possibilities for walks are endless.

Today we went in the two neighbouring fields.

Here is Millie in full flight.She is developing into a really cheerful little girl, much more extrovert than two monhts ago, when she just arrived.See what a cheerful face !

 All the trees are still bare...

Or at least that is what we thought till we came to the second field..

 Then we saw the witch hazel! Wonderful golden hanging trusses.There are apparently quite a lot of uses for witch hazel which you can read about here.

We checked it out and then on we went.

 There was a lot of running and laughing doggie faces.Here is Maud, with a smiling face.

And here is Millie running and laughing.

Work hard, play hard !

So now - a good rest!

Just a perfect day

It was such a perfect day today that we decided to walk on the common nearby.
It has glorious views and in summer,black cows roam freely even though there is a road right through it.
They amble leisurely across to the other side of the common  or walk along the road and it feels a bit like going on a not-so-wild  safari when they are around .
But as it is still early in the year, the cows are still indoors , and it is doggie and dogwalkers heaven.

We had some pretty happy doggies running around..

And we certainly enjoyed it too.

We explored a bit of a walk away from the common which gave us some wonderful views across the countryside here, and the weather was just fabulous .

It's so nice not to have to walk in the rain for a change!No mud- just sun!

On the way back onto the common we came across some lovely drifts of snowdrops..gorgeous...

 With all the runnng around they were pretty pooped once they were in the car.But they kept an eye on proceeding and did a good job " defending " the car against passers-by when we had to make a quick stop in the village nearby .Maud is keeping a beady eye on anything untoward!

And here's Millie- she was dashing around.

All in all a lovely day- no, - a perfect day for two pups.
So time tonight for a good old snooze.