Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Inappropriate Smells
Okay I admit that Turbo-dog has a small downside - Yep you may have guessed that there are downsides to dog-ownership and the biggest problem so far has been:
Doggy Farts
You try to ignore them where you can, but in confined spaces the smell can be a little off-putting to say the least and this is coming from a person who is not immune to claiming ownership to particularly good farts (whether I was the polluter or not).
The scenario so-far is usually preceeded by a walk which completely poops out the dog and while we are using the computer, Turbo will go to sleep on the computer room floor (nice and cool) or on his blanket. We will be answering our email or websurfing and our nostrils will be assaulted by a silent emission, the smell of which can't be ignored or tolerated for that matter.
So having consulted my da on the problem on Sunday he told me that my cousin Sam has done experiments with is "Dalmation dog" or as my da says "Damnation Dog" with regard to the most effective remedy to Doggy Farts.
Watch this space for any forthcoming details or success in the matter.
Doggy Farts
You try to ignore them where you can, but in confined spaces the smell can be a little off-putting to say the least and this is coming from a person who is not immune to claiming ownership to particularly good farts (whether I was the polluter or not).
The scenario so-far is usually preceeded by a walk which completely poops out the dog and while we are using the computer, Turbo will go to sleep on the computer room floor (nice and cool) or on his blanket. We will be answering our email or websurfing and our nostrils will be assaulted by a silent emission, the smell of which can't be ignored or tolerated for that matter.
So having consulted my da on the problem on Sunday he told me that my cousin Sam has done experiments with is "Dalmation dog" or as my da says "Damnation Dog" with regard to the most effective remedy to Doggy Farts.
Watch this space for any forthcoming details or success in the matter.
Saturday, June 26, 2004
Amazing feats of genius
Well it is now over one week since we finally got Turbo home and I'm amazed at how much fun both Anna and myself have had with our dog. We have seen more of our village and its surrounding footpaths in one week than we have seen in a full 21 months of living here.
I didn't think that Turbo was really an appropriate name for such a well coloured and elegant dog, but I have to admit that when he is excited about going for a walk, meeting other dogs and playing his favourite games he is certainly extremely energetic.
So about Turbos Amazing feats of genius - I have to say I over egged the title, but after thinking that Turbo was not really that keen on balls, I bounced my old Basketball in the backyard and he proceeded to go mental with anticipation. On receiving the ball Turbo showed that he just wasn't keen on small balls, but was very keen on big balls. Turbo is an amazing dribbler of the ball, using his paws to get the ball out of corners and also to change direction. His high pitched barking sends the neighbours dogs into a barking match, but Turbo isn't fazed he just goes on playing football to his hearts content. To be honest I think his ball skills are better than a lot of professional footballers.
I didn't think that Turbo was really an appropriate name for such a well coloured and elegant dog, but I have to admit that when he is excited about going for a walk, meeting other dogs and playing his favourite games he is certainly extremely energetic.
So about Turbos Amazing feats of genius - I have to say I over egged the title, but after thinking that Turbo was not really that keen on balls, I bounced my old Basketball in the backyard and he proceeded to go mental with anticipation. On receiving the ball Turbo showed that he just wasn't keen on small balls, but was very keen on big balls. Turbo is an amazing dribbler of the ball, using his paws to get the ball out of corners and also to change direction. His high pitched barking sends the neighbours dogs into a barking match, but Turbo isn't fazed he just goes on playing football to his hearts content. To be honest I think his ball skills are better than a lot of professional footballers.
Saturday, June 19, 2004
The Turbo-dog arrives!
Well I can see why the staff at the Rescue centre named our dog Turbo! He likes his walks and isn't afraid to let you know either. I was considering changing his name to Harvey, but I'm doing a bit of back tracking on that idea at the moment as he does seem to respond to his name quite well.
Muttley maybe my alias
Big Al
Turbo appears to have settled in well and appears to be enjoying the fuss and attention. Having bought him a few tennis balls and squeaky balls I thought he wasn't really a ball sort of dog, however I was very much mistaken he is not a small ball dog. Turbo would put to shame some 1st division footballers with his dribbling skills and he is quite good at keeping the ball, he does however get extremely excited and bark like mad.
I'm coming to get you
Big Al
Our house is a lot calmer than the Dogs Trust home, as we don't bark day and night, well not while awake anyway. Having given him a couple of blankets, he is more interested in lying on the floor, guess you can get used to anything.
Boy am I pooped after that long walk
Big Al
After walking Turbo and scooping his poop for the 4th time (not a job I like, but it has to be done) we went to bed about 11:30pm and at 8:30am this morning I came down to let him out into the garden. Success, Turbo lasted the night without any trouble, he made a few wooffles and low barks at people coming home and slamming doors, but other than that the living room was as we had left it.
At the moment Turbo is pooped out on the computer room floor. He has had two walks so far today, but he was not prepared to get into the boot of our estate car, whatever the bribe, so he stayed home with me. Giving him a grooming we noticed more than one puncture wound from another dogs teeth on his back legs, seem to have healed okay though.
As to progress in the training from Turbo can now sit and give the paw almost 100% of the time and without the need to always have a treat. I'm now occasionally getting him to lie down, although he doesn't really know the word yet. So we have a little progress so far, I just hope we can get him to calm down around other dogs eventually. Maybe we will be able to look back on this post in a few months time and wonder why we worried so much about his eagerness to rush into greeting other dogs, and the consequences.
Muttley maybe my alias
Big Al
Turbo appears to have settled in well and appears to be enjoying the fuss and attention. Having bought him a few tennis balls and squeaky balls I thought he wasn't really a ball sort of dog, however I was very much mistaken he is not a small ball dog. Turbo would put to shame some 1st division footballers with his dribbling skills and he is quite good at keeping the ball, he does however get extremely excited and bark like mad.
I'm coming to get you
Big Al
Our house is a lot calmer than the Dogs Trust home, as we don't bark day and night, well not while awake anyway. Having given him a couple of blankets, he is more interested in lying on the floor, guess you can get used to anything.
Boy am I pooped after that long walk
Big Al
After walking Turbo and scooping his poop for the 4th time (not a job I like, but it has to be done) we went to bed about 11:30pm and at 8:30am this morning I came down to let him out into the garden. Success, Turbo lasted the night without any trouble, he made a few wooffles and low barks at people coming home and slamming doors, but other than that the living room was as we had left it.
At the moment Turbo is pooped out on the computer room floor. He has had two walks so far today, but he was not prepared to get into the boot of our estate car, whatever the bribe, so he stayed home with me. Giving him a grooming we noticed more than one puncture wound from another dogs teeth on his back legs, seem to have healed okay though.
As to progress in the training from Turbo can now sit and give the paw almost 100% of the time and without the need to always have a treat. I'm now occasionally getting him to lie down, although he doesn't really know the word yet. So we have a little progress so far, I just hope we can get him to calm down around other dogs eventually. Maybe we will be able to look back on this post in a few months time and wonder why we worried so much about his eagerness to rush into greeting other dogs, and the consequences.
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Home visit and Fence check & Turbo arrives tomorrow hopefully
Had the Dogs Trust lady come around today at 6pm, just as I'm watching England vs Switzerland (and yes I can support England as my wee team have not qualified for Euro 2004, in fact my wee team haven't qualified for a major tournament since Mexico 1986!), anyway she had a look at the back garden fencing and declared them more than satisfactory. Phew, thank goodness for that I hate having to submit to official sanction, but I guess it is for the best interests of the dogs that get rehomed.
Could resist putting this photo up, giving the paw for a tasty treat.
Big Al
So, having come through the home and fence check, Turbo should all being well be a member of our household tomorrow. The Dogs Trust is normally closed on Fridays, but it is open for rehoming from 9am to 11am. So tomorrow I'll have to take all my rubbish to the tip, give the car a bit of a clean and install the dog guard. Then a trip to collect Turbo. Yippee!
Could resist putting this photo up, giving the paw for a tasty treat.
Big Al
So, having come through the home and fence check, Turbo should all being well be a member of our household tomorrow. The Dogs Trust is normally closed on Fridays, but it is open for rehoming from 9am to 11am. So tomorrow I'll have to take all my rubbish to the tip, give the car a bit of a clean and install the dog guard. Then a trip to collect Turbo. Yippee!
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
Falling Down the Dog Loo
Well I have to say that I am absolutely knackered after a strenuous day in blazing hot sun trying to put up a fence to house our new dog, I just hope everything is up to stratch for 6pm Thursday.
During the installation of the fence I managed to step on the previous owners Green Plastic Dog Loo, being a bit of a bloater, okay a fat bloater, the lid had no chance it flew up into the air along with plastic inner and my foot went down about 2 foot and into about 6 inches of water and mud and I suppose what was formerly dog shit. I was plastered and the smell while not exactly smelling of dog shit, was pretty wiffy. Luckily the Dog loo has not been used for almost 2 years, but you and I know dog shit was a big constituent
The offending Dog Loo I fell down
Big Al
Its pretty funny now writing about it and I'm sure I'll get plenty of value out of it when talking about it in the future, but I have to say it did hurt quite a bit at the time, as I fell across the path and bashed my shoulder blades and back on a low wall. It could have been worse, could have had fresh deposits from Turbo and having scooped his poop I know it would not have been pleasant.
Guess I'll have to be more careful in future, or lose a few pounds, both aims might be worth looking into :-)
This was the area that needed fencing:
6ft fence required - to stop an eager dog
Big Al
Its not a sunny day in this picture, but I think the fencing came out rather well. The fence is chicken wire on the front of the posts, stapled with staples that are small and entail mashing your finger while trying to bash them into the posts. The willow is then put on the front of the chicken wire and cable tied to the chicken wire with small 5" cable ties and where it is next to the posts, with two 10" cable ties joined together. I don't think it will blow down in a hurry and if it does its taking a lot of rather sturdy posts with them :
Garden with the finished fencing
Big Al
During the installation of the fence I managed to step on the previous owners Green Plastic Dog Loo, being a bit of a bloater, okay a fat bloater, the lid had no chance it flew up into the air along with plastic inner and my foot went down about 2 foot and into about 6 inches of water and mud and I suppose what was formerly dog shit. I was plastered and the smell while not exactly smelling of dog shit, was pretty wiffy. Luckily the Dog loo has not been used for almost 2 years, but you and I know dog shit was a big constituent
The offending Dog Loo I fell down
Big Al
Its pretty funny now writing about it and I'm sure I'll get plenty of value out of it when talking about it in the future, but I have to say it did hurt quite a bit at the time, as I fell across the path and bashed my shoulder blades and back on a low wall. It could have been worse, could have had fresh deposits from Turbo and having scooped his poop I know it would not have been pleasant.
Guess I'll have to be more careful in future, or lose a few pounds, both aims might be worth looking into :-)
This was the area that needed fencing:
6ft fence required - to stop an eager dog
Big Al
Its not a sunny day in this picture, but I think the fencing came out rather well. The fence is chicken wire on the front of the posts, stapled with staples that are small and entail mashing your finger while trying to bash them into the posts. The willow is then put on the front of the chicken wire and cable tied to the chicken wire with small 5" cable ties and where it is next to the posts, with two 10" cable ties joined together. I don't think it will blow down in a hurry and if it does its taking a lot of rather sturdy posts with them :
Garden with the finished fencing
Big Al
Saturday, June 12, 2004
Having a play around at the Dogs Home
Big Al
This is our mutt, he is a lovely boy
Big Al
Thursday, June 10, 2004
Excited at our new arrival
Nope its nothing to do with a small human (Congratulations to Marie-Ann and Andy BTW who are now parents) being coming into the world, but it does feel like a huge responsibility. Within the next 10 days we should be adopting a new dog, well a dog that's new to us. We went to the Dogs Trust in Honiley and without much trouble ended up taking the rascal for walk.
He is not very biddable, a bit scatter brained, but I was very impressed with his gentleness when being given a treat. The dogs name is Turbo, but I'm not sure it suits him very well and I may well change it, the dog looks like a cross between a Collie and a spaniel, with the most beautiful tan coat with black highlights on his shoulders, most unusual is his black and pink tongue.
I haven't got a photo yet and the Dogs Trust is closed on Friday, but I think we will give him a walk on Saturday and Sunday and get a picture and help him get used to us before we take him home. The pre-adoption interview is on Tuesday evening at 6pm and a home and fence check is also required, so I had better get our fences fixed.
Amazing really that there are more checks performed to adopt a dog than to bring a child into the world, but I won't say that checks for either are unnecessary.
yippee.
He is not very biddable, a bit scatter brained, but I was very impressed with his gentleness when being given a treat. The dogs name is Turbo, but I'm not sure it suits him very well and I may well change it, the dog looks like a cross between a Collie and a spaniel, with the most beautiful tan coat with black highlights on his shoulders, most unusual is his black and pink tongue.
I haven't got a photo yet and the Dogs Trust is closed on Friday, but I think we will give him a walk on Saturday and Sunday and get a picture and help him get used to us before we take him home. The pre-adoption interview is on Tuesday evening at 6pm and a home and fence check is also required, so I had better get our fences fixed.
Amazing really that there are more checks performed to adopt a dog than to bring a child into the world, but I won't say that checks for either are unnecessary.
yippee.
Hub of the Village
Our local Post Office
Big Al
We are very lucky to have a local PostOffice/Shop/Teashop in our village. I have to say I find the shop invaluable for the one thing you don't get in a big shop, NEWS, nothing earth shattering, but important non the less. I've found waiting to be served to be invaluable in breaking down the barriers, so now I'm on nodding terms with a lot more people. This might not seem very important to some, but it reinforces the feeling that Berkswell is a lovely place to live, by making me feel warm and fuzzy inside ;-)
Voting Day
Went to my local polling station today, have to say it was very uninspiring - the European Poll was for a party only and not the actual person, to be honest it felt like a wasted vote. The local councillors are likely to be Tory I'd have thought so of course all the other parties didn't even send any details about why we should vote for them.
I would rather have been able to vote for R.O.N. (Reopen Nominations) with the existing candidates being eliminated from standing again. I'm I being harsh? Nope, I don't think so, might make the buggers work a bit harder for our votes.
Maybe setting up a resource for Independants might get a few more local people involved in politics, rather than this tired political party affiliated mess we seem to have at the moment.
I would rather have been able to vote for R.O.N. (Reopen Nominations) with the existing candidates being eliminated from standing again. I'm I being harsh? Nope, I don't think so, might make the buggers work a bit harder for our votes.
Maybe setting up a resource for Independants might get a few more local people involved in politics, rather than this tired political party affiliated mess we seem to have at the moment.
Friday, June 04, 2004
Adding the odd picture or two.
I've been checking out some new software to allow me to upload pictures a bit more easily.
Hello.com it appears to be some sort of Instant message program with a dedicated link to your blog. Hello.com would appear to host the photos and resize them automatically for you, so it saves you from using up your own bandwidth. Ignore that last comment I've just looked at the tags for where the photos are stored and they are hosted by myself, better keep them small - ehh.
A neighbours menagerie
The picture I wanted to upload is still on my camera, so this will have to do.
Overall I think its not too bad at all, so far. Guess I'll give it a whorl and see.
Hello.com it appears to be some sort of Instant message program with a dedicated link to your blog. Hello.com would appear to host the photos and resize them automatically for you, so it saves you from using up your own bandwidth. Ignore that last comment I've just looked at the tags for where the photos are stored and they are hosted by myself, better keep them small - ehh.
A neighbours menagerie
The picture I wanted to upload is still on my camera, so this will have to do.
Overall I think its not too bad at all, so far. Guess I'll give it a whorl and see.
Thursday, June 03, 2004
Annas new venture
Anna has been doing a lot of research on starting up a new business, its taken quite a long time to decide exactly how things should be done, but after a bit of procrastination Anna has decided to startup. Having decided on what shopping cart software and which Merchant account provider to use, I helped by phoning up Worldpay this afternoon and making it happen.
Things happen quickly with us when we are committed, so having paid quite a few hundred quid and printed out the documentation required by Worldpay, Anna has already signed on the dotted line and even managed to get the bank to sign and stamp the Bank Compliance Document (basically a government requirement to say Anna is not a money launderer), this was then posted of to Worldpay for them to okay the Merchant account.
So in about two weeks time you will be able to spend your hard earned pennies at Annas new business:
www.berkswelldirect.co.uk, there is nothing there as yet other than a holding page, but after we have a good play with the Click & Build Shopping Cart software it shouldn't take too long to get online.
Wayhayyyye, budding entrepreneurs - Millionaires Row here we come (well there is no harm in dreaming)
Things happen quickly with us when we are committed, so having paid quite a few hundred quid and printed out the documentation required by Worldpay, Anna has already signed on the dotted line and even managed to get the bank to sign and stamp the Bank Compliance Document (basically a government requirement to say Anna is not a money launderer), this was then posted of to Worldpay for them to okay the Merchant account.
So in about two weeks time you will be able to spend your hard earned pennies at Annas new business:
www.berkswelldirect.co.uk, there is nothing there as yet other than a holding page, but after we have a good play with the Click & Build Shopping Cart software it shouldn't take too long to get online.
Wayhayyyye, budding entrepreneurs - Millionaires Row here we come (well there is no harm in dreaming)
