A trip to the seaside

With our holiday not being for a couple of months yet we decided that with the recent decent weather, a trip to the seaside was what we all needed, actually the main reason being, that Blue would not have his swim session this week, due to Aquadoggies having their own break.

So with both of us taking a day off work, our destiny was Milford on Sea, taking along all that is necessary, others take less for a weeks holiday, but man and dog must have their gadgets, so I keep telling Sue.

In less than two hours we were parked up, looking out across the Solent to the famous landmark that is the Isle of Wight, The Needles.

Our walk would take us due West along the cliff top walk, which has shown a lot of signs of erosion, parts where the path is now on the beach below, there are no guard rails or fences, but Blue is on a lead, so we are all pretty safe. 

After about a mile there is an opportunity to climb / scramble down to the beach below, now for the fun to begin, time to get Blue in the sea, and swimming.

Well that was my plan, Blue had a different one, maybe test the water first.

Coaxing was needed, so into the water I went, so that Blue would follow

This was not working, so would the thought of treats help

Blue would overcome most things for a treat, not swimming but at least he is in the sea.

As soon as the treat was gone he returned to shore, time to try again.

As the waves were filling the pockets of my shorts, Blue decided it was not worth the risk so as the wave crashed against the pebbled shoreline, he was off, back to sit safely with Sue further up the beach.

This what being with Blue is all about, fun in the sun, a bit of a splash in the sea, but he knows what he likes and how to have fun his own way. He even found a ships buoy washed up on the beach, a bit too big to pick up, but he sure gave it a go.

Our play on the beach was followed by a walk back up on the cliffs, returning to the car 3 hours and 30 minutes later, we had enjoyed a good trip out. The part cloudy sky meant we were not in full sun, but long enough for Blue to need his "Cool coat" on.

Blue just loves to be with you and have fun, while I was in the sea he was torn, whether to come and see if I was OK, or would it be too much to get back in the water. As i didn't want to stress him i made the decision for him and got out, below are just a couple of more pics of Blue on the day out at Milford on Sea

and finally

Blue at the seaside

Happy Days!

Garden toys for amusement

Swingball and other fun Blue-style

From out of the shed the old "swing-ball" was taken, not sure it has seen the light of day in Blues days.

So with a sacrificial ball tied on with string the games commenced. See the clip below;

or follow this link; Blue and the swing-ball

With Sue filming and Blue taking centre stage, there were some very funny moments.

• The tug of wars
• Leaping up for the bubbles
• 5.11 Getting a bit close for comfort
• 5.51 Not heard, but a loud burp from Blue as I go to blow the bubbles.

Amazing with Blue's strength and weight, the flimsy bit of string survived it all. 

Since the clip was filmed I have changed the string  over to sash cord, as off camera later in the day in his keenness to catch the ball, the string wrapped around his upper and lower jaw. (Looked like the "Crocodile hunter" had caught up with him.

Strangely enough, throughout the whole of this playing, Blue did not bark once. Yet he has spent the rest of the entire weekend barking, at anything and everything that moves.

Apologies for the rigger boots, not exactly summer shoe wear, but they were the closest thing to the back door at the time.

As you can see, Blue does always want to be an al-rounder, but has not got the hang of the racket yet.

Summer is here

Well it has been a while coming, but it looks like summer has arrived, enough rain to keep all things in the garden growing and happy, this includes Blue.

Blue adores being out in the garden, just lolling about or playing with his football or bubbles.

His allergies have now all cleared up and are now a memory, an itchy painful memory. We never did find out the root cause, it could have been seasonal or something in his diet, but he sure was suffering for the first four months of this year, just like the last two of the previous year. It is hard to believe how long we all had to endure, his suffering. Wearing his buster collar for those long periods, saved some of the fur removal, but I can tell you we are pleased that that episode of Blue's life which was a painful one to endure, is now behind him.

Those of you in the UK would have recently seen the documentary "Bionic Vet" of "Fitzpatrick Referral's" a very talented veterinary practice located in Surrey. This was good to watch, as it was the founder Noel Fitzpatrick who assessed, diagnosed and carried out the surgical procedure on Blue when he went lame. December 2008 Blue was on the operating table having a "Spinal Laminectomy" a procedure to  remove sufficient bone from the spinal vertebra, as this was causing the disc to bulge and press on his spinal column.It was interesting to watch others go through their own challenges with their pets, but reminding us how far Blue has come from that day on the operating table.

On that note, Blue demonstrated that it is not a full recovery, as he sometimes has lapses, where exercise has been too much, one such incident was when, he decided to take interest in another German Shepherd in the local park. By surprise, he had caught my wife, Sue, as she was changing her grip on his lead. Chasing this other dog, he was in the zone as they say, off at full pelt. But not too long into the chase, Blue stopped and laid down, obviously too much for his weakened back. For a few days he would often lift the weight off his back right leg. Rommel the other dog was just relieved, to have got away. It was a reminder of the socialising Blue missed out on because of his operation. But Blue is built for distance and not speed, that same Blue would walk up to 8 miles in nearly nine hours in the Scottish Highlands back in May this year.

Blue is showing a few signs of ageing, the odd white whisker, the grey under the chin, but inside there is still that beating heart of the German Shepherd puppy, who came into this world six years ago.

I have read and seen many things about the bond that people have with their dogs, we had one with our Shep, who sadly passed away six years ago in May. There is something different about Blue, it is a bond like he is part of you, not just part of the family. We have sometimes spoke of differences and similarities of Blue and Shep, but never compared them, as they are so very different in their own way.

What was nice, I had recently tried drawing a sketch of Blue, in pencil. Though it was a sad looking Blue,  it inspired Sue to commission a drawing from a follower on twitter @helenyatesart
and what she achieved from the emailed pictures was incredibly talented.

Shep and Blue

Shep 

So as Shep was leaving our home and lives, Blue was making his way to us to help fill the massive loss we felt that day in May 2008 when our dear Shep was sadly put to sleep. They both fill our hearts and are a large part of our life, as they will always be.

Finally my drawing of Blue

Think of a caption to suit this!

Just another weekend for Blue

Well it has been an active weekend for Blue.

It all started Friday tea time, we headed off to the local B&Q  

Because it was too warm to leave Blue in the car, I stayed with Blue in the car park while Sue went and got the plants.

Hastily she had returned with two bags of bark, which I loaded onto the trailer, while she returned to get some plants.  

This was an opportune time to get Blue out of the car, and wander around the parking area, though you can see what he enjoyed most.

Admirers were kept at bay, anyone approaching was barked a warning, but few people get too close to Blue, he has a selective audience.

He was well behaved and enjoyed his trip in the trailer, probably would have sat in there while we drove off, but that is never going to happen.

Friday evening, he played with his bubbles in the garden (See video clip below)

Saturday was spent lazing around, except for "Tweeting" with #TheAviators

But Sunday

Once up, he was walked for 30 minutes, home had breakfast, and expected him to rest, no chance.

A squirrel ran along the garden fence, and Blue went berserk, trampling and scattering anything in his way, all as he was barking his warning to the squirrel. This would not be so bad, but we are talking before 7.00am on a Sunday morning.

No sooner he was settled, then he heard a noise and went barking to the side gate.

Neighbours or wife not impressed, time to take control, but there was one last hurrah, when the neighbours dog barked, guess who joined in.

Eventually, we reached nine o'clock and began some gardening, along with Blues trusty assistance. 

Some of the moments are captured on this short movie, on YouTube.

Blue has had a break from swimming recently, due to an ear infection. The treatment prescribed by the vet has been successful, so Blue will be swimming on Wednesday.

If you want to follow Blue on twitter search for @BluetheGSD

Swim movie

http://youtu.be/asuMsta6KP0

Ben Nevis

We have just returned from two great weeks in the Highlands of Scotland, one of our adventures was to summit Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain.

Blue is no novice to mountains, having successfully summited numerous fells and mountains in the lake district, Helvellyn, Skiddaw, Blencathera to name but a few.

Blue is now six years old, and is very comfortable walking for long durations, last week we did 8 3/4 hours in the Torridon mountains.

Ben Nevis sits in the Nevis range overshadowing Fort William, approximatly 120 miles from our holiday cottage in Annat.

Shortly after 7.00am Blue got him self comfy in the back of the car for the 2-3 hour drive, and at 10.00am we were all parked up ready to go, commencing from the car park serving Achintee House.

The weather was dry, but the tops of the mountains were obscured by low cloud.

With his halti attached we set off for the anticipated 10 mile round trip which would take us to the summit 1343m above sea level.

We selected the "Tourist Route" because there are no real technical climbing skills required, Blue would follow where we navigated, though more often than not he would lead.

Even where a path becomes less obvious, Blue often follows the scent trail left by others, as he has proved invaluable on previous occasions. Now having said that, he has no sense of height, there are times where he would happily roll over on the grass, oblivious there may be a drop of hundreds of feet, a roll away.

We know today there will be many others taking this route, and the need to have close control over Blue is paramount for the safety of him and others. Blue owns the mountain, everyone else are seen as visitors.

Well we had only been walking ten minutes and we came to our first obstacle, a timber ladder style. Approached with much gesturing and trepidation, Blue managed to overcome this hurdle.

The path to ascend is unmistakable, no need to navigate, Blue was into his stride and coping with some of the larger steps. Courteous exchanges were had with fellow walkers encounter en-route, the majority of us heading in the same direction.

 Our calculation was that we would make the summit around 3.00 pm at our current pace.

Just over two hours into the walk we were at what is affectionately known as the half way loch an.

Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe is not actually half way in height, the true half way point was known as "Red Burn" which could be seen further up the track, just below the cloud and snow line.

So we stopped for a breather and a quick drink, and as we sat pondering the next part, the Lochan just disappeared.

  

Now was a time for honesty, do we go any further?

Without fear or favour, the call is down to me, and given what lay ahead, three more hours of climbing into cloud, mist and rain on snowy covered peak, I decided today was not going to be the day Blue conquered Ben Nevis, that would be for another day.

On reflection Blue had handled the climb very well, only where we rested to have a breather and cuppa, did he actually halt advancing admirers getting too close to his herd.

I do believe that we will return one day and complete this journey, so the call to descend was taken and we began our return. Only now realising that at no point had we seen more than half way up the mountain, even glancing back on our return.

Descending gave an opportunity to take a few pictures, funny how things clear up once you have made your mind up to return.

But the one telling picture was this one, the conditions at just over 600m were still the same

There are two tiny figures just left of centre, they are walkers just above Red Burn.

We returned to our car 4 1/2 hours after setting off, safe well and enjoyed the trip, Blue was the only dog we see on the mountain today, wonder why?

With a brief stop at the Ben Nevis Distillery to buy a gift, we set off back to our holiday let.

From our journey home we stopped at a near by view point to capture this picture of the Nevis range

We arrived back at the cottage a little after 7.00pm which meant we had been out for twelve hours, on that basis if we would have gone to the summit, we would not have been back until after midnight.

Soon after his dinner, there was only one place Blue was going to;

 Asleep !

Well done our little hero !