Strange Dog

Dogs, Walks and Hills

2009-03-14T14:52:00.000+01:00

Well I know it's been a while since I last posted anything here at Strange Dog and for that I apologise, but I'm back now and ready with a tale of a certain little dog, walks and hills!

Just lately, now that the weather has become warm again and Spring is definitely upon us, Ronnie and I have taken to walking "up the hill" to get to a higher part of where we live for a better view (for me) and more interesting scents (for him). I might add that when I plan a walk up the hill, Daisy declines the invitation as if she knows where we're going. No strenuous hiking up any steep hills for her!

So its just me and Ron tackling the rather steep hill that takes us up into the lofty places of our town and presents marvellous views down to the sea and up to the mountains behind us. Of course, Ronnie is more intent upon the new scents along the way.

But there's one thing about a small dog when it comes to walking up and down hills and that's they have a low centre of gravity and four wheel drive when compared to the build of us more cumbersome humans! Meaning he can scamper up the hills much faster than I can, so it's a tug of war all the way up there! Mind you, having a small power pack of scrabbling arms and legs to pull you up a steep hill is actually quite useful...

Once at the top, there are plenty of interesting areas to explore and Ronnie enjoys this part of the walk too. The best part for me is that up there is the house that I want, with a huge garden and fantastic views. Its called "Art" which is exactly what it was built for, with a high ceilinged living area set out as a large art studio. Perfect for Janice, who is a fine artist. The garden is perfect for me (I love gardening and growing my own organic food). Its also perfect for the dogs, who would love to be able to run around in there!

The mere fact that this particular property is not for sale is neither here nor there. I can dream can't I? And you never know... one day that house will be mine, I'm convinced of that and I often imagine myself playing with the dogs in the garden while Jan is painting her latest masterpiece in the studio. The law of attraction says when I imagine already having something, the law moves into action to make it happen, so I'm certainly making sure I attract that house to me!

Anyway, back to the walk. When its time to go home, there is that very steep hill to be negotiated once more, only this time its downhill and when you've got a small 4x4 powerplant in front of you, going down is a whole different ballgame! He's only small but he still makes me work hard to stop him pulling me over when he gets a real spurt of scramble power on!

If you saw him you just wouldn't believe that such a small package can pack such a powerful punch of pulling power downhill!

See you next time!

Hot Dog Walks

2008-08-10T13:48:00.000+02:00

My last post with its tongue in cheek look at the virtues or otherwise of buying expensive dog food in Strange Dogs Dinner, I want to look at walking the dogs in the heat of August in Southern Spain!

As you can imagine, daytime temperatures climb fast by mid morning to the low 30s (centigrade) and by midday they're up to almost 40. Well they stay like that for most of the afternoon and don't start to drop until late evening as the sun goes down.

So when do we walk the dogs?

Early in the morning and late in the evening when its still relatively cool!

This is mainly because its not just us poor humans that suffer in the heat, but so do the dogs. For one, the pavements are so hot later in the day that they will burn the pads on your poor dog's feet which is not very nice. Remember that while you may have your feet protected by sandals or whatever, they don't!

For another the air temperature is very hot and dry and both humans and dogs will dehydrate very quickly in the heat of the day. So its always best to avoid the heat of the day and walk the dogs when its cooler. Oh, and never leave your dog in a car during the day - see my article about this at Hot Dogs.

My favourite time is very early in the morning before the sun (and every other person) rises. Its cool, peaceful and very calming walking through semi-dark, deserted streets with Ronnie (Daisy won't get out of her bed so early) and its a good time to just enjoy the solitude.

Who said walking the dog had to be hard work?

Terry Didcott
Strange Dog

Strange Dogs Dinner

2008-07-12T18:45:00.000+02:00

After writing about More Kong Toys for Dogs, in my last post I want to get back to grass roots here and talk about dogs. Not any old dogs in general, but my two in particular.

Ronnie and Daise are the two little Yorkies in question and this is what happens when their dozy owner is not on the ball.

Breakfast time arrives as it does every morning, which is the reason for the title of this post, by the way. We eat first then the dogs get theirs - the proper way to ensure that the humans rank higher in the pack than the dogs. So we have some nice stuff for the little darlings by way of a change as Jan went out and bough some of those expensive little tubs of the same gunk you can get in a tin for a third of the price, but it says on the packet its for small dogs, so that what they're having for their breakfast this morning.

I may have posted on my ways of dealing with fussy dogs that won't eat their food, so this morning was no different. Down went the bowls onto the kitchen floor, along came two inquisitive noses sniffing the delicasies that awaited their hungry bellies.

One sideways glance at the food, then both look up at me in unison as if to say "...and this is?" and they turn around and walk off leaving the food for the ants which will inevitably come in a bout an hour...

Not happy with this, some coaxing is needed and I manage to get Daisy to eat hers. Now this doesn't often happen, as its usually the very strange dog Ronnie who nearly always eats his food, him being not quite pedigree having something to do with it no doubt. But this morning Ronnie watched Daisy eat her food from a safe distance, not moving.

This is the point where I took my eye off the ball...

When I turned back I saw Daisy polishing off Ronnies breakfast too and with a grin and a wave of her behind, she was off to sleep of fthe unexpected feast.

After calling Ronnie a silly boy for letting her eat his food I gave up and was at least thankful that the bowls could be cleaned up before the ants got a whiff of the aroma and came in single file to see what was on offer today.

After settling down with a nice cup of tea (there is still some English left in me, not much, but enough for me to still enjoy drinking tea)... Well Daisy wakes up prematurely from her snooze and bolts for the cat flap onto the balcony where she throws up Ronnies half of breakfast.

Oh nice.

Guess who had to go clean that up? Mmm.

An hour later, I'm back to work on the computer in the home office with Daisy in her usual place in her bed under the desk when up she gets and throws up her half of breakfast at my feet.

Oh Joy.

More cleaning up and this one will not wait!

The moral of the story - if you're of a mind to go and waste money buying those little tubs of dog food for your little darlings, don't bother. They will just reward your kindness with some well placed dog-sick that you will have to clean up so it might as well have been the cheap stuff...

Terry Didcott
Strange Dog

More Kong Toys for Dogs

2008-06-20T13:52:00.001+02:00

In my last post Kong Toys For Dogs, I went through some of the reasons those Kong Toys for Dogs were driving me to distraction with Ronnie the strange dog chasing his Kong all over the room and just not letting up!

Well a week or so has passed by and... ha! If you thought I was going to say that Ronnie was still playing with that damn toy well that would make him some kind of super-dog or the strange dog that never sleeps or even the crazy Yorkshire Terrier strange dog who's so hooked on his Kong dog toy that he forgot to sleep, eat or anything else for over a week!

Ok, that didn't happen and Ronnie did actuall take time off to sleep, as well as all the other things that even strange dogs need to do throughout their hectic daily schedules!

But that doesn't mean he's forgotten his new favourite toy. Oh no!

It has become a bit of a saga we could entitle "Strange Dog Ronnie and Case of the Kong Dog Toys For Small Dogs That Robbed Him of His Sleep" because he still gets the thing out of his toy basket and wants to play non-stop for hours on end! Luckily, right now he's decided to take a nap as even his energetic little frame has to rest sometime. But I can see the cogs turning in his little brain as he builds up new reserves of energy to be expended chasing that crazy Kong dog toy all over the house the second he wakes up!

So I've taken to playing my own little game with him.

While he's been snoozing I stole the Kong dog toy that he was gusrding and hid it under a pile of cushions on the other sofa. I wonder how long it will take him to realise the toy is missing from its last known position, then to sniff it out and find it again!

Well, he can't have all the fun, can he?

Ronnie is such a strange dog, after all!

Terry Didcott
Strange Dog

Kong Toys For Dogs

2008-06-09T20:23:00.000+02:00

Kong toys for dogs are driving me nuts!

Well after the photo shoot of those two with their Summer Haircuts for Strange Dogs in my last post, I thought I'd mention one of the toys that drives Ronnie the strange dog into a frenzy.

Its that little red funny shaped contraption that makes up on of the fascinating range of Kong toys for dogs. This isn't going to be a review or sale pitch or anything, I'll leave that sort of thing to other dog oriented blogs. So really this is just a post that was prompted by a game Ronnie was playing a while ago and it started out as a lot of fun but them became more frustrating as it went on.

You see, Ronnie loves to chase things that you throw for him.

It doesn't matter if its a ball or a soft toy or a chewy stick. If you throw it for him, he'll chase it across the room them bring it back for you to throw again - sometines after a minor tug of war which is all part of the game.

But this game included the Kong dog toy we bought him a while ago. That toy is not a ball as such more like a hollow rubber half rugby ball shaped thing that is practically indestructable. Which is necessary with Ronnie, because he might be small but he's a destructive little terror when it comes to balls and soft toys.

Anyway, the kong came out of the toy basket (yes, we have one of those!) and got duly tossed across the room. Unlike a ball, the Kong dog toy bounces and jumps all over the room in all directions meaning Ronnie was chasing it in all directions. Well that was ok for a while until it started bouncing down the stairs.

Well that was funny for a while because it kept bouncing first down a few steps then up a couple and down a few more etc...

Ronnie was going crazy because he couldn't catch it and Daisy, not to be left out of the game stayed at the top of the stairs and yapped her pretty litlle head off! Well it was pandemonim before too long with Ronnie joining in the barking and Daisy running up and down the stairs to try to catch the Kong dog toy as well! They were making so much racket between them it was nearly a case of calling for the dog rescue people to come and take them away! Only joking!

I joined in and managed to catch it and throw it back up teh stairs again and off the game went once more...

I tell you, if you want to have a lot of fun with your dogs, get one of these things for them. Its the original from the range of Kong toys for dogs and comes in different sizes to siut all sizes of dog. Great fun!

Terry Didcott
Strange Dog

Summer Haircuts for Strange Dogs

2008-05-31T00:27:00.001+02:00

Well with summer on its way, these two scruff bags have been transformed into two competely different looking dogs!

Hard to believe they're Yorkies anymore - in fact Ronnie the strange dog looks more like a miniature Doberman than a Yorkie!

Daisy is embarassed by her new haircut and prefers to peek out at the camera over her fluffy cushion, which she loves to sleep on, except now she prefers to sleep behind it so no one can see her!

Ronnie on the other hand couldn't care two hoots about how he looks, he's just happy to be cool again. Although the lack of fur does make his ears look far too big for his head!

So now he's not only a strange dog by nature, he's also a strange dog to look at, at least until some of that fur grows back again!

Terry Didcott
Strange Dog

Walking The Dogs for Health

2008-04-25T21:54:00.000+02:00

Well its been awhile sice my last post Strange Dog Ronnie, so its kinda hard getting new material together for this blog about a very strange dog, so I'll go off at a bit of a tangent.

I want to talk about walking the dogs not from the standpoint of the strange dog antics of Ronnie while he's out with me on our treks through the urban jungle of southern Spain, bbut more on a healthy note. So its walking the dogs for health, then!

Well, when you think about it, dog owners are rather more healthy in the main than their non dog-owning counterparts simply because the little rascals need their walks! What better form of exercise is there than walking? Not too many, especially for the older humans amongst us.

Sure, when you're in your teens or twenties, you can run, jump, dance, swim, clinb mountains and ride mountain bikes along the city streets, but aas your body ages, those things get harder to do. So walking becomes the main source of exercise, so those of us that do more walking, naturally get more exercise.

And those of us with dogs do more walking (on the whole) than those who don't.

So there. If you want an excuse to walk along the streets or through the park on your own without people thinking you are strange, then get yourself a dog and enjoy not only their comapny and their antics, but also the better health that you will gain from giving them their daily dose of exercise!

That's it for this post - Ronnie will be back soon for more crazy fun from the very strange dog!

Terry Didcott
Strange Dog

Strange Dog Ronnie

2008-01-27T19:52:00.000+01:00

Just so to keep this little blog alive and kicking, here is a short but sweet post about our little friend, Ronnie the strange dog.

Why is he such a strange dog? Who knows...

Ronnie the strange dog is very much still as odd as ever and still gets up to his old weird tricks and antics which makes him one special little guy!

See more of Mr Ronnie, the strange dog over at his very own Squidoo lens at Strange Dog and also see a lot more of him at my main doggy website and blog at For Dogs

Gotta love the little guy!

Terry
Strange Dog

Strange Dog Day

2007-11-29T16:12:00.000+01:00

Strange dog Ronnie the Yorkie cross is still very much around and acting the deranged lunatic at every opportunity.

He's such a strange dog in every sense of the phrase! We often change the route of our regular early morning walk, just to see if he's on the ball and knows where he's going. Oh, yes, he certainly does!

No matter how I try to trick him into thinking he's going along a different road, he'll find some familiar smell even if we haven't passed that way for a few weeks!

But his greatest feats of foolishness come as we pass the homes of other dogs.

Small ones are no problem, but big dogs with even bigger barks get the poor little chap all in a fluster and he scrabbles around just wanting to get the hell outta there!

All good fun!

Terry
Strange Dog

Bangs and Crashes

2007-10-07T10:35:00.000+02:00

Fireworks are not for dogs!

Ronnie hates loud bangs, so when the ferria week starts here in Spain, he is not a happy chappy. The fireworks displays that signal the start of ferria week make an almighty noise late in the evening and send the poor devil charging round that house in a fit of terror.

I had him jumping up onto my lap then off then back on again a dozen times or more - he just wouldn't settle until the noise had stopped later on.

Some dogs seem to be able to ignore fireworks, but most are terrified by them, so if you know there is going to be a display in your area, think about your dogs!

Terry
For Dogs

Ronnie Gets a New Ball

2007-09-13T13:53:00.000+02:00

Ok, what's so great about that?

Well, when you're Ronnie, it's a very big deal!

He loves balls and whenever he gets a new one he'll play with it like a lunatic for ages. In fact, it was over two hours ago that he got it and he's only just decided to take a break and have a midday snooze!

But that won't last long because the vacuum cleaner is coming out of it's hiding place and that spells a whole lot of noise, barks and fights with the business end of the thing.

I don't think it's just dogs who hate vacuum cleaners, either. I think it might just be a primordial instinct buried deep inside every male or every species on this planet to loathe the annoying drone of a vacuum cleaner's engine and the aggravating path depicted by its dust-hungry nozzle.
Most men I know will choose the moment that is about to break right here to stop whatever it is they're doing and decide it's the perfect moment to go for a long walk!

To the pub!

Bye....

PS: Ronnie has his lead in his mouth and is standing by the front door with both arms raised and a pleading look on his face - or is that the look of abject terror??? Ok boy, we'll both go to the pub...

He Sleeps As Well?

2007-09-08T10:55:00.001+02:00

What a lazy boy! Ronnie gets some rest and relaxation on a newly turned out bed. On the most comfortable spot no less - on top of all the pillows!

I managed to snap him while he thought he'd gotten away with a craft 40 winks where no one would suspect he'd be. Normally he's not allowed on beds etc, but if he thinks no one is looking, he'll sneak on and get himself comfortable.

Well this time he got caught!

Once the flash went off, he woke up a little dazed and still unaware that he was in a "banned area" until his eyes focused on me glaring down at him. Then the realisation hit him and he practically flew vertically into the air and scarpered out the door!

Cheeky monkey!

Terry

He's Still Here!

2007-08-30T22:15:00.001+02:00

Yep, Ronnie is still here - he never really went away. His blogger just got so busy with other things he neglected Ronnie's blog for a while.

Today Ronnie and Daisy went to the vet to have their annual jabs and they were not happy!

In the small room (for small dogs!), Daisy was up on the table getting her jab and Ronnie was jumping up trying to protect her. He's such a loyal dog!

When it came to his turn to have his jab, he took it well, but Daisy just sniffed around the room totally oblivious to the poor chap up on the table!

When that came home, they were both subdued for the rest of the day, which is probably a normal reaction to a stressful morning.

That's it for now!

He's Back to His Old Self!

2007-04-24T20:35:00.000+02:00

After the drama of Ronnie's jaw ache, you'll all be relieved to know he's back to his old self once again. We never did get to the bottom of why he was down in the dumps with a sore mouth, but I have a theory.

These past few weeks, Ronnie has been going crazy over a gecko he saw in the garden around some pots. Well, every time we opened the back door, he was out there like a shot and rummaging around the pots to try and prise the lizard out. We thought it was funny watching him keep his vigil by the pots and never thought for one second he might actually catch the gecko.

Well, we might have been wrong about that. My theory, although there is no proof, is that Ronnie DID flush the gecko out of its hiding place and as he would have naturally tried to bite it, my guess is the gecko bit back and gave Ronnie such a shock that he wouldn't open his mouth for a few days afterwards.

Well, there was no evidence of damage in his mouth and his teeth are all still where they should be and there was no swelling or anythig else untoward. So my theory might just have a smidgen of truth in it!

Anyway, that's all in the past now and he's his old, playful self again.

Until the next time (or the next gecko!)
Terry

Ronnie Has Jaw Ache!

2007-04-09T21:53:00.000+02:00

Well, it's not really that funny. Poor Ronnie hasn't been his usual self today, in fact he wasn't interested in his food. Nothing too unusual in that - he often has a fussy moment and looks at his full bowl, then looks up at me as if to say, "...and this is?"

So we didn't realise anything was wrong until he tried to pick up one of his toys and yelped. We went through the routine checking of paws and other bits and pieces for lodged burrs, thorns or other strange fur-passengers, but came up with nothing. It was a while before we realised his problem was with his mouth. That was when he got a small sausage as a treat but wouldn't eat it.

Well, not entirely true, he managed to suck it down his throat... there's no stopping an ingenious dog when they're hungry!

Well, I tried to get him to open his mouth so I could see if there was anything stuck between his teeth or maybe he had a cut inside his mouth, but he wouldn't open wide. He wouldn't open at all, in fact. So we are left wondering.

He doesn't seem to be in any pain (except when he tries to open his mouth wide) and there is no blood. The general concensus is he's probably got a piece of chewstick stuck in his teeth. Or maybe he's got toothache (which will mean a trip to the vet tomorrow if it doesn't improve).

Or maybe its just plain old jaw ache from too much playing with toys and barking at the dog next door!!!

Come back again soon for more "Ronnie the Strange Dog Adventures"
Terry

The Squeaky Toy - R.I.P.

2007-04-02T00:24:00.000+02:00

There are good days and there are bad days and there are mediocre days. Today would have been a mediocre day except for one enormous highlight that outshines just about everything else.

That infernal squeaky toy or Ronnie's finally bit the dust! Or to put it more accurately, it was murdered. Done away with in cold blood. Executed. Put to death.

Killed.

Savaged to death by an unmerciful, relentless, determined and thoroughly ruthless little dog. Oh yes, Ronnie has killed the squeaky toy!!!

He's been going at it for ages, squeaking the thing all over the place whenever he managed to get hold of it. But today, the detestable item ceased to squeak. It did a Monty Python Parrot sketch! It is no more.

The squeaky toy is terminated. Deceased. Expired.

It has kicked the bucket. Popped it's cloggs. Snuffed it. Bit the dust. Gone west. Dropped dead. Has ceased to be. Become extinct. Relinquished its grip on life. Given up the ghost. Passed away. Passed on. Gasped its final breath.

The late squeaky toy is now squeakless!

Ronnie had managed to pick open the stitching and got inside at the soft filling, ripped it all out and found the plastic squeaker inside which he extraced with expert dexterity (if a dog can be described as being dexterous!). He then set about chewing the blasted thing into dozens of tiny pieces before scattering the toy's filling all over the sofa. And I watched him do it. Didn't have the heart to stop him - he was enjoying himself far too much and it would have been so unfair of me to have intervened! So the little rascal had a great time destroying the very toy he so loved to play with. How sweetly ironic!

I had to keep a straight face as I scolded him oh so seriously for making such a mess, while secretly patting him of the head and slipping him the fiver for doing the dastardly deed!

Peace at last!!!

The best stories always have a happy ending. Even though this ending is a happy one for me, poor Ronnie would now be toy-less except for one small thing. I kindly gathered up all the shredded innards of the toy and stuffed them back inside. The toy is now awaiting a quick few stitches to repair it and Ronnie will never know the difference (apart from the lack of noise).

So a happy ending for all!

Come back again soon for more Ronnie capers...

Ronnie's Got a Funny Tummy!

2007-03-25T21:44:00.000+02:00

Oh dear! Poor Ronnie's gone down with a dose of the yorkie belly gurgles.

He's been mooching around all day making strange glooping sounds and not very happy with himself. It started yesterday and I suspect it might have something to do with his eating all that broccoli the evening before.

Ronnie likes raw broccoli stalks.

He always hangs around in the kitchen while I'm preparing the evening meal and I usually throw him a stalk which he crunches up with great gusto. Then he waits for the next bit. Daisy, our other yorkie hangs around for it too, but she doen't eat so much before getting bored and going to beg at the door to the utility room where we stash the infinitely more interesting doggy snacks. Interesting to her, anyway.

Ronnie is a different story. Well, he is strange! He'd rather eat broccoli stalks than those nice doggy snacks. But he was a little too enthusiastic and ate Daisy's broccoli stalks that she left lying around the floor - more than was probably good for him. Hence his gurgly tum!

He's a bit better now, though. He just ate his food and no doubt will be back to the usual mad half hour running around the house like a lunatic that was sorely missed last night!

It's only a short story today as it's getting late already and will soon be time to go to bed. That's if Ronnie hasn't left us a little present to clean up somewhere...

Come back again soon!

The Squeaky Toy

2007-03-19T20:29:00.000+01:00

Ronnie has got this great furry squeaky toy that he loves to play with. That's when I let him. Which isn't often, as it drives me insane!

It's usually hidden somewhere (I find some ingenious places) but Janice finds it and gives it to Ronnie when I'm out of the room. Then the craziness begins.

Ronnie is delighted to the nth degree with finding his long lost toy (which in doggy time is probably a month of Sundays) and runs with it onto the sofa and sets about making it squeak as fast and furiously as he can.

Squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a...

RONNIE!

Squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a...

RONNIE!!!!

Squeak-a, squeak-a, squea-eak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a...

I come stomping into the room hoping the sound of thudding feet will stop him

Squeak-a, squeak-a, squea-ea-eak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a, squea-ea-eak-a, squeak-a...

Then I make a lunge for the toy. Ronnie is about ten times quicker than me and he's off the sofa charging over to the other side of the room, fluffy thing clamped in his jaws...

Squeak-a, squeak-a... squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a

I chase him and he turns hard left and is off down the stairs.

Silence.

He's probably hiding under one of the beds, so I don't bother chasing him. So normality returns and I can sit down in front of the TV with my cup of tea and relax...

Squeak-a, squeak-a... squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a... squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a... squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a... squeak-a, squeak-a, squeak-a...

Ronnie's Little Foibles

2007-03-07T16:21:00.000+01:00

Ronnie often sits on my lap while I'm typing away at the computer, so this time I had the camera to hand and as he gawped at me I pointed it at him and fired. To my surprise, he didn't even blink at the flash! What I captured is probably the clearest picture of the little rascal's face that ever took!

So Ronnie has a lot of strange ways and idiosyncrasies too numerous to to list in one single post, so I'll cover one of them here.

He has this bizarre habit of sitting on the floor and staring at me while I sit watching the TV. Then he utters a short moan, like he's clearing his throat. Ermmm!

I look at him and say "What do you want, boy?"

He sits there, blank look on his unmoving face. Nothing. Nobody home. I turn my attention back to watching the TV.

Ermmm!

"What?"

Nada. Zilch. The lights are all out and there's nobody home.

A few minutes later... Ermmm!

"RONNIE WHAT???"

More life out of that yellow stuffed duck! "Is there anybody in there?" Silence. Not a movement. Not a twitch of the whisker nor flick of the tail!

More silence. Then...

Ermmm!

In the end I get up and move towards him. But Ronnie moves faster. He comes to life in an instant, then jumps the four feet between us like a cat, lands on the sofa in the spot I just vacated and retrieves the half inch long piece of chew-stick that I was sitting on.

And we call them dumb animals!

Come back again soon to see what he's been up to next!

Ronnie Writes His Own Blog!

2007-02-26T19:31:00.000+01:00

Well that's what you'd think if you walked into my office just now and saw Ronnie perched on my lap as I sit in front of the PC with his paws on the keyboard and a view of his blog on the screen!

It is one of those priceless moments that only happen once. So here I am, completely alone and frantically searching my desk for the digital camera that I left there only yesterday...

You guessed, the camera is nowhere to be seen! Ronnie could be typing this right now for all anyone would ever know! One of life's little ironies.

Ok, he's had enough and is curled up in my lap as I type. Its true! Ronnie isn't typing this. Honest. Well, he can't type because he's a dog and dogs can't type.

Except when we're in our beds fast asleep, of course. Then the dogs have the TV on watching re-runs of Lassie eating bowls of chips and olives drinking my beer out of the fridge. Daisy sends emails to all her friends and Ronnie surfs the internet for the latest must-have handheld games devices. If we go out for the evening, they invite all their friends round for a party, where Daisy dances on the tables in her bikini and Ronnie smokes cigars and plays cards with all the boys. They always know the sound of our car as it pulls up, so they have enough advanced warning to shoo all the guests out the back door and clear the place up before we get the key in the door.

Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating just a little. Being a little economical with the truth. Or perhaps that's what the dogs dream about when they're curled up asleep somewhere. Who knows?

Whatever you think though, it really is a dog's life!

Come back soon for some more lunacy with Ronnie, the Strange Dog!

The Duck...

2007-02-21T16:31:00.000+01:00

Ronnie has quite an assortment of toys to play with and he often helps himself to whatever he feels in the mood to play with from the toybox. But out of all the toys, his favourite must be the yellow duck.

When he has his mad half hours (chasing around the house like a maniac) he usually grabs the duck out of the box, runs full pelt across the floor with it in his mouth, then leaps halway across the room to land on the sofa, where he shakes the poor thing to death about a dozen times!

Eventually he gets bored with it and leaves it lying around somewhere, so someone has to put it back in the box. As soon as it's put away and my back is turned, Ronnie is back and the duck is dropped at my feet for a game of "make the duck fly and I'll chase it", so the whole crazy acrobatic is repeated. And again. And again. And again...

I try to wear him out by throwing it down the stairs, but he just never seems to get tired of charging all the way down to get it. He just trots happily up again with the poor yellow duck in his mouth, sagging, tired and defeated. But in a death grip. Oh, yeah... Sometimes, Ronnie just won't let go, then it's tug of war time. You would not believe how strong that little guy is! He yanks at it so hard sometimes that it gets loose even from my strong grip (I'm a bass guitar player so I have a real strong grip). Then it's off across the floor again with his prize for another round of zany fun!

Like a cat, when he jumps, he seems to glide effortlessly through the air. Trying to get a shot of him on camera when he is having one of these mad moments is way too hard as he is just sooo fast.

So, as you can see from the picture above, the only time I seem to be able to nail him down for a mugshot is when he wants to take a nap - guarding his prize from anyone who would dare to take it from him!!!

Daisy managed to get in on the act for the shot at the bottom of the page - well, she is the original drama queen!

Well. I hope you like Ronnie's Blog. He really is a strange dog. Come back again soon to see what else he's been up to!

Ronnie the Rottweiler

2007-02-20T13:41:00.000+01:00

Ronnie is really only small, but he has a mental image of himself that more resembles Rottweiler than Yorkie. Which makes him a mean customer when we are out for a walk. He tends to disengage his brain at times and I'm sure he is not all there when he sees another much larger dog and decides he wants to pick a fight with it!

It's not just big dogs that Ronnie wants to beat up. He has a natural dislike of any large vehicles, like trucks, JCBs roadsweepers, panel vans etc. When one passes us in the street, Ronnie goes into attack mode and aims his tiny body for the wheels as they thunder past. Of course he never quite gets there, as I always have him on a leash short enough so that can't happen, but I shudder to think what he would do if allowed to run free.

Another of his manias is workmen in blue work trousers. He has been known to launch himself at the odd blue trouser-clad backside in his day! And don't get him started about dustmen... If he can't kill the dustcarts, then he wants a piece of the men in green instead!

Such a lot in so small a package! That's our Ronnie, the strange dog.

Strange Dog!

2007-02-16T18:11:00.000+01:00

This is a diary of a strange dog. His name is Ronnie, he's a Yorkshire Terrier cross and he's getting on a bit and somewhere around 8 years old. We don't know that for sure, it's a rough guess, as he came from a rescue centre about seven years ago and they thought he was a about a year old then.

What makes him strange?

Ronnie thinks he is a cat. We speculate that he might have been raised by a cat, as his movements, eating habits, cleaning habits and pretty much all else are those of a cat. He has longer legs than an average Yorkie, so he is much more agile. His ability to jump from a standing start to quite a high place and land without hardly a sound is also very catlike.

Ronnie lives here with Daisy, a true Yorkie of about the same age. She is much more normal, but makes a great companion for him. Ronnie and Daisy make a wonderful couple, even though they are like chalk and cheese!