Hi everyone,

Sorry I never got round to updating the blog last week (it has been noticed and commented on by certain people!!!!!) but I was really busy and I don't know where the time goes to. No sooner have we come back from the van on a Sunday night than it is time to go again on Friday. The weeks just fly by and we just live for the weekends to go to the lakes.

When we weighed Sally last week she had lost a little weight and was down to 34.3 kgs but we have just weighed her now and she is back up to 35.1 kgs (5 1/2 stones). Maybe her weight gain is starting to slow down a bit now she is 7 months old. Neil is starting to struggle getting her on the scales so I will have to start taking her to the vets to weigh her until she reaches her adult weight and it stabilises. Also she is 23 inches high and getting bigger by the week.

I don't want to speak too soon but I think that Sally is at last toilet trained, although I don't for one minute think that there will not be any accidents to come but she has not had any in the house now for 3 weeks and even at work there have been no accidents for a week ..... so fingers crossed.

The main highlight of last week for Sally was meeting Bertie. We met up with Judith, Steve and Bertie in the Lakeside carpark at Keswick as it was halfway between Windermere and Penrith where they were staying. Bertie is just gorgeous, like a massive teddy bear.

Sally meeting Bertie, Judith & Steve.

Bertie what a big boy you are!!!!!

They both got on quite well together and walked happily down the path by the lake as far as it went (not too far) and then we strolled back again. Steve held onto Bertie and Neil held Sally while Judith and I walked between them chatting away - mainly comparing notes on the 2 dogs. Its good to talk to someone in the same situation sometimes.

Happy family - Neil, Me and Sally down by the lake.

After the walk we all went for a drink at a lakeside cafe and Sally and Bertie were very good Sally sitting and Bertie lying quietly while we drank tea and coffee and chatted. After we had finished our drinks Bertie and Sally had an ice cream each, we already knew that Sally liked ice cream but it was Berties first one and he seemed to love it.

Bertie enjoying his ice cream.

Sally enjoying her ice cream. Look at that face!!!!

Later that day Sarah, Dave, Holly and Matthew came up with a card and pressie for my birthday. After lunch - (fish & chips) we all had a walk down to the lake and they all had an ice cream - we resisted as we had already had one not too long ago.

Matthew with Sally down by the lake.

Sally watching the kids playing and wondering what mischief she could get up to next.

Sally is generally good with the kids although she does get a bit excited at times and that day she jumped up and scratched Hollys' face which did not go down well. We are trying to educate the kids how to behave when they are around Sally and they are very excitable - only to be expected - but this makes Sally excitable and that's when she jumps up and also we are trying to teach Sally how to behave around the kids too, which is not as easy.

We have just come back from the caravan again after another lovely weekend. We would have stayed there Sunday night but we ran out of bread for Sallys' tea and breakfast.

Oh well Monday tomorrow and back to the grindstone - will continue this next week.

Bye

Johanna, Neil & Sally.

Hello everyone,

Sally has just been weighed and is 34.7 kgs - she has only put on put on 2 1/2 lbs this week which is a lot less than the 4 lbs of previous weeks, but she was ill last week and it has been hot this week so she has not eaten as much as normal. Next week she goes to just 2 meals a day - that will be a shock to the system for her!!!!!!!!

Well the weather people got it right at weekend - and we had a fab time.

We got to the caravan on Friday and had a lazy evening. On Saturday, after Sally got up we went for a nice walk through the woods and down to the lake then back up by the road before it got too hot.

Later John and Thelma came up - John is buying our boat and wanted to take the wheels off the trailer to get new tyres on so he can tow it home. We are going to buy a new boat that Sally will be more comfortable in - and we will be able to get her in and out easier. They stayed for a brew and a play with Sally and helped put the awning up on the caravan, its the first time in 3 years that we have had the awning out!!!!

John and Neil sat under the awning.

Later Barry and Ruth came up and we had a lovely barbeque - thanks to Neil.

Ruth saying hello to Sally.

Watching a caterpiller on Ruths' finger. After the bbq we all went for a walk to the lake and back but I forgot to take the camera with me.

Early on Sunday morning we went for a walk - well early for Sally but we had to go out before it got too hot for her.

Watching the world going by from the pier while daddy talks to Colin.

Sally paddling in the lake.

Sally didn't quite know what to make of this swan but it was doing a lot of hissing at her - the swan went off before Sally did!!!!

Sally loved paddling in the lake - tho she didn't go in too far - Karen and I threw sticks for her but she didn't catch any!!!

Then after a morning down by the lake we chilled out on the decking and Sally found the most comfortable place - on my sun lounger. Need to buy a new one now!!!!!!!!

Awwwwwwwwww and on that note I'll just say that I'm still taking Sally for a walk every morning, we do a few minutes lead training until we get to the lane and then she just wanders where she wants to, and we meet lots of doggy friends (and some snarlers) - this morning we met a guy with 5 Golden Retrievers - a grandma, mother and 2 duaghters and an uncle - they were gorgeous and Sally loved playing with them while we went down the lane. She loves walking through long grass but I have to watch her as she also likes to lick cow pats - yeaugh - definately a dog thing!!!!!!!!! And she loves school kids - especially on bikes - she just wants to be friends with everyone and does not realise that not everyone wants to be friends with her - although how anyone wouldn't is beyond me !!!!!

Well on that note I'll finish for now - we are soooo looking forward to next weekend - we are going to meet Judith, Steve and Bertie ( a Newfoundland pupply 18 weeks older than Sally) and hopefully stay over Sunday night into Monday. They live in Durham and are going to Penrith for a week so we will meet up with them in Keswick.

Bye for now.

Sally, Johanna and Neil.

Hello all,

Well Sally is now 26 weeks old and is 33.5 kgs (just under 5 1/2 stone) so she is maintaining a steady increase in weight.

We had a bit of a health issue last week - Sally had terrible diarrhoea a week last Tuesday, she had been a bit loose in the evening but at 2 am (why do these things always happen at night?) I heard her whining at the bottom of the stairs and when I went down she had had diarrhoea from the front door to the back door and in the kitchen, all up the walls and kitchen cupboards. Took me ages to clean it up. When the morning came I rang the vet who advised me to take her in. Helen (our favourite vet) gave her a good examination and weighed her and asked if she picked things up when outside and I said OH YES as she will pick anything and everything up. I spend more time with my hand in her mouth taking stones off her than anything else. So anyway she gave her an injection of anti-biotics and some tablets to take for 3 days, I just waved them under Sallys' nose and she ate them like a good girl. The diarrhoea soon cleared up that day and she has been in great forn ever since. Unlike me who started with diarrhoea on the Wednesday and it lasted a full week. I thought it was the eggs, they were the only things that Sally and I had eaten in common, but I have since heard that there is a bug going round so that must have been it.

We have not really done much over the last couple of weeks but we have got ourselves into a nice little daily routine.... Neil gets up between 7 and 7.30 and sometimes Sally will get up for a wee but not always. I get up at around 8 and take her out for a walk straight away, sometimes she will wee on the walk but mostly she will wait until we get home. When we get back we will both have breakfast then at about 10 am I will go to work and leave Sally to sleep for the morning. 9 times out of 10 she be ok alone but occasionally there will be accidents in the house or she will scratch at the kitchen wall, like yesterday. I will come back again at 1 pm to let Sally out and give her lunch and then take her to the office with me for a few hours. She is learning to settle better there and will often fall asleep in either mine or Neils' offices. Sometimes Christine, who works for us, will bring her dog, Holly, in and they will play together for a while before they both fall asleep. Later I take Sally home and either Neil or I or us both will take her for a walk before her medicine and her evening meal. During the evening she will sleep and play before going to bed at 10 pm. She still has mad moments where she will run round the lounge, hallway and kitchen like something not right, she runs at full pelt with ears back and eyes wide like all the hounds of hell are after her and then she falls onto the floor panting. She loves chewing knucle bones which I get fresh from the butchers every week.

These are the only photos I have of her this week so here are a few of her mum, Athene and dad, Samson.

Athene

Samson

Well that's it for this week - we will be going to the caravan again on Friday, good weather has been forecast, so hopefully we shall get out a bit, will let you know.

Bye for now

Sally, Johanna and Neil.

Hello everyone,

Sally is now 28 kg, she has put on 4.2 kg over the last 2 weeks.

We have another momentous episode to report - Sally had her first public poo on Saturday. Hopefully this will be the start of the end of toilet training. Neil took her out for a short walk at about 9 am as we were taking the touring caravan to Barnard Castle for Neils' mum and dad who were staying there for 2 weeks so we would be in the car for 2 hours. Sally as usual was so good in the car - she falls asleep before we get to the motorway for at least an hour and then she sat in the middle of the back seat looking out of the windows. On arrival at the caravan site I took her for a stroll down a track thinking she would be desperate for a wee but it took her over half an hour of sniffing before she finally had a wee. While we were there a family came by with a dog and Sally just sat still while this 8 month old Hungarian Vishy something called Laslo bounded all around her. The woman commented on how quiet and calm Sally was and I was so pleased.

After we had left the lane we met a couple of ponies in a barn and Sally did not flinch when we heard a dog barking like she usually does so she is getting better. By the time we got back to the caravan everyone had set it up and got lunch ready, following which we set off back to our caravan in the lakes through Kirby Stephen and Kendal. Once we got there Sally slept for most of the afternoon after her lunch and later we walked down to the lake and back. It was such a lovely evening we all had out tea outside after Neil had got back from shopping including a load of bedding plants.

On Sunday we had a very lazy morning watching Cesar Millan on DVD - we all think he's great. After lunch I planted the pots up and then later we all went to Hawkshead, across the lake.

Sally and Neil in Hawkshead. This was the first time Sally had been anywhere with a lot of people and dogs around and she was fantastic. She sat and watched as people walked by and calmly walked by other people and dogs, even one that barked at her.

In amongst the crowds. Everyone said how lovely she is and commented on her soft coat.

Sally enjoying some ice cream in Hawkshead mmmmmmmmmmmm.

From Hawshead we went over to Tarn Hows. We had never been there before and I was surprised because Neil has been pretty much everywhere in the Lakes, but we shall definately be going back there again. It is a long time since I have been in such a beautiful idyllic location. There is a 1 1/2 mile walk around the tarn (which was originally 3 before a dam was built) with some slight gradients but nothing too much and we just took our time wandering round this beautiful lake.

Neil and Sally at the tarn.

........And with me.

Sally exploring the lakeside.

Making friends with a spaniel near the tarn.

Meeting a 'Belted Galloway' cow.

What a LOVELY day we all had and after our lovely walk we went back to the caravan for tea, and a chew on a bone (for Sally) and a nice rest (well Sally slept for most of the evening).

I would put more photos of the tarn on the blog but it takes ages so if anyone wants to see more let me know.

Well that's all for now.

Bye Neil, Johanna and Sally.

Hello all,

Here is another update on Sally as we have reached another milestone - she has just had her first public wee at last yipee!!!!!!

Neil and I had been shopping at Booths in Lytham this morning and as it was a nice day we took Sally for a walk along the beach for the first time. She really seemed to enjoy this and trotted along quite happily smelling everywhere and seeing other dogs - we even saw a brindle Bullmastiff dog who was huge but they were walking away from us and faster than we were going. When we were near Fairhaven Lake we met a couple of little terriers that wanted to play. It was on the way back along the grass that Sally just stopped and peed to great praise after.

Exploring the beach.

Making friends.

But Sally has not been all good this week. When I came home at lunchtime from work on Friday Sally was in her bed under the stairs and came to me very quietly so I thought she had been there all morning and praised her ... then I went into the lounge to a scene of destruction. She had managed to get 2 DVDs off the shelf (which she had never bothered with before) - one of them was in 2 pieces and the other just had the case chewed; she had chewed the corners off a little table in the shape of books; she had got a little cardboard charity box and chewed that and there was small change everywhere - I don't know if she had eaten any - I wouldn't put it past her. So now she will not be allowed to stay in that room when we are not in.

Here are some more photos taken in the last few weeks when I have not had my computer .....

Sally sunbating on my lounger at the caravan last weekend.

Sally likes plenty of cushions under her when she sleeps.

Having a taste of Neils' ice cream ...

and my ice cream...

Swan ..... what swan? Don't think Sally had seen the swan until it hissed at her then she turned and ran back up the bank.

We were visited by my sister, Ellen on the 15th April bringing a card for Neils' birthday and meeting Sally for the first time.

Sally wasn't happy with her bed under the stairs so she moved it into the middle of the hallway ... needless to say, it is back undr the stairs now.

Barking at Neil cleaning the outside of the caravan.

Helping me sunbathe.

Now it's Neils' turn.

At last where she should be ... oh yeah!!!!!!!!!

This is how Sally likes to sleep - at first she had a cusion under her but now she just sits on the couch and hangs her head over .... or on her back like this ...

With John and Thelma.

Well that's all for now. Will put another post on next week

Bye for now.

UPDATED

Hello everyone - well at last I have my computer back and am online. It seems ages since I last posted news of our Sally so here goes with all the news ....

Sally is now 21 weeks old today (Tuesday 21st April) and it is 9 1/2 weeks since we adopted her (is that all - it feels like we've had her forever). We have had so much fun over the last few weeks with her and it is amazing how she is developing her own personality and character.

We weighed her last night and she was 24.8 kgs (4 stone) and approx 20 inches high (almost her full grown height) and half her full grown body weight. Sally has put on 17 kgs (over 37 lbs) since we adopted her which is equivalent to 4 lbs per week. Neil says she will be about 8 stone when grown, she will certainly be bigger than Katie, our last dog.

Her sense of smell and taste have developed more now to the extent that she will not have food with limestone powder and cod liver oil in so we have to give it to her in a syringe which can be a very messy job. Neil holds her sitting on the floor and holds her mouth open and I squirt the mixture down her throat little by litte. But she always gets a nice treat after.

A couple of weeks ago she started losing her baby teeth and her adult ones are coming through fast. This results in her play bites being slightly less painful and she can still be very boisterous and biting at times. One thing that has helped with this is getting her fresh bones to chew on and she loves them and will chew them rather than us. When she gets too much we just isolate her in the her playpen or outside. We have now had the gates put on so Sally can stay outside on her own safely without wrecking the garden or swallowing something she shouldn't, as she still wants to taste everything.

The gates have helped a lot in toilet training and now Sally will often go to the lounge door and look back at us to be let outside. But she will not go to the loo outside of her territory yet despite going for plenty of short walks, she will always hold herself until she gets home. Neil has just taken her out this evening for 20 minutes and she could hardly wait to get home to pee. After saying this she does still have accidents in the house, especially when we are not in. Its like she has not realised yet that she has to hold it until she can be let out. It is the same at work, despite being taken out frequently she still has accidents .... but we are getting there (I think!!!!)

At least she is continent in the car where she is good as gold, even for short journeys she will curl up in the back and go to sleep. When we go to the caravan in the Lakes Sally will be asleep before we get on the motorway and wake up just as we turn onto the road leading to Windermere where the caravan is.

First view of the lake.

Sally loves being at the caravan and certainly makes herself very much at home. there. Again she can go outside onto the decking on her own and she loves to lie in the sunshine (just like her mum). We have started walking her down to the lake where she meets different people and is being socialised with other dogs especially Ellie a golden lab belonging to some friends of ours, Mark and Karen, who have a caravan on the same site. This weekend she met a swan for the first time but didn't get too close as it was hissing at her.

Meeting Ellie for the first time.

She has also made friends with another golden labrador called Holly who belongs to Christine who works for us in the office and brings Holly with her. Today I took Sally to work at 10 am and the two of them played together for 2 hours before we forced Sally to go into daddy's office where she soon fell asleep for 4 hours solid, it must have tired her out completely all that doggy playtime.