Friday 25 March 2016

No need for a door bell.

Sometimes our back door bell rings and sometimes it goes on strike, but as it is only into a Utility Room I always tell friends to come in anyway.

However, if the visitor is friend G then I have no need to do anything.   Tess knows the sound of her car;  Tess also loves a knee-cuddle from G and in fact demands one whenever G comes.

I knew G was coming so I had my camera all ready.   Tess was asleep in her basket (yes, I am sorry but she is a very pampered dog I am ashamed to say) and G came into the yard.   Immediately Tess sat bolt upright in her basket - and 'click' I managed to take this photograph of her after her cut.
I do agree with those of you who think (even if you haven't said so) that she is rather pampered for a dog.   My only excuse is that I do like to see her looking smart and clean.   Her hair comes out this time of the year and I always feel that she feels better herself when it is all cleanly cut.   And it does keep a lot of the hair off the edges of the chairs and stairs (her favourite place to sit, so that she can look out of the landing window).

She would like to be out all day with the farmer.   He takes her with him for an hour in the morning - again for a walk at lunch time - and an hour at tea time as he takes a final walk around the fields.   I wouldn't mind if he had her with him all day but he insists she stays with me for two reasons:  if he is busy he doesn't want to be always having to keep an eye on her in case she goes away, and also she is my dog and as such he feels she is good company for me, which is true.

I watched them in the fields this afternoon as they came up the Christmas Tree field after their early evening walk.   In the next field the sheep were going absolutely mad - charging down the pasture, along the top of the muck heap and off the other end.  Then a minute later they would return along the top of the muck heap again and rush back to the top of the pasture.   I rang him because he didn't appear to have noticed them and I wondered whether a dog was chasing them.   But no - he had seen them and, to use his expression, he said "It was just that Spring had got up their tails!"
Once the warmer weather arrives they are desperate to be back on to their hefted land on the tops of the Buttertubs Pass.

They will feel completely different tomorrow when storm Katie begins to arrive and the weather turns gradually to gales, rain and stormy conditions.   Such are the vagaries of the English Spring.

17 comments:

Barbara said...

Tess looks quite smart after her haircut!
I like the fact that she's anticipating a visit from your friend.It's so amazing how the dogs can tell the sound of certain vehicles.

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

Pampered by the standards of farm dogs from Yorkshire maybe, but positively roughing it compared to town dogs from Cambridge! My friend's dog always barks if I knock or ring the bell but ignores me if I just walk in unannounced, he obviously needs a sign - "Burglars Please Knock".

Wilma said...

Tess's coat looks very shiny and healthy. I am a firm believer in pampering our pets.

donna baker said...

My son's Boston Terriers hardly ever bark but my weenies bark all of the time even at my husband after 10 years. Dog breeds do have very different behaviors, but alas, mine are my babies and bring so much joy to my life. I see cows kicking up their heels in spring also.

Virginia said...

No need to apologise! There are cogent arguments for a dog's bed. Two immediately spring to mind - it keeps the pet hair confined to one place, and also provides a place of comfort and security for the animal when needed.

Doesn't Tess look bright and shiny after her grooming! It must be a relief to have all that loose hair gone. My pony used to stand with a goofy expression on his face as I plucked his winter coat out in the spring. at the right point I could groom him out so he had a very clear line defining where I'd got to! The memories that brought back! Thank you Weaver.

Midmarsh John said...

I'm sure dogs, especially with longish hair, feel a lot better after a well deserved bit of grooming and pampering.
Funny you should mention the sheep. Yesterday I saw some local sheep rushing around their field. Like you I first though there must have been a dog in with them as a public footpath goes through the middle. No dog to be seen so like the farmer I put it down to the joys of Spring.

Joanne Noragon said...

How sad for the sheep and all of us, spring just comes and goes. I suppose every year is like that.

angryparsnip said...

Tess looks beautiful !
Having her groomed keeps her hair and skin in good health plus her own bed
gives her a safe place to be. That is not pampering that is love.
She is a sweetheart.

cheers, parsnip

Cro Magnon said...

Her haircut looks very pro. Our Bok has just started to moult too, but shaving is not really an option for him.

thelma said...

Tess looks very bright and beautiful. Paul's first introduction to a dog in the form of Lucy has left him quite smitten;) and his first stern injunctions about she was not to get on chairs has now been overruled, but he is not a great dog walker like the farmer.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks for your comments.

Rachel Phillips said...

I must say she certainly looks smart and better for it.

Coppa's girl said...

Tess does look smart and glossy - the groomer has done a very good job.
Our Labs are moulting everywhere, and the more I groom them, the more they moult, so time for another bath, I think.

Stephanie Gau t said...

What a smart looking little dog? What breed is she? She looks vaguely dachs-ish.....

Heather said...

I hope everyone who had yesterday's lovely weather was able to enjoy it. We never quite know what is coming next.
Tess looks so sleek and smart since her trip to the groomer. I would be happy to give her a lap cuddle before or after the grooming session. She looks adorable, but she seems to be looked after extremely well rather than being pampered. A much loved dog, I'm sure.

Derek Faulkner said...

Well we all see and treat our dogs in different ways and I live, die and breathe mine, and nothing or nobody comes before them. But at the end of the day they love to be, and are, working dogs. They spend every day wandering the marsh with me, get wet, plastered in mud and chase and kill things and certainly wouldn't welcome the attentions of somebody trying to beautify them. I really don't like these canine beauticians who make an awful lot of money playing on people's emotions about their dogs.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Actually Derek, I agree with you about these 'canine beauticians' - but the lass I have has just started a buainess with a kitted out van and she goes round literally just cutting hair, cleaning out ears and the corners of eyes (one of the side effects of Tess's allergy to grass is that she has a degree of conjunctivitis, which does make her eye corners messy and uncomfortable.) She also clips claws if necessary. I certainly feel better when she has been done - and judging by her behaviour I think she does too - she never needs any encouragement to jump into the van.
I suppose, as John says, by the standards of farm dogs in Yorkshire she is a bit pampered (I have to say as much by the farmer as by me!) but not like these city dogs. If she had her way she would be out with the farmer all day every day -rooting about in the hegdges after rabbits.