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| Archie in his element, playing in the Lake and getting filthy. |
You all know we've got a 35kg lump of brown haired dog that is thoroughly spoilt by us. His name is Archie and we do adore him. He's incredibly cheeky and his intelligence level swings wildly between being astonishingly thick and obviously gifted. He gets at least two long walks a day, and we're lucky enough to live in a place that's just perfect for dogs - lots of forest, dirt roads and surrounded by water. He can run free and play with all of his dog friends and honestly, he's got to be the luckiest dog in Germany.
It's winter here and because it's cold and wet, there's a bunch of stuff I have to get organised before we walk out the door, so here's my mental check list of what gets done:-
- If it's raining or snowing (I wish!) I wear my Drizabone jacket and waterproof baseball cap with ear flaps.
- If it's not raining then I just wear a parka or polar fleece and maybe a knitted beanie hat if it's really cold. I was just given a glorious pair of Ugg sheep skin ear muffs (thanks Elke1!), so am waiting until it's cold enough to wear those.
- Winter boots on (my Dublin riding boots are perfect, though the left one has just sprung a leak).
- Scarf on.
- Spare dog poop bags in pocket.
- Snausages (dog treats) in my pocket.
- House key in pocket.
- iPhone in pocket in case of emergency (or to play Words with Friends whilst the dog swims).
- Choke chain on dog (which makes no difference whatsoever to his pulling - he seems to have a very thick, strong neck).
- Collar with registration disks on dog.
- Lead on dog.
- If it's dark, reflective collar on dog.
- Put on my gloves.
And then, and only then, can we go. And, of course, I have to take it all off again when we come back, and put it all on again when we go out for the afternoon walk.
Why can't we have one of those dogs that's just happy amusing himself in the back yard? Oh, and Archie's latest favourite food? Bananas. Really. He's a freak.
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| Gorillas in the Mist? No, Furbags in the Fog. |
I'm disappointed that I've never seen you in the baseball cap with ear flaps. Please wear that to our next lunch!
ReplyDeleteAlso: I didn't realize there was an actual product called "snausages"! Almost makes me want a dog...
Ah yes, the baseball cap with ear flaps - the picture you get when you look up "sexy" in the dictionary. Deffo a product called Snausages, and if you say the word to Archie, he'll do whatever you ask - they're like cocaine for dogs.
ReplyDeleteAndrew told me once that when he heard you call out "Snausage!", he thought that was some sort of Australian-speak for "sausage'". He didn't know it was an actual product name!! 0_o
ReplyDeleteFabulous! I've even got the Germans saying it now. The German word for dog treat is "leckerlie" and now "snausage" is pushing its way into the language. But the German word for sausage is "wurst", so they're not making the connection, they just like the word.
ReplyDelete