Dogs, Walks and Hills

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!

More Kong Toys for Dogs

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

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

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

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