Number58

Harry fell in love this week – with a beautiful Collie-Retriever cross called Lacey.

Never one to miss an opportunity and with Valentine’s Day firmly in mind, Harry flirted shamelessly with her under the table in the hotel.

Lacey didn’t seem to mind at all.

Harry flirting with Lacey

Harry has always been very sound sensitive and very inquisitive, so every strange noise always has to be fully investigated.

Sometimes his curiosity can get him into difficult situations. This time he was so desperate to find out where the strange quacking noise was coming from that he insisted on trying to climb over the wall to see what it was.

The duck got such a fright when he saw Harry hanging down the wall staring at him, that he immediately stopped quacking.

Harry hanging over a wall

This week Harry’s life has revolved around the weather. Although some of his usual activities have been curtailed, he has had more than his fair share of fun in the snow. And he loved every minute of it.

Harry really enjoyed exploring in the snow, everything looked so different, although he was little put out when he found he couldn’t roll around in the mud in his favourite ditch. It had frozen over and all he could do was sniff at the ice and wonder where his personal supply of mud had gone.

Harry investigating the stream

Harry’s nose has been slowly turning pink over the last few weeks and the freezing weather has made it an even brighter shade. After he had finished snuffling around in the snow it glowed so much that he could have auditioned for the part of Rudolph.

Harry has still been on many of his regular outings, including a Pilates class and he even managed a trip to the dentist where he sat patiently in the waiting room despite all the strange noises coming from the surgery.

We also managed to take Harry away for a few days to the Lake District this week, where he got to go on lots of new and interesting walks, as well as increase his social skills in the hotel.

Harry made some new canine friends and also learned a new skill – how to safely climb through a stile in a wall. It took a little while for him to figure it out the first time, but after he’d done it once he wanted to go through it again and again. It was just as well we weren’t in a hurry.

Harry climbing through a stile

Following the trauma of our visit to the dentist we decided to treat Harry (and ourselves) to a few days in the Lake District.

Harry always enjoys walking somewhere new, there are new smells to be sniffed and new places to pose for photographs.

And as usual, Harry found the perfect spot to pose for the camera.

Harry posing by the tarn in front of snow topped mountains

Harry has been to the dentist. Not the dentist for pups, but the the dentist that causes a lot of grief and anxiety to humans.

He sat patiently in the waiting room (unlike me), didn’t bat an eyelid at all the strange noises coming from the surgery (unlike me) and when it was time to go through and be examined, he showed no sign of trying to leave the premises (unlike me).

To be honest, Harry couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about.

Harry in the dentist's waiting room

This week Harry has discovered the joy of lying in front of the fire. Up until now he hasn’t shown much interest in it but he’s been getting so cold playing outside in the snow, that suddenly it’s become his new favourite place to be.

Now, nobody else can get near it.

Harry in front of the fire

This very short clip was taken first thing Monday morning when Harry went out for his first toilet stop of the day and was confronted with snow.

It’s taken us this long to figure out how to get it on his blog.

Harry’s activities this week have certainly been determined by the weather and although we’ve tried very hard to keep his routine as normal as possible, things haven’t always gone according to plan.

On the first day of snow, although we didn’t have an awful lot, Harry still had a whale of a time in the back garden when he went out for his first toilet break of the day, but when it came time to go on a training walk Harry wasn’t so sure about leaving the house.

Harry trying to get back to the front door

Due to the disruption on public transport Harry didn’t get to go to town as much as usual, or take a trip into the city, but he still went shopping with us to the local shops.

Harry also attended our regular Pilates class, but due to problems with the heating this was in a different room. Normally we anchor Harry by his lead to something sturdy, but this time there was nothing to attach him to so he was free to roam around, but he astounded us all when he calmly lay down in the corner and stayed there for an hour. He only got up once and that was so he could turn over and lie on his other side.

It hasn’t all been training though, Harry has had an awful lot of fun this week.  Although the snow was strange at first, he soon got used to it and really enjoyed himself. All his usual off-lead walks were just so much more exciting, things looked so different and he could eat it!

Harry eating snow

We were expecting to wake up to an awful lot more snow this morning, but it didn’t happen. Instead, the snow we did have, was frozen solid.

Harry’s paws have been taking bit of a bashing from all the snow and grit, but we found a solution in the pet shop. It’s a wax based product and all Harry has to do is stick each paw in the tin once before we go out and they’re protected. It also seems to give him a bit more grip on the icy pavements.

Paw protecting wax

Harry did a training walk this morning, but because the snow is such an unusual event and because he just loves playing in it so much, he got an extra free run this afternoon.

He was a lot more confident in the snow today and galloped off ahead of us. When he got to the top of the hill he turned to check were still behind him and was all, “Come on humans, hurry up, I want to PLAY!”

Harry in the snow

Harry’s long wait for the snow finally came to an end today.

He was so excited to have his first free run in the snow, but he just couldn’t figure out where the grass had gone.

Harry snuffling in the snow