You might
have noticed the absence of emails and blogs for the last couple of weeks –
I’ve been on holiday with my three collies.
Holiday time,
or more specifically downtime, is surprisingly important. Without quiet time brains
don’t get a chance to process all the information or learning – and that’s true
for our dogs just as much for ourselves.
So the only
“training” I worked on was Freya’s ongoing “Project Squirrel” (resist chasing
the squirrel and come back when called). We had lots of new places in Scotland
to practice and it went really well – more about that next time.
Most of my
time was focused on Farah, affectionately known as the “little old lady collie”
now. Farah is about 13 yrs old and bright as a wee button. However her physical
body is slowly giving up on her (hip & elbow dysplasia, arthritis and heart issues). We
need to balance medication, massage and acupuncture to keep her pain levels
down.
Quality of
life is our priority right now, and for the moment I think we’re managing ok.
Here’s what Farah did on her holidays (in
her own words)
“I started by
supervising a canicross training camp in the Forest of Dean. While I enjoyed
sleeping on my own air mattress I was less impressed at being told I couldn’t
do any of the running – these youngsters have no idea how to do it right.
I’ve been out
for dinner several times though I did have to chase down a waitress who
foolishly took away my chips. The waitress stopped and apologised which made it
a bit better, but I still didn’t get my chips back.*
The
chauffeuring has been better than usual with daily trips to good places, often
with streams or rivers for me to guddle** in. I particularly enjoyed the
morning visits to Loch Tay.
We stopped
off on our way back from Scotland as it’s a long drive, and the room had a whole
bed just for me – this is proper luxury retirement. Shall have to ask for my
own bed at home…
Coffee and
bonus cheese sniffing at cafes has happened fairly often (but could always be
improved), so many dog friendly cafes make it much easier for me to have
exciting days.
I convinced
mum to get back into the kitchen and bake my favourite biscuits this weekend
(cheese flavoured obviously) as she’s been a bit slack lately. I tested the
dough several times, and then the biscuits – you can never be too careful.
One day mum
did sneak in teaching a workshop, but I made
it clear this was not acceptable by eating her dinner roll, opening my medication pots and eating a whole tub of cocktail sausages at lunchtime***
it clear this was not acceptable by eating her dinner roll, opening my medication pots and eating a whole tub of cocktail sausages at lunchtime***
It’s been a
lovely couple of weeks, and I do hope my mum can keep up with this new
lifestyle as I’m rather enjoying it….”
Notes and translations
*The chips
were left over, Farah had already had several and didn’t need any more!
**Guddle
means paddle and mess around in water
***I now know
not to leave ANYTHING in the front of the van – she really is growing old
disgracefully!
Have a wonderful week!
Morag and the collie girls
PS This is a great website with lots of helpful hints for your older or arthritic dog https://www.caninearthritis.co.uk/
PS This is a great website with lots of helpful hints for your older or arthritic dog https://www.caninearthritis.co.uk/
