Ludo, Ludwig van Doggy

A trying walkies

2012-01-22T21:07:00.001Z

For Mum anyways!
Last week we had a nice sunny Saturday and as usual TNP said to Mum 'Where do you want to go?' Mum doesn't really like making decisions and TNP doesn't like Mum not making them so eventually she said somewhere new and somewhere woody. We went somewhere near Wastwater lake. It started off very nice...

And just a little bit of a climb, but it be nice and sunny and pretty views and good sniffings for me. Early on we could choose between two forks in the road. Mum said 'let's follow the sun' and chose the high path. At the top we got to a stile what TNP had to carry me over and then we walked through some fields which would normally have cows in. Mum never likes these kind of fields cos they doesn't have a proper laid out path and TNP usually leads us along the cow's paths which Mum grumbles about a lot and gets left behind. She says the cows leave it all wet and muddy and make lots of holes so you can't tell where to put your feet cos the grass grows over the holes and it hurts her little leggies plus she says she casnot look at the pretty view cos she has to look at the ground all the time. I has four paw drive so I don't mind at all! Although I do mind her being so slow!

On this particular walk the frost still be on the ground and so the mud be nice and crunchy and not sinky and so Mum felt quite happy. Until we started going down hill and there more water and so it got pretty slippy. Mum put her foot on a thawed out boggy bit which sucked her shoe in and and then felt pretty unhappy when her foot got all wet and it just got worse (for her) from there. Her legs started getting tired from walking on the uneven ground and she hit a slippy bit and fell on her bum.

After her trip Mum photographed the 'so-called-path' and blamed TNP for it's existence. As you can see, I not in the piccure, I thought it best to stay out of a hysterical Mum's way.

Then it just got worse! Mum's nerves got a bit frayed, TNP kept looking at his map and trying to show Mum that they were going the right way and then she fell over again and dipped her camera in a mud puddle. TNP tooked it after that cos Mum started doing her scary cry/laughing and TNP got a bit distressed. He and me not like it when Mum not happy. You know she a 'Southern Softie' really not a tough northerner who beed doing walks and climbings and sporty things all her life. Anyway she only fell over one more time after that but both peoples felt pretty miserable until we spied a gate and the 'real path' back again. I love going through gates so it made me pretty happy too! Doesn't be worried about Mum though, she didn't get hurt cos she was going down hill and just fell backwards each time. TNP tried to hold her hand on some bits but Mum likes to be a scaredy-people and choose her own 'safe' looking bits to step on.

After that it got better and Mum felt a bit braver and cheered up.

A bit deeper in the woods we came across a shooting party. It be pretty exciting to me, loud bangs and men and dogs (I spotted Labradogs, springy spaniels, and some german pointers). They was all running around happy doing their jobs, some ignored me and a couple said hello, but they all wanted to find some birds! Hunting a pretty popular sport up here and it makes Mum upset because she a weirdo vegetarian (I know, right?! she gives really rubbish left overs) the hunters buy lots of baby chick pheasants and put them in the woods and feed them and then come out and shoot them all. But she says at least they do get eaten and get to live naturalish lives, better than poor battery hens.

We carried on walking until TNP's may pointed out a ford, not a car, but water going across the path. TNP skipped over some stones...

Mum didn't thing that seemed like a good idea, so she walked along the stream a bit and found a little log bridge thing. She felt very proud of herself for getting across on her own steam. Of course, I just walked right through.

To end the walk on a happy ending, just as we left the woods, 3 pheasants went strolling past us way higher than the shooting party. Go Pheasants! (I doesn't like pheasant, or else I might be saying something different, hehe!)

And now lastly, For True colours... (sorry it not a thursday) Celestial blue and primrose yellow!

Oh, and me, going home.

With some of the woods in my tail for keepsakes.

~lickies, Ludo (The adventurer!)

Adventure Sheltie!

2012-01-18T21:34:00.003Z

Here be my entry for Mango Minster 2012.
When I seed the categories for this year I just knew right away which one I should enter. No more Mum putting me with those bad sports.

I an adventure dog!
Being a bit of a scaredy cat sheltie makes pretty much everything into an adventure. Right from leaving my puppy home I got confronted with strange creatures...

Weird little dogs who I wasn't allowed to chase or play bitey face with and who were prone to box my face and steal my attentions!

Then comes all the socialising stuff like meeting scary childrens!

Bringing the smack down on my pal Sally!

And going to things with my pawrents, like going to new places, staying in hotels and going to town festivals.

Getting my piccure taken with celebrity chefs!

I love discovering new places and doing new things, like learning to swim and finding undiscovered types of animals and exploring strange new worlds! Every day an adventure for a shetland rabbit dog like me!

I is a good adventure dogs because even though I might be a bit scared (like if there a strange looking shape or a scary plastic bag in my way) I will face my fears and tackle any challenge and I still like to boldly go where no Ludo has beed before!

Look how brave little me was!

~lickies, Ludo!

My Week this week

2012-01-13T13:37:00.001Z

Mum took my cards down. They took up two whole doors. We keep them safe till next year then Mum cuts them up for decorations.

~lickies, Ludo

Now I has to wait a whole 'nother year

2012-01-05T20:30:00.000Z

I DID have a pawsome Crisp mas though. I got to spend half at TNP's house and Half at grandpawents house and only a teensy bit at my house. I feel like I has beed very busy, Mum says I has only been to some of TNP's family's houses and so it not really that busy, but for a sensitive little sheltie boy like me it can all be pretty overwhelming. Mum went out Crisp mas shopping just before Crisp mas and look what our local town had.

Girl Rudolphs!

On Crisp mas morning Me and Mum woke up at TNP's we opened our first presents in bed then went round to Grandpawents, not so early this time, since Mum has a different job now and didn't has to go to work. Mum cooked and Grandpaw and TNP gave me lots of leftovers. Mum thinks they gave me a poorly tummy later that night but we wont remind her about that! Then TNP went to his own Pawrents and we got to open our presents!

We did lots of visiting with TNP's family. Mum said she be very proud of me when we went visiting, I did very good and got to be the centre of attentions, just how I like, because TNP's family has never had dogs so I is very interesting to them. I know his Mum and Auntie very well and sometimes go round there for dinner, but I also met his big scary intruder-like brothers and I couldn't stop eyeing one up and barking when he came in. Mum thinks cos he be tall and stooped over me cos he didn't really know how to approach a scaredy dog like me. I much prefer it if people come up to me gently and let me choose when to go to them and if they don't look right at me. I did get used to him though.

As usual I got tonnes of Crispmas presents, way more than Auntie Penny. She got tired after her first one and went to bed. I lasted a couple more before I snuck away. It very hard for me cos Grandpawents put all the presents in one big pile and then you pick out a present at a time. After I has opened one of mine I want to open everyone elses too! Grandma said she seed nibble marks on some of the presents. You cas not trust that Auntie Penny... hehe!

We didn't get many piccures this year cos Mum's camera got too cold and got condensed on it's lenses! Or something! I gots some video to show soon. I saved some of my presents for the day after Crisp mas and opened them at TNP's so I could show off for his family. My favourite be a nice soft polar bear what says 'honk'. I is keeping it at TNP's in my brand new toy corner.

I get so excited opening my presents! Mum says I is a real pro now, although sometimes I do walk off with the paper and forget about the toy that was inside it.

One day TNP came round grandpawents and they all played dogopoly. Here I be 'helping' Mum. She said I kept moving her money around and not really helping at all. Grandpaw won.

As usual on Crisp mas day the Grandpawents had turkey and all the trimmings and Mum just had the trimmings.

What do you mean, I doesn't get to sit at the table? Again!

Ah well, I hope you all had a wonderful Crisp mas and New Year. My resolution be to nag Mum to get back into the swing of blogging and visiting all my furiends. Mum says it should be to bark less. I thinks I like mine better.

~lickies, Ludo

Nearly here!!

2011-12-22T15:51:00.000Z

Can you hear him?

I has beed practicing doing more good boy things, like sitting by our tree at TNP's house. Me and Mum didn't get one for our place this year.

Here Auntie Penny and Grandpawents waiting patiently too.

Faline tried to help Mum wrap the presents, but mostly Mum said she just hindered.

I sure know when to keep out of the way!

In our local town they had some Reindeer, Mum made me pose in front of one. She took some better piccures of them by themselves. But i will show them later.

Hm, you might has to turn your head around to see this, but since Mum got her phone attached to the computer she uploaded a couple of pics from when she and TNP went to Morecambe a couple weeks ago. They stayed at an Art Deco hotel called the Midland and Mum really liked it.

Ok, I is off to wait For Santa Paws!!

I hope yous all has a most wonderful and pawsome Crisp mas, you so know I will!!

~lickies, Ludo

In that tree..

2011-12-09T17:28:00.001Z

There a Crisp mas present for me. Mum took it out and showed it to me when she picked me up from grandpawents after work. I want it now!!

Give me my crisp mas present!

You casnot see it in this piccure but you can see Auntie Penny's head, she wants her present too but only if there food inside it. She a bit obsessed with food at the moment She do naughty begging what you not really allowed to do but she get away with it cos of her being soo old. Not fair really. I is grey already so I should get away with everything because I is much greyer than her.

Mum wanted me to show you the pretty dolls house (not finished yet) with it's tinsel on. Do you think Santa paws will notice if I pull it off to get back at her for tormenting me by not giving me my present? I almost got my teeths on it too!

~lickies, Ludo.

Mistletoe and wine... !

2011-12-07T20:11:00.001Z

Mum be going round singing that song and you know what that mean... It nearly Crisp mas time! A time for lots of exciting happenings and Crisp mas presents for me, Ludo! Ruffruffruff!

Mum says that I cannot have either of those things in the song cos they is poison and also for growed up peoples only and not growed up doggies cos of the poison I guess. I will believe her cos I remember about the chocklit and the vet!

I had a very good weekend with TNP and we didn't even fall out although he told Mum that we nearly did cos I wouldn't stop barking when he put his socks on, but I know TNP loves me barking.

Me and Mum had a quiet week, just hasing cuddles and lickies and getting ready for Crisp mas stuff.

Here I is getting my cards ready to send out in the DWB card exchange. We can only post some cos we got behind and they wont get there for crisp mas anymore and also most of you is in the US and it costs quite a lot per stamp, but I will get my E cards sent out soon. I also got my advent calendar and I is on day 7 now. It has carob drops in it. You can see Molly and Faline sneaking back into their room in the background.

Speaking of THOSE two...

They is being mean old bullies. Mum has been pretty busy with a couple of things called commissions which means she be making little mini dogs or whatever for people and we don't go to TNP's very much and she do that in the rabbit dog room.

See how they wont let poor little me in there. Mum says I look really pathetic with my chewed up swan trying to get them to pay attentions to me. But I thinks I look all mean and scary. But they is telepathing me mean things about telling Santa paws I has been naughty. Honest!

Last weekend Mum and Grandpawents went to a Dolls house Fair for Mum's crisp mas present from them. They also helped take some gerbils to their new home for a rescue organisation. You can see one down there. I did not get to meet them though. Pawsonally I would rather have treats and stuffies for crisp mas.

Mum seed lots of cool stuff, she said and got some things for her new house, that you can read about on her blog. So I is getting double neglected for mini things and then to top it all off Mum and TNP went away this weekend and I had to stay and Grandpawents!

They went to see a person called Chris Packham who a wildlife photographer. Mum got the tickets ages ago for TNP's birthday, they went to Morecambe where I used to live when I be a baby. They stayed in a hotel that Mum always wanted to stay in when we lived there.

More about that later!

So, that my Crisp mas preparations. I hopes you is all enjoying yours!

~lickies, Ludo

Just being good

2011-11-25T19:19:00.001Z

Hurro!

I hasn't really done very much at all lately. I has just been practicing being good. Stella might say maybe Bertie should try that sometime.

When Mum gets home from work and picks me up from Grandpawents sometimes we go get my food and feed the rabbitdogs and then we go to Richard and sometimes we just stay at our house. Either way whilst I wait for my food I like to sit on my mat in the kitchen and patiently wait for my dinner. It best to patiently wait right by your bowl, and if it seems to be taking too long it sometimes a good idea to go give Mum a nudge and also, when you hear the microwave ping I understand it very patient to whine and bark obnoxiously just to remind Mum that it pinged. (I gets raw food so Mum defrosts it in the microwave for me).

Being a good boy

Mum says I must be an especially good boy this weekend because she be going away without me, and she taking Grandpawents with her. 'But Ludo' I hears you say, where ever will you go? Will you be home alone, pawty in the bunny room?

...

I is going to be staying with TNP!! Without Mum! We will have a boys weekend in. Everypup's invited, TNP loves dogs and even though he has never looked after one on his own afore I is sure he will enjoy the company if a zillion bloggers turn up.

(Mum says cross your paws for him!)

~ Lonewolf Lickies, Ludo.

pee ess: Mum says I must say thank you for all the suggestions. We is still stumped but I is having a good patch at the moment. We think I might be doomed to a life of sporadic steroids as Gail said happened for Hamish as that's what the vet always gives me. But Mum still wants to test for auto immune diseases. We will wait and see for now and if things flare up again we will seek a second opinion.

pee pee ess: Humph! You know who you is!

results and an Autumn walk

2011-11-07T22:19:00.000Z

So my blood stealing results has come back and they is negative. I's not lergics unless I got a false negative so that a complete waste of my blood. Mum waiting for our proper vet to get back to us to find out where we go from here. Maybe one of my furiends might has an idea? We doesn't know if these things go together or not! I has been getting sore skin on my ears, and mouth and red around my eyes on and off for about 6 months, but I also want to lick my paw a whole lot (just one) and I is more tired and lazy than normal. Also if we go on a long ish walk which I used to do and be raring for more, I get all stiff and achey and after I has got back and lied down I get a limp, not in any particular leg and I don't want to get up or get off of things and on a couple of occassions Mum has picked up one of my legs and made me yelp, or I has tried to get up and yelp, but then I is ok again a while after. Mum is starting to give me fish oil on my food, although I does eat fish in my food, it can't help right?

It very confusing for us all!

Anyways to take my mind off things we went on a lovely sunny autumn day walk to loweswater lake. I met some Clives and there be lots of dogs out cos of it being a nice day. I got to go swimming and found a stick!

I is only allowed to get sticks out of water and not carry them around, peoples is such spoil sports.

Look, Mum seed a love heart!

Afterwards Mum and TNP stopped off at the bakers for some lunch. I got the one in the middle as a special treat. It bacon wrapped in pastry. Yum! I ate mine and then begged TNP for his, but he didn't give me any. I wonder why?

What a great walk!

~ Lickies, Ludo

They stole my blood!

2011-10-25T19:21:00.001+01:00

Do you wants to hear about this newest calamity that has befallen me?
Yesterday I went to the vets cos my eyes and ears and mouths has started to get red again and I is quite bothered about my paw pads so I has to keep on licking them. For some reason this bothers Mum so we go back and forth to the vets and get medicines. Well yesterday Mum decided to put her foot down. Although actually I think it was my feets that decided it. Maybe Claudette spared a moment to whisper in my vets ear about how worried Mum be getting but they agreed to do blood tests to check for any lergics I might have.

Then I got to go home, so that be a relief!

But then, just as Mum be about to go to work this morning Grandpaw pulled up in his car. Great, I thoughts, we is going on a walk. So I got in the car, but Mum shut the door and didn't get in! Oh no! So I jumped through the seats and sat on Grandpaws lap so he had to put me in my doggy bit in the back.

Then I went to the horrible vets and they had to drag me back to that nasty old room where I went when I ate all that chocklit. They stuck a humungous needle in me and sucked out nearly all my blood! And they got some on my furs. I was very good though and didn't bite the vet lady. My blood has to go all the way to America and then we will find out in about a week if I is lergics.

So now I is feeling very sorry for myself and want to bite my leg, but I wont let Mum take my bandage off. I is going round TNP's soon and I know he will feel very sorry for me. I can milk him for treats. Pooorr me!

~lickies, Ludo

On getting old by Auntie Penny

2011-10-07T20:23:00.001+01:00

Hello!
Today is my birthday! I am 14 years old today. I am told that is a lot of years for one little spaniel type girl and so Ludo was forced by Mum 2 to let me talk about being old.

I got a cake and a cookie. I am really too old for toys now and only sometimes will I pick one up now and Ludo usually pinches it from me, so cakes and treats were just fine for me. Of course I had to share my special dog bakery cookie with Ludo and my cake, but I still have cake left for the next few days!!

Really, being old is not so bad! Sure, I do have to go to the vets more, and I don't get to run around off lead any more but I can get away with so many things that would have gotten me told off in my younger days. Like begging for food, or getting on the sofa when I'm all wet or picking up dead seagulls. Now if I ask for pudding after my dinner people say 'oh, let her have it.' I get to sleep for as long as I want and I have lots of comfy cozy beds and when I decide it's bedtime I get the bedroom door opened for me. Ludo is not even allowed in my bedroom. Ludo gets told 'be nice to Penny.' all the time!

Although lots of things have gotten a lot less noisy (sometimes peoples mouths move but the sound doesn't come out any more, it is very strange!) I can still hear when people come to visit ME at the door and I can still jump up and down up and down until they stroke me and then roll over for them to stroke my tummy. I even learnt a new trick this year. I learnt to woowoo for treats. Now I can do about 6 tricks! I am not sure if I have really gotten wiser, but I sure have learnt how to use my big brown eyes and soft velvety ears to good effect.

I may be getting lumps and bumps and grey hairs but I am still beautiful. Everybody tells me I am and calls me Pretty Penny.

I still have a bounce in my body and a spring in my step and I love everybody and everybody loves me. They even love me when I bark when they are not there, or sometimes when I think they are not there but it turns out they were just sitting behind me and I forgot to turn around. I still love to go on my walks and I get just as excited to go as Ludo, only mine are shorter now. I still greet Mum 2 just like I haven't seen her in years and she is my most favourite person in the world even though I see her everyday when she comes to get Ludo. She says it doesn't matter that I greet everyone that way, even if I have just seen them.

My heart is so big and full of love for everyone and everything that the vet people say it is getting very tired. I have been taking tablets for about a year now and I am usually very good about eating them. Sometimes I find it hard to breath and then I go back to the vets and get more tablets and it gets better for a while. They say I should take it easy but you can't take the springer out of the spaniel!

The vets say it may be time for me to go soon. I think that is silly. Where else would I want to go? I have always just been HERE.

Yours, forever,
Not-Auntie Penny,
oops, I mean Auntie Penny. Us old ladies are always gracious.

Hunting Wildlife, with TNP

2011-10-01T19:31:00.001+01:00

Hurro, more from my Hol-ee-day in Scotland up in Argyll.
Now as long time readers will know when me and Mum and TNP goes on holiday we likes to go out hunting for wild life and then TNP tries to shoot them (with his camera). Mum does not really try cos her camera not so good as TNP's and they would just be little blobs, but she official spotter. You has to be very careful when hunting for wildlike and do sneakings around and no barkings or chasings. We especially like to try and find squirrels. Now I know lots of you like to chase squirrels but you is not allowed to chase these ones because they is called 'red' and that makes them special for some reason cos there nor many left in Britain and none down in the south. They look pretty scrawny anyway and always run up trees so really it more fun to just sniff things. I has got very good at squirrel hunting and I do it by just lying down and looking not interested and then I don't get moaned at. Of course I always spot them first.

Mum and TNP was very pleased on this hol-ee-day cos they seed a squirrel on everyday and we even had one come in our garden.

I has more piccures from Mum but I thought I would show you these ones from TNP's camera first cos they make Mum and TNP happy.

First, we stayed in a lovely little cottage with a big garden. It be comfy and cozy and we all liked it a lot. The sofa's is cream coloured so of course Mum said no Ludo's on sofa's. But she went into the kitchen and came back and there I be, snuggled up next to TNP, on the sofa. So that didn't last very long.

See how good I is at posing, I got on this convenient rock in the garden all by myself.

There a bird feeder outside the kitchen window and Mum and TNP liked to look out of it. I didn't mind cos they keeps the food in the kitchen so it a good place to hang out. Although I did get very annoyed at Mum chucking food for the birds outside and not letting me eat it. Even If I doesn't like peanuts.

Here some bird feeder pics. They might not seem like special kinds of animals to some of you who live in more exotic locations than me and see lots of things, but to us in England they is pretty exciting and TNP sounded kind of like he does when he watches football when the Woodpecker flew in and the squirrel came to visit.

Great Tit

They is pretty cute huh and very ascared of peoples, but probably nicer than Faline. He thought all his Crispmasses had come at once Mum said with all the nuts they put out. Even though he kind of black and grey he still a red kind of squirrel, you can tell by his shape and size. Grey ones is bigger.

Mum loves his little hands, which hard to compete with cos I not a rodent and so I has paws and so I is not so cute as squirrels by Mum's standards which not very fair really.

We had some rainy days but then we had some sunny days and we went to a place called Benmore Botanical Gardens. We walked all day long, through woods and plants and big trees and finally at about 5 o'clock we seed a squirrel. By this time I be so tired I had to lie down all the time.

Mum likes this little guy the bestest cos he has a cute face. TNP said something about the light and the wildlife not co-operating. They probably needs some trainings and to go to posing class 101 like us doggies has to.

Here some piccures from Benmore, it very pretty, lots of interesting smells and quite a few doggies. Only I couldn't go off lead. Apart from when Mum let me anyway in the wood bits.

We also went to another gardens called Ardkinglas and seed another squirrel!! I did chase this one a little, just to sniff it. Well, it just instinct. It thought I wanted it's chestnut. But I didn't. It not a patch on a chicken wing! We also seed the tallest tree in Britain there. Mum has piccures of that it even taller than Honey!

After Benmore I got really tired and my legs wouldn't work anymore, I just had to sleep! I sat myself on the sofa in the dining room and after dinner when Mum and TNP went into the living room I wanted to go too, but my leggies were just too tired. So I cried and barked and Mum came through and carried me into my bed in the living room. You just had to know how to work them. I tried them same thing when they went to bed and TNP wanted to get me but Mum said no so I just had to drag myself up the stairs. TNP lifted me onto the bed though. Well, they shouldn't have wored me out looking for squirrels for so long!

At Ardkinglass we also seed this weird little bird. He looked like a mouse running up the tree when Mum spotted him, but he a little bird called a tree creeper.

On one of my wored out nights Mum and TNP went out to dinner at an oyster bar so I got some peace and slept well and almost didn't even wake up when they came back. Mum said they had really nice fresh fish, though she didn't think much of her oyster. They oysters come from here, Loch Fyne and we went down and took some piccures of the sunset.

Now TNP's favourite piccure. This little robin fellow sat and watched us and wondered if we was gonna try and steal his patch! He look different to the American robins huh?

lickies, Ludo

Hol-ee-day teaser!

2011-09-21T20:23:00.001+01:00

I got back from my hol-ee-day and I had a super dooper time as usual! I always has the most bestest times when me and Mum and TNP's is together no matter what we is doing.

We had that hurricane thingy whilst we on hol-ee-day so it rained and winded a bit, but I didn't get scared! I will do some proper posts about it, but I just wanted to check in. Mum really busy at the moment at work and with doing her other work, those little mini things! But I will try and blog and visit very soon. Here a couple of piccures to get you started.

~lickies, Ludo

hm... packing

2011-09-09T20:53:00.000+01:00

Mum seems to be packing her suitcase... and I thinks I did over hear talk about about a hol-ee-day.
And she has got out my backpack that holds all my hol-ee-day things!

How exciting!
See you next week!!

~lickies, Ludo

pee ess: I went to the groomers yesterday, doesn't I look smart. hm, ok, it too dark and you casnot really see it, but believe me, I does look very smart!

My Pawsome Presents!

2011-09-07T23:30:00.000+01:00

A few days ago I got a wonderful surprise from the man post man. Of course I chased him off good cos you can never tell if it that one called 'Bill' or the one who brings nice stuff, so I like to bark really loudly just in case.

Anyways, I got a really great gift box from my pals over at Beans4Biscuits, Sugar the Who, Butter the bean, Hannibal the Moose and Uncle Freddy. These is my prizes for the snooter contest only we already got a really cool prize of sponsoring a rescue rabbit in our name so we really didn't expect this what with our no internets blogging absence and all too.

Inside be great stuff, two cool new stuffies, treats for me and the rabbit-dogs and chews for them too. They really like their stuff so I had to snap my teeths at them a couple of times to show then who be the boss and who gets the bestest stuff. I know not to actually bite them though, I think Mum would go mental!!

See, we is sponsoring Rocky, who look just like Faline. Infact, I could probably swap them over and maybe get two nice siblings, Molly and the Faline-alike and not have to put up with mean old bully bunny Faline. Do you think Mum would notice? No, I doesn't think so either.

Pesky Rabbit-dogs!

Thank you so much Beans 4 biscuits for my wonderful presents!
~Lickies, Ludo
Pee ess, we took some treats round to Auntie Penny too, she liked them.

Blackpool - a strange English place

2011-09-03T20:19:00.000+01:00

Hurro! Guess what!
Nope.... nope.... guess again. Yup, you got it, I gots my internets back. Although I is actually at TNP's house now, but it mean I can keep up with my furiends again.

Now in about the middle of August me Mum and grandpaw went to a dog dancing show in a place called Blackpool, Mum needs to get the piccures of that together properly, but I thought I would show you a bit about Blackpool, cos it quite a strange place.

We stayed over night in a little b&b called The Chesterfield, with very nice people running it, they liked me a lot! As you know I be something of a hotel expert now and this one be pretty good. Our room be up lots of steps so no fun lift, but I does like the steps. It just a little room, but it did us fine. Grandpaw slept on the double bed and Mum had the bunk bed, really she shoulda gone on the top bit and left me the bottom, but you try telling them these things.

We went out for an explore. Blackpool famous for something called the 'pleasure beach' which has fast rides and amusements and general other noisy horrible things for people to do. It also has lots of little hotels and clubs and stuff and a popular holiday destination for people to go for nights out and 'stag' and 'hen' parties, which be what people do to be a bit silly before becoming all serious and married, so a bit strange for a doggy like me. It do have a beach too but no dogs allowed on it!

It also famous for it's horse and carriage rides and the donkey rides on the beach. Mum and Grandpaw felt a bit sorry for the horse trotting up and down up and down. I sure they get to go somewhere nice at the end of the day and maybe they likes hasing a job. But still, plus Mum didn't think it looked too romantic going up and down the busy street. Anyway we had a good walk around then went back to the hotel for a rest then we went out for dinner. Here I is sitting with Grandpaw waiting for our food to come.

Yum! I got some chips and some of Granpaws burger.

Anyways, I did be very good and only barked in the hotel once at a strange noise. We went into the bar and everybody loved me and wanted to stoke me and I did some tricks for them and they clapped. Only Mum wouldn't let me sit on the sofa with her, so I had to sit on the floor!

I liked my trip in Blackpool cos I like doing new things and exploring! Next day we went to the dog show and seed some very clever doggies dancing. Maybe I will get to enter myself next time!

~lickies, Ludo

Gosforth Agriculture Show

2011-08-22T21:28:00.000+01:00

Hurro, yes it me! Ludo! Remember?
hehe! Well I still here and I has lots to report on, like how I went with Mum and Grandpaw to a place called Blackpool and a Dog Dancing show and what TNP bought me back from hol-ee-day and lots of other stuffs, but I only get so long to steal other peoples internets and TNP said I could borrow his and so I decided to post about where we went on Sunday, to Gosforth show.

TNP had some friends staying with him this weekend and I couldn't stay over cos one of them had the lergics but I got to go to the beach with them twice and to the show. They had two small childrens with them and I did not do any barkings or growlings at them, Mum says I is making good progress with children. Mostly I tried to ignore them, although I did make sure to touch their hands every now and then like I has been taught to do to feel safe around strange peoples... and to check if they had any food. They fed me lots! Mum says the T-touch handling work we has been doing in classes has really helped my confidence. All I know is I get treats for letting Tracey touch me in funny ways!

Anyways, you want to hear about the show!

It a thing for farmers and countrysider peoples but us other peoples and dogs can come too. We got there a bit late cos of waiting for the childrens so we missed a lot but it beed very hot anyways so I didn't mind. They has all different categories of things to judge like who can grow the biggest or bestest vegetable and make the yummiest cake and stuff like who has the best sheep. They also had a tractor contest and a proper dog show (, you know, no neutering allowed. A rhodesian ridgeback got best in show) and horse agility contests and other things like dressing up your horse. It had other fun stuff for childrens to do too, all designed to get as much money out of the pawrents as possible Mum says. hehe!

Mum got lots of piccures and I met lots of other doggies.

Including a big collie me!

The childrens had fun!

I picked up lots of dropped food from the floor very quickly before Mum got the mean old leave it in.

I seed lots of animals.

The Sheep at the end pen stamped their feets at me! I's not ascared of you big bully sheeps cos I a shetland rabbit dog!!

Mum liked these ladies.

The pretty girl in the red be quite young and I think her Daddy be very proud of her, he got her to move around for a better piccure.

TNP liked these...

Home after wards in my crate in TNP's van. I still has to get used to it, but I like that I can see Mum and TNP now.

So that be Gosforth show.

- Still Missing you lickies, Ludo

A walk

2011-07-31T13:57:00.000+01:00

Hurro!
Well, I still has no internets, I is round at grandmaws pinching hers, but as you know it takes hours to catch up with blogs when you get behind and Grandmaw wants her computer back. It making Mum glum and we is wondering how effuryone be doing. How big is the collie puppies now? What about Chewie and Denny, do all furs be keeping well and happy and eating good? No attacks from seizure of cancer monsters? It very stressful! Mum trying to think what to do, but we can only get 'pay as you go' internets in our house, we can't take out a contract, so the company doesn't really care about fixing our problem.

TNP has goned on hol-ee-day without me, well, Mum says that, but i don't really believe her so I is looking out for TNP shaped peoples on walks and I will not move until I has made sure it not him.

Before he went we tooked a nice walk, up the beach cliffs to the RSPB nature reserve. I could not see any birds, so I just laid down when we got there. You will has to wait for TNP's piccures to see any actual birds. BOL!

On the way back TNP must have got tired, cos he went for a lie down in the grass. I went with him. Not cos I was tired, but just for moral support. You know..

~Missing you lickies, Ludo!

Lots and lots of steps

2011-07-17T11:42:00.000+01:00

Last sunday me and Mum and TNP went to lake Buttermere again. We had not gone for a nice long walk somewhere in the car for ages so I got very excited and whined a bit in TNP's van.

We got to the lake and I wanted to go go go!

Buttermere

TNP threw a stick into the water for me, but there be quite a lot of peoples around cos of it getting to summer, the tourists has started arriving and TNP doesn't like lots of people being around cos they scares away the birds and things that he likes to photograph.

We seed some steps going up through the woods that didn't have people on so Mum said lets go up there. They looked like they just went up a little bit, but they kept going and going and going and Mum got wored out!

We thought they was never going to end! Luckily TNP much cleverer than Mum and brings a map with him, he looked at it and we found that the steps would have kept going for ages and ages, up to the top of the fell, so we got to the top of the trees and stopped for a rest. Mum not really a hard core walker, she more of a casual stroller, maybe one day we will go back and do the whole thing, but it did make for a pretty view, even half way up.

Me, above Buttermere

We seed some pretty plants on the way up, and lots of sheeps which wander through the undergrowth. I wonder how the farmers find them? They must has some very clever sheep dogs. I doesn't want to chase the sheeps, sometimes if one gets scared and runs in front of me I want to chase it but Mum always uses her mean voice and says 'leave it!'

Cool purple fun guys.

We came back down and walked through the woods, had some sandwiches and then back past the lake for more stick throwing. I had a great time!!

Well, our internets working a little bit better but still not a lot, and then when it does sometimes blogger bees silly and we can't leave comments anyway. Grr! I is reading what I can and trying to keep up.

~lickies, Ludo

A very British Summer Day

2011-07-06T14:14:00.000+01:00

We actually got a bit of summer over here in Cumbria. 3 Whole days of it! I know, amazing! Now it back to wind and rain though. Of course, we took advantage of this rare bit of warm weather by having a barbeque. That were someone cooks food outside and everyone else ques up to eat it.

Me and Mum headed over to TNP's house. Her hands were full so I had to carry my own lead.

Mum sat in the sun and read a book whilst me and TNP watched the tennis Final. After Murray went out Mum didn't care about the tennis anymore. I didn't like her watching it anyway cos she got all tense and stressy at the 'where's the remote'.

Later Grandmaw and Grandpaw and Auntie Penny came round to help us eat the food. I do not think we needed their help, especially Penny's but at least it be more people to get scraps from.

We had a little disposable bbq, TNP's busy fixing his garden so it not looking it's best at the moment he worried about showing it but I said you alls will not mind.

TNP cooked the food very well, it be delicious! I think bbq's is pawfect for dogs because it all about sausages and burgers and chicken and meat meat meat! Of course Mum had a pretend veggie burger and a corn on the cob instead. More for me!

Auntie Penny got so so happy at being included she just bounded around everywhere, I don't think she sat still for one second, she pranced around on his slippy floors and bounded in and out the garden. Auntie Penny did not like when we looked after her when Grandpawents went on holiday, she didn't mind the looking after, but the being left alone when Mum went to work.

Mum did us some kongs, to keep us quiet, I ate them both! Auntie Penny kept jumping up and skidding about and falling over on the slippy floor.

We got lots of bits of bbq!

Mum also did the very British thing of getting sunburned! She so silly!
My internets is still not working, Grandmaw let us borrow her computer for this post. We can get on sometimes to have a quick catch up but then it dies, so I can't really comment to my furiends, I really miss you all!!
~lickies, Ludo

I trained her well!

2011-06-26T12:40:00.001+01:00

Well actually... I guess she trained me, since she 2 years bigger than me... And I like cats!

...

...

BAD FALINE!!

~lickies, Ludo
pee ess: We had the book on the floor for me to practice putting my back legs on it, we still try now and then to teach me to do a handstand, but I just can't get putting both legs up at the same time.
Me and Mum is house and Penny sitting for grandpawents this week, I hope I can get round to visit you all but if not I will be thinking of yous anyway.

Whitehaven Festival

2011-06-19T20:53:00.000+01:00

We is hasing this thing in my local town at the moment called Whitehaven festival. I not really sure what it be, but Mum says it has music at night but it has lots of attractions like a fair ground and a 'continental market' and a 'made in Cumbria market' and things like that and we should go and check it out.

Grandmaw and TNP had to work on the day Mum didn't so we dragged Grandpaw along. They closed off the car parks for the festival so I went on one of these.

Mum said I might get dizzy looking into the over carriage, but I didn't.

It only a short journey but the train be very busy, usually it a very quiet train from my village. Mum picked me up on and off, in case I fell down the gap.

There lots of people but I likes looking around and seeing the others dogs, efurrytime I seed a people with some food I did my best cute face and everyone gived me a little titbit. You could see some dogs were getting so stressy and scared and one black lab had her tail right between her legs, I wanted to say hello but Mum said no and tutted at her owners.

This dog be quite happy though.

Whitehaven be a working harbour which calls itself a 'historic harbour' and George Washington's Grandmother be buried here. All the boats got decorated, they had a best dressed boat contest but I didn't see that, and they had air plains doin' tricks but I couldn't see them and they had these tall ships.

There be some weird people things, like spider childrens climbing up a wall and this robot thingy what made loud music. But the best bit all the free samples from all the stall holders. Only I didn't like some trout pate and I think they mighta got a bit insulted that I spat it out. hehe!

Mum made Grandpaw go in a pretend helicopter.

I think he liked it. Mum says I look a bit stressy in this pic and I guess in a way I did be stressy, but in a happy over stimulated way rather than in a scaredy way. Some dog peoples think that we dogs should avoid all stress, even things that make us all excitable like tennis balls, and Mum does agree when I get too excited about my toys she takes them away because then I start being naughty but Mum thinks it good to expose us to busy bustling situations so that we don't get all scared about them like the scaredy lab did, it nice for us to be able to go to places with our peoples and like Honey says life all about constantly socialising us to all different things, like kids with crisp packets and balloons and robots and loud music and peoples nearly treading on me. The only time I got proper stressed be when a little childrens person with a balloon skipped right into me, we wasn't even in the crowd, we was on a grassy bit whilst Grandpaw looked at some display cars and she tried to steal the balloon hanging on a car, I backed out her way but she ran off and I had to scoot out the way quick! Mum just hates seeing childrens running around without their peoples. Imagine, anything could happen to them and they is annoying. Mum told the little girl off for trying to taking the balloon (in a nice way of course). BOL!

We got a burger too and I ate like half of grandpaws beef burger.

I think smelling it cooking be the longest wait of my life!! I did barkings!

Mum bought some honey roasted nuts from this man (not in piccure) and he asked her to send the photo to him too.

Then, and Mum says this the excitingest bit about the post, I met a celebrity! A very interesting one acoss he a celebrity for cooking foods. See, although the Whitehaven festival has music at night, during the day it about the food, so they had a guest speaker who did cooking demonstrations, which I couldn't go and watch, but he be selling a book, using Cumbrian ingredients (Cumbrian cooks and food makers is very proud of their produce) so we got it signed for TNP. They asked Mum if she wanted a piccure with him, but she said, well actually, I want a piccure with my dog. So he comed out of the shop with his security guard.

Mum nearly chopped me off look, cos she nervous. He shook Grandpaw's hand and said he looked good for his age. BOL! I see that little children person has good taste and be looking at me and not the celebrity. He called Jean Christophe-Novelli. TNP liked his book and he and Mum went and watched his cooking demonstration without me today. Mum said he very funny and made very delicious food!

Then me and Grandpaw and Mum got back on the train, it a lot quieter coming back and we got a seat and I lied down right in the aisle and peoples had to step over me. hehe!

Mum said I did very very good and I let lots of people stroke me and I didn't freak out at all and I ate so much I nearly didn't even need dinner.

~lickies, Ludo

pee ess: Our internets still not working right and Mum getting grumpier and grumpier at it. This post took us like 300 years to do!

What you doing over here?

2011-06-15T20:21:00.000+01:00

You should be over at Honey's awaiting...

To cheer us all on. he he!
http://bighoneydog.com/honeys-blog/

Oh, Mum finally finished a model that she started ages ago and she found a very annoying way to show it's scale off.

Can you believe that! I is not a shelf!
If you want to see more of it you can pop over to Mum's blog. I let her promote it here from time to time. It a sheltie, like me, but not me.
~lickies, Ludo

This and That.

2011-06-12T16:00:00.000+01:00

We just beed going about normal life lately, nothing very exciting happening. Sally still here, but going home monday or tuesday. We has lots of fun and I will miss her but she sure do hamper my practicing for Honey's Dancing with the Doggy Stars!

Yesterday she even had the cheek to chew on my Stag Bar chew.

Um.. Mum, is you gonna let this continue?

But it ok, cos I got some empty food rubbish to lick. I still likes to chew up food packaging, only now I don't steal it and run off and hide, Mum has gived up and just gives it to me now. This one had nougat in it.

Mum bought me and Sally a new toy each, I got a squeaky ball and she got a bear stuffie, really it to stop her destuffing all mine! I wont have any toys left. She likes my ball too though.

So that the this and this the that...

See Sally hiding over there by Mum's legs? She ascared of my sis-fur! Really she scared cos she wants to heard them all up but Sally hates getting told off so tries not to go near them. Of course Faline be Faline and not care and walks all over poor Sally. Literally! Now Mum says I must point out that she would not let most dogs near the rabbits like this but she has knowed Sally for 8 years and is sure of her, especially cos when they first moved here they had a cat called Mitzey who be a very scary little cat (she went to the bridge afore I met her) she completely bossed every dog she met and Mum said when they first got little puppy Auntie Penny Mitzey would scratch her nose whenever she got too close. We have Mitzey to thank for the fact that Auntie Penny would never even think about chasing the rabbits and when Mitzey first met Sally, Sally went to chase her and was so suprised to be met with a bristly hissy scratchy ball of black fur that she hid and she was too scared to even go out of the room to go past Mitzey. Mitzey knew how afraid the dogs were of her and even when strange dogs would come to the house she would saunter right through them and sit in the middle of the room, flicking her tail and staring them out. BOL!

Most dogs would not be able to resist chasing my rabbit-dog siblings, even if they is used to cats because rabbits is prey animals and their instinct be to run away or freeze when they get scared. That the reason why Mum decided to get a puppy (me) instead of an adult dog from a rescue, because the rabbits got here first and they is not used to being cooped up in a cage. From the first day I came I got rewarded for lying down and being calm around them and when I got a bit older I'd also get mean voice if I tried to chase them. Plus it might have helped that Faline boxed at me if I got too close! Sometimes at bedtime I do help Mum herd them up. Although Faline do sometimes ignore me and run back through my legs, and really I is trying to get some of their food anyways. hehe!

See puppies generally want to be friends with efurryone! I used to try and curl up with my cat-bro Pepe all the time and sit with the rabbit-dogs too. Plus I got socialised very young to animals like pigs and chickens and sheeps when we visited old Daddy's parents place.

So all this means I has a very low prey drive and chase instinct, except for a tennis ball!! I can walk right through a field of sheep without even batting an eyelid! Mum doesn't know if that my natural way, or if it be because of the clicker training, or the socialisation or what, but we know Auntie Penny does not chase rabbits but she will chase sheep and Sally doesn't chase sheep but she WANTS to chase cats and rabbits, she just wont cos she knows she shouldn't and she scared of getting scratched.

Look at my good body language! I is turning my head as a calming signal to show my bro-fur Rocky and to prove to Mum that I is not threatening or interested in chasing him. Rocky really liked me and Pepe and we miss him a lot still.

Here me and Faline both begging for treats.

Here puppy me watching my sisfur Mina eat weeds. I tried to eat some too after watching her but they not taste nice.

And ehre me meeting sheeeps for the first time, they stamped at me. After this I decided I had more in common with rabbits and so stopped being a Shetland Sheepdog and became instead a Shetland Rabbit dog.

~lickies, Ludo

Mum and TNP's trip

2011-06-08T21:14:00.000+01:00

Here the piccures from Mum and TNP's trip for his birthday. They went to a very nice little luxury hotel called the Holbeck Ghyll and they didn't even take me. Also I heard that the people in the next door room tooked their dog. Mum says I wouldn't have liked to have gone and been left in the room while they ate dinner, but I think I should have beed the judge of that!

It beed a place just up a hill from lake Windermere, one of our biggest lakes here in the lake district. I has never beed to this one cos Mum says it be too touristy and crowded. Mum said words like pretty and traditional and stuff like that. Pawsonally I think the furnishings looked very comfy for a little dog to rest his head... hm.

They went mostly cos TNP really likes his food. I think he learned that from me. He likes to experience 'fine dining' and so he has been to a couple of restaurants which has won a thing called a michelin star, which means they cook very well but also you get good service and a good 'ambience' which different to an ambulance and so not something to worry about. Mum says I would not appreciate the care and time the chefs take to make the food, and she probably right. I doesn't even eat mine cooked most of the time.

Me not being able to go aside I think Mum and TNP had a really nice time. TNP's mouth waters whenever he thinks of the food and Mum had a 'to die for' (literally if we furs ate it hehe) nice chocolate dessert. Mum especially likes the waiter people who is all very nice to you and do things like help you choose your wine and put your napkin in your lap and tell you all about the food on your plate. She say it pretty much like stepping back in time and experiencing what being in the upper class be like when people had servants to tend to their every whim. She should try being a dog for a day huh!

Ok, now for piccures. First, the place. They not really in any order and I think you will be able to tells the ones that TNP tooked to the ones that Mum did. BOL!

The view.

TNP in the bedroom

From the bedroom window.

An interesting American at dinner. He be asking about lambs.

One of the lounges

The cheek!

The hotel grounds

More inside the hotel

Can you believe that sneaky cat! Mum and TNP went after work so had to get in their room and get ready for dinner quick. You is not allowed to wear jeans or t-shirts or trainers, so I suprised they let them in. hehe! You sit in one lounge to order your food and have canape's and a drink, then you go through for dinner and then you go to a different lounge for coffee or tea and some petit fours. Mum just loves looking at all the little details that they took such care over 'back then' like the door handle bits and windows... she also tooked a piccure of in one of the lounges there be drawings of dogs, and they had little plaques saying they was by the 'proprieter' when he be 16. Guess that why it allows dogs huh?

Here some pics of the food, not good piccures, cos Mum just tooked a little camera.

TNP had lots of kinds of mushrooms on his beef dinner and he picked out two baby ones for Mum cos he knows she likes mini things, like the little mini doggies she makes.

Pudding, Mum's favourite!

And the tiny petit fours.

The next day they went round Windermere and met some swans! They also went in a little sweet shop and Mum bought some fudge. I got a little of that.

The drive home! Back to me! They both had a very good time!
~lickies, Ludo

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-07T08:55:00.000+01:00

Can't I come too?

2011-05-31T20:42:00.000+01:00

I learned today that Mum and TNP is going away as a late birthday celebration for TNP. I has it on good authority (I overheard them) that dogs is allowed in the hotel! But, I does not appear to be going. Mum says that the dogs is only allowed in the room of the hotel and not in the restaurant and they really going cos TNP likes super yummy food which he would totally share with me. (fine dining, he says) so there no point in me coming just to stay in the room. HOW RUDE! It makes me mad when Mum starts packing things and not packing me too.

*Sigh*

So I guess I will be stuck at grandpawents with Sally and Auntie Penny.

Oh, but something good did happen. I got a present all the way from Australia. Mum says, actually, it her present from Hsin-Yi, but I got something way better that the plastic disc she got.

I is like Honey in that if I get a new food I has to give it a careful investigation before I eat it. This do embarrass Mum sometimes cos when we go to pet shops and the groomers and vets and stuff like that, people always try to give me treats, I take it and then spit it back out again like I doesn't want it. hehe!
It smelled strange! They called roo treats and Mum says they come from a big hoppy animal called a kangaroo. I wonder if it a bit like a big rabbit? Don't worry, I wont start eating my bro-fur and sis-fur though cos I already eat rabbit as part of my raw diet. It a good food with small light bones, and it one of my favourites so when we can get it from our supplier I get to eat it. But I would never try to eat a rabbit-dog, what lives in a house.

Anyways, after a careful sniff I gave it a go, I liked it! It hard and chewy, like a jerky, so took me a bit to eat, which Mum liked too.

As for Mum's present. She got a DVD of the royal wedding that Honey taped. She has not watched it yet, she be waiting for her day off so she can make a day of it and sit there with a drink and a hat and a little flag like she had planned to do afore the recording over here didn't record. How sad!

So thank you Honey and Hsin-Yi so very much for our pressie!

~lickies, Ludo

Videos of me!

2011-05-27T22:47:00.000+01:00

The bestest kind, of course!
The first one just of me and Sally playing.

These next two is me and Mum doing more practising for Dancing with the Doggy Stars. No editing in these. As I said in my other post, I get super excited pretty easily. You can see the big struggle for me doing the being still bit at the beginning, In Mum's head I is supposed to look asleep and then when the into on the music finishes I jump up. Off camera Mum be moving around all excitedy and I sooo want to jump up and get her right away!! So it a bit boring and doing samey stuff and we go off camera a bit, well Mum the top of me does, so you might not want to watch it, but it do have me in it. So that be good huh? You can see how excited I get too.

Our internet be really shabby at the moment, cos of the bad weather Mum thinks, so we finding it hard to use the internets. We went to Grandpawents the other day to catch up on blogs, we hope it better soon.

Look who here!

2011-05-25T20:43:00.001+01:00

Sally!

She my furiend and we has lots of fun playing together. When Sally's pawrents go on hol-ee-day she comes to us... well, grandpawents, for her own hol-ee-day. She gonna stay with me and Mum at our place sometimes too. Like tonight. Me and Mum and Sally went on the walk across the golf course.

Sally always likes to has something in her mouth and shake it around, but I got it from her sometimes!

The cliffs be eroding quite quickly and you can see in places where there big holes and bits falling away. Soon the walk might go right through the golf course. BOL. Dogs is supposed to be on the lead, but of course me and Sally be super good dogs and doesn't run onto the golf course like some dogs (Auntie Penny).

Sally be 8 years old now and she not the best bred doggy, so she starting to slow down a bit now and needs to lie down every now and then at the end of the walk. I let her go first cos I a big growed up dog so need to keep sniffing everything.
Mum tooked my elephant and carried it so Sally could have a good pant, we rested enough to have a game of catch at the end.

I really like having Sally here, she can play bitey face so much better than Mum or the rabbit dogs!
~lickies, Ludo

Oh, pee ess: It TNP's birthday today. Happy Birthday TNP!

Just watching

2011-05-21T23:04:00.001+01:00

Well... Somefur's got to do it!
~lickies, Ludo

Dancing with the Doggy Stars!

2011-05-17T18:01:00.000+01:00

We is taking part in Honey's competition 'Dancing with the Doggie Stars'. So for tricky t-day we posting about that. It a great idea! We mostly been in the thinking and brushing up on my tricks and heelwork stage, but now Mum has started to do the 'choreography'. Let me tell you she pretty hopeless at this. I doesn't think she gonna remember it all. We gonna follow Honey's tips on putting the tricks together to look like a dance. I really like it. I get a bit too excited and barky sometimes and we has to stop cos Mum said even though it a fun thing I get too stressed and you can practically see the adrenaline bulging out of my eyes! My ears stick up like proper sheltie ears. hehe. So we had to choose a more mellow song that didn't get me too excited because I cas not listen when I is all revved up! So just like with laid back dogs where you has to be super excited with me Mum says I is in a perpetual state of super excitement so she sometimes has to be a bit boring to teach me it good to be calm and focused.

We did a bit of practising of some of the tricks of the routine outside today.

Mum did be talking to me, but you couldn't hear cos of the wind. You can see me not listening, like when we do go around and I decide to spin. Sometimes when we get the clicker out I jump around and try and do about a hundred tricks at once to get the treat! This all seems great but it can be frustrating for Mum especially when I start doing high pitched barking and biting her hand and sometimes she has to close her eyes and count to three. or walk away all together! It more fun for me when I a bit calmer too. Also, I don't really like that bit where I has to go backwards to Mum cos I like to look at her face all the time. That also means I crash into things though.

Sunny (yes really!) Scotland!

2011-05-13T21:24:00.000+01:00

This post got lost with blogger being down over the last couple of days, but I has myself in my google reader and it appeared there so Mum copy/pasted it. Maybe you others who've lost posts can do that too?

Yous may know that Scotland be rather famous for not being sunny. But when we went it did be and we had a lovely time on my Scotland holiday. We got back a few days ago but Mum's beed busy busy since then.

We had a pawtastic time and I did not want to come home at all! We stayed in a great location right inside the Galloway Park Forest which meant we could do lots of cool walks right from our doorstep without hasing to go in the car. So on one day when we did go in the car I ran away and would not go in cos I thought it meant going home time!

We stayed in a place called the Buchan. Right near to a loch called Glentrool and beside a couple of big hills. It be a place where a battle between some English and Scottish people when Scotland be fighting for it's own independence, to be it's own country and not a part of England many many many years ago when the calendar had a 1 for it's first letter and not a two. Probably before Grandpaw be born too! I think.

The Buchan be kind of different because it out of the way so it not have normal sewage and electricity like most places in our country. Instead it gets it's electricity and water from the 'Buchan Burn'. (hydro) When we went it had been sunny for a while so we only really had enough electricity for the lights. Can you imagine my Mum without electricity? BOL. It had a big furnace stove to heat the water, which TNP did not let Mum touch, and it squeaked when you opened the door so he knew when she even tried to have a peek. BOL. They cooked on a normal gas cooker and had a kettle which went weeeeee when it boiled. Mum liked that. Infact Mum liked trying to turn the lights off and using all the candles instead to see around. Mum said it be 'romantic'. It be a very old house and had lots of wildlife, including mice living inside! Mum seed footprints all round the garden and caught a glimpse of a deer but they very sneaky!

We did lots of pawsome walks around the Buchan, up the stream and in the ancient oak woodlands. Once again we sees evidence of people trying to make right things they made wrong in the first place because there be lots of signs up about how they conserving the woodland and trying to make more of it like that rather than the fast growing introduced soft wood species that all got planted some years before. Mum loved the woodlands and said 'if only these trees could talk'. She said it be a writers paradise. And yes, I did find it paradise. hehe!

Mum and TNP went on the hunt for wildlife and seed quite a bit. Mum hasn't got any piccures of them, but TNP might give me some. He be moaning about wanting a better camera now. They had fun adventuring and trying to sneak up on deers who did shoutings at us and I had an excellent time sniffing and climbing and doing lookings at everything! Mum doesn't really like the climby bits, she not very much of an adventurer. But TNP found her a big stick and said she looked like a wizard and she liked using the stick to walk with. Mum and TNP played games at night and drank wine and sat in the conservatory to have dinner and even put together a really big jigsaw puzzle. Mum said it be like paradise, if only you could have a bit more hot water all the time and use the electricity when it hadn't rained. BOL.

Ok, here be the piccures what Mum tooked. Warning. Lots! BOL!

peeess. I got a tick right on my eyelid. Horrid little thing! But the vet got it off for me and I feel fine.

peeeeesss: Mum just whacked me on my head with my clicker!!

p.s. From Mum: We were just practicing some dance moves for Honey and I just accidentally dropped/flung my clikstik out of my hand and it handed on Ludo's head. oops, now he wont go near the clicker. Maybe we wont use a prop...

Sunny (yes, really!) Scotland!

2011-05-12T16:48:00.000+01:00

Yous may know that Scotland be rather famous for not being sunny. But when we went it did be and we had a lovely time on my Scotland holiday. We got back a few days ago but Mum's beed busy busy since then.

We had a pawtastic time and I did not want to come home at all! We stayed in a great location right inside the Galloway Park Forest which meant we could do lots of cool walks right from our doorstep without hasing to go in the car. So on one day when we did go in the car I ran away and would not go in cos I thought it meant going home time!

Happy Wedding Day and Mum be very grumpy

2011-04-29T21:03:00.000+01:00

Hurro efurryone!
As you probably know, we had the Royal Wedding today. Unusually for Mum's age in England Mum be a big huge fan of the royalty, the traditions, the pomp and ceremony, the whole thing. She loves everything. A lot!
Mum had to work today which she didn't be too happy about, she tried to get some live updates on one of the papers blogs but it kept crashing. She watched a bit on her break but Grandma and Grandpaw were under strict instructions to record it ALL on their sky box (we doesn't have one here).

Mum came home from work very grumpy. She said trying to be enthusiastic and happy about something when everyone else be moaning about the money coming out of our taxes etc can be quite draining but I had my dinner and then we went round to grandpawents to watch it all on the chosen channel.

We got to the bit where the Queen arrived and oh no, the recording had stopped and Grandpawents did not notice until after the ceremony had finished. Mum not very happy at all. Now we can only watch highlights which she says totally not the same. So now she grumpy and not talking to anyone, except me of course!

We going on hol-ee-day on tuesday to Scotland again, with TNP. Well, I think so. If Mum starts talking to people sometime soon.

Mum's can be hard work sometimes!!

~lickies, Ludo

Tricky T-day - hop

2011-04-26T23:20:00.000+01:00

Hurro efurryone!
We has not posted or visited for a while cos we has beed enjoying the sunny sunshine here lately!

Here a tricky T-Day for you! I has beed learning hop and we has got to the part where Mum takes her hand away. I kind of want to bite Mum's hand. I use my mouth to get people hands where I want them to be, like stroking me! So cos her hand's not where it should be, by my foot, I wants to put it back there. hehe.

Mum has started with the sniffies and sneezies again. She really loves summer, but summer doesn't love her. Well, the plants at least.

~lickies, Ludo

Pawty - last day!

2011-04-17T22:25:00.000+01:00

Hurro efurryone!
Well, I guess I get left with the clean up, but I had such a pawsome birthday weekend and I feels so big and growed up now I is 3!! Just two more piccures to share with you.

The pawty started getting a bit wild but I couldn't tempt too many of you into the sea, more cocktails Mum?

Ah, one last pic of us lining up to play tug of war, Mitch won, well he does be bigger than me. Look who came to join us too, my TNP! See Morgan, you got to meet him. hehe!

Thanks you all so much for coming to visit me. Sorry I hasn't returned it this week. Back to normal now.

I think your paw prints will be on my beach forever now!

~lickies, Ludo

The Pawty part 2

2011-04-16T19:28:00.000+01:00

Hurro!
Welcome to the second day of my pawty. Most of you has arrived now and boy is I stuffed. Mum ordered some meat platters for us and I think I ate too much!

Anyways, on to the piccures, I hope you's all enjoying yourselves! (don't forget to bigify if you needs to)

Before dinner, whilst I was busy greeting yous all as you got off the boat some of the girls decided to settle down for some drinks. My Diva gal Morgan brought her own parasol, but we don't really get that much sunshine in April. Still, she said she mustn't burn her furs and apparently some other diva's agreed with her!

Morgan was so pleased that Maisie found Star to talk too. Maybe that means we can go off for a romantic walk later? Ah and I do love to see Miss Kylie, looking so beautiful! My two best girls together, what a lucky boy I is! Since I is three now and all growed up I can do more growed up things with them... Like playing bitey face ferociously and frisbee and swimming. ;) Don't worry, Jimmy's around here somewhere. Doesn't Asta look so pretty in her hat too?

Some of you may know that Reilly asked sweet Katie to be his date and she said yes! How exciting, I feel like cupid. They went for a stroll and Ricky chaperoned them to make sure no funny business happened. You know like, 'What do you call a deer with no eyes? No eye deer!' hehehe. Oreo helped too. Oh dog! Reilly must has run across to the shop and got Katie a huge hotdog. He making me look bad in front of Morgan!

Mum got out the food next so everyone gathered around. Of course, we couldn't quite get efurryone in shot!

I snuck into both photos. So I got a double helping. hehe! I is lending Morgan the bag I got from Maggie and Mitch cos it matches her pretty hair clips!

We has got a few late arrivals, so I sent the boat back across the pee for them and they will be here tomorrow. Because Mum doesn't have much time for photo taking we did decide on the rule of only including those who emailed me, but we is still trying to include efurryone so if I missed you out of a photo let me know! You might be in tomorrows already but I want to make sure.

Ok, Mum's set up the pawty games now, I think Tug of war's first! Hurruff!!

~lickies, Ludo

Pee ess: Morgan asked if you is gonna get to meet my grandpawents and TNP! I doesn't think you will all fit in my house, but TNP has asked if he can come tomorrow!

My Birthday Pawty begins!!

2011-04-15T22:50:00.000+01:00

Hurro Efurryone!!

So, I actually turned 3 on the 13th of April, but since Mum beed away celebrating her Nan's 90th birthday we couldn't do my pawty till this weekend. We'll keep going all weekend and I hope we can keep it flowing. Now, onto a couple of piccures to get us started. All day today I waited anxiously at my beach for yous all to arrive. Bertie Only lives in Scotland so didn't have far to come, so we hung out, with our pawty supplies and made a very cool sandcastle!
(Don't forget to click piccures to bigify them.)

Martha and Bailey must have heard about my pawty through Facebook, so of course, they came too!

Then, we spotted the specially commissioned boat coming across the sea. I swam out to greet you all!

Can you see me? Efurryone beed so excited to get to step foot on my beach, off leash! That our Sandcastle didn't fair too well. Poor Bertie doesn't know whether to be happy about being right or to moan about it getting trampled. It can be very confusing being young. BOL!

Now, of course, efurryone got off the boat, but only so many can fit in a piccure at one time.

Ok, Lets get pawtying! More piccures tomorrow once we has done some stuff to show!

Woohoo!!

~lickies, Ludo

pee ess: So mum went away and she thought you might like to see a photo of her Nan.

Tricky T-Day - Hold

2011-04-05T19:35:00.000+01:00

So, tRicky inspired us to try working on holding things. I is usually terribly bad at holding things cos you can't eat treats if you has something in your mouth right? Plus I has a thing about textures, I wont eat something if it feels funny, even if it be delicious! We worked on picking things up at class and giving things into Mum's hand and I got pretty good at it, so we continues at home holding things and turning around and stuff.

I work better with a soft thing, plus we can only train this in short bursts or I get annoyed. Here the video for you. We think the scarf bit might be a good way to teach rolling in a blanket.

~lickies, Ludo

pee ess: Sorry for the quality!

Birthday Invite

2011-04-02T18:05:00.000+01:00

So far my birthday guests is:
Ricky, Katie, Amber-Mae, Stella, Scotty, Casey and Star.

So to remind you!
Here the official
Invite to my 3rd Birthday pawty!
Just email me some photos to ludovanpup@live.co.uk If that don't work, leave a message and Mum will email you! (Hopefully) We gonna have a pawty on my beach! I renting it out for the day and I want you all to come.
It my birthday on the 13th of April and we will be hasing the actual pawty on the 15th cos Mum away visiting her Grandmaw on till the 12th.

Ok, proper post tomorrow. I get to go on a good walk with Mum and TNP and I is gonna go be a demo dog at school. Exciting huh? Wish me luck!
~lickies, Ludo

Still here!

2011-03-30T19:41:00.000+01:00

I still here! Sorry I hasn't been visiting. I think 1 more mark all as read and then we will be back in it. Mum's just been busy getting used to her knew job and working out fitting in doggy stuff and crafty stuff at the same time. Apparently she too stupid to work out her time effectively.
I didn't even get a chance to check my comments! As if!

I did go to the groomers though. They liked me and I be very good for them. Mum told me them I'd be bad so I showed her up real good by being a perfect angel!

~lickies, Ludo

Can't talk... eating

2011-03-25T22:46:00.000Z

Mum got me some venison bones in my food order, they has lots of lovely meat on them! Yum!
Have a happy weekend efurryone!

Shame!

2011-03-21T20:25:00.003Z

This be a post all about shame. I got a sore spot on my chin and I wouldn't stop scratching it so Mum put me in the Cone of Shame. I doesn't like it. I don't care about the cone so much, but I doesn't like not being able to scratch. I has developed cunning ways to get it off like pretending I need new water and whining. This works very well on TNP. Also my scratching has got a 'secondary infection' or so the vet lady says so now I has to take some antibiotics too. Why the cone of shame? Mum says cos I did it to myself and 'shame' means "the painful feeling arising from the consciousness of something dishonorable, improper, ridiculous, etc., done byoneself or another" According to the dictionary anyways.

Ok, now for the rest of the post. This also about shame, by the very definition of the word. Mum believes in positive dog training, not just for trainings. But for life stuff too. So this can often be a bit anti to the theories and practices displayed by one popular dog trainer. Because we value all of our friends a lot Mum avoids posting about it when issues crop up and she tries not to sound mean about him when we see posts on him, because we know that some of you do like him a lot and we would not want to upset or offend anyone. We believe that everyone be entitled to their point of view and there really do be lots of different ways of dealing with something, so we don't disregard any one trainer out of hand and everyone can agree that he has done some good, for some dogs. But we got sent a video on Facebook which someone has compiled showing one particular method that this person uses.

Edit from Mum.

After sleeping on it, I decided to take the video down. When I first saw it I was really shocked, disgusted, dismayed etc. I felt like I had to do something about it! But Ludo's blog is not the place to show this sort of thing. Maybe because I have a sensitive dog I am more affected by these mehhods as I know what harm they would do to MY dog. Maybe every dog is different? I've included a link to the original post on another blog instead.

You can see it here: http://www.dancingdogblog.com/2011/03/cesar-millan-abuse-is-not-a-training-tool/

(The title, well, it's very sensationalist and I don't like that sort of thing, but you can't deny the facts and it's very different, seeing it all compiled like this. I've always found the kick and the choking and pinching etc that are used very unsettling, but it is easy not to realise what is happening when it is a quick second of footage contained within a segment and has someone waffling away over the top of the physicality. I realise that some of the people that go to CM to appear on the show are at their wits end, but I still do not believe that it excuses his type of 'method'. You will see from the video, even if you ignore the very biased way it's put together, that the dogs are often set up and then prodded etc to get a better/more dramatic reaction for the camera. I tried to ignore the kicks and look at the dogs and the setting and looked to see in what way was it necessary? I just can't agree with showmanship meaning more than the well being of the animals.) Yes it's true that a video could be made of all the good things he does (isn't that what the show is?) but I would hope that you could take all the footage of a positive trainer and never be able to make a video of this ilk. It could only be put together because it existed in the first place.

ok, that's my rant over. Sorry for corrupting Ludo's blog with it, but it is an issue I do feel very strongly about.

A nightmare!

2011-03-19T11:19:00.000Z

Maybe if I close my eyes and tap my paws together it'll all just be a dream!
I did enjoy wiping myself on the walls and furniture afterwards though.
Sorry I has not visited this week. I might has to do the mark all as read thingy!
~lickies, Ludo

Mitredale, eskdale - a very big hill

2011-03-12T13:51:00.000Z

These piccures is from my walk last sunday with Mum and TNP and come from TNP's camera! We went to a place called Eskdale and walked on a part called Mitredale. Up a very big hill! As always, click to bigify!

It has a miniature steam train, we seed the train but didn't get a piccure but here it's tracks anyway.

Me and TNP did some posing.

I love going through gates and I rush up to them whenever we come across one!

Come on Mum, nearly at the top!

Ah, we made it!

We found a sheep skeleton, poor thing must have perished during the sold snowy winter. At least it will have beed a bit of food for the wild animals.

Here how I got all muddy. I followed Mum and TNP through the boggy bits and then we went across the stepping stones on this little creek and then I turned around and walked all along it and got all muddy and cool looking!

The forestry commission chopped down a lot of trees! They trying to get rid of some of the fast growing pines etc and get back to having our natural slow growing trees like oak and beech and stuff like that. Peoples always seem to be trying to correct their own mistakes huh?

Next we had to go through some sheep and cow 'farrow' fields where they used to be, cos of the winter and rain they all churned up and muddy, Mum found it hard going! TNP ever so nicely tooked a photo of her. You can bet she said some HBO words at his choice of path. Later we met a farmer waiting to shoot a bird and he said we had gone the wrong way.

We had to go through a farm with some cows and chickens and a Working sheepdog be hiding in a doorway, when I went past he come out and bit me on my neck! No warning or grow or nothing! How rude! These WSD's often has no socialisation with other dogs. Of course I has so much fur it didn't hurt at all, just surprised me. I very good with my calming body language so he didn't keep at me and let us walk on by after Mum shoo'd him.

Ah, home time!

~lickies, Ludo

Be it a bird? Be it a plane?

2011-03-10T08:32:00.000Z

No! It super-Ludo!
On Tuesday it be a thing called Shrove Tuesday. It has lots of different history which you can probably find out about or know about already. But what it mean here that it the start of a thing called lent when traditionally people used to fast for 40 days and 40 nights until easter day! Not eating whilst the sun be up, or maybe that wrong cos that sound very hard to do! So they used to eat pancakes to use up all the rich food stuffs like egg and sugar. Nowadays most modern peoples try and give up something bad for them, like sweets. My grandpawents is trying to give up smoking!

Me and Mum went round to TNP's and made him pancakes.

Yum! They is the type of pancakes like French crepes but a bit thicker. I has never had a crepe though. They peoples eat them traditionally with lemon juice and sugar. I not know why. But Mum also had some chocolate on one.

Ready? Don't blink or you might miss it!

I didn't actually eat that second one. I spat it back out cos Mum said leave it and then just chewed one bit off and left the rest. Those meanies just wanted to try and get a piccure! TNP wants a new even faster camera, even though it super dooper good, me eating a pancake still too fast for it!
~lickies, Ludo
I might not get to visit yous all till next week now because Mum has to get her 'time organised' and she has got behind on her chores with this new job.
pee pee ess: Not that that usually stops her not doing chores but she says we might have guests on saturday so she really needs to do some stuff.

A preview

2011-03-06T16:43:00.000Z

I just got back from a lovely Sunday walk with Mum and TNP! I so need to sleep for a week now, I zorsted! Well, I suppose I can wake up long enough for my Sunday dinner at grandpawents house. Anyways, here a preview for you! How cool do I look?

Mum tooked the office job after all, and the best thing, I now gets to keep her on Sundays the same day TNP has off. Ruff!
~lickies, Ludo

Tricky T-day - closing doors

2011-03-03T21:59:00.000Z

This still a work in progress, we doesn't have the proper cue words in yet and I got a bit confused cos Auntie Penny gets all excited when we go round to grandpawents. But, here me, being helpful.

We started learning this at school. It uses a basic nose touch/target which can be taught pretty easily just by 'capturing' ie, marking (with a click, yes, good boy etc) and rewarding (with a treat) touching your nose to something, a hand or piece of paper for example. When you can do that well progress to a wall and lengthen the amount of touching time before you get a treat. For the other version, get your pawson to hold something which you can tug on and they can reward you for doing that. Best not to start on the door right away cos you want your pawson to be able to feel if you is tugging properly and not just trying to actually play tug!

~lickies, Ludo

pee ess: Don't forget if you wants to come to my pawty in April, get your piccures in to ludovanpup-at-live.co.uk

This my sunshine!

2011-03-02T20:10:00.001Z

How lovely and shiney and warm be the sun? It feel so like spring now! It nice and warm and shiney today so Mum tooked me and Grandma to our local town and we went for a walk through the old ruins of the castle. It be lovely!
Here some piccures. I really very good with strangers now! Mum socialized me really well as a puppy and tooked me into town and shops and all sorts, and I used to be ok, but when I got bigger my sheltieness overrode my upbringing. (Mum says I would be a good study in nature vs. nurture!) Some strangers I ok with but some that want to come up and just throw their hands at your head and tower over you making funny noises, well, I just doesn't like that and it so scary! Mum gets very annoyed and snappy with these people because they sometimes make funny comments like, 'oh he must have been abused!'. But when we went to my new training school they got Mum to do some exercises with as many people as she could on hand touches. I started doing it with grandpawents and TNP and the neighbours and TNP's family and Mum made it really rewarding and fun. So now when a scary stranger comes up to me I touch their hand quick with my nose and move away. I doesn't get so scared then and the stranger doesn't seem to want to touch me afterwards because I said hello first. It must be some weird people thing that if you tries to get away from them they want to touch you even more! I touched lots of hands today and had fun doing it! We even had one lady who came rushing up and Mum quickly said 'he doesn't like being stroked' because it looked like she gonna pounce on me and she had a little childrens with her too, but she grabbed Mum's hand instead and said she had a tri-colour of me and that his Dad had been my colour, she seed it on his pedigree. She thought I might have beed the Dad. BOL!

The town has a thing called a gurning competition every year and this a statue about it.

The childrens from the school made this mosaic.

Here we is, at the park!

Not much left of this castle.

Mum liked this tree, all barren, but with the spring flowers underneath. You'll has to turn your heads sideways to see.

Spring!

Then we went back through town and Mum cruelly made me sit outside the cake shop and wait whilst she got cakes. Although just after she tooked this I got up and came inside and the shop lady gived Mum a mean look. hehehe!

Here I be in Mum's new car!

~lickies, Ludo

Just some news

2011-03-01T09:54:00.000Z

News! I know boring!
So, I went to the vets after all. Mum had to work so Grandpawents tooked me. I got really scared when we got there and needed to do runnings away. Grandma had only put my collar and lead on me and not my harness, so a quick backwards wiggle and I be free! But I couldn't open the door and they caught me. I will has to work on that for next time!

I got some antibiotics and medicines. They think the fluid they used to make me sickie up the chocolate might have caused my stomach to go out of wack. I did eat some fish and rice last night so feel a bit better already!

In other news Mum has got a new job. She had her first day yesterday. It gonna be a proper full time job, not all different hours like now and she wont be able to walk to work, she will have to drive and so I will not see her as much and I not sure what I think about that and it might affect my blogging and definitely Mum's other hobby thing. But Mum says it will be more paper monies for us. On the other hand, as soon as she had finished her first day TNP telled her about a job available in his office. So now Mum a bit confused about what to do! Her heart tells her to take the second, but her head the first!

Last thing now. It my birthday in April. I will be THREE! I gonna have a party to celebrate, so because Mum will be busy she wants to get to work organizing it now so if you want to be involved send your piccure in to my peemail address at ludovanpup-at-live.co.uk

~lickies, Ludo

Not feeling too good

2011-02-27T11:07:00.000Z

I has had a hurty tummy for a couple of days and don't feel myself. I doesn't really want to eat anything, although I have been eating my proper meals a bit. We seed another dog had beed sick in the road and a few days ago Auntie Penny had a sick too. So Mum thinks it be something catching. Last night I wouldn't eat or drink at all. I felt really uncomfy and wouldn't settle all night and got up to be sick at 2.30am. Only Mum thinks it might have beed hungry sick from not eating all day.

Mum made me some cooked chicken and brown pasta today and I ate the chicken, so she feeling better and not rushing me off to the vets just yet!

See, chicken all gone. Plus I is lying on my mat like a good boy, I never do that!
I hope I feel better soon so Mum doesn't drag me off to the vets. Not after the whole chocolate incident!
~lickies, Ludo

Snoozing for Reilly.

2011-02-25T14:32:00.000Z

I doesn't really do sleepings in funny positions or anything like that. I tend to wake up when Mum reaches for the camera too, so the only sleeping piccures we have of me be when I snuggling up to some ofur. So here you go Reilly, me, sleeping! This one from yesterday when Auntie Penny came round.

~lickies, Ludo

Tricky T-day!

2011-02-24T15:40:00.000Z

Time for an update on my barkings! Mum has been putting 'the plan' into action over this last week and listening to tips given here. Today I managed to go out the door without even one barking and with Auntie Penny there too! Today when Mum put her socks on I did not bark and only did a little bit of digging on the bed!

Note from Mum: Some people said 'well, you're a sheltie, of course you are going to bark'. I'm aware that they are barky, but just like we work on nervousness and excitability I'd like to think I can work on barking needlessly. ;) I think we are making progress. The biggest result seems to come from just ignoring any unwanted behavior, which as I'm sure you know is hard when they are so high-pitched, or you're in a hurry to leave. I've been putting my coat and his harness on and then just sitting around the house, he's getting good with that, hardly batting an eyelid now. The perfume part he still goes bonkers at though. TNP wondered why I was wearing perfume and makeup at dog training the other day. lol! I've also stopped indulging his games. When I pick up his harness he play bows and runs off. It's not that he dislikes it, it's that we allowed it to be a fun game, the same I think with the socks, it's fun for him to dig about on the bed and me to chase him off. He's like the kid in the playground that likes to pull your hair. I have adopted a policy of if he does not come calmly to get his lead on it gets put back down, or I stand there stubbornly until he gives up. We did have one set back of barking when I left. He settled down fine, But I forgot something and had to come back in. As I was running late by then I rushed around and he had a mini frenzy as I left again. Ok, back to Ludo.

What a blog hog Mum! OK, for other actual tricky stuff at class we has beed doing a 'tricks' class and last night be our last night. I had lots of fun and we gonna go back and do agility and hopefully our silver good citizen award too. I like my new school a whole lot! We also did some more flyball stuff. I got better at catching the ball and worked up to having the ball in the machine thingy a couple of times. I practiced hitting it and running back to Mum in a straight line and going over some jumps too. It a big shame though, not enough peoples want to do it with us and there no other clubs anywhere near us so we can't do anymore in school just yet.

Here a long and boring video of me doing some freestyle tricks. That where the trainer person not tell you what to do and you decide what tricks to do by yourself. They choose which ones to click though. Sorry for the wonkyness, we still getting the hang of our new camera. The total time gone by be 13 minutes. Can you count how many different tricks I can think of all by myself?

We looking after Penny today. We tooked her to the beach and she has beed very good. Mum got some photos for Reilly's competition but we will save them for next post.

Happy T-day!
~lickies, Ludo

I got presents! And flyball

2011-02-21T22:54:00.000Z

TNP learned his lesson from my last post. hehe! This time he bought me some dried sausages back from skiing. They is really yummy and I loved nosing my head in his back pack to check them out.

And my lovely little man hand bag from Maggie and Mitch arrived. Doesn't I look dashing with it?

Thank you so much you two!

I also got to go to a flyball taster session. We mostly learning how to stomp on the flyball box and not be scared of the noise it make. Then we learned how to catch things. I a bit hit and miss with the ball, but Mum thinks I will get there. We also learned how to give the tennis ball back to Mum and to be calm with it. That not like them doggies I see on tv doing flyball. They maniacs! But Mum and the trainers say I has to learn to be calm and safe first afore I can be all excited about it. We is gonna practice walking over poles at home to learn to lift my feet up properly over the jumps. I think I will like it, but we has to wait and see if enough people want to do it. The downside of living in the country side with lots of nice walks means less people wanting to do modern doggy things and so it kinda hard to find activities to do near by. Lots of people has working gun dogs and do hunting and things like that instead. But obviously WE can not do that on account of Mum's vegetarian thing.

~lickies, Ludo

Valentines with Mum

2011-02-15T21:38:00.001Z

TNP has goned on hol-ee-day again, so I had to take on the very growed up man dog task of keeping her happy on Valentines day. I tooked her for a nice walk on the beach. We actually followed a walk guide from these little maps that TNP left us. We was gonna do a longer one, but it be doing this,

Raining! Mostly all day.
It takes us some time to get out of the house cos Mum being really annoying and not letting me go out until I calm. Sometimes we even has to go out and come right back in again.

The very picture of goodness, right?

Mum didn't bring me a ball, so I made sure I told ehr repeatedly how I felt about that, she did not think that be so romantic and some guy with two dogs annoyed Mum a lot. His dog came barging up to Mum bouncing all over her and was doing that to everyone on the beach. Of course I be barkbarking at Mum to get attentions and the guy says to Mum about me being timid when he tried to pat my head and if I ever got on with any other dogs. Mum said I be barking at her not his dog and bit her tongue about the rest.

Ok, off we go, down the beach. It tooked us longer than the map says cos we had to stop and do trainings.

We is heading for those houses in between the two hilly bits. Come on Mum!

Doing waits and recalls.

What a good boy huh!

Here some of us getting closer to our half way point.

Good sniffings cannot be ignored.

We here!

Now, at about this time Mum started to feel a bit lost and wonder if this right and wish she had tooked the map and not just read it. She knew we had to cross the railway, but did not be sure how to get there. Now if TNP reading this he will be saying 'huh' cos we has walked this route a few times with him. But we usually go across the golfcourse and not the beach. What can you do huh, that just the way Mum's frizzled brain does workings.

But... She figured it out. Across the bridge and past the sign.

Bigify if you wants to read it.

I walked through all thse muddy puddles but I didn't let Mum catch it on camera, casnot give them evidence to use against you, you know.

Then it takes you down a lane and back to my house through the village. We passed a garden with cute mini houses made out of pebbles. Mum be too ascared to take a photo but she will go back one day to get one, she says. We did see along the road where someone had made some words with stones. It say 'he is the way the light the truth, Jesus.

Here some piccures of the village.

Here the old school, TNP went here, when he be a puppy. You might thing it looks cool and British. hehe.

and the church...

Mum tooked a photo of this house to show you the sign. It number 123 and it says yanm tun tethera. This part of an old Cumbrian language for counting sheep. TNP knows it up to 10. Read more here .

Ok, we is nearly finished our walk. I got excited cos I seed TNP's van. I always try and go see him, but mostly he doesn't stop, which means it some imposter TNP and I would do barkings at him! (Note from Mum: TNP drives a white van for his job and sometimes we see him about when we're walking, he usually stops and says hi to Ludo who gets really excited. Thus, Ludo thinks every white van is TNP)

The last field and we is done.

Happy Valentines day Mum!

I hope you liked coming with us on our walk,

~Lickies, Ludo

p.s. Since it Tricky T-day.

Tricky T-day! The Return!

2011-02-08T22:11:00.000Z

For those who is new to my blog, this a feature where you post about what you is learning, you can post on any day that begins with a T. I call it Tricky T-day, but, it not just for tricks. Whatever you do that to do with learning can count too. If you want to be added to my T-day players list so's I can come visit you, then please do drop me a comment. You can take the little image too. (We stopped for a while cos Mum lost her video camera, although you doesn't need one to play)

I is working on lots of tricks at the moment and we is working more on the ones I already know. Things like distance, doing them in different places, doing them for longer. It lots of fun. We also in a tricks class at school at the moment. We learning how to open and close doors, wave, roll-over, bend (bow), be a bear and hold a treat on our nose. Some of them I already knew, so we working on the distance and reliability. It a great class, just three dogs and all positive training! No scary things or doing stuff I doesn't want to! I love it!

At home we working on learning hop (limping) and more rear end awareness stuff, like going backwards in different places. But for now, here a quick trick, which I do when I get in from outdoors.

OK, over to Mum to talk about the boring bits!
Hello everyone. First of all I want to use these t-day posts to address some of Ludo's issues. Mainly Insane Barking. Lots of things make Ludo bark, but mostly, when he gets agitated, or excited. They can go hand in hand.

Ok, the big thing that make Ludo agitated is leaving the house. Whether it is me leaving the house, or Ludo leaving the house. Now, Ludo is fine left alone, quite happy and is nearly always asleep when I come back in. He does not bark when I return. No, it is only safe to bark at outside noises when I am inside the house to protect him from Scary things. However the point when Ludo realises that I might be GOING OUT to the point of actually leaving gets Ludo very Agitated. There are some indicators for Ludo, which to his furry little mind mean it is time to get barky. Socks. Putting on socks is a clear indicator that I am GOING OUT, as is perfume, make up and shoes, also coats. Since these things usually follow each other it results in Ludo getting more and more Agitated! Which results in very loud, shrill barking, general running around, trying to be noticed and other stressy behaviours. Up until the lead gets picked up it could go either way. Possibly I am GOING OUT somewhere fun. Without him. He might get Left Behind! Or, I am going with him, in which case... it is EXCITING!!

I have noticed, when I am going to work I don't get any of this, well, maybe a little when the socks come out. I am theorising two reasons for this. One is that is because I work in a kitchen, I don't wear make-up and perfume, so those triggers of Agitation do not occur. He knows I am going without him, so there is no point barking. Also, I tend to give him his kong when I am going to work, so again, he knows he is staying and that he has to Be Good, in order to get the kong.

I'm going to try doing some clicker training to de-sensitize him to the socks perfume make up thing and try to break my pattern of the order I put them on in. I'll keep you posted. I have also brought a book on TTouch, I'm awaiting it's arrival, but it was recommended we try this by our trainers. In our classes Ludo is excellent, he's a little workaholic. But whenever my eyes drift over to the trainer he begins his Look at Me barking. Not continuous, a yap here and there, those little shelties woo's that make you giggle. We're trying to position Ludo in between my legs with calming touches. He only barks when he is looking at me. Come on Mum we're here to DO stuff.

So, that's what we'll be working on and I dare say it'll be a might more challenging than the tricks!

Feelin' fine!

2011-02-05T10:21:00.000Z

Thanks for your good wishes everyone, I feel fine!

Lets go for a walk Mum!

Hmmm..

Ok... Maybe we'll stay off the beach today!

~lickies, Ludo

They do not lie about chocolate!

2011-02-04T20:05:00.000Z

Ok, so I take it back. Chocolate does be bad! It tastes soo nice though. Especially the dark chocolate expensive, 45% cocoa kind! Yum! But something really awful happens after you is found with a nearly empty box of chocolates, which you got off the dining room table and managed to open.

You get rushed right into the car with Mum and Grandmaw and Mum gets really super super stressed out cos it raining and dark and foggy and it country lanes and scary and she worried about chocolate. Then you get tooked into the vets! Yep, vets! The vets rush you away to a scary room and put a really scary tube down your mouth! I bit my tongue and made it bleed and I yelped and yelped and yelped. Mum said it sounded horrible.

They did something and anyway, I be sick a little, but no chocolate in it. Then the vet brings you back out and starts talking to Mum about heart rates and all this medicine stuffs. Then I be sick! Sick with melted chocolate in it, and blood! I did not want to go anywhere near it! Vet said it be a lot so looks like it all out and I should be ok but Mum has to keep an eye on me. I got to eat vegetable soup and bread when we got home.

My tongue hurts! I drank some water and then splashed it all over the floor.

The end!
~lickies, A rather sheepish Ludo (you can still see some blood in my furs)

Mum's Birthday

2011-02-02T14:55:00.000Z

Mum had her birthday afore her actual birthday. Which a bit silly if you ask me. I had to go stay at Grandpawents again but I not mind cos I got to go for a nice walk through a golf course before she went. TNP tooked Mum to a very nice restaurant and they stayed the night in a nice little village called Cartmel.

Mum said it not the type of place to take doggies, but I got to go in spirit. Mum tooked a little metal me, which she got for Crisp mas. Since it a kind of fancier place than Mum used to and the food all looked very pretty. Like little arts Mum said, and you know Mum like pretty things. So she has some piccures to show. They not very good, cos restaurants like this thing called Ambience, and Mum's camera not like it so much.

First, Cartmel has a funny shaped church. Apparently it the only one in England to has it's middle tower bit at an angle.

This the hotel room. Mum laughed at the welcome letter. She not remember getting married. BOL!

Here little metal me with some wine stuff. Little me gets to drink stuff I not allowed apparently. humph.

Here Mum and Little me!

And... some of the food.

I think I would have liked it there. What a shame only metal me got to go. When they left TNP asked Mum if she had Ludo. BOL. We has converted him to the weird side!

Mum said she had a lovely birthday and was very happy that TNP took her to get spoiled to such a fancy place. She says thank you for her birthday wishes.

~lickies, Ludo

Mum has good taste

2011-01-28T18:16:00.000Z

It Mum's birthday on monday and I got her a present. Well, she paid for it, so I guess she got herself a present.

Here it be.

It a painting of me! Super cool huh?
It done by a nice lady from Mum's rabbit forum she belong to and some of the money goes to help rabbit-dog rescues.

~lickies, Ludo

TNP went to skiing and all I got was this...

2011-01-25T21:20:00.000Z

... Big fat nothing!

I know! I outraged too. Of course, Mum got presents.

Yummy choclit, which Mum says be poison and wont let me have any, which I so know a trick to keep it all to herself. But what that other thing... That look like a Ludo thing, for sure!

Mum says it a 'not yours' but I happen to have heard that TNP said. "You can give it to furball or whatever if you don't want it." But Mum has said "oh no, I want it, it's cute."

Can you see the problem with this? I sure can. So there that 'not yours' that not really a 'not yours' at all but a 'mine'. I so wants it. Even worse Mum has hanged it on the door, just out my reach. Oh sure I could get it if I really tried but you has to be sneaky about these things, especially when some stuffy be turned into a 'not yours' cos if Mum catches you trying too hard to get it she will put on her mean voice and say 'Not Yours'.

Who, me? Try to get that? hehe.

Rumph!
I found out the RSPCA's cruelty number if anyone would like to report her. It 0300 1234 999 that the real number, just so you know...

p.s. Our dog training school has a sign up on the wall to tell off bad owners. It say. "My name is (sic) No, no, Bad dog!! What's yours?" Which means not to tell your dog off obviously, so if I take the stuffy what rightfully mine anyways Mum casnot really tell me off right? School would so be on my side.

Goodbye sweet Misty

2011-01-24T13:41:00.000Z

I is taking this post to say goodbye to my friend Misty. I would really appreciate it if all my furiends who doesn't know her could go and give her Mum Sara and Dad Jeff and bro-fur Oreo some kind words. (click the piccure)

Misty a beautiful girl blue merle like me, only she be a similar age to Auntie Penny and her bro-fur Oreo be just like me. So it kind of makes us think that one day, that will be us. Have a great time Misty.

In the next room...

(I post this poem a lot, but still, Mum loves it.)

http://saralovesdogs.blogspot.com/

More from the beach!

2011-01-20T21:15:00.000Z

If you seed my barky video in the last post you will have looked at me barking at neighbour Dylan. He a black Labrador who live a couple of houses away from me.

I doesn't dislike him. I will give him a sniff, but I wouldn't say we is friends either. We might like each other more if I did not have important things on my mind like getting to the beach and barking at shadows and carrying toys in my mouth.

Anyways, here some piccures of me and Auntie Penny and neighbour Dylan at my beach. Auntie Penny's heart tablets be working well and so Mum let her off lead for a bit to run around with us. She not got any piccures though, she be too busy taking videos.

Auntie Penny had a happy day! Halfway through doing this blog I visited Mango and then The Ao4. I want to respect their wishes and not be sad, but I couldn't just say nothing, so I dedicate this happy post to Amber, cos I know she would have said how handsome I look. Here one just for you.

~lickies, Ludo

Do not believe it!

2011-01-18T21:14:00.000Z

The time to decide which Mango Minster category has arrived and I has had a hard time choosing, so Mum has tooked the decision off my paws. She threatening me with no treats if I doesn't play along but I want all my friends to listen to me first and not believe a word she says. Cos it all lies.

Mum has chosed to enter me in the Bad Sports category! Can you believe it? Practically pawfect, always good and never destroying not-your's me! I would have preferred to go in the Cracker dogs but all them terriers just filled it up. So apparently I a bad sport cos I very selfish. I knows how to bark very 'annoyingly' and I know when to bark to get my own way. I does not like anyone else getting any attentions except for me. If Mum tries to give Penny or the rabbit-dogs attentions I get in there and push them out the way and bark. I is the first in line for any treats and even at school when it be the other dogs turns to do stuff I bark and distract them. The school lady says I use HBO words at Mum. Also when Mum wants some attention from TNP like cuddles or to sit next to him I climb all over Mum then go upside down and kick her out the way. I really like annoying Penny.

Mum says she has compiled evidence. Probably forged and I think she in league with Faline! This video me on a walk. Well, would you not bark if an annoying labrador stole your ball (that my next door but one neighbour Dylan)? Or show off to Auntie Penny that you has a ball, or try to get her to chase you?

I doesn't want anyone else to have my things. My things cover anything that I wants. Even if I just said I didn't want it, if you pick it up I will take it. I very fussy with my food and I will not eat lots of things, but I will take them and put them down on the floor just so no one else gets them. I will not sleep in any dog bed type thing and if I cannot go on the people furnitures I will sulk and lie on the floor. Sometimes right next to my dog bed, just to prove a point. I is usually very good and obedient cos Mum does usually have treats on her, but when TNP's about, or Granpaw takes me for a walk I doesn't listen one bit. In fact I like to play a game with Grandpaw where I wait till he gets real close then I do runnings away. hehehe!

Of course you all heard about my recent... mishap at TNP's (I did a p&p on the carpet) which just so happened after the first time they decided to not let me on the people bed no more. But I still maintain my innocence! That just coincidence!

I has no plans to bribe anyone. Sorry judge! But everything be mine.

oh, and Mum snapped this piccure of my confiscated crisp mas stuffies.

Here a couple of videos of me displaying, trying to get attentions back on to me behaviour. Mum thinks this bad sporty too.

http://ludwigvanpup.blogspot.com/2009/08/mad.html
http://ludwigvanpup.blogspot.com/2008/08/something-amazing.html
oh and Faline says I has to post this piccure of me stealing hay right out of her mouth.

http://ludwigvanpup.blogspot.com/2009/05/frankly-faline.html
http://ludwigvanpup.blogspot.com/2009/04/2-foot-is-mad-at-ludo.html

And here something that exploded itself but I got the blame for. The fact that it beed in my mouth at the time was only cos I tried to stick it back together. But anyway I didn't like it cos Mum made it and it tooked her attentions and meant she ignored me.

Okays, I think that my entry all done. I guess, when I thinks about it there a tiny possibility that I might be a bit of a bad sport. But you wouldn't want me any other way right? Right??

~lickies, Ludo

Stimulating my brains

2011-01-15T18:09:00.000Z

For Crispmas I got this new toy, it like a treat ball or kong, only harder. I has always liked to get food out of things like my kong, or a puppy thing I had which I liked lots. (I on a train in that video)

! I had a tornado, but it beed very easy for me. This Nina Ottoson Dog Casino, be ranked hard. It took me a couple of minutes to figure it out, Mum followed a couple of the steps in the guide but then left me to it. This about the 3rd time I has done it all on my own and it takes me under 5 minutes. Make one really challenging huh Nina? hehe.

Well, it really miserable and windy and rainy here and I sulking cos my TNP has goned away on hol-ee-day for a whole week and I not gonna see him for ages. *sigh*
~lickies, Ludo

Crisp mas at last!

2011-01-13T18:50:00.000Z

Here my Crisp Mas video at long last! It not a very good one, Mum just experimenting with the soft wears at the moment. Quick post from me but I had a furry good Crisp mas and got lots of nice things. Of course, Santa Paws knows how very good I be. No them presents not all be for me, they for the whole family. But I like to help open everyone's!

ok, Me and Mum will get back into proper blogging now. I gonna 'mark all as read' on my google reader or else I'll be here till NEXT Crisp mas and I will come visiting as you all post again.

~lickies, Ludo

Merry New Year!!

2011-01-07T16:33:00.000Z

I hope yous all had a better start than I did! I has beed bored. Bored bored bored bored bored.

Bored.

So over Crisp mas Mum did lots of workings and visitings and stuff like that so I couldn't post about my really cool Crisp mas! Then on the very first day of the New Year Mum caught a flu. I wish she had just gived it back! TNP tooked me for a lovely walk on the Sunnyday, just me and him and Mum come home from work early, crawled into bed and hasn't hardly got up again until now. Mum Said colds and flu's doesn't normally hit her so hard but her immune system must be low from the tooth out or something.

I is lucky I has my nice new presents to play with. I lied with Mum a lot of the bed and we went to grandpawents for food but these last couple of days I has got so fed up I has beed digging the bed and whining and getting Mum to play with me from the bed. She up now and I had my normal walks and we went to the beach so I hope she all better now. Though she still cough coughing.

I has lots of fun Crisp mas stuffs to tell you about soon. Mum has to go back to work this weekend so on Monday I will post again and come visit efurryone. I hopes I did not worry no body!

Here a sneak preview!

Speak soon!
~lickies, Ludo

oh, Pee ess: Mum got a new video camera so we can do tricky T-days again. woohoo!

Very busy Crisp mas eve!

2010-12-24T16:55:00.000Z

I has had a busy Crisp mas eve doing errands with Mum and Grandpaw whilst Grandma and Auntie Penny stayed in and baked a ham.

We had to go to the petshop and get foods for Auntie Penny and the rabbit-dogs and Mum got some last pressies for me and Penny.
Then we had to go to the wine shop. Then we went to a nice restaurant. I has beed here afore with Mum and TNP but never with Grandpaw. I got my own biscuits and some of Mum's chips and soup and then a nice man come over and asked Mum if I could have some beef! Say Yes Mum. She did! I really liked that guy! Mum be a stupid vegetarian so I never get scraps like that. Even though I does get raw meat for dinner nothing beats people food.

Here some piccures from my outing. Not furry good ones as Mum only had her phone.

After I comed back and went for a nice walk with Mum and TNP and then Grandma come round and pinned me down and Mum cut off all my furs around my bum!! After that I so deserve lots of presents tomorrow!! Mum says tomorrow night I is going round to TNP's Dad's house to meet his family cos TNP wants me to go and I must be on my very best behaviour. We'll see. Mum not beed too much fun lately, she went to hospital to have her wisdom tooth out cos it growed the wrong way. I think it took her wisdom too cos she not beed wanting cuddles off me and been saying 'Ludo mind my mouth' all the time.

Okies, I gotta go, we got more busy busy and Mum has to go to work now and tomorrow. Have a pawsome Crispmas efurrybody. YIIPPPPEEEE!
~ Very excited lickies, Ludo!

Who needs presents anyways!

2010-12-18T19:19:00.001Z

I really does not like my under coat being raked out. Who would, it not sound nice do it? Well Mum said my fur so so thick that it getting very knotty. Even in my mane. She beed torturing me so much pulling and making me get ouchies. I make mean faces at the brush and try to bite it, but Mum always says 'no biting!' if Mum does not put me on the table. Mum usually ignores me but if she looks at me and I look at her I stop making mean face and make kissy face.

But Mum managed to snap a piccure of my mean face. Faline says she gonna give this to Santa Paws as evidence about being a bad boy.

I need all my furs cos it just done this again. I really doesn't like it now. I get snow on my feets have have to lie down to bite it off. Although I did get zoomies in it earlier.

I has beed helping Mum with the christmas getting readyings.
Look!
Here I be helping wrap up presents.

I bored helping now, can we play?

I off to TNP's house now with Mum. She says she might leave me behind, last time I stayed overnight I did poos and wees on his carpet, oops. Mum thinks I might have eaten something salty so couldn't hold it. He not beed mad, though I think he worried about his carpet a bit.

~lickies, Ludo

Pee ess from Mum: Don't worry about the mean teeth picture, although it looks very aggressive Ludo is just very expressive with his face and voice. The actual intent to bite is not there and is all aimed at the brush and unfortunately he does need to be brushed.