Number58

Over the weekend Harry had his first introduction to live music. A wonderful 3 piece band were playing outdoors and we took him along for the experience. We weren’t too sure if he would enjoy it, as apart from the noise, it was really quite crowded with lots going on, but we were wrong.

Harry really loved it and quickly settled down next to our seats to watch the proceedings, he was so chilled out we couldn’t even get him to pose for a photograph next to the bandstand, and at one one point we could swear he was even wagging his tail in time to the music.

Harry has finally met Summer – at last. He was completely bowled over by her, and Summer for her part, was quite smitten with Harry, she even shared her lunch with him.

Just before it was time to leave Harry thought it would be a good idea to show her how to go for a walk on the lead. A short trip down the drive to the edge of the road was planned, but unfortunately Summer got a bit distracted by a very interesting leaf she found on the way.

Harry waited patiently till the leaf had been fully checked out but he was very confused. How could she possibly find this leaf more interesting than him?

There’s a cute black Labrador puppy living next door at number 56. He’s only two weeks younger than Harry and the two of them have become great friends. Most afternoons they will spend ages sniffing each other through the fence, but this part of his social life has been forbidden to Harry while he’s been sick.

Today though, Harry made a bee-line for their usual meeting place, and was all, hey where are you? I’m back!

Today Harry turned 21 weeks old and he now weighs 24.6 kg. Each week it becomes more and more obvious that Harry is going to be a big dog. That’s BIG with a capital “B”.

This last week has been very quiet at Number 58 as Harry has been under the weather for most of the time. We figured there was something amiss last Wednesday when we went to Pilates class. Usually he loves to lie there with his favourite chew and watch everyone, but no amount of coaxing would get him to settle down, and then when he got home all he wanted to do was sleep.

On the upside, he’s dealt with having a flu-like illness really well, he’s never complained, not even once, but on the downside, he hasn’t had a lot of energy. There have been no adventures and no romps in the woods, and sadly for Harry he hasn’t even been able to meet up with any of his pals, as the vet suggested he stay away, just in case he passed his germs on.

Most of the week has been spent sleeping or lying on the rug in the front room sunning himself. Harry’s best bit of the week was on Sunday. His last two remaining baby canine teeth, which had been wobbling about for days, finally came out as he munched on his chew. He was so pleased with himself that he wandered over to the sofa, tail wagging furiously, and gently deposited the bloody remains of one of the teeth on the cream cushion. All we could say was yuk, but Harry was all, Look! Look what I’ve brought you!

Harry is really looking forward to the week ahead when things will get back to normal. He’ll once again be out and about in town, going out to lunch, and most importantly of all, he’ll finally get to meet the new girl Summer. She’s such a cutie – he just can’t wait see her, even if she is a little bit camera shy.

Harry is feeling lots better. We know this because he is back to being his cheeky self.

The runny nose has stopped and he’s only sneezed once or twice today. The vet told us he also had swollen glands in his neck, but because we’re not trained in the art of detecting such things we have no idea if they’re better or not.

He still has a few more tablets to take, and it’ll be another couple of days before he’s allowed to be in the company of other dogs, but in the mean time he seems to be getting back to normal. This afternoon he’s taken time out to roast himself in the garden, something he couldn’t be bothered to do over the weekend.

Harry’s conjunctivitis was only the start. A day later he started sneezing, seven or eight sneezes at a time and then about an hour after that his nose started running, it was like tap that hadn’t been turned off properly – it just dripped. We made a quick call to the vet to see if this was a reaction to the eye drops and we were asked to take him in straight away.

Our vet (a lovely chap) gave Harry a thorough going over and pronounced that he had an infection similar to a severe head cold. Then he looked at Harry’s mournful little face with his runny nose and changed his diagnosis. Actually, he said sympathetically, it’s probably more like the flu. Man-flu.

Over the weekend Harry slept an awful lot, most of the time snuggled up to Fred and his favourite piece of blanket. When he wasn’t sleeping, he moped aimlessly around the house, looking very sorry for himself. Just like a man.

Summer has finally arrived. No, not the season, but a very cute, female Guide Dog puppy called Summer.

Summer lives not very far away from us, so Harry will be seeing quite a lot of her in the coming months. So far Harry hasn’t been able to visit her – he has a touch of conjunctivitis and doesn’t want to pass it on – but there’s no doubt he will fall head over heels in love when he does eventually meet her.

Because Harry falls in love with ALL the girls.

Harry.
The dog who hated getting into the car.
The dog who hated just being in the car.
The dog who howled like a banshee every time he went anywhere in the car.

Now he’s the dog who loves the car so much he won’t get out.

Today Harry turned 20 weeks old, and now weighs 23.1 kg. During the last week his bark has changed. He no longer squawks like a chicken, now he has a proper woof, a deep, resonating and very loud, woof. The first time it came out of his mouth he was so shocked, he stopped dead in his tracks, looked around to see where the noise had come from, and completely forgot why he had barked in the first place.

Although he’s growing up fast, Harry still carries around the small piece of blanket that he had when he first arrived. It was part of a larger blanket that was used in the nest. Back then it probably still carried the scent of his mum and litter mates, but it’s been through the washing machine so many times now that it can’t possibly have any of their smell left. Harry has taken it to bed with him every single night and shows no sign of stopping. If it’s not there at bedtime it’s almost a major catastrophe and he’ll pace up and down the kitchen floor until it’s found.

Apart from Harry’s regular outings he’s been to puppy class this week. He loves going to class as he gets to see all his pals, but it’s such hard work being on your best behaviour and concentrating for 45 minutes. He managed to do all that was required of him, even the ‘stay’ which can test a puppy’s self control to the limit, especially when all you really want to do is go and play with all the other puppies.

Harry’s highlight this week has been the time he got to spend with his new best friend. He absolutely loved having her around, especially when they got to go exploring in the woods together. It was just the best time ever.

As a Guide Dog puppy, part of Harry’s training is to ensure that he behaves correctly in many different social situations. This includes going to cafes and restaurants where he is expected to lie quietly under the table and not create a fuss.

Harry now has this skill off to a fine art and, having had a quick slurp of water from his travel bowl, never misses an opportunity for a quick snooze. In fact, he’s usually fast asleep before we even get to order our meal.