Please can I have my ball back...?

Molly took Archie's (as usual) this afternoon and would only give it up for food, wise old girl that she is. It doesn't really bother him much, as long as she keeps on the move with it and as she was in an energetic mood this afternoon, all was well on the field. Others, however, have not been so lucky and Kobe, Finn, Zak and Dylan have lost theirs forever, but it doesn't seem to be bothering them too much as they too continue to enjoy themselves amongst friends on the walk! There is a certain unwritten rule on Castle Walk, along the lines of, "You lose one, you find one," so the Christmas themed spherical plastic thing that Archie brought home tonight goes some way to making up for the tens of thousands we've lost over the past couple of years. (If anyone has lost a Santa ball by the way, please let me know as he's not too attached to it just yet!).

Changing the subject slightly, it appears that one or two photos are now finding their way out into the big wide web world and although Kobe as a pup is still the most popular, Ralphie and his ready-brek glow is going down very well in Hungary! As Lynn said tonight... "From small acorns..." I should go now if only to try to work out where the double entendre starts / ends as far as this post is concerned! Hope to see more of you soon - either on the field or on the blog!

Back on the blog and the walk...

It's good to be back on the afternoon walk after a few weeks of summer school and experimenting with different routines. As ever there are new faces and new photos and pictured right is Polly. A far more welcoming pose can be found in the portraits above, but she's a dog we haven't seen since she was a pup and it was lovely to see her again the other day - teeth and all! She's a lovely dog who enjoys running with the pack and is obviously a firm favourite with the younger dogs. Mr Mature (aka Archie), at the grand old age of three and a half, likes to let the youngsters get on with it these days and just lately prefers the company of the younger humans who are on the field at the moment as the school holidays are now with us. I still can't see the appeal of catching little bits of grass, but as I have mentioned in previous posts, Archie is not your conventional Border Collie, so I don't try too hard to figure him out anymore!

...and on the subject of cool but unconventional Border Collies, here's a story from last week's Telegraph. If you read this, it's worth noting that Archie cost the rather more modest sum of £100! Nice story though.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/agriculture/farming/7903305/Ron-the-border-collie-the-Rooney-of-the-sheep-dog-transfer-market.html

Didi remembered...

For us she was the grand old lady of the field and one of the originals. She made quite a partnership with Saatchi and the pair of them always had time for a bit of fuss whenever we met them. Didi was expecially affectionate and I will miss the way she always made the big effort to get over to see me for a bit of a tummy rub right up until her final days. At these sad times we can't help but analyse the unique relationships we are lucky enough to have with our own dogs and love Archie as I do, there'll always be a special place in my thoughts for dear Didi. You had a good one there Lynn. Gone but far from forgotten...

Into each blog some rain must fall...

..and as we headed out for an early walk tonight to try and dodge the gathering clouds, we saw the familiar face of Lynn 3 dogs, but she appeared to be one dog light, we didn't need to ask. Di Di's poor health had finally got the better of her and she had passed away over the weekend. What a terribly sad moment for Lynn,  as 14 years of companionship came to an end, and who's going to keep those Mitchell Brothers in check now hey Di Di? Rest in peace girl. 

Whatever next. Part 2

We've had all sorts of dog antics on the blog over the past few months, but this takes the biscuit, Ladies and Gentlemen I introduce, the rather cruelly named, Boniface, the Worlds first scuba diving dog! Yes, Russian professional diver Sergei Gorbunov has splashed out on a specially designed swimsuit for his pet Dachshund so they can go on deep-water adventures together. The pooch now has his own wet-suit and helmet. Although he was heard whining, Sergei is adamant the pup enjoys the experience. He said: "Underwater, I don't think he experiences any stress." If water sports for dogs catches on, pretty soon Pets At Home will launch its new designer pet wet-suite range, maybe Archie will do a spot of snorkeling and watch out for Lily blastsing down the Severn on her jet ski!

Damm, I forgot the poo bags!

Lily's day in the sun...

A great time was had by all at the Upton Magna Summer Fete and Dog Show this afternoon, but the day really belonged to the lovely looking lady pictured right! Yes, peeking out from behind all of those rosettes is lovely Lily who romped home in great style taking two third places and one second in the categories for, "Best Rescue Dog", "Best Pedigree Bitch" and "Best Greyhound, Lurcher or Whippet", (Is that right Katie?). Needless to say she took it all in her stride and remained totally unphased by all of the attention, but she totally deserved it with her relaxed and confident approach. Other dogs who turned out were Archie and Cadbury who came up against some very stiff opposition in the form of a very handsome Siberian Husky and a couple of incredible puppies (if you were there, you must have seen them!) and unfortunately the judge only had eyes for these... This said, Arch did win a rosette and the confused expression on his face in this picture is down to the fact that his second place (in a field of two!) for "Best Pastoral", was to a dog who, in this owner's wholly biased opinion, was nowhere near as good-looking (100% sour grapes!). Poor Cadbury left the event empty-handed, but once again, anyone who has spent any time in his company knows he's a smasher and that's what really matters! Well done the three of you!

A little Dog with a Big Bark

We must have missed everyone on Saturday for Leroy's first weekend out at the park but thankfully he got the chance to make some friends on Sunday and almost had an impromptu swimming lession to boot, very exciting. Since our return home he has been a very sleepy puppy and has been snoring away for the last few hours.

This weekend we spent a small fortune in the vets getting the 'wee man's' eyes checked over as he has a tendency to look like a blood hound when he's tired and ends up looking a bit like Deputy Dog. Vet's Answer: He has to grow into his eyes (total cost £24!).

Anyway, Molly and Leroy are getting on like a house on fire and are now spending most of their time plotting their mischief which equates to double trouble! I have finally stopped them jumping into my raised beds to eat the lettuce and courgette plants however that was just the beginning. I came downstairs on Saturday to find Molly holding the draft excluder in her mouth and paws whilst the little black monster was tearing all the stuffing out... great fun, a snow scene in my living room with Leroy as Santa Claws with a long white beard of kapok!!

Despite Molly's return to being the naughtiest puppy in school, it is lovely having the two crazy muts. The only nightmare (so far) comes at dinner time; Leroy is a greedy little boy so I have to stand between them to act as referee to stop him polishing off both bowls of food. I have tried putting them at opposite ends of the kitchen but they are both so nosey and concerned about the other getting better food that they keep running back and forth trying to eat each others food so I have to put them side by side which seems to be the best option.

The best bit is now, having them both curled up on the rug in the evening watching them chasing rabbits together and woofing in their sleep... so funny.

Leroy has a couple of weeks off from commuting to work in Warminster now and so he and Molly have two weeks of playing and causing havok in the parks of Shrewsbury.... I can't wait, Two crazy labrador pups, what is the worst they can do?! x

Hello everybody

hi everybody in CastleWalk Dog Blog,

At least, I managed to join your blog site.

Carrie-Lou the belgian shepperd and me wish you a very good time in the Severn water by those hot summer days.

In a little while, I will send you some photos from Archie and Carrie playing the ball in June.

We created here a workgroup for creating our Charenton Dog Blog during summer.

Some more news in september.

Regards to you all

"Sagesse, Force et Beauté"

Thierry GUIDON