(Belated) Tuesday Picture

Weekend Mayhem

What an intense weekend that was, we were working long hours with my husband working 14 hour days doing his stock check. Marco was to spend every day at the farm meaning an even early wake up than usual but i still picked him up every night so we could enjoy some cuddles. Downside was though he was absolutely wiped out spending all day with his two sisters and auntie. His other sister and auntie were visiting for the weekend and Marco just simply loved playing all day and running around the garden or simply sunning it in the courtyard due to the very lovely weather we had.

So here is the motley crew that met me everyday when i turned up

Picture Tuesday

This is his, That is my tuna sandwich?  face.

Sleeping Dog

Ever since we brought Marco home, i am still constantly amazed by how much he sleeps and how he sleeps. 

Here he is in the corner pose with his head lolled over the side which when you compare it to how much space he uses now is nothing. The total abandon in which they sleep is a joy you never tire of watching. They almost always start on there sides and half way through roll onto there backs, legs akimbo  and there floppy chops (lips) hanging loose. 

So yeah my puppy knows how to sleep. 

Playing with a Friend

Today we hot footed it down to my friends farm before the rain came in. We timed it right to take her dog jay out with us on our walk. Her farm is on the same lane to a national trust campsite which is on the shore of Lake Windermere. From our home its about a 34 min drive which is only a 12 min extra drive on top of what i do to work which incidentally is on the opposite side of the lake to the farm.

Marco loves to come back to the farm on a regular basis. Even if we go past a farm on a day out his nose can be found pressed up against the window loudly sniffing.

So off we set on our walk with Marco and Jay walking proudly alongside each other. Marco loves his Jay, Hes always licking him in the chops as we walk along, making us chuckle. Anyways we met a few people using the empty campground to train a husky dog in sledding using a 3 wheel bike contraption thingy. That was one beautiful dog.

As soon as we got to the water they were raring to go. However Marco is a little water shy when its very deep. We threw some sticks out for them. Jay is off like a shot quite far out. Marco followed the first one and quickly realised 'oh no!, I'm too far out' a very quick paddle turn around and he was soon bouncing along to get to the shallower end. From then on in he was quite certain not to go to far out.

Not staying long due to the bitter cold rain coming in we soon brought them out, and if you've ever had to encourage a flatcoat it was time to stop playing and put his lead back on you will know how the next 5 mins went!! :)  Walking back Marco and jay enjoyed many a moment of stealing each others sticks. Until we found a large one for them to share. And then it broke.

 

Once back in the warm kitchen it didn't take them long to be fighting over toys which resulted in a tug of war over Mr Fox.

One Ball Lost

It was a very murky start today. Fog covered everything, after the last few days of beautiful sunshine its quite a shock to wake up to. We had quite a lazy start to our day with Marco snoozing most of the morning after he'd had his short walk earlier. Around lunchtime we set off from our house and took the long way around to the local green to us which has a small wooded area halfway through. The downside while it is a more upscale neighbourhood, the green is not fenced in, in any way. Which when you have a very boisterous puppy can be worrying. However we both made sure we kept spread out, but stayed in the middle section. After about 5 mins being there my hubby threw the ball using one of those amazing ball thrower things except... Yeah it got stuck in the tree. After about 15 mins of hubby throwing sticks and dog going nuts because he was being kept away from the action.

This is the tree

Eventually Hubby gave up.. kinda.. then we separated for him to walk the dog down to the riverside to watch the ducks whilst i stayed to enjoy the peace. It was nice to be able to sit and just listen to the quiet. Getting over the flu from the weekend its nice to just sit and watch the world meander by.

                                                        

Beach Day

So yesterday we took Marco out to the beach which is just over half an hours drive from our home. Marco just loves the drive there and back. He alternates between looking out the window or sitting looking out the back with his nose wedged between the headrests. Which is just the cutest darn thing ever. So today we got there and the tide was way out like all you could see to the horizon was beach!! So we got ourselves suited up in wellies etc. and then got Marco out of the car and headed down the stone bit and down some weathered rock pools onto the beach, and it was just divine.

The sun was so bright and hot, and Marco was chasing the frisbee up and down the beach between me and the hubby. It was nice just to wander along the beach not something I've had time to do since i was a child. My hubby has a thing for looking for life in the rock pools, so he was on crab watch.                                                                                                                                                                                                     

I just couldn't stop myself from turning round all the time to take in the magnificent view as we walked. as we continued along we came across a rivelet of water which was quite substantial in places. Marco and the hubby took it upon them selves to run in it at one point.

Which resulted in my husbands phone being dropped into the water. 

The phone is sort of ok.

Meanwhile Marco ran  up and down, fairly dog free until we got to the top end of the walk.We of course met some lovely people who simply loved our dear Marco, they didn't even care how wet and muddy he was !!

Picture Tuesday

Marco's Shopping

So this morning we dropped the hubby off at the dentist and instead of the annoyingly parking in the towns multistory we headed for our  friends pet shop. Where we purchased a rather strange deer antler. Of course we couldn't leave without some enormous pig ears. They are £1 each which compared to pets at home 10 for £8 bag, which are less than half the size and way greasier these are great bargains.  Next we popped on down to the local pets at home where Marco was promptly treated to a treat from the staff. Although he was first given a bonio which he promptly spat out and then sat looking up at her adoringly until she gave him another this time, a gravy bone. He also got a lovely stroke and scratch. Then it was on down the aisle to get him some vegetable toothbrushes and rice bones. We like to get him these as a really great alternative to pig ears. So there i was picking them up and all i hear is this crunch sound, i look round to find he has got a hold of  this giant rawhide stick. Seeing as he wouldn't let it go, off to the till it went with us. I had to hide it in the car, as he was dying to have it back.
Once we had picked up my hubby we came home and gave Marco his antler and big rawhide bone, and yet surprisingly his antler was the winner he has chewed away happily on and off for an hour. He is now happily asleep.

                                                   

Marco and Cookbooks

So in a matter of 24 hours Marco has destroyed quite selectively my hairy bikers cookbook and juices and smoothies book. He rips the covers off and then chews the corners and yet he hardly rips any pages out. Also this evening he managed to somehow knock over the laptop and knock the battery out and chew it !!!! Luckily its ok it just has a good chewed corner. But boy hes been a bundle of naughty energy these past couple of days. His newest trick is to collect a stick every time i take him for a small walk (so he can go toilet) Downside is our drive has a Large collection of sticks on it now !!! My favorites are the long ones where he holds it in the middle and it waggles up and down then he tries to go up the drive through our cars... all you hear is plink plink as he bounces from car to car lol.

First Halloween with Marco

Like at halloween i was quite excited about being one of those people who dress there dog up and show him off.... only problem is my husband wouldn't let me. Booooo i hear you say. Well i was quite happy to buy something anyways as my husband would be working. However marco had his say in the matter turns out i got a dog who will not let you put anything on him !! As it turned out he was still very wary of anyone who knocked at the door or any noise outside the house bless him. So i ended up missing my 1st halloween in years, so we could cuddle up with each other in the dark watching tv. The things we do because we love our pets unconditionally.

From the cute puppy stage through to the cheeky toddler

Marco seemed to hold onto the cutie puppy stage for quite some time, then seemingly overnight he switched from listening to ignoring us when he was being trained. This seemed to frustrate us both until we researched it and found ways in which we can adapt out training in ways to benefit Marco.  He was also reacting a lot better to us when he was allowed off lead moments when walking. One day we met a lovely lady on the woods, she is a local dog walker and was with three adorable little terriers. Marco started haring after them, running circles around us. Then all of a sudden they switched so he was the one being chased. Anyways this lady offered us some amazing advice for when we walk him and he doesn't immediately respond when he is called back. Its called the funny dog dance. You simply stop raise your hands and proceed to dance on the spot waving your arms and legs and just yelling. We were doubtful... yet not 5 mins later there we were, doing it. And it worked, he watched us with his head tilted to the side then he was dashing back to see what he was missing.

Other things that started to change was his affection towards us. Going from a puppy who practically sat on you to sleeping on the floor in the corner of the room. However what didn't change and still doesn't to this day is he is always your shadow, every time i go into the kitchen he's there. I once came in from work and after fussing with him i was checking my phone. I was stood in the middle of the living room and he promptly sat on my feet and sitting upright leaned into me, and didn't move. He has done this several times to me since but yet doesn't do it with my hubby. :)

Here is Marco in the woods he is about 3 months old here. He's waiting patiently for the picture to be taken so is harness can be taken off and he can go running !!

Picture Tuesday

                                                                               

Spending Money

As it says there in the title, spending money it seemed i was suddenly not going out shopping or spending money at all. I would spend any spare time i had cuddling up to my puppy or taking him on new and exciting walks or did i? Because the internet is a sly thing, you buy one thing here and another couple there and suddenly it's like you've spent a lot.

Buying items for your new puppy soon adds up. New toys, even the cheap £1 ones. Collars, leads, longer leads, harnesses, a flat bed, then a puffy bed. dog treats for all the training... and the food!! Adding it up can be quite overwhelming to see how much you've spent. I used to try and reason it with but, he needs it. As it turns out, not so much. Sure the toys were really helpful in the beginning now it just makes your living room look like a tornado has whipped through it and sure he has two different types of bed, but the sofa is his favorite place to sleep even from the day we brought him home. The most invaluable thing we own is a reusable wee mat, saves you so much money compared to the absorbent ones, which he ripped to shreds on a regular basis. ( incidentally the cat now gets more use of these in the litter tray saving me money on cat litter).

I once bought a rather expensive liver paste to put in his kongs. Which got me to thinking how can this me so expensive its such a simple thing. so after a little googling, i found out if you cook some livers and blitz with some natural yogurt you have the exact same thing which is in fact a lot better for Marco too.

Marco 12 weeks                                                                                               Marco and one of his beds

                                               

That first awww moment.

No one ever tells you that getting a puppy can be so traumatic. I spent the first 10 days alone with Marco when we brought him home. My husband worked lots of lates so i spent almost every hour with him, barely getting dressed and showering. People likened it to having a baby. I still remember the first time we went out in the car, he howled the whole way round the neighborhood. I gritted my teeth and finally gave in and drove home.

 After pulling up and getting Marco out of the car i was holding him in my arms, due to him not having all his injections yet. And in that moment the wind blew past us and he lifted his head sniffing the breeze, closed his eyes and in that moment he looked so happy. After that i could hardly be stressed with him and he just brings joy to be everyday. There are these moments when he looks at you and you lean in and he licks your cheek, or he sneaks up to your side and just cuddles into you.

And then there are the completely oblivious moments from him when he is sleeping.

Mini Spiderman

They say that flatcoats are the peter pan of the dog world. They have a truly loving and cheeky nature. Marco has a certain way to him that can have you biting your tongue with frustration and then laughing in the next breath.

As a young pup (8 weeks) i used to drive him to my friends farm for the day when i knew we would both be out for the day at work. He was so loud those first few times. I tried everything from loud music to soft music window open/closed. Eventually i would learn that BBC Radio 2 or BBC 3 would work wonders.

So his little nose for the first 2 days, until i fitted his guard grill properly, would be permanently wedged in the little gap at the sides howling all the way there. (its a 35 min drive there....and back) . Clearly he got to be a better traveler when he got too big for my boot and we moved him to the back seat, wearing a harness. But those first couple of months which i look back on now as funny were pretty traumatic. However when i used to be driving i would be checking on him in the mirror and although he was ear splitting loud he used to have a cute way of clinging onto the grill like a mini spiderman. My friend once drove behind me and left me a voice mail of her simply laughing down the phone, after she had witnessed him doing the spiderman trick.

Marco 8 weeks