A few photos taken by a good friend.

Now I've gone and done it!

The bronze award test is happening next week and I've entered us! Wasn't going to do it this time but hes been doing so well and as its only £2.50 I thought we may as well have a go, whats the worst that can happen! Ok well we could fail but then we've gained the experience for the next time. I'm most worried about the controlled walk bit as his concentration is nil when there are other dogs walking around at the same time, also he has very little interest in playing with his toy when at dog class, more interested in whats going on around him! so getting him to leave his toy on command won't be a problem...... he won't have picked it up!!!


We took him to the East of England Show in Peterborough at the weekend. He was a little over excited to begin with but soon settled and was as good as gold. I use a halti on him when we're in crowds as he does tend to pull and lunge a bit so this gives me a bit more control, the trouble is he dosen't really like it and I don't always need that much control so I was finding myself swapping between the halti and his collar until I discovered the double lead. I had seen people using one and then found a stall selling them. Its great, I can use just enough pressure on the halti when needed but otherwise can leave it loose and just use the collar, no more swapping the clips around.
One of the funniest moments was while we were walking around the livestock sheds. He wasn't keen on the cows so we went to look at the pigs which are all in their own pens. It was a hot day and all of the pigs were laying down asleep so Neo was quite happily sniffing around the pens, I swear he didn't realise there was anything alive in them as he came across one whos snout was poking out under the gate, of course he had to investigate and jumped a mile when the snout moved!! same happened with a trotter sticking out! Thankfully when we left all pigs still had snouts, ears and trotter still attached!!

Oh I almost forgot, hes started cocking his leg much to Brians delight! must be a man thing!!
I noticed he'd started 'marking' a bit a few weeks ago so figured it wouldn't be long, then I got a text while I was at work to inform me he'd finally managed it. Hes still perfecting the art, a bit wobbly but hes getting there (Neo that is not Brian!!)

Home from hols

On our way

First glimpse of the sea







Well Neos' first holiday was an all out success I'm pleased to say, he was an absolute star. The drive up there went ok, he was a little restless to begin with but soon settled, he'd also had his travel sickness tabs. We spent a few hours with my mum and he was very well behaved, explored the house then settled down in front of the fridge until he had to be moved to a more convenient spot in the living room!
When we arrived at the bungalow he had a sniff round then we went for a walk on the beach as I was impatient to see his reaction to the sea and sand.
It was only a 3 min walk to the beach, you had to climb up over a high sand dune and it was great to see his reaction when he reached the top, the brakes went on and he just stood there with tail high and ears forward then practically threw himself down the dune in excitement!!
Up until mid morning the beach was usually deserted so each morning hubby went for a cycle and neo and I had a stroll on the beach, he became a real beach bum! and it was lovely to see him enjoying himself so much, we rarely had to use his lead, if we came across people or other dogs he stayed with us on command so I didn't have to worry about him jumping on some poor unsuspecting sunbather! He loved every minute of it. He wasn't too keen on the sea and would only get his paws wet which suited me fine as didn't fancy having to go rescue him if he decided to go for a swim! He loved the miles of sand and wonderful smells not to mention the digging!



He settled down in the bungalow within a few hours of being there, I was worried about having to leave him alone in a strange place as obviously we couldn't take him everywhere with us but he was fine and slept most of the time he was on his own, can always tell as he meets us at the door with a big stretch and yawn (plus all furniture was still intact!), he was also never left more that a few hours, just enough time for us to go out for dinner a couple of times.
Most of the holiday was spent walking or sitting outside reading while he slept or pottered around the front of the bungalow. Although it wasn't enclosed it was at the top of a dirt track and he quickly learnt how far he was allowed to go so was never out of our sight.
It really is a very dog friendly area with lots of cafes and pubs happy to accommodate him with a bowl of water and some fuss. We were so lucky with the weather, beautiful and sunny but with a coastal breeze to keep us cool. I didn't want to leave and am already planning our next visit! Am just worried now that he'll be bored going back to our 40 min walk on Borough Hill!

Eve of Neos First Holiday

We're off for a short break tomorrow, up to the Norfolk coast with Neo. We've rented a bungalow on a campsite in Eccles for four nights. Its his first trip away from home not to mention the drive which will be his first long car journey since I picked him up from Colchester. He does ok in the car now although I wouldn't go as far as saying he enjoys it, 'tolerates' is probably closer to the truth but hes certainly not distressed by it so fingers crossed all will go well. We're visiting my mum on the way up, she lives about an hours drive from where we're staying. My mum is not what you'd call a 'dog person' so Neo is quite honoured to be visiting her home, I don't envisage any problems though as he is such a good boy in the house, hes almost 7 months now and the worst hes done is chewed the bottom of the garden shed door. Mum has met him before but he was slightly smaller then! so mum be warned hes grown!
Its like taking a child on holiday (I'm guessing), hes got his own bag and I've had to write a list of stuff to take so I don't forget.
Everything has been washed for the trip, the car, the dog and his toys. As you can see from the photos hes a little concerned about me torturing his toys, he sat under them for a full 5 mins!!
Am hoping my next post will be full of praise for him and news of a successful break, fingers crossed.

Shoes all in one piece

His new toy



Wow, its been almost four weeks since I last added to my blog, have been pretty lazy! We completed our final puppy class this evening, moving up to play with the big boys next week! Hes done so well, a real star. Haven't quite mastered the 'stand and stay' but is certainly best in the class for his 'sit stay' and 'down stay' and the best thing is he really seems to enjoy the classes so we'll now be working towards the Bronze Citizenship award.

He went in the water for the first time on Saturday. There were a couple of Labs playing in the water and he stood watching for a while, then the front paws went in, and out again! then he got brave and stood with all four feet in the water and finally to a leap in to belly height, that's as far as it went but not bad for a first go. I was really pleased that it hadn't really bothered him, I didn't think he'd take to it so easily as he can be a little wimpy at times! We're taking him for a holiday to the Norfolk coast at the end of the month and I'm looking forward to seeing how he takes to the sea.

Another mile stone, hes progressed from being shut in the kitchen overnight to now having the run of the kitchen and hall. Not bad for only 6 months, his bed is under the stairs right next to a shoe rack and not one shoe has ever been touched! We've been so lucky with him, the only things hes had a chew at are the wooden handle of a basket and the base of the garden shed and even these were only fleeting moments that haven't been repeated. Following the advice in the puppy books has really paid off, right from day one whenever he started on something he shouldn't have he was told 'no' and given a chew toy. I was really sceptical about this working but it has proved to be good advice!

Unfortunately for me he was never taught the difference between an occupied flower pot and an empty one, he's always been given plastic flower pots to play with, there are four or five scattered around the garden so when I came back from the garden centre with some new plants I never gave another thought to leaving them at the front of the raised bed ready for planting the next day................

............two out of the three plants didn't survive! Lesson learnt!!

Please play....

This goes on inside and outside of the house, I can sit and watch the cat chasing him across our decking then the dog hides behind the bush at the end while the cat sits and waits for him to dare show himself, inside it usually ends up with Neo being chased round the coffee table!

Hubby reckons Neo has given the cat a new lease of life as instead of sleeping all day he now fits in time to chase the dog!

We took Neo to a Country show last Sunday at Kelmarsh. It was his first experience of such a large crowd of people and dogs and he behaved extremely well.
It seemed that every other person had a dog with them and being such a friendly Rottie he absolutely loved it, what was great was that we didn't have to worry about 'not so friendly' dogs as it wasn't the place you'd get away with taking an aggressive dog.
He also got his first look at Ducks, Goats, Pigs and Chickens, thankfully all were safely secured in pens as he just wanted to play with them!
Am looking forward to taking him to another soon.

I've purchased a 'Dogmatic' halti as while at the show I had to keep him on a fairly short lead which led to a lot of pulling, normally he is pretty good and doesn't pull but I think there was so much going on he was just impatient to greet the next dog or get to the next smell.

We had a go with it today, I put it on him when it arrived and gave lots of treats then took it off, later on I did the same again then we went for a short walk in it this afternoon. He has taken to it pretty well, he doesn't make drastic attempts to get it off, a few half hearted attempts when he thought I wasn't watching! He isn't totally happy with it and makes a face when he tries to pull and ends up facing me! I do think its going to make a big difference though so we'll be persevering with it.

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