I took RUFUS for his first visit to see the narrowboats at Marsworth this week and he loved it.
Here he is taking a break from his muddy walk along the towpath.
Next week I’ll be back at Appledown to take those other dogs for a walk who are less fortunate than RUFUS.
SAUSAGES
And for every correct action he does he gets a click and a treat…
This is all he gets for a treat, I think he thought he was going to get a whole sausage.
RUFUS is a trained assistance dog but has never been trained to walk on the lead without pulling as he was allowed to run in the local park.He has a good recall but this was no good where I live with heavy traffic always near on his walk.
The clicker is attached to his lead handle and as soon the lead goes slack I click the clicker and he gets his treat. Easy.
I‘ve put him in a harness to stop any damage to his windpipe but this will be replaced by a collar once he stops pulling which won’t be long as his training is working already after only two days walking.
To stop him escaping through the beech hedge I have trimmed the bottom of the hedge and added wire fencing which has worked well. The hedge will be allowed to grow through so the fence will not be seen.
And finally this is RUFUS after his training walk…
This is a lovely oil painting by John Trickett
http://www.sallymitchell.com/artists1.php?ai0=14&ti=10
Beautiful Eh!
These are the two dogs I walked yesterday at http://www.appledown.co.uk/. It was nice to get out in the fresh air for a couple of hours before doing the shopping.
The first dog was ….
Gabby
A lovely dog who walked well to heal after the initial excitement of being let out of her cage.She knew her command to sit and took treats gently. A smashing dog for someone.
The second dog was..
Pinocchio
Again he was a a well behaved dog,walked well on the lead and would be a great companion for someone.
I must say I’m looking forward to getting my own dog before xmas and have spoilt him already with all the goodies I’ve got him.
Here his is again….
Rufus
I think he will like it here by the looks of his first visit before he is neutered and has his jabs.
Introducing
RUFUS
This is the first photo of Rufus taken on his first home visit to see I was suitable for him.
He comes from a rescue home as his owner has M.S. http://www.mssociety.org.uk/ and has had to go into a home. I was contacted and asked if I was interested to take him on and of course I said yes who could refuse.
He won’t be joining me just yet as he has to have his jabs and be neutered http://www.apbc.org.uk/articles/neuteringmaledogs hopefully before Xmas or just after.
He has a good recall, gets on with other dogs and cats also retrieves items off the floor if they have been dropped. He is overweight as he never got any exercise due to his previous owners health so will be put on a diet and have three walks a day. When he’s settled in I’ll be taking him to http://www.ckt-agility.co.uk/index.htm which has a base at http://www.appledown.co.uk/ where he will be taught agility so he enjoys the rest of his life. No doubt he will be taken to Marsworth for a walk along the towpath and get to meet all the different narrowboaters moored up.
Just glad that mum did not have a bad reaction to him and in fact got a big smile from her.
I think it’s just what the doctor ordered for both of us. I look forward to blog his exploits in the future with plenty of pictures no doubt.
It was too cold and wet for the dogs to be allowed out to be walked at http://www.appledown.co.uk/ today so I took off to Marsworth to see if anything interesting was happening. It seems the narrowboaters had the same idea as the dogs…stay inside except the crew of NB Just Us who were happy to carry on through the locks so I took a photo of them approaching lock 39 at Marsworth.
As you can see it turned out nice once the rain cleared away and all was calm except for the narrowboater chopping his logs up, can you see him ?
Next week I’ll be walking the dogs if the weather holds up.
Today was a good day,the sitter that takes over from me looking after mum was only half an hour late which allowed me to have four hours off to myself this week, two of which would be for shopping, the other two I decided to go for a walk with Mr McNulty down Doolittle Lane.
Pieces of late iron age pottery have been found down here so it’s been around for a while. Halfway down the lane is Doolittle Mill which is a grade 2 listed building. A mill has been on or around this site since 1086 but the present mill dates from the 18th century.
Fifty years ago a gale blew the mill head off complete with the sails into the mill pond below.
It was a beautiful day with an autumnal nip in the air after last nights first frost of winter.The winter wheat and barley is about four inches high in the surrounding fields and hedgerows are bursting with berries which the birds are noisily foraging on.Horses are in their paddock wearing their protective coats to keep out the inclement weather while in the distance the gliders are being winched up to do a circuit of the airfield below the downs.
All this going on and Mr McNulty ignores it all,oblivious to the sights and sounds of this beautiful part of Bedfordshire.
You see Mr McNulty has just been released from his prison and is suffering from stress. I am trying to relieve his predicament in the only way I can given the restraints on my time away from my caring duties at home.
Mr McNulty is a very fine collie dog who has lost weight due to his confinement and desperately needs to be rehomed as soon as possible. He has been put on three meals a day to help him gain weight but still he does not wag his tail. I hope he finds a home soon as it will be another dog who will be mentally scarred for life.
Details of Mr McNulty and all the other lovely dogs can be found at
