Wednesday 18 November 2015

Storm Barney

It seems that we in the UK are naming our winter storms just like they do hurricaines and cyclones/typhoons around the rest of the world.  This despite the fact that they are no where near as forceful!  Anyway, we had storm Abigail (A-BIG-GAIL LOL!) last week and then Storm Barney rolled in from the Atlantic last night!  We had winds of 50+ mph here, not too bad where we live. The only damage was a bit of roofing felt blown off the shed roof. The news has just told me that the midlands have had some disruption, so hope you are Ok where you live.

But, we know about Storm Barney here!

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This little pup has stormed into our lives like a whirlwind!  He is nearly 8 months old now and very teenage!  You can almost see the hormones racing around his body!!  The puppy training books tell us to be consistent and keep on top of his behaviour.  We’re trying – but it’s hard work!

As I sit here typing he is yapping at me.  We have been for a walk and play in the park with the other dogs, he should be SETTLING down now.

Oh the mud!  He has furry paws that trail mud through into my nice new kitchen!  When I try to clean the floor, he chases the mop around, and if I leave him outside, he yaps and jumps up at the back door.  (I hope the neighbours can’t hear me as I shout like a mad woman at him to ‘LEAVE IT’.)

We are trying hard to get him to walk to HEEL.  But being an inquisitive little pup, he is distracted by other dogs, people walking towards us, people getting in and out of cars, birds, squirrels, leaves blowing, shadows and sometimes it’s just a feeling!

He jumps up to the worktops and people, despite us us telling him OFF every time!  I have muddy paw prints on the doors and worktops! Luckily they wipe off easily.

BUT, he did come back to us when we blew the whistle.  We have been training him to a dog whistle, and this was the first proper RECALL.

Lucy and I gave him a bath the other night which went very well.  He looked all lovely and white and fluffy again. 

He is a very friendly little dog, always wanting to say hello, and will sit and be stroked or brushed for a long time.

I wouldn’t be without my Storm Barney!

3 comments:

Karen said...

What a handsome fella! Those are pretty strong winds. We had two days of that recently, but no damage other than a few fallen branches.

Patio Postcards said...

He is quite a cutie. Good that you are staying on top of his naughty behaviour, but I bet that's what it feels like all the time. Hoping for moments of calm & loving, like Barney's brushing & bathing times :-) Barney seems to be one lucky dog.

When we got our 2 kitten girls last year, my husband had forgotten what it was like with kittens, he was remembering only the adult cat we had just lost. They drove him crazy for about 6 months, now at a year they have more behaved time than not, although I am worried about putting up the Christmas tree ...

Shari said...

LOL at Storm Barney, Linda. I can imagine these times have their frustrations, but he is so adorable!!