We spent a great time exploring South Devon. I had a really lovely time in Totnes. All the shops were dog friendly and lots of shops had dog bowls outside, so I drank my fill from all of them because it was a sunny day. Then we found Chudleigh Bangers in Totnes market, Mum and Dad tried the Dartmoor Jack cheese, as well as some curry sauces which they pronounced ‘excellent’ but I was more interested in the Chudleigh sausages, which tasted fab. How do I know? The nice lady gave Mum half a sausage for me that had ‘fallen on the floor’, but she still made me sit for it. Then Dad begged to taste the Chudleigh Bangers and he said they were ‘amazing’.

I was over at my Nan’s house again yesterday - I think she likes having me there as a guard dog. Normally I walk up to her house and I go into the next door neighbour’s garden first - these are the people who sometimes save a lamb bone for me. But yesterday something smelt different. The two dogs have arrived, they are staying for a week while their family goes on holiday. One dog, Ben, is a Border Collie, and the other is a Golden Labrador called Libby. The labrador is quite aggressive, which is unusual for a Labrador. She growled at me as soon as she saw me - cheek!! The Collie was a nice friendly dog, Mum seemed to like him and I had to give a little bark to remind her that I am her dog! The family are really enjoying looking after the dogs, and they are being paid, so they are very happy.

I am constantly meeting new people and when they get a chance to hang out with a dog for a while, the usual thing they say is ‘I want to get a dog of my own’. Well my nan’s next door neighbours have done something even better for dogs. They are now looking after dogs whose owners go away on holiday. You might remember how anxious my Mum and Dad were when they needed to find someone to look after me while they went to a wedding. I am sure lots of dog owners will be very pleased to get their dogs looked after in a family home.

I have been so busy for the past couple of weeks that I forgot to confess to what happened after Mum and Dad collected me from Alison’s after my sleepover there. I trotted over happily with Alison to meet them, of course they all stood chatting and I waited patiently as usual. But when we got in the car I was so happy to be back with Mum and Dad that I got anxious again. I’m not proud of this, it’s just to warn other dogs’ families of what they can expect. I was very thirsty and I drank almost the whole of my travelling water bowl, but then I was whining - Mum said it was like a kind of dog panic attack. I could not settle down, and they were getting quite worried. In the end they stopped and got a bag of crisps (potato chips), which I ate really fast and then I calmed down. I think I had been really worried even though Alison and her dogs were all lovely and I got on well with Paddy, her house mate. But this was the first time I was away form Mum and Dad. Mum says I have got to do it again soon, so i will not get so upset.

My Holidays just went on and on this year.

On Boxing Day Mum and Dad boiled up the turkey carcass to get all the meat and broth for me. After they sorted it out, I got my head in the pan - don’t tell Dad, he doesn’t approve. Then I went to stay with my Nan for a few days and the neighbours next door heard that I was there (OK, so I was barking). They came round and offered me the bone from their leg of lamb, it was sooo delicious. Can a dog get any happier?
Tags:dogs,weblog, pets,diary,dog food,

Christmas Day was great - I had a long lie in, a short walk in the morning before Mum went to collect her Mum. On Christmas Eve Mum and Dad bought a whole salmon and they cooked the head for my breakfast: it was really yummy and I ate it with carrots and potatoes. Dad and I started cooking the turkey while Mum was out, I stayed close by in case Dad needed me to hoover up any spilt food!!

When Mum and Nanny got back we started opening pressies. I got a squeaky toy from Lucky, an edible card from Abby, a tin of excellent biscuits from Mum, and a doggie selection box from Nanny. But last, and best, was a huge marrow bone that Dad bought for me from the market. In the first picture I am opening the parcel, then I started nibbling the marrow part. Then I managed to upend the bone to get all the best bits out, and in the right hand photo I started to break the bone down. Yum!

In this picture I am back in the kitchen, with the bone in pieces. Now I feel like a real wild dog!!

However, then They decided to destroy my street cred by dressing me up in this silly hat. I don’t look very wild wearing a paper hat, I guess.

Then it got worse. They had collected a pile of glitter from that fairy shop that we visited in Spitalfields, and they thought it would be really cute to see me wearing glitter again … Even when I took a well-earned nap!


Tags:dogs,weblog, pets,diary,dog food,