Sunday 24 August 2014

The Molehills


The 'molehills' spotted by Suky in yesterdays post have been growing and growing .....
 

 
... and here is Mr Mole, otherwise known as Lovely Hubby.

 
Barrow full after barrow full he carted over from the soil heap adjacent to the paddock, all sifted and ready to use.

 
While he barrowed and I cleaned out the henhouse little Charley kept herself amused with acorns and cobnuts.


She's growing fast now and is always on the go, but she's no trouble and is learning all the time.
 
 
Soon the new bed was almost filled, and after doing my little gardeners dance of treading backwards and forwards in the soil to compact it, we were almost there.  We are planting a Rhododendron bush and some other shrubs and plants to fill in this space in the hedge and make the area safer for the dogs.  My heart is in my mouth every time Charley runs in that direction in case she tumbles through onto the road, now hopefully, this will be a visible barrier to stop her in her tracks.

 
Of course keeping yourself amused while Mum and Dad dig and do silly walks is very tiring ...
 
 
... and soon she was flat out snoozing in the sunshine.

 
Looking as cute as a button while dreaming doggy dreams.
 
Sue xx

13 comments:

  1. How old is Charley? I have a nine week old Sprocker after having a gap of a couple of years, after losing my much loved lab. My goodness she is hard work and has razor sharp teeth. We have had her a week now and she is slowly learning some manners but I get the impression she was allowed to play bite rather a lot before we picked her up. How are you finding Charley? Does Suky teach her manners?

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    1. She's just 13 weeks now.

      If she bit either of us overly hard we just screeched loudly and suddenly, it stopped her in about 2 days. All pups do it to see how far they can go, you set the level that is acceptable bearing in mind it has to be a level that a toddler could stand. Their litter mates always yelp when play gets too aggressive or painful and doing this is just building on something they already know. Although Charley's teeth are still razor sharp I can honestly say she has never bitten down hard enough for me to feel them in the last few weeks.

      She is hard work, but more from a 'is she safe' perspective. We have no gate on our drive and a busy A road runs past our property with speeding cars all day long, so I need to be aware of where she is at all times. She goes outside to use the toilet or if the door is closed uses her puppy pad which is near the door, she was virtually housetrained when we got her, knowing already that outside is THE place to go.

      We are letting the other animals set their levels with her, it's easiest that way. Suky playa fights with her, and Rosy has set high levels of Charley needing to know that Rosy is the boss, but she is gentle with her at first. The cat lets her lick him and then jumps up out of the way when he has had enough, so she knows that if she goes to far the cat vanishes!!

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    2. Yes we do that but perhaps don't yell loud enough...I shall increase the volume and walk away when she nips...diversionary tactics of putting a puppy toy in her mouth don't work as well with this one. I have had a dog of my own since leaving home for around 35 years and this is the most feisty one yet. Still she is a fast learner in all other senses and is paper trained (mostly) and beginning to go to the door to go outside to toilet in just a week with us. She is also going on command (9 times out of 10) when I take her out, so that is really positive as I like to train my dogs to go on hard standing at home before we go out for a walk, so that they don't foul grass or pavements where children play. Charley is lovely and it will be fascinating to watch her progress whilst having a pup so close in age myself :)

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  2. Charlie is so cute. I think it's so funny when puppies twitch and make funny noises, like they are caught up in a dream, while they are snoozing.

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  3. That should do the trick..and give you a spectacular show of flowers.
    Jane x

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  4. Oh gosh, is your place not fenced? I think I would worry all the time about them getting on the road if we didn't have a fenced garden...there is always that risk. Good idea though 'filling' the gap with some more shrubs, that will add a deterrent hopefully.

    She is really growing fast.

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  5. Love the sleeping baby pics! She is adorable.

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  6. What beautiful soil! Oh yes, and the puppy, too!

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  7. They are all adorable in real life as well :)

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  8. The picture of Charley with her tongue out is just adorable! Your pet pics brighten my day Sue :)

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