by Tina Holmes
Stan wants everyone to do a course in the language of dogs…..
He wishes peeps could understand that barking and growling are the only ways he can talk to us making sounds and just because he makes a sound it does not mean he is cross, aggressive or is about to bite us. It can mean he is very happy or excited. When people come into the house Stan always barks at them and often this is a warning for them to go away as he doe not like to have space invaded but also it can just be him saying hello.
On this outing Stan was doing lots of barking but this was not because he was going to attack Tommy – he was shouting in excitement at the game of chase which he very much enjoyed.
This was a very happy day for Stan and when he saw there were dog biscuits in the picnic he barked from sheer pleasure – at no point did the bark mean he was going to attack the picnic basket – he was saying thankyou for making sure I got some nice goodies.
Wagging tails are also the cause of confusion for many people – they think a wagging tail = a happy dog…. no …. it means they are excited….
The wagging tails here were on two very excited dogs…. perhaps they were also happy… they were wagging their tails cause they had found fox poop and were about to roll in it! Yuck!
Some people have found to their cost the wagging tail can also signal the excitement a dog may feel – or the stress – just before a bite….. don’t assume you can speak dog and be guided by the owner. I have had people continue to try to pat Stan when he is trying to avoid them saying “he is wagging this tail – he likes me” – he will be growling at the same time and I will be asking them to back off but you do meet people who think they know better…..
dogs Stan the dog Tom the puppy Tommy the puppy walking
by Tina Holmes
The relationship between a teenager and his dog is very special – this is how Tommy greets Steven every morning when he gets up and when he comes home. They often curl up together and it is hard to tell where boy ends and dog begins.
Steven and Tommy
So many people now think they can’t have a dog and a child at the same time – I grew up with a dog – Pooch – who was a tri colour border collie, and to me she was family. She was almost the same age as me and she taught me to love and respect dogs, we had a lot of fun together. I think children in dog free homes miss so much – even more so if there is no pet at all.
border collie dogs teenagers Tom the puppy Tommy the puppy
by Tina Holmes
Only a few days now before I set off on the High Peak Trail – please spare a few mins to stop by the donation site and donate a £1 or more.
Thanks xxx
All cash raised helps rescue dogs.
http://www.justgiving.com/highpeakwalk
border collie trust dog walking dogs Uncategorized
by Tina Holmes
As the date for our sponsored walk supporting Border Collie Trust gets closer I knew I needed to be a bit fitter so agreed to take part in a 30 day squat challenge. For this you start with a low (they claim!) number of squats and build up daily to over 200 a day.
Well the challenge started yesterday with 50 squats and yes it does hurt! Today I did 55 and it began to hurt at 40 but still I kept going! Heaven knows what will happen when I get to over 200 a day!
Norris who is also walking the trail has joined the squat challenge and she is also doing sit ups – I couldn’t as I need a lie down after the squats! Very impressed that she is able to even think of doing more! Well done Norris.
We need you guys to give us some help – also feel free to join in the squat challenge and send us pics of you doing it – especially if you look even less fit than me! Mainly we need your help to get people giving donations to motivate us – even if you can only spare £1 as it all mounts up. The cash goes to help the rescue dogs at Border Collie Trust so please take a few seconds out of your busy day to spare what you can and if you can’t then tell other people about this and ask them to help the dogs – the work done at the kennels can only carry on if they have the cash to pay the bills 🙂
Click here to donate and keep us working hard! – http://www.justgiving.com/highpeakwalk
Stan is my personal trainer!
animal rescue border collie trust dogs
by Tina Holmes
This pretty face (sorry Tommy – handsome) won second prize this weekend in the rescue dog class at Stone Festival where we went to raise funds for Border Collie Trust….
The big surprise was that Ollie the Collie who also works hard to raise funds for Border Collie Trust gained 4th place in the fancy dress class where he was escorted by Cathy dressed as a Hogwarts pupil 🙂
border collie trust dogs Tom the puppy Tommy the puppy
by Tina Holmes
So at last yesterday this arrived –
Stan and Tommy immediately came to investigate and Stan appeared ready for action – Tommy took a closer look at the boxes and disappeared off to his bed – he does not like work!
We had spent a long time preparing the space where the chicken house was to go as I wanted them to able to roam around the area close to their home as well and this had to be separate from the dogs. We had also invested many hours in shopping around to find the best house including pricing wood and planning to build ourselves. In the end we settled on this one which was the right size and very good value from the Aquatic and Pet Warehouse in Swadlincote.
Stan tried to convince me that arranged like this the bits made a good sleeping shelter from the breeze…. I was not convinced and set about reading the instructions for assembly.
Stan worked hard testing each section as it was built up.
He even drank out of the water containers to see if they were working properly – he even tasted the chicken food!
While all this work was going on Tommy was catching up on his beauty sleep!
When all the hard work was done Stan stood guard and waited for the new additions to the family.
We set off to visit Sunnyside poultry where Ian helped us select six lovely girls to live in the new house and surrounding chicken pen. If you need to know anything about keeping poultry Ian is the one to ask – he is very friendly and helpful.
Our new girls made the short trip home in a dog crate.
They were popped inside the house and left in peace to settle in over night.
Early this morning they were allowed out to explore their new home.
Already they are showing that they all have individual personalities and you will get to hear much more about them as time goes on.
dogs Stan the dog Tom the puppy Tommy the puppy
by Tina Holmes
It has been a sad week and today I was feeling pretty down but then I got some great news – my new chicken house has arrived at the shop and will be delivered tomorrow. I shopped around for ages and selected one from Aquatic, Pet and Garden-Warehouse in Swadlincote – if you are local I would recommend them for this type of thing – catch them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aquatic-Pet-and-Garden-Warehouse/319058951512138?fref=ts
Hopefully we will have chickens by next week – watch this space 🙂
The boys have been studying all types of poultry – on their walk today they had a look at water fowl and next they want ducks!
dogs
by Tina Holmes
Well we have done loads and loads of reading and after all our research we now know that the quail could hatch today…. or tomorrow…. or the next day or anywhere up to 26 days from when they went under heat!
Google can answer most questions the only problem is you get so many right answers!
This morning they still looked like this –
In just a few days we could be looking after these little guys – hatch day is less than a week away now!
Stan and Tommy are now just waiting…..
The boys waiting to meet the babies 🙂
dogs Stan the dog Tom the puppy Tommy the puppy
by Tina Holmes
This is my mate Virgil and I walk him while his family are out at work – we get up to lots of adventures and go to some lovely places. I took the photo last week when we were exploring Swadlincote Woodlands on a very sunny day. We stopped to practice some of his tricks and this was just as he did his favourite – roll over…..
Can you think of a good caption?
dogs
Stan the dog 