Blog Post No 5. Keeping myself fit and healthy.

 I am back!

I took a short break from blogging.  

Keeping my foster staff busy and with my birthday celebrations lasting a few days I really didn't have the time to fit everything into my daily schedule.

Here are a few photos from my birthday.

I received lots of presents, my favourite was a new baby hedgehog to add to my large stuffed toy collection.  

I have a whole family of hedgehogs now. I know which one is the Mummy hedgehog because she has pink toes. 

I munched on lots of extra treats and I was also allowed a slightly larger portion of dinner that day. 😋😋

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Anyway as this post is meant to be all about how I keep myself fit and healthy I had better get on with telling you.

Firstly, appearance is of paramount importance. Having a daily brush makes me feel good and I do like receiving the attention. 

I regularly go to the groomers. That's a fun place to go to. 

I am always their only client.... well who would want a Spa day with strangers? 

I like my privacy.

The lovely ladies that,  try to drown me,   bath me are absolutely brilliant. 

I get into their bath and I am soaped all over and  gently massaged. 

It really is a lovely experience even though I may look like a drowned rat...

Until the hairdryer comes out, which floofs me up and then I metamorphosise into a sheep!

Then I receive a lovely brush

I just sit there and let them pamper me.

Fluffy me.

Clipping begins

Then it's time for my nails to be done.

All done.

Handsome me

I am always as good as gold. 

I do think the grooming ladies have a soft spot for me. 😍

The next part of keeping myself nice and trim is being careful with my food. 

I admit I could eat for England but with guidance from my staff I know I eat healthily and the correct amount of good quality food each day. 

I recently had my annual health check at my Vets.

That's another great place to go and meet people who adore me.

I always make sure I am first through their front door.

 Stepping tentatively onto the dreaded scales  I was very happy when my nice vet lady said my weight was perfect even after the extra birthday treats and large portion of birthday dinner I had munched the previous week.

I was declared to be a lovely shape and as fit as a fiddle. 

The nice vet even asked my staff to confirm my age as I was acting more like an 11 month old than an 11 year old!

That proves that taking good care of yourself really works. 

There will always be a spring in my paws.

Even when taking the greatest care of myself,  I can succumb to having periods when I am a little under the weather.

Unfortunately this happened to me last year when a horrid bacteria called Pseudomonas infected my right ear.

After weeks and weeks of trying to get the horrid bacteria  to go away with several courses of different antibiotics, ear drops 4 times a day and multiple visits to my vets I realised there was only one option left for me.

I couldn't live in discomfort indefinitely and keep taking all the pills, so last November  an appointment was made for me to have day surgery and have my right ear canal removed.

My operation was successful and it meant the infection was completely removed and I was free from having a permanent ear ache.

I am fully healed now and looking at me you would never know I ever had the operation.

As I no longer have my right ear canal I am totally deaf in my right ear. 

My left ear works well....

When I want it to.......😈

I can sometimes experience problems locating a sound and apparently do a wonderful impression of a baby owl turning its head round and round trying to locate where a sound is coming from.  

Please note when the word  DINNER is mentioned I have perfect hearing. 

Well that's it from me for today.

I'll be back.

Barney.

 

Happy Birthday to me!

I am so excited.

It's my birthday today.

I have heard there will be lots of extra treats..

I love birthdays.

Got to dash.....presents need to be opened.

Barney 

Blog post No 4. Car journeys.

Hello

It's me again!

Today I am going to tell you all about our car journeys.

I do love a good car ride.

I admit to becoming quite excited.

First thing to do when you go on a car journey is to decide where you want to sit.

My personal choice would be the front seat next to my chauffeur.

Sadly I am not allowed to sit there.

Nothing stops me from trying out all the other seats though before we leave.

Should I sit on the nearside of the car or the offside?

It is important to sit where you feel the most comfortable .

Once we have all decided where we are going to sit and are safely strapped in,  having had several false starts trying to leave the drive because someone has forgotten something, the fun really starts for me.

The journey.

The staff have a voice locked away inside the dashboard of my transport and it tells them which route to take on our journey. It's quite clever really until it gets thoroughly confused because the staff ignore it!

It is quite a posh female voice and is rather pleasant to listen to for the first part of the journey.

After a few miles, when the staff decide they don't want to go on the scenic route she has chosen and would prefer the boring main road route instead, all we hear is ...

Take the next left.

Then turn left and then left again.

Or when she gets fed up with saying that, we have to listen to...

Turn around, turn around.

Even my little Wirey, woolly brain tells me we must be going round in circles at this point!

I do become rather exasperated and enjoy joining in the general mayhem of noise.... with the staff telling the voice inside the dashboard to stop talking. 

When we finally all agree on the route we will be taking, the nice lady inside the dashboard does settle down and snoozes until we have to turn off the road we are on and join a new one.

Then she comes into her own again and repeats absolutely everything.... twice!

And if you get it wrong  there is no stopping her!

Just to make sure my staff actually understand her instructions I add my tuppence worth to the proceedings  and bark out the directions.

This does not appear to go down too well with them.

I am always a little confused as to why we are all sat in the car having an argument with an invisible lady in the dashboard of MY transport..... when it would be so much easier if they just switched her off and picked up the road map that sits on the floor next to me.

But at least I have the chance to have a jolly good bark.

Always happy to join in.

Barney.

 

Blog post No 3. Things I really enjoy doing.

 

Hello again.

A little puzzle for you to enjoy before you start reading my next blog post.

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE.

Did you find it?

~~~~~~~~~~

Now are you sitting comfortably?

Then I will begin.

This week I thought I would tell you what constitutes a fabulous day for me. What makes me very happy and allows me to be a good calm boy.

I really enjoy being part of a family and being allowed to potter about and 'help'.

I am a very respectful boy and never destroy anything so I am always allowed the choice of what I would like to do.

Now the better weather has arrived I love being outside more.

One of my ways of helping is to make sure compost bags aren't blown away and remain neatly folded.

Supervising the staff when they build something new.

Keeping cardboard boxes from being blown away.

      In a standing 

              

And in a lying down position.

Car maintenance

Checking tyre pressures.

Making sure the Terrier Transport is always clean.

Gardening duties include a number of tasks ranging from keeping an eye on their gardening gloves.

(The staff  are always losing them).

To weed control.  Flattening them! 

Supervising hedge cutting

Filling up compost bags with weeds

Riding on the tractor

These are just some of the outdoor activities I thoroughly enjoy.

I also take care of security outside and inside the house.

I am chief parcel opener.

That's after I have thanked the Post person for delivering them.

With the added responsibility of quality control.

Then there are the DIY projects that need to be supervised.

Reminding the staff where my snack cupboard is!

Another important job is ensuring the cushions are perfectly placed on the sofa.

As you can see my talents are varied and I am such a happy boy when I am just allowed to potter and be myself.

I don't need to walk miles every day.

I can't cope with ball play.. throwing a ball to me just makes me over excited.

Pottering about and being with my staff during the day allows me to be a calm and happy boy.

I do like to relax.

My staff are very good and never give me verbal commands.

Being the clever boy I am, if I am allowed to anticipate what may happen next because a command has been given to me, my excitement level can go from 0 - 60 in a matter of seconds.

As a relaxed chap I am able to toddle around, be a very good boy and have happy staff.

I will be back soon.

Barney

Blog post No 2. A typical day.

Hello, it's me again.

 

I have had quite a busy week so have only just managed to sit down to type my next blog post for you to read.

I thought I would start by telling you a little about my housemates.

First and foremost we have the two highly trained members of staff.

Then there are the two canines who also live in the house.

First we have Blake, a house guest,  AKA, the big hairy one.

We don't really get on and to keep the peace we are always either side of the big gate.

Sometimes we may be polite to each other but in general I do like to try and wind Blake up and he answers back with the biggest bark I have ever heard.

So loud sometimes that the china starts clattering around in the kitchen cupboards.

It can be a bit scary but I am told it is all my own fault....

Probably why I seem to have acquired a collection of nicknames.... PEST,  being one of them!

My other canine housemate is Winnie, a Welsh Terrier.

A mature lass, she likes to be the boss and I can confirm she has an amazing set of teeth.

If she could, she would probably show them to me a lot more.  I can wind her up too, quite quickly..... so you can see why I do so much better in my own space, with just my staff as company.

No photos of Winnie. She is refusing to have her photo taken.... something to do with lockdown hair, whatever that means?

A typical day

My days start with a trot around the garden.

Then I stand and patiently wait for the door to be opened so I can come in for my breakfast.

This is never served at the same time everyday, something to do with me being a Bossy Boots and anticipating what is going to happen next. So sometimes I may decide to have a play with my toys or go back to bed for a bit longer.

When the staff sit and have their breakfast I like to sit next to them and help them catch up with their emails and keep up to date with what is happening in the world.

By mid morning I need an energy boost and snacks are served.

I usually take my snack to one of my many beds and have a good munch.

After that I like to go outside,  provided it isn't pouring with rain,  and have a sniff and a trot around.

During the course of the day I enjoy playing with all my stuffed toys.

I have lots of them. I am not a destructive boy and take great care of them.

The only thing is I am not that keen on is clearing  up at the end of the day.

I am asked nicely if I could....

Guess what my reply always is...

I am a nimble boy, practicing my stretching exercises helps me to keep in excellent shape. I do these regularly and now have another nick name.

Frog legs..

So rude!

Afternoon naps are a must for me and then it is usually time for my dinner.

I am an enthusiastic eater and never leave a crumb of food in my bowl.

Evenings are nice and quiet and we all relax, have cuddles and the staff watch TV.

I am a very good boy at night time and allow my staff to sleep for 8 hours every night without disturbing them.  I need them fresh and alert for the next day!

Right that's it from me for now.

I will be back soon and will tell you all about how helpful I am about the house.

Have a grrrrrrrrreat weekend.

Barney.