Spud Woods, Lymn, 5/7/2012

 Cos Mummy's work meant she had to go in (during her 2 weeks holidays) on Friday, Saturday and half of Monday (and Tuesday cos of sickness) and she has to go back in on Saturday, we werent able to go back to Shell Island this week, so after taking a day on Wednesday to do the bees and plant out the sweetcorn, squashes and pumpkins, they decided that Thursday was going to be a trip out to Spud Woods in Lymn.

I was sooo excited I got Daddy up at 6am, and he took me for walkies down on the canal, where I first met Lolla and Pippi, and had a run around as we walked all the way around, then as we got back we met Forest and Megan, so I went round again for another run, I was out for 2 hours, it was great!

The weather forecast was for thunder storms, but it was hot, sunny and very humid, so after doing some shopping in the morning we loaded up the car and went up to Spud Woods for an explore as the oldies had promised and to have some fun!

 

 Mummy and Daddy didnt know where the car park was, so they parked at the Barn Owl Inn (where I met Dallas and Sasha on Sunday), and we walked the short distance to the woods entrance! Spud Woods is a Millenium 'Woods on your doorstep' project and has lots of paths to walk, lots of trees (Oak, Ash, Yew, Birch, Holly, Blackthorn, Rowan) and lots of very tall grass for me to run in! As soon as we were through the gates I was let of my lead and allowed to run around n go exploring!

 Right at the top of the woods is a hidden secret pool, with a small waterfall, its difficult to find and reach, but I had no trouble going for a paddle!

 Coming back towards the entrance there is a bridge, and as we reached it a lovely Great Dane called Daphne came over to say hello! Her Mum and Dad were a bit concerned that she would be too rough for me to play with, but after Mummy explained that I was half Great Dane they relaxed a bit and let us play together!

 We had great fun running around n playing, while Mummy n Daddy talked with Daphne's parents. They thought I was beautiful and could see lots of Danie traits in me, they even thought I may be a full Danie, but as Im not sure how old I am or how big I am going to grow to, no-one will know for sure until I am a bit older!

 I was about 2/3rds the height of Daphne, and about half her weight, but we played nicely together, and only nearly knocked Daphe's Dad and Mum over once!

 

 Daphne's Mum and Dad said how alike our colouring was, they said I was almost a Daphne Mini Me!

 

    We both enjoyed playing in the long grass together, sometimes I looked tiny against Daphne, other times I looked bigger :)

 It was fun, but it was also very hot, so after a good play we decided to rest in the cool long grass together!

 All too soon it was time for Daphne to go, so we said goodbye, and then we went to the Barn Owl for a drink, I has some lovely cool water, but Dad n Mum had some dirty beer, (Mum had shandy cos she was driving)!

 After cooling down and rehydrating Daddy noticed it was almost time for Forest, Lola and Pippi to come onto Spud woods, so we walked back down and waited at the entrance for half an hour, when no-one arrived we walked back to the pub just as Barry and Forest arrived, they had parked in the car park and been for a walk, so were going to have a pint before going home! They did say tho that Lola and Pippi had just arrived on the car park, so if we walked back down we would probably meet them!

 

 So we walked back to the entrance and walked through the woods to the car park entrance, where there was a choice of 6 paths to take, as we didnt know which path Lola had gone down we decided to wait for a bit!

 While we were waiting I found a small hole................

 ................... and decided to make it a bit bigger :)

 Then Lola and Pippi came round the corner and we all had fun together!

I found that changing direction quickly means my ears flap around, Carole and Jean said it was called 'flying ears', so I guess I must have been flying along to get them to fly up like this!

  It was fun running round with Lola, Spud Woods are lovely for walkies, but there are a few horseflies, so Mummy and Daddy have got to get some more insect repellant before they next take me there!

After we finished walking we went back to the Barn Owl Inn, where I had some more water, Mummy and Daddy had something to eat (Hunters Chicken, I got some from them both, chicken in sauce with cheese on it too, I liked it a lot) while I relaxed under the table, they both said I had been very very good and I got some treats and a fuss when we got home, before going straight to sleep and sleeping in this morning till gone 9am!

I am still tired today, so am snoozing on the couch now!

Thanks for reading, I will get Mummy to take some more piccies of me soon, Byee! xxx

Poppy met some real Great Danes - Barn Owl Pub - 1.7.2012

 Being the only weekend day we will have off during our 2 weeks of holidays (split up for me by having to work 3 1/2 days to cover in branch and do the month end tomorrow) we decided to meet up today with Jean and Carole, 2 volunteers from Daneline who homechecked us about 8 weeks ago and with whom we have kept in touch and whom both wanted to meet our Poppy. We had originally planned to go for a walk together in 'Spud Woods', a nearby dog walkers paradise in Lymn, 10 mins from home and next to the Barn Owl pub.

 When Jean and Carole arrived they got the 'kids' out of the car, 2 yr old Dallas (named for any scifi geeks after the Captain of the Nostromo in Alien) and 5 yr old Sasha, whom Poppy ran over to see and immediately became submissive when she saw the size of them both! She soon began to play with Dallas, the pair of them bouncing at each other and her better nature came out, she wasnt intimidated or upset at all, just curious as to the size of Sasha and Dallas. As the weather looked a little 'chancey' it was decided to forgo the walk and retreat to the covered outdoor area for a glass or two of refreshment!

 Jean and Handsome Dallas!

 Sasha resting under the table!

 Yup, definitely under the table!

 Poppy and Dallas, sniffing and saying hello!

 Carole and Dallas

 Kisses,. Poppy has a new boyfriend!

 We had a really good afternoon, the dogs were all well behaved, meeting various other dogs who came to have a relax with their owners and all 3 dogs getting petted by anyone who saw them! Carole and Jean (who have many years of experience with Great Danes) were of the opinion that Poppy is a Great Dane cross Staffordshire Bull Terrier, her stature, some of her nature and the shape of parts of her head convinced them of this, although her paws, tail, ears and chest are all Dane. Given that she had a bite mark on her throat when we got her its possible she was bred for dog fighting, someone trying to breed a bigger version of a Staffy for the fighting ring, but didnt take into account the soft nature of both Danes and Staffies which has evidently come to the fore in Poppy!

 All in all Poppy is currently about 2/3rds the height of the 2 rescued Danies she met today, and about 1/2 the physical size, if she is a Dane Staffy cross, then I guess that makes her a Great Daffy! She has grown 4" and put on over 12lb in the 4 weeks we have had her, which is similar in growth to a 4 to 5 month old Great Dane, but about 3 to 4" shorter, so she could still grow another 4" to 6", or she could stay the size she is currently and just fill out a bit more! She is a lovely sweet natured and loving dog, perhaps not quite the full Great Dane we were looking for, and perhaps not quite so big (although she is still the largest dog on the field in a morning), but a definite character who has become a valued and much loved member of our family. I feel a big brother (or sister) for Poppy (a full rescued Great Dane) would be a great idea, giving a home to another dog who has need of a loving home and providing a playmate for Poppy, but Lee remains to be convinced as yet, but only time will tell!

 Once we got back from the pub (after a bite to eat), we took Poppy down to the field as the weather had brightened up a bit.......

As always, she enjoyed herself running around in Zoomies and bringing smiles to us both!

Poppy's first holidays - Camping on Shell Island June 2012

Mummy and Daddy took me on holiday last week, packing up the cars with lots of things (including my bed n treat box, which were the most important bits) and then driving me to Shell Island in Wales. It was a long way and very wet, but they stopped at a farm shop in Rhug and let me out for a walk, a drink and a nibble on their bacon butties!) Mummy had me in her car, in my seatbelt in the seat behind her, but I couldnt see out properly, so I climbed on top of the tents and lay down so I had a really good view out of the windows!

 

As we came around the mountains towards Harlech it stopped raining, and the sun was trying to come out! Mummy and Daddy chose this spot on top of the hill (where Mummys Blue Mini is parked) and put the tent up, it was strange going into the tent and I wqas a bit unsure at first, but soon was ok with the tent, and we had the whole field to ourselves, with lots of long grass for me to run about in! There were some rocks in the field, and when I first saw one it made me nervous, I barked at it then cautiously approached it, but once I realised it wasnt going to jump n get me I was fine with them :)

After setting up camp we went for a walk, Mummy and Daddy took me down the hill to the 'beach', a wonderful place of great smells, funny land that moves when you walk on it and strange water that tastes funny! I rolled in some smelly seaweed, it was fun!

Then we walked along the rock pool beach until we got to the sandy beach and the sand dunes, where I could have some Zoomies fun!

 This was the view looking south towards Barmouth, 8 miles away along sandy beaches, with the tide out, giving m,e lots of space to run atround!

 And this was the view looking north back towards the rock pool beaches and Snowdonia!

And looking inland it was to see the Sand Dunes, some of the largest in Wales and a huuuuuge playground for me to go zoomies in!

At first I couldnt believe I had all this beach to run around on, so I stuck close to Mummy and Daddy.....

...... but as my confidence grew I started to go Zoomies, running around like the wind! 

Stopping occassionally to check I hadnt gone too far from the folks......

..... and I wasnt sure about getting my paws wet, the water was cool and tasted funny, but I soon got used to it!

And then I was off, ears flapping, tongue lolling about, and running as fast as I could, it was great! I was going too fast for Mummy's camera to catch me, she took 300+ piccies on our holiday (mainly of me cos I is sooo pretty), but a lot of them werent good enough for her cos I was going too fast, so they is blurred or has bits of me out of shot!)

It was really great fun on the beach, my tail was wagging so hard Mummy thought it might wag itself off!

After a while though Daddy decided to take me up to the Sand Dunes and see what I thought of them!

I was just sooooo excited I couldnt stop jumping around!

Then they toook me into the Sand Dunes........... OMG!!!!!!!!!! A playground deisgned just for me to go MEGA ZOOMIES IN!!!!!

I could run full speed, skimming across the tops of the dunes.....

........ I could charge about like a mad dog......... 

.......... I could search for buried treasure (or even better, buried bones!!)...... 

.......... and I could run circles around Mum and Dad!

Going so fast that Mummy's camera couldnt keep up!

Mind you, cornering wasnt so easy on the sand!

But digging was!!!!

And it was definitely BIG FUN!

I got sand on my nose, and ran around looking like some Mad Dog, it was goood!

Stopping occassionally to have a good dig!

Before running some more!

I even got sand on my tongue!

Daddy was amazed at the size of my paw prints, he says they are huuuge, especially when measured against his size 8 boots!

I dont think they are all that big, but they were the biggest paw prints on the beach!

All too soon it was time for tea, so we walked back through the island, stopping at the water taps for me to have a drink!

When we got back to the tent Daddy lit the BBQ outside and the smoke came into the tent and frightened me, so I bolted ut of the tent and ran to the top of the hill and sat down, waiting for Mummy and Daddy. The moved the BBQ away from the tent and had to carry me back down the hill as I was tooo scared to go near it, I dont like the BBQ smells or fire! The brought me into the tent and let me lie down on their bed, with one of them staying with me whilst the other cooked tea on the BBQ, I got my fair share of BBQ food, which was nice.

But I was still scarred and shaking, so Dad let me lie on his belly to comfort me.

Once we had eaten and been for a walk to the toilets I didnt want to come back into the tent, so Mummy had to carry me, she put me in the middle of the airbed on top of the sleeping bags, and then Daddy and Mummy lay either side of me and I felt safer and relaxed a lot and went to sleep. 

Mummy and Daddy also fell asleep, only waking up at 1am when they realised they were cold (as they couldnt get into the sleeping bag as I was on the zip) and that the airbed had deflated, so we were all lay on the floor! They had an uncomfy nights broken sleep, but I slept well and woke up with a waggly tail at 5am!

We all walked up to the toilets and then came back to the tent for breakfast, we all had weetabix, even me! I was fine in the tent until Daddy lit the gas stove to make a brew, which I didnt like, so I bolted out of the door and sat on the hill again, but after Daddy came and fetched me I did come back into the tent without being carried. I was a bit subdued with my tail between my legs in the tent, but as soon as I got outside I was back to normal, with my tails (and back end) waggling away like mad!

 After we had breakfast we went to Barmouth to have a look around, we got there early and most of the shops were still shut, the sun was shining and I got to walk through the town without it being too busy, which I did really well, with lots of new things to smell and see, I pulled a bit on the lead, but it was only cos I was excited at all the new things I was seeing, afterall, I am still only a puppy! I saw lots of new dogs and wanted to rush over and say hello, but cos I was on my lead I couldnt, so I barked to say hello, some of the other dog owners thought this meant I was nasty, but Mummy explained I was still a puppy and they let me come over and say hi, which I did very nicely with a big waggly tail. As a trea (and cos it was getting hot) Mummy bought us all an Ice cream, I got one to myself, it was delicious!

And I soon demolished it! We also had fish n chips from the Harbour chippy, I dont much care for chips, but I do like the fish!

While we were in one of the shops in Barmouth Daddy bought me a tennis ball thrower, and we went into the field at Shell Island to play with it!

I love chasing after the ball, but Im not too keen on giving the ball back!

I would much rather go and lie with it in the long grass........

......... where I can play with it and have a lovely roll!

And then run off with the ball across the field! :)

 

 But I do sometimes bring it back!

Mind you, the best place to sit is on Dad! He is really comfy :)

This was out tent, it is a new one for Mum and Dad, their friends Mark and Craig gave it to them recently to try out (they have another big tent, but this one has a bigger living area and is taller), which is really good!

Yes, Im a Daddy's girl, although Dad says I am a Mummys girl, I think really I am both their girl :)

But Daddy is the comfiest one to sit on!

But he does need a good wash every now and then, which is good cos I like giving washes and slobbery kisses!

 

 As it was such a lovely day and we were back from Barmouth for early afternoon Mum and Dad decided to take me back to the beach with the tennis ball thrower for some more fun!

 

 Because it was out of season, it was really quiet on the beach, so I had lots of room to run around in the sunshine!

 

 Dad threw the ball a long way for me to run and chase.........

 Which I would, although my brakes dont seem to work too well, as I often run right over the ball and have to turn around n come back for it!

 Getting the ball is easy, but its not so easy to get it back from me!!

 But eventually I will bring it back for Dad to throw again!

 Mummy took some lovely silhouette piccies of me near the sea, take a look at these......

 I wasnt too sure about the sea, I went in up to my knees, but that was about as far as I wanted to go!

 Then we went back into the Sand Dunes for some more Zoomies fun!

 I like sliding down the sand dunes!

 

 And I like sitting with my ball, then letting it go and chasing it down the side of a dune!

After all this fun I was tired out, so we went back to the tent and although I was a little timid I came on ok, then slept the night on the bed between Mummy and Daddy, on the fixed airbed, which was lovely and comfy, I even let them get into their sleeping bag that night too!

 Tuesday morning it was raining, so we went to Porthmadoc for the day, walking around the town was fun, but it was very wet, Daddy bought some Toffoc (toffee vodka) and some Penderyn Welsh Whiskey to take home, but he wouldnt share it with me! On the way back we stopped in Harlech for a walk, and a lovely lady in the Art Gallery drew a pen and ink piccy of me, then we went into a cafe and sat down to have something to eat, I was very good, got lots of fusses and even got some bacon, egg and sausage to eat :)

We then went back to Shell Island and as it had stopped raining we went straight to the Beach for a walk!

 It was a bit grey when we got there, but the sun soon came out as the clouds cleared!

 I had plenty of chances to get my ball and have a good run, as you can see from all the piccies Mummy took of me! Cos we had come straight from walking round Porthmadoc and Harlech I still had my seatbelt harness on, which is lovely and comfy, a nice red colour and keeps me safe in the car!

 I had a run back into the Dunes again, running up n down from the Dunes to the beach!

 I like running with my ball in my mouth!

 I also like running and jumping, Mummy says I have built in springs on my feet!

 And I love rolling around.........

 ...... even if it means I get sand everywhere, including on my tongue!

 Sometimes I can even take off, Mummy says I look like Superdog on here!

 As the sun started to come out Daddy threw my ball into the Sand Dunes.....

 ..... but instead of rolling down the big dune for me to chase it got stuck............

 ....... Dad came down the dune and pointed it out for me, but I couldnt see it.......

 .......... so he started to climb up the big dune to get it, and I followed!

 He kept pointing to the ball, but I was more interested in trying to make him slip on the dune!

 Finally Daddy got the ball......

 ..... after climbing halfway up the biggest Sand Dune!

 So then I got my ball n ran up the opposite side n sat down!

 Then waited for him to get down!

 Then, as it was getting hot, we went for a paddle on the beach........

.......  I wasnt sure of the sea at first.........

 ......... it smelt different............

 ......... and kept trying to get me!

 But after a while I took a paddle!

 When we got back to the tent Dad said I smelled of the sea and wet dog, so had to have a bath when we got home!

 On Wednesday it was really raining hard in the motning, so we went for a drive, then in the afternoon it dried up, so we played on the field and went to the Queen Victoria Pub in Llanbedr for our tea! I was allowed in the settle bar and was really good, then we went into the beer garden where I got lots of fusses, then back to Shell Island and a walk at the harbour!

 The tide was all the way out, leaving all the deep soft squishy sand exposed, which was great for me to go Zoomies on!

This was our last night on Shell Island, next morning in the pouring rain Mummy n Daddy got wet taking down the tent and packing up to come home. I travelled in Mummy's Mini, with my head in her lap all the way home!

It was a good holiday, lots of new things for me to experience, and some scarey ones, but I think we all enjoyed it, especially the zoomies, sand dunes, beaches and ICE CREAM!

I hope we can go again next year!