Bingley's field

Well heeled

This morning’s walk involved yet another stand-off with the tugboat captain who has now decided that if he can't pull me along that-a-way, then he'll just lie down until I see things from his point of view. He tried that tactic for the first time on yesterday's lunchtime walk, but because it was a lovely sunny day I was quite happy to lie down with him; something which I'm sure he didn't expect!

But doing that at 7 o'clock on a cold damp morning is another matter, and I certainly wasn't going to join him on the cold dewy grass. Instead I had to stand there gently pulling on his lead every few seconds, until he finally gave in and we continued with our 'walk'. After several encounters like this we both, as you can imagine, returned home feeling a bit disgruntled.



But this afternoon's walk was a completely different matter and I had my first taste of what it's like to walk a well-trained dog! I'd already reviewed my tactics and realised that I need to give Bingley some extra lee-way and allow him to explore and snuffle the long grass around the edge of the field, always his main objective on these walks, for longer periods. But after that it was almost as though he was thanking me, and off we went on a most dignified walk....well, better than the previous efforts anyway. We even included some road practice down by the dual carriageway, and that felt really good: as I chanted the litany of 'heel, heel, good boy, heel...' he trotted along very happily for the whole time, and wasn't at all put off by the traffic.


We had such a good time (okay, I had such a good time!) that we stayed out for a bit longer than we should - about 30 minutes, and I think that even with all the rest-stops he was pretty tired by the time that we returned. After a couple of long drinks of water he was fast asleep in a few moments and, hopefully, having pleasant dreams.

I don't for a moment think that we've cracked it and that Bingley will now suddenly stop that fierce tug-like pulling, but it was nice to get a glimpse of a well behaved dog. Let's see what happens tomorrow......!

Virtual Bingley

So far you've only met the virtual Bingley: the idealised (and idolised!) little pooch, drop-dead gorgeous and good as gold. But we thought that it was high time that you shared glimpses of the real world Bingley: still handsome, still beguiling, but not always a little bundle of delight.

Some aspects of this other Bing are difficult to capture with the camera: the daily bouts of hiccoughs, something we were initially concerned about before we realised that it was just a puppy thing. Equally difficult to capture are those quite stunning jaw-splitting yawns accompanied by a sound like a squeaky wooden gate being slowly opened. If I'm working upstairs I can still hear those yawns, and that now familiar sound tells me when he's waking up!

But here's a photo of his needle sharp teeth.

Unfortunately we've become all too familiar with those alligator jaws! Teaching bite-inhibition has been an on-going chore since day one; it's proving to be effective, that's for sure - but it's been hard work, especially for Jane. Having said that, that's been the only real problem so far (well, apart from the over-zealous affection for anything remotely fleecy!). He’s due to begin teething though, and we’ve had glimpses of not too appealing adolescent behaviour recently: whining and the stamping of paws when he can’t get his own way. Getting has own way usually involves playing tug-of-war with him and his Wubba, or stroking his tummy until he falls asleep. Oddly enough, and don’t ask me how I figured this one out (I’m just naturally cunning, I guess) singing him a little lullaby gets him to sleep in seconds. Guaranteed! Possibly he’s just trying to escape the sound of my voice: ‘Okay, okay, I’ll go to sleep – just stop making that noise!’ But singing him 'Bingley's Sleepy Song' always works.

He learns things incredibly quickly (when he wants to); toilet training has been easy, and 'sit' seemed almost automatic. We're now working on 'stay', and that seems to be coming along nicely as well…..on the whole! Walking to heel is still a challenge though, and the tugboat captain is there a lot of the time; but there are definite signs that he's preparing to give up the helm - especially if it involves a nibble of something tasty as a reward! But jumping up to greet everyone he meets is still a problem (sorry, Wendy!). So I'll let you know how things progress with that over the next week.

Of course a lot of this training is a two way process and it requires us to be able to read the signals. Inevitably we do come to loggerheads at times, and he has managed to quietly get his own back more than once! We recently left him, as we thought, quietly settled; only to return a short while later to find....




Notice the incriminating evidence on his muzzle, and how the little reprobate can now hang his paws over the top of the gate. Boys will be boys I suppose: I was always taking things apart to see how they worked, Bingley clearly has similar inclinations – and in this case it’s also preparation for the snowy adventures yet to come. And yes, we’re back to the Ikea bed…..I’ll tell you that story later!

This destructive streak doesn’t stop with his bed, but it does end with his tail. Honestly, he spends ages chasing his own tail and then chewing on it! Why? It’s lucky that we aren’t taking him to any dog shows or we’d have to resort to hair gel in order to repair that, by now, well-chewed and ragged tail-end!


So you see: Bingley isn’t Mr Perfect after all!

Still, when we go to check that he’s okay and find him asleep like this, it all seems worth it

Red and green Saturday

Tugboat Bingley

Bingley's daily walks have so far been a pleasure, but I have to work hard at stopping him from pulling me along in tugboat style.

One of the joys of living close to both the Tyne and the coast has been having the opportunity to watch all the constantly fascinating river activity. But sadly, though we know people who are still boat builders, there's now only one actual shipyard which is still in operation. Nevertheless, over the years we've seen many astonishing developments take place on the river; and much of that activity has involved those wonderful working boats: tugs.



Bingley isn't built like a tug, but he can certainly pull like one; and even at 16.8kg(!) he can catch me off balance at times. Over the course of the week I've been trying to encourage him to walk to heel, and surprisingly I've made gradual headway towards success. Treats help! He'll do almost anything if he knows he's going to get something tasty as a reward; but even without a treat there are definitely periods when he'll trot along quite happily. Of course we aren't going far, or for that long; we're never out for more than half an hour, and less than half of that time is spent walking. Instead we spend regular periods sitting and talking about what we can see and hear (I'm sure that he understands everything I say!). There's a dual carriageway at the far side of the playing field, and we've taken strolls down there so that he can get used to traffic - not that he seems to be remotely unsettled by all the cars whizzing past; but it still seems wise to get him used to all the noise and activity of a busy road. Before long though, he'll start snuffling the pocket where I keep the treats (it didn't take him any time to figure that out!), or he'll suddenly spot something which I can never see but which he finds irresistible, and we're off again.

When I first read the advice regarding the 5 minute guideline for dog walking, I thought that it seemed a bit measly. The advice recommends no more than 5 minutes of walking for each month of the dog's age; Bingley is 3 months old but honestly, what can you do in 15 minutes? It hardly seemed worth setting out! But of course those 15 minutes of walking are just right, and although he's always reluctant to return to his own backyard (he digs his heels in at the gate and gives me a look that says 'I don't want to go back in yet, I want to play some more'), once he does come back in he's ready for a kip.

We've bought a water bowl for the backyard so he doesn't have to wait whilst I rummage for the door keys; instead he can have a well-earned drink straight away. Of course learning to use this new water bowl took a few days: it's stainless steel with a very rubbery smelling non-slip rubber base. Bingley loves to lick awful things like this, so stopping him from trying to do that was the first hurdle to overcome. Then when he looked into the bowl he could see that other dog, so he just stood there and barked at it the first few times! Now however, he's getting used to it. When we get back in from our walk he'll have a long drink whilst I unlock the door; then we'll go inside and he'll have another drink from his usual bowl; after that it's over to his bed where, once he's checked that all his toys are still in place, he'll immediately curl up and go to sleep.

Yippee, I say - and off I go for a couple of hours of freedom from puppies!

Funny face

Fur baby

Bingley's soft russet coat has now been almost completely replaced with a coarser, darker coat: a very dark brown in certain light. But although that early two-tone effect has gone, wonderful patterns remain. There's a thick herringbone ridge of fur running down his back, more apparent when he's stroked than when he's photographed. And these ridges of fur are becoming more defined on other parts of his body as well, especially on his chest but also on his legs and flanks. His ears are still incredibly soft though, and they get blown about in the wind; but even on his head there's a very subtle fur-ridge appearing on his forehead.

Little Bing's not so little any more, and though he's still a puppy we're definitely getting glimpses of the dog he's going to become.

Tummy troubles

I've been feeling a bit under the weather this week, probably a lack-of-summer bug; but now Bingley seems to have been affected as well. His energy levels seem ok, as does his interest in sniffing out the most obscure corner of wherever he seems to be. But his toilet has definitely gone a bit wonky! I'll spare you the details; personally I have no problems with discussing this and I'm sure that many of you know how poo can be a useful indicator of your dog's well-being: but I'll get told off if I continue!

Apart from that issue, Bing seems to be just fine. He ate all his lunch today, and then licked his bowl clean. We played outside for half an hour and I can assure you that his energy levels haven't been affected! He did have a scary moment though: exploring behind some of the plant pots by the gate, he suddenly gave a terrified yelp and reversed out at full speed! I've no idea if he just spooked himself or whether he encountered a particularly belligerent bumble bee. There are bees bumbling around the agapanthus, but I couldn't see any sign of him having been stung; though that's likely just a matter of time - he's always chasing anything that flies close to ground level. I should also mention that he's acquired a taste for spiders and he'll often reappear from a plant pot foray with a muzzle covered in cobwebs and licking his lips.

Given that everything he finds goes into his mouth, it isn't surprising that he's ended up with an upset tummy; and now that I've memorised the names of all the plants which he shouldn't eat, I have to become an entomologist as well! So don’t for a moment think that living with Bingley is only about beautiful eyes, lovely coat, handsome face, big paws, gorgeous fluffy ears……