Enjoying sharing his garden

Blue has seen much more activity in the garden the last few weeks, with a number of jobs being done by Sue and me.

Blue does like to get fully involved, like if you dig a whole for a fence post, he thinks it should be wider and deeper no matter what you think is deep enough.

So for some of the time he has been shut indoors, which he seems to accept quite amicably.

Feeling a little guilty, I decided to give him the opportunity to join us both outside, Sue painting the fence, me filling and barrowing aggregate into the back garden.

So with his halti collar attached, I looped around the tow bar of the car, Sue got his bed to help him settle.

This put Blue less than 10 feet away from passing pedestrians, of which a few went past, without a murmur, just a watchful eye, he was loving this new getting a clearer view of passers by, without looking through an iron gate.

Until a cold caller came a visiting, we warned him not to enter the drive, as we were not interested, in whatever he was selling, as he came into view, Blue seconded our opinion more verbally and definatly more persusavily than we had, the cold caller retraced his steps away, and ventured into our neighbours garden, still in sight of Blue who was now testing the towing ability of the car, sideways.

The suspension rocked a little, but that was all that moved, as soon as the caller was out of sight Blue settled back down.

He has his own code of conduct, you can look at him, but if you approach him or speak to him he will soon let you know when you have overstepped the code.

Back to the garden, we are going to have a "Summer house" not a shed, a "Summer house" and some of the work involved was putting down a base, and before the scalpings could be flattened, Blue was checking out the bedding properties.

Normal service is soon resumed, and a nice shaddy place with the radio playing and he is chilled

in this mood even the sweeping of a broom is no match for comfort

Tomorrow night will be Blues last swim for a fortnight, due to the pool being closed for holidays, so we will probably take a trip to the coast, but then he is a bit more resistant to get into the sea.

Blue enjoying the garden, and showing signs of ageing,

Blue catches the ball

Each and every evening, Blue enjoys a good play in the garden.

This year the games are a little less enthusiastic, having spent some money on shrubs and flowers. Normally this time of year the game of ball normally costs flowers and shrubs their floral display, blame is equal on this, we both get a little carried away, either I kick the ball too hard or Blue is too enthusiastic to retrieve it, so for a while we play a less energetic game, so far only one shrub and two potted plants have suffered loss.

Blue recently turned five, and is now showing more signs of an elderly dog, the greying of the fur round the muzzle, the longer sleeps etc. this would not be too evident to the untrained eye, but there is a distinct difference. When Blue was a young pup we went for a walk along the Thames near Maidenhead, on the toe path we met a gentleman walking an elderly looking German Shepherd, we were very surprised to learn that his dog was only five years old. So now we see the same in Blue.

So he is showing signs of ageing, but is not an old dog, and in truth the energy levels and enthusiasm has been the same as they have always been. One thing that Blue does not have, stamina, he must have been at the back of the queue that day when it was handed out. This may be because of his back operation when he was a pup.

Recently in a few pictures it appears that Blue is not carrying his weight as good as he did in the past, so we will keep a close eye on this, sometimes we all look in the mirror and see a different us, but at 47kg Blue really can not afford to carry more weight, though not on a diet, the portions are slightly smaller mealtimes, and the treats are fewer.

The observations above do not mean that Blue is an overweight, out of condition old dog, they are merely hints of what is lurking with potential around the corner.

Blues mum religiously keeps a diary of each and every walk Blue does, as she has since the day of his spinal operation four and a half years ago. Likewise all his food is measured/weighed out, for this I doff my cap to her, it is an unselfish caring thing she does, not to mention ensuring he is walked three times a day.

So below are a few pictures of Blue enjoying games and relaxing in the garden.

Come and get it

On yer ead son

Here comes the ball

To see more of Blues garden games and more follow the link below of his Flickr photos

Blue relaxing in the garden and playing ball

Bank Holiday

Finally a Bank Holiday weekend which was dry and gave plenty of opportunity for Blue to enjoy the garden and great outdoors.

Blue loves it when we do the garden, he gets to play some of his favourite games, but one that he never tires of is his favourite, chase and catch the ball.

Games and the rules in the garden (According to Blue)

• Weeding; if it comes out of the ground and is green, it is a weed and must be removed
• If it does not come out of the ground easily, it must be dug out
• If flower beds are turned over, sample holes must be carried out as trial pits
• Any hand tools placed on the floor must be carried off to safety
• Work must not interrupt play time
• Work must cease when I am bored
• If you kneel on the ground, you are fair play for some rough and tumble
• Lush lawns must not be cut short, it is my bed which I allow you to care for
• Use of hose-pipes is forbidden until water sampling is carried out
• Security perimeter patrols maintained (No cats, squirrels or birds allowed)

The above list is not exhaustive but gives a flavour of the rules of the garden and games played in the eyes of Blue.

Like many German Shepherds, Blue has a big thing about water hoses. Once we use the outside tap, he will worry until it is turned on, if it isn't he will stand and stare at it.

One other strange game that Blue plays, holding the ball firmly in his teeth, he will beat his own sides in turn by shaking his head and twisting all in one movement.

Heaven is Blue in action

Heaven is Blue in action, a photo by Rod1871 on Flickr.