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[JudyN]

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Not content with the prospect of becoming a grany next year, yesterday I became a mother-in-law! I'd really been worrying about how Jasper would cope, even though it was only a small do, with both sets of parents and a brother each. He didn't like the drive over there, and got the collie-wobbles in the car, but then was excited to be at a new place and discover DS2 and his girlfriend there, along with her parents & brother. I did a lot of staggering round in heels as he dragged me around the hotel and the grounds outside, sniffing everything.

He found the ceremony confusing - when we had to stand the registrar told him he didn't have to, but of course he thought we were going somewhere so he stood to, only for us to sit down again. I was very tempted to signal to him to bark at the 'Does anyone know of any lawful impediment?' bit but didn't want to confuse him further

Once he had settled into his surroundings he was a real star and chilled out. Oh, apart from when we were all still sitting with empty plates in front of us and he couldn't work out why he couldn't do his usual pre-cleaning of the plates.

We went for a walk over the fields later (we were in the heart of the New Forest). There were a couple of horses out there but J is OK with horses and I wondered about letting him off lead. It was a good job I didn't as I then realised one of the horses had a foal and it certainly piqued his interest - not sure if a foal looks more deer-like than an adult horse or if he recognises it as more vulnerable to potential prey even if it is the 'wrong' species. And then I think he suddenly realised that we were in the New Forest, that happy hunting ground we had to avoid for years because his brain would switch into hunting mode before we were even out of the car.

So all in all, he was a VERY good boy, and of course was well rewarded, with the usual 'no treats from the table while we're eating' rule going completely out of the window. He's worn out today though - he actually gave us a lie-in till 8.15am, which is unheard of, and is only now thinking about walkies. I'd better get on then...

 

[JoanneF]

Warmest congratulations to all of you x

 

[Flobo]

So glad it all worked out and wasn't overly stressful for any of you, time to enjoy a lazy Sunday now!

 

[Finsky]

Not content with the prospect of becoming a grany next year, yesterday I became a mother-in-law! I'd really been worrying about how Jasper would cope, even though it was only a small do, with both sets of parents and a brother each. He didn't like the drive over there, and got the collie-wobbles in the car, but then was excited to be at a new place and discover DS2 and his girlfriend there, along with her parents & brother. I did a lot of staggering round in heels as he dragged me around the hotel and the grounds outside, sniffing everything.

He found the ceremony confusing - when we had to stand the registrar told him he didn't have to, but of course he thought we were going somewhere so he stood to, only for us to sit down again. I was very tempted to signal to him to bark at the 'Does anyone know of any lawful impediment?' bit but didn't want to confuse him further

The photos of course meant more of him standing up, being moved around, etc. I took his muzzle off and had to tell the bride's dad VERY firmly not to pet him while he was lying down. 'Oh, he's fine,' he said. 'No he's not - STEP AWAY FROM THE DOG!' And later on, when he had his muzzle on and was lying on his bed the bride's dad gave him another little stroke when I was looking the other way, and got told off my Jasper. 'Told you so,' I said!

But, apart from that, once he had settled into his surroundings he was a real star and chilled out. Oh, apart from when we were all still sitting with empty plates in front of us and he couldn't work out why he couldn't do his usual pre-cleaning of the plates.

We went for a walk over the fields later (we were in the heart of the New Forest). There were a couple of horses out there but J is OK with horses and I wondered about letting him off lead. It was a good job I didn't as I then realised one of the horses had a foal and it certainly piqued his interest - not sure if a foal looks more deer-like than an adult horse or if he recognises it as more vulnerable to potential prey even if it is the 'wrong' species. And then I think he suddenly realised that we were in the New Forest, that happy hunting ground we had to avoid for years because his brain would switch into hunting mode before we were even out of the car.

So all in all, he was a VERY good boy, and of course was well rewarded, with the usual 'no treats from the table while we're eating' rule going completely out of the window. He's worn out today though - he actually gave us a lie-in till 8.15am, which is unheard of, and is only now thinking about walkies. I'd better get on then...

 

[Finsky]

Jasper's still getting over his exciting day. He's fine, & happy, & his usual self, but hasn't wanted to walk far; his afternoon walk is 45 mins overdue, and he's not asked for it yet. But then again, I find socialising tiring myself and feel pretty much the same! Hopefully that's the last 'big day out' he'll have to cope with.

Uh huh....me too. I call it 'sensory over load'....when socialising, you have to concentrate to so many things in same time that I'm usually pleased that I made the effort go out...but it takes so much out of me that it takes few days to rest and get back to calm state again.

I know I've been on about the dog show coming on....but I'm already having second thought about going, just because I know I get excited about it all and then I'm zombied for next couple of days and I don't like it....decisions decision....

 

[JudyN]

I call it 'sensory over load'....

Yup, me too. Part of it is down to sensory input coming in from different directions, I think. After a while I just want to go and crawl under a bush somewhere quiet. I had to leave a TV showroom once because the tellies had the sound on and were in different channels. I blame it partly on fibromyalgia. DS1 has ME/CFS and he is even worse - he got a taxi home from the wedding a few hours before we left because he could feel a panic attack (i.e. sensory overload going critical) coming on.

Having said J didn't want to walk far, he took me for a full circuit of the park once he finally asked for his walk. We did have a couple of chillax sessions on the way, so I'm a bit further through Robert Harris's latest novel

 

[Hemlock]

Re: the dog show Finsky - do go - you don't have to stay all day, and it'll be fun.

 

[Finsky]

Re: the dog show Finsky - do go - you don't have to stay all day, and it'll be fun.

Well...we are still talking about it so the odds are on that side Tomorrow we have family day again.....venturing somewhere new to us and exploring the sights. I bought recently some Ordnance survey maps of nearby areas....not only they are interesting to inspect but you realize how little you actually know about areas even reasonably near to you. We always want to go places where there is water...and the map is good for that reason and I can then research the places more in detail on line. Such a fun!

 

[Finsky]

Yup, me too. Part of it is down to sensory input coming in from different directions, I think. After a while I just want to go and crawl under a bush somewhere quiet. I had to leave a TV showroom once because the tellies had the sound on and were in different channels. I blame it partly on fibromyalgia. DS1 has ME/CFS and he is even worse - he got a taxi home from the wedding a few hours before we left because he could feel a panic attack (i.e. sensory overload going critical) coming on.

Having said J didn't want to walk far, he took me for a full circuit of the park once he finally asked for his walk. We did have a couple of chillax sessions on the way, so I'm a bit further through Robert Harris's latest novel

Reading is such a good way to switch of and readjust otherwise busy brain...and all my hobbies seem to be very 'lone' ones for the same reason. Although I'm mad to have multiple busy type dogs....I can cope with that fine, though every so often I do require quiet couple of hours of me time, usually that is gardening on allotment.

 

[JudyN]

Grrrrr... Jasper was set upon by two dalmatians in the park this morning. It was all handbags, but being unstable on his legs (as well as between the ears) he fell, and has a graze on the side of his foot and his bum I yelled that he was too frail to be dealing with that sort of behaviour, and the man said 'sorry' as he walked on I've seen this pair react like this to other dogs, so you'd think he'd at least make some effort to control them

J was quite shaken up, but not so shaken that he wasn't able to tell me that several bits of sausage would make him feel much better. And he was up for a longish walk this afternoon - hopefully he won't stiffen up later as a result of being jarred.

 

[Flobo]

Oh, poor Jasper! And poor you.. when your dog is on lead and a pair(or even one) rush up to you like that it is an awful experience. It's a shame Jasper hasn't learnt how to bring you an emergency G n T in exchange for the emergency sausages! Hopefully he'll be ok later.

 

[JudyN]

Thanks Flobo - he seems fine. Back in his youth, a few grazes would have been a sign of a really good walk! But I'm going to keep my eye out for spotty dogs in the park from now on.

 

[RGC]

The poor chap. Everyday I’m finding that my intolerance of inconsiderate people is reaching new heights. “Oh, he’s never done that before” or ‘He only wants to play” don’t cut it. Words fail me at the moment. I’m going to pour myself a BIG Shiraz and fuss Mabel. Give Jasper the mother of all hugs from me and tell him that it’s from an eccentric musician.

 

[JudyN]

Thank you RGC I do love how he's able to 'self-calm' by asking for sausage - he really did seem to think of it as a way to deal with his stress, rather than just an opportunity to manipulate me. But then maybe that's what he wants me to think....

I suppose it's no different to us thinking 'I've had a bad day - I NEED chocolate'.

 

[Hemlock]

His reaction and acceptance of sausage (kudos to you for offering it) shows how far he has come on from early days.

Maybe make a model of the damnations and stick pins in it. I do so despise people (so many people) who let their dogs charge up to other dogs.

 

[JudyN]

He seems fine today, though he did choose not to go to the park - it'll be interesting to see how long it is before he takes me there again, but I'm going to have to be a bit more proactive about avoiding dogs I don't know. It'll be like the early days, when I had to avoid other dogs because of his behaviour, but with the tables turned.

 

[Finsky]

His reaction and acceptance of sausage (kudos to you for offering it) shows how far he has come on from early days.

Maybe make a model of the damnations and stick pins in it. I do so despise people (so many people) who let their dogs charge up to other dogs.

Well, yesterday we ventured out for our day out walk....and ended up to see a watery place in Derbyshire. Every so often on the site they had signs of 'keep dogs on leads' as being a 'watery' place...there was a lot of bird life and particularly ground nesting types. And yes, there was lot of chicks around. Despite all the signs, we came across only one other dog owner who did had their dog on lead! Yes all the dogs that wasn't on lead did behave perfectly well and if there was any doubt when our lot was approaching them...some did hooked their leads on too, but still....it is not on. The lead restriction wasn't there because of other dogs but because of the wild life.
Other that little irritation, place was LOVELY and we had good time....

 

[Finsky]

And since I made an effort to drag my camera with us, I will force upon to you some of the 'album' (no wonder we don't have many visitors to our house...)

 

[JudyN]

Oh, that looks like a lovely walk - what sort of bird is that?

Lots of lead restrictions (between sometime in spring I've forgotten and the end of July) have popped up round here this year. They're mostly places a short drive away and we're avoiding the car now, but a friend tells me that on one of the heaths they're mostly ignored, and dog walkers have almost abandoned another area.

I'm in two minds. I'm all for protecting wildlife, but we have had such wonderful walks in the wilder areas of the heath, both Jasper and me in our element, it feels so wrong to take it away from us and from other dogs - a lead walk simply isn't the same. And yes, occasionally a ground-nesting bird might become a victim, but just think of all the damage to the environment caused by new roads, housing estates, shopping centres... And don't get me started on the goverment's new biodiversity algorithm

Long walks in nature strike me as something that should be encouraged, and it's possible more ground-level nests are destroyed by the cattle that graze there than dogs. I'd really like to see some stats on just what the impact of dogs is.

But anyway... I don't know what I'd do if we still had those sort of walks so in a way I'm glad I don't have to come down firmly on either side of the fence. We do occasionally walk on a bit of heathland affected and I did keep J on lead until the restrictions ended, but it's only been in the last year we've let him off there anyway because there's so many deer.

 

[RGC]

Oh, that looks like a lovely walk - what sort of bird is that?

It’s a duck.