# The Secret Diary of Freddy M., Aged 5-and-a-bit-months



## fjm

Hello I am Freddy. My Human says I am old enough to write my own diary now, and she will help with the long words if I ask her. We are having something called Crismas and it is fun but very muddly - there are lots of big red pads instead of the kind we have at home and lots of people shrieking when they step in things I do on them and Human telling them that if they will lift me out of my pen then leave all the doors open and not watch me it is not her fault and we go out in the garden lots and lots, which is lovely because there are really interesting things to chase - big brown birds called fesants and a big brown animal that ran very fast that Human says was hair. It was certainly hairy. And there are very big white woolly things over the fence but it seems it is very, _very_ important to leave them alone. 

I got some new toys yesterday, and there are lots of the nice brown chewy things that pop out of bottles to play with and lots more people I know to cuddle so it is very nice, just a bit muddly about the mats and not chasing things.

(Puppy in training + careless humans + scatter rugs + dim lights + bare feet = Guess what...)


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## Liz

(To the tune of Que Será, Será...)

🎼 Que Freddy, Freddy!
Wherever he pees, he pees.
I'll add your socks to the laundry.
Que Freddy, Freddy! 🎶


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## 94Magna_Tom

Oops🤦‍♂️!!


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## cowpony

Oh my!


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## Rose n Poos

Hello Freddy! You're in very good literary company with your Aunties . I'm looking forward to getting your side of things .


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## fjm

It is still sort of Crismas but we are at another house and I know this one better and it is easier to find the right pads and not so busy and muddly. But it is very wet with lots of water falling from the sky so I didn't want to poo outside and did it on the pad in my nice warm pen and my Human says that is not as good as outside but is OK because she didn't like standing around out in the cold and wet either.

Everything is shrinking - it is very strange. When I first came to live with Poppy and Sophy they were much bigger than me but now they are hardly as big as I am, and toys I could not get my mouth round are so much smaller I can pick them up two at a time, and very nearly three sometimes. And if I bounce I can nearly bounce out of the travel pen it has shrunk so much, which is good fun, but if I really want to get out I lean hard on the side and it falls over so I can just walk out. Mostly I don't though, because it is nice and warm and comfy in there, and there are nearly always biscuits or something else good to eat, but it is nice to know I can if I want to. If everything goes on shrinking I will soon be able to climb the stairs and get up on the sofa - even the humans might get small enough to climb on!

Love Freddy xx

[I swear his legs have grown another inch in the last week! No wonder he needs so much sleep. fjm]


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## fjm

Guess what! We got home to our own house yesterday _and the stairs have shrunk!_ Everyone went upstairs without me and I got bored waiting for them to come back down so I tried really hard and went up too, and it is easy peasy once you know how, now the stairs are a lot smaller. And I had proper grown up breakfast like Sophy because My Human forgot to order more boring biscuits in time, and it was lovely. And MH was happy because I did a poo straight away outside this morning instead of finding lots of interesting things to pounce on like I did last night (there were hundreds of them, but they were invisible and humans are hopeless at smelling things). 

But last night something scary happened while I was fast asleep. MH says it was just a Bad Dream, and nothing to worry about, but I woke up all bothered and barking. MH let me get into her bed and snuggle until I felt better - she says that is what her Mum used to do when she was little and it Always Works.

It is nice to be home, where everything smells right and is in the right place and things are not muddly.

Freddy xx

[I was upstairs setting up his pen and settling the older dogs when there was a scampering noise and there was Freddy on the landing, very pleased with himself indeed. He had got as far as the third step earlier on, but doing all three flights (6, 4, and 8 steps) at the first attempt was impressive. fjm]


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## fjm

Today I had *A Bath*. I always thought it looked fun when MH was in it, but now I'm not sure. I quite liked the paddling bit, but not having water tipped over me, and especially not having it splashed around my face. Warm towels are OK, but I think the blowy thing might be dangerous. MH sang me a song about lovely warm snuggles though, which felt safe and comfy, and Sophy and Poppy say the blowy thing is quite nice when you get used to it. But not Baths - Sophy goes downstairs if she thinks it might be her turn next. I am going to have to learn how to go down the stairs as well as up...

Freddy xx


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## Mfmst

Freddy, everything is shrinking because you are getting bigger! It won’t be too much longer before you can wait to go outside and do your toilet. You seem to be doing a good job at home using the pee pad, and not having accidents. The goal is to spend every night in the big girls’ bed seamlessly. You can do it!

Unfortunately, we all have to have baths and many humans use those blowing things too. It’s just the way of the world. I love sleeping with my humans and have my special spot. I’m a big guy and sometimes need more bed real estate. The male human is easy to push to the edge. Don’t try it with Tilly, the cat...

Buck


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## fjm

I am getting very good at the pees and poos outside thing - mostly just the very first pee of the day on the pad. Then I run back to the bedroom and ask to be lifted into bed and have a lovely snuggle with MH for an hour or so till it is time to get up properly. I don't think I could push her out of bed, and she is warm and cuddly so I don't need to. And Sophy and Poppy get very cross if I wake them up, so I am careful to leave them alone too. It is a very big bed so there is room for all of us, but if I go to bed in my pen I can play and chew things as much as I like without them all telling me not to wriggle, so that is better at bedtime. And during the day we do Freddy Beddy! which means something nice to eat and a comfy snooze, and that is nice too. Best of all is going for walks and running very fast and finding interesting smells and picking up sticks and leaves and splashing through puddles and meeting other dogs and humans and getting treats for being good. 

This is a picture of me doing Freddy Beddy! while we were away having Crismas









Freddy xx

[Freddy Beddy! is a sanity saver. Sophy asks me to put him to bed when she has had enough, and he is so good about settling there. fjm]


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## fjm

This is me showing how very long my legs have got. This human said he didn't much like dogs but he was very good at playing and cuddles.


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## cowpony

Galen learned to go down stairs by tumbling down them. Good thing puppies bounce well!


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## fjm

I am learning to do down the stairs as well as up. I practised by myself and did a whole lot while MH was baking treats - all the way down from the first landing! [6 - fjm]


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## fjm

What do you do when your human gets all cross and grumpy? Mine is being all grumbly and I can't think why. Last night I took her out two or three times for lovely sniffy playtime, and she just moaned and muttered about puppies that won't poo. OK, we got a bit wet, but the puddles and the water running down the drain and the way the rain sparkled in the torch light were really interesting. And then I tried to cheer them all up with exciting games, like bouncing Sophy and chasing Tilly and teasing Poppy into chasing me, but none of them wanted to play and MH got grumbly again. And this morning she didn't seem to want to stay out in the fresh air for long either, and it was hardly raining at all and nearly getting light. I think she needs more exercise.
Freddy xx

[Sigh. Piling more towels onto the hall radiator and longing for Spring, longer days and better weather... fjm]


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## 94Magna_Tom

Ha!! Hoomans! Can't live with them. Can't live without them. 🤯


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## fjm

Sophy has taught me a new game, called Maroon-a-Puppy. She goes further and further up the stairs and I follow her, then she goes downstairs and gets into bed and leaves me stuck on the landing. I quite like the first bit of the game, but not the second bit. MH comes and carries me down after a while, but she says I must either learn how to come down the stairs, or not chase Sophy up in the first place. And she says I must also learn to play fight quietly, because she Cannot Stand That Racket a Moment Longer! But it is very, very exciting when Sophy plays at fighting and bitey facey, and making lots of pretending to be fierce noise is half the fun, and sometimes I forget and pull Sophy's ears and she gets very loud too. So then MH says Freddy Beddy! and I get a lovely biscuit and go to sleep for a bit. I think play fighting is much more fun than the marooning game...

Freddy xx


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## 94Magna_Tom

You'll be coming down those stairs soon enough! Take them slow when you do!


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## fjm

My teeth feel funny. I don't like anyone holding me and looking in my mouth because it is rude and it might hurt but My Human and I play a special game when she is in the bath which I like - she gives me a big drip of bath water on her finger and I let her put it in my mouth. She says my grown up canine teeth are coming through but the baby ones are still there, which is why it feels funny. One is wobbly already and they are all nice and straight and just where they should be, so it is not go to the vet sort of feeling funny, more wait and see with lots of nice chews, which is much better.

Today I was very, very good - MH forgot to put my lead on before she opened the door and I dashed off to see if any of the other dogs were out, but when MH called I ran straight back and waited while she put the lead on and she said that was so good I should have lots of treats. And I got more while we were out for running to her even though Rusty and other dogs were there, and for Pooing In The Garden and because there were Bangs, so it was a good morning for treats and now there are hardly any left, so we might have chicken for this afternoon's walk! And I can go upstairs all by myself and open the bathroom door - it's easy, you just have to push it in the right place - and I explained that if I have dry biscuits for lunch I can't go to sleep until I have had a big drink of water and MH understood at once and gave me a bowl of water in my pen, so now I am full and comfy and sleepy snuggly and dreaming about the next walk and chicken...

Freddy xx


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## fjm

My pen's gone! My Human got all busy tidying up, and she has tidied it away as well. I have one of the little round pens instead but I am not sure whether I like it or not. It doesn't feel nearly as safe when the noisy sucky blowy thing comes near. MH says it is An Experiment now that I am older and don't need to be in a pen as much, because the big one took up so much room and got so messy when I played with the pee pads, and it is time I began to learn to Settle Down out of the pen without teasing Sophy and Poppy and Tilly. I can sometimes, but only when I am very tired...

And I can't settle at all just now because it is nearly tea time and we are just back from a long walk and my tummy feels very empty, even though I got extra treats for doing poos outside and from two nice humans we met. And even if my eyes are closing it is not because I need a sleep, just so I don't have to think about how hungry I am. And that wasn't a yawn...

Freddy xx


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## reraven123

Sweet dreams, Freddy!


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## fjm

I don't like wobbly teeth. They make playing fetch and tug uncomfortable and my mouth all sore. MH says it is Hanging by a Thread but I can't feel any threads, just a tooth that won't stay where it should. And water is falling from the sky again so it is horrible outside. And breakfast was lovely - grown up breakfast just like Sophy's - but it was ages ago. I want my tooth to stop being wobbly so games are fun again...

Freddy xx

[Poor Fred - I know just how he feels. Training games with soft treats from the freezer until the weather improves, I think. fjm]


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## Rose n Poos

Oh, dear, poor Freddy


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## Liz

Do soft treats include chicken? Asking for a friend.


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## fjm

Chicken pancakes are made from chicken, chicken stock, egg and flour and are Freddy's favourite thing in all the world! (So far...)


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## fjm

Well, the morning was a bit wet and boring but this afternoon was _brilliant_! We went in the car to where we often walk but just as we were getting out there were lots and lots of loud bangs and Sophy didn't like it so we got back in and went to something called The Park, which was much, much better. There were lots of interesting places to walk and sniff, and I met a dog a bit like me but bigger and we played chase for ages all over some lovely squidgy muddy grass and through muddy puddles. Then we went on and met lots more nice people and children and dogs. One dog was small and very white and fluffy and wearing a blue frilly frock but MH wouldn't let me play with her because she said I would make her all muddy. And when we got home I had a lovely splashy paddle in the sink in nice warm water, and got to see where the treat pot and all the scrummies live up on the benches, and then it was nearly time for tea (proper grown up tea like Sophy), and I found some parsnip MH dropped while she was cooking and she let me keep it to chew on and then Sophy played with me without getting cross so it turned into a really good day after all. But I am _not_ sleepy, whatever MH says...


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## fjm

Today was even better. I followed Sophy down the stairs while MH was waving her legs in the air, the way she does most mornings, so now I can do Down as well as Up. Then we went to a place called The Shore and it was even more brilliant than the Park! HUGE puddles, and ENORMOUS squidgy mud bits, and lots of nice dogs. One called Patch played chase with me for ages - he had a ball he said I was not to touch, but when he forgot about the ball he was very good at chase. And I remembered not to bounce at people and to come back for treats every now and then, so MH says I was very good. When we got home I had a paddle in the sink again, and some biscuits for lunch, and now it's time for a sleep because I did _lots_ of running.

Freddy xx

[Thank heavens for friendly, energetic young dogs with nice owners! fjm]


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## fjm

This afternoon got very exciting because Amber came to my house with her humans! She is grown up but much smaller than me, and I think she should want to play but she says very loudly that she doesn't, and it can get very noisy. After a bit her big human picked her up out of reach, but her small human played with me and my toys and that was lovely. I like small humans - they are good at playing and I can reach to lick their ears even when they are standing up. There are two nearby who are just the right size - I wish we had one.

Freddy xxx

[Freddy is one of the few dogs I know who really like 3-year old children...! fjm]


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## fjm

I'm discovering lots of things - some I sort of knew before, but didn't really understand them. My Human really likes it when I pee and poo outside, but pads are OK too. When it is outside better stuff happens, though. And if I run back to her when she calls my name and jumps up and down waving her arms I get treats. Treats happen quite a lot on walks if you keep an eye on your Human, it seems. And now that I can go downstairs as well as up it's suddenly much quieter and more boring when MH does her leg waving thing in the morning, because Sophy used to go down to the landing half way down the stairs where I couldn't reach her to try to make her play, then she would bark to try to hurry MH up, and I would bark to ask her to come back upstairs, and MH would bark too. Now Sophy jumps up on the bed with MH where it is too high for me and doesn't bark at all so I don't either, and neither does MH. MH thinks this is a Good Thing but I think it is Boring.

So lots to think about, and thinking is hard work and makes me sleepy. 

Freddy xxx


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## fjm

Guess what! This morning I didn't want to play tug because my mouth still felt funny but after breakfast I had a snooze and then we went outside and when we came back in I thought a game might be nice after all and my mouth had stopped feeling funny and we played tug and fetch and it was lovely! Then MH played Tooth Snuggles and said she thinks that both the teeth that needed to come out were gone, the wobbly one and the not wobbly one, and she found one on the rug, and that is a Good Thing. And I think it is, too, because now playing tug is fun again.

Freddy xxx

[He was a bit too wriggly to be absolutely sure, but it looks as if both deciduous canines are gone and he is much more comfortable. Another milestone hit on the button - 5 1/2 months. fjm]


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## 94Magna_Tom

That's when Elroy (Standard) lost his too. One day apart from one to the other. I guess mini's and Standards are on the same schedule!


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## fjm

Today has been very interesting and just a bit scary. First there was my mouth feeling better, which is a nice bit. Then when we went for a walk by the river there was a Monster digging a great big hole and I wanted to stay and help because I am very good at digging but Sophy said Monsters are Dangerous and the man looking after it stopped it digging and said she was probably right and I might fall into the hole, so we went home instead. 

Then just after lunch I was in my pen having a snooze when a different kind of Monster came battering at the window trying to get in, which was not so nice. My Human was in the kitchen and couldn't see it, but Poppy did and was very, very brave - I did not know she could be that brave or move that fast. She jumped up on the back of the sofa and shouted at it to _Go Away_, but it went on trying to get in, and I shouted too, and Sophy joined in. Then MH came and took us all into the hall and said it wasn't dangerous and sang a song about Flappy Flappy Bang Bang until we were all calm and comfy again. But I think Poppy is right and it probably was a Monster.

And this afternoon we went to the vets and had treats and stood on the machine that says whether you are growing and we were all Perfect so we had more treats. And then we went for a lovely long walk somewhere different and met lots of dogs and people and I remembered about not bouncing unless they asked me and running back when MH called me and I was so good MH gave me Pancake! I love Pancake, so I watched her very carefully so I could get to her quickly every time she got the bag out. And on the way back Sophy played at pretend fighting _and_ chase, and she hardly ever wants to play chase so that was a lovely bit. By the time we got home it was tea time, and MH said it was also snooze time, even though I was not a bit sleepy...

Freddy xx

[Out like a light 5 minutes after finishing his tea! fjm]


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## fjm

I am feeling very proud of myself. Today I went for a walk without any lead at all for the very first time - not even one trailing behind me. MH says I have got so good at the "Poppy come! Sophy come! _Freddy come!_" game now that I get Pancake that I can run off leash in the very safe places. I even remembered to run to her for treats when I was playing with Cindy, although that was easy because I had to get there quickly before Cindy ate them all - she is very big and very greedy. And when we got home I came in when MH asked me instead of staying outside to play with Harry who was out with his human. I do _love_ Pancake!

Freddy xx

[Homemade chicken pancake is definitely the secret weapon, for now at least. fjm]


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## Liz

What do Poppy and Sophy think of these Pancake games, fjm?


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## fjm

[When Freddy gets pancake, everyone gets pancake - I try to keep life fair. Frequent reinforcement for things that are now second nature to them is their bonus for putting up with a puppy in the house, and means everyone stays happy. He did very well this afternoon with gradually escalating distractions - got the idea that we gather by the side of the path to Wait for Bicycles to go by and turned on a sixpence to run back from going to greet humans, but paused just long enough to touch noses with a nice dog before dashing back. fjm]


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## fjm

I don't understand humans. This morning we went for a walk and I didn't have a lead on and I was very, very good about running back every time MH called me, even when there were other dogs to play with. But then she called me and tried to put my lead on, which is not part of the game and I didn't want the lead, just the pancake, so I didn't let her. I can move much faster than she can! I don't think people should be allowed to change the rules suddenly without even asking.

Freddy xx

[Whoops! I had done some work on collar grabs, but I should have remembered that there is a big difference when it might be signalling time to go home! Lesson learned - more work needed. fjm]


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## fjm

We've been playing a new game. My Human calls "_Freddy come!" _and I dash to her and get a piece of pancake. Then she says "Freddy collar" and holds my harness for a moment and I get more pancake. It's really good, because I get lots of pancake then she lets go and I can run off to play. Sometimes she gets muddled trying to find a spare hand and nearly clonks me with the lead or a poo bag or the treat pot - best is when she dropped the treat pot and I got even more pancake! It's all very tiring, trying to remember all these new things, especially when there is so much running and sniffing and meeting and greeting to fit in as well - perhaps that is why everyone else gets so snoozy in the evenings when I want to play, and Sophy gets cross and tells MH to do _Freddy Beddy!_ so she can have some peace and I go in my bed with a biscuit even though I'm not really tired _at all_ and could go on playing for _hours_ if they would let me ...

Freddy xx

[Peace, perfect peace... fjm]


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## Mfmst

What’s the recipe for your chicken pancakes? They read dog delicious


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## fjm

Pancake treats recipe 

Cooked chicken breast (an ounce or two/30-50g), the unsalted chicken stock they were cooked in (say half a pint/250-300ml), a raw egg, enough flour of your choice to make it the consistency of runny cream. Puree the first three ingredients in a blender or with a stick blender, then add flour a little at a time to get the right consistency.

I use a one-egg non stick frying pan to make the pancakes. Make a hard roll of kitchen paper towel and put a dab of oil on it, then use it to very lightly oil the pan. Heat to medium high and pour in a scant tablespoonful of the batter, tilting the pan to spread it out - these are French style crêpes rather than thick American pancakes. When the surface is dry test whether the pancake will lift easily - as ever, the first is the trickiest! As soon as it will flip it over, give the second side half a minute or so, and tip it out. Wipe around the pan again, and repeat till all the batter is used up. I roll up the cooled pancakes, pack them into boxes and defrost as needed, slicing the rolled pancake to make tiny treats. 

If you get bored making pancakes add more flour to the batter to get a dough like consistency, pat it out to around 1/2"/1cm thick on a non stick baking sheet, and bake it for 20 minutes in a medium oven. Cut into fingers and then into suitable sized pieces for your dog and then return to a very low oven for several hours till very dry and hard. These are Freddy Beddy! biscuits.


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## fjm

We have had a lovely long walk over fields this afternoon. I understand the _Freddy come! Freddy collar! _game now and I'm getting very good at it - I ran so fast yesterday to get back to MH when she called that I slipped on the paving and hurt myself. But I got extra pancake to make the bump better, and that helped make it go away. We are playing a new game called _Freddy with me! _- if I stay very close to MH while she walks along I get lots and lots of treats. It's hard work staying close enough, especially when Sophy and Poppy want to join in, so we only play it for a bit at a time. 

This evening MH told me off for teasing Tilly-cat, but I think Tilly started it by looking at me and when I barked and bounced and Tilly smacked me Sophy came to rescue me and I ran upstairs after Tilly and MH said "Leave the cat ALONE!" in That Voice so I came down again, but I still think it was Tilly's fault. Sophy is playing with me lots and tells me which dogs are nice and shows me how to get humans to produce treats and knows all the best places to sniff on walks and is not as grumpy as she was a few weeks ago, but she still says I should learn to settle down in the evenings so the grown ups can have some peace. They spend hours and hours and _hours _snoozing - you'd think they would want some fun after all that lazing around.

Freddy xx

[Sophy is now 5 weeks post spay and has been markedly more energetic this last week or so. Freddy is pretty good about breaking off play when she signals that she has had enough, and they are well matched in size and weight, but I do worry about him barging into her. She will tell him when he goes too far though, and is being a huge help in raising him, just as I hoped she would be. fjm]


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## Dianaleez

Freddie, we need more pictures of you and your friends.


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## fjm

[Sorry pics are so infrequent - I don't have a smartphone, and have mislaid my camera as I so rarely use it! fjm]


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## fjm

What do you call it when you look at your human and feel all warm and comfy inside? I used not to like cuddles much unless I was very sleepy, but now if I ask her she will lift me up and rub my ears and my tummy and we have special times for cuddling, and I look into her eyes and it feels cosy and happy and nice. And then I hop down and try to make Sophy play fight with me, or see if Tilly would like a game of chase, and life is exciting again!

Freddy xx


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## Rose n Poos

The best part of life, dear Freddy 💞


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## fjm

Another lovely day. Now that I know "Freddy come!" I don't have to have my lead on every time we go out of the house, just at night or if there is something that might be dangerous, and it's much better because I can look to see if Amber or Gus and Elton are out while the others are getting themselves sorted out. This afternoon we went for another lovely long walk along the river and when we were nearly back to the car we met another dog on his lead and MH called us all back for pancake just in case he did not like being bounced but his person said he was on his lead because he was only young and would run off, and he was not quite two. And My Human agreed that it was important to be careful with young dogs, and that I was just six months old this week, and she let me say hello politely and then we all three followed her back up the path without needing any leads at all and she said she was Very Proud of me. It's nice when humans are proud of you - you get lots of pancake.

Did you know toys have different names? It's very confusing and I only know a few of them, but MH says learning more might be a good game to play. 

Freddy xx

[OK, I admit to being smug! fjm]


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## Liz

You're smug?! Imagine how Sophy and Poppy feel, knowing that all of their hard work is paying off


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## fjm

I am six whole months old and today I got a present! A big box arrived the other day and My Human said it was more food for Tilly-cat and she didn't need to open it just yet but today she remembered there was something for me too and there were three new little tennis balls and the lovely bag and cardboard they came with. It is much harder to pick up two at once with my new teeth - they are not as pointy as the ones that fell out - but picking up the bag and a ball at the same time is easy peasy. But the cardboard is the best bit - just right to chew, especially as Sophy doesn't want to play. I am being very grown up and chewing it on the bed next to hers, doing what MH calls Settling Down and I think is more Being Bored Unless There is a Good Chew.

Freddy xx


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## Liz

Happy six month birthday, Freddy! How lovely when presents arrive attached to more presents.


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## PeggyTheParti

Happy half birthday, Freddy!


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## Mfmst

Boys are so loving and devoted. Freddy is not an exception


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## Rose n Poos

Happy Half a Birthday, Freddy!


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## fjm

Now that I am nearly grown up I know lots of things. I know about Pancake and Chicken and how to get them - some games are very easy like Sit, and some are more difficult but more fun, like the Freddy Come! game. My Human says I am very, very good at that. Yesterday we went for a different walk in a field and we met some of my favourite people - one of them has a special chair that moves and he lets me climb up him so that I can lick his ears. We saw them again on the way back and MH let me run right across the field to say hello to them and their dog and then called me and waved her arms and I ran back fast as the wind and it was lovely. And I know that when we get back from walks I get a special Freddy Beddy! biscuit and a snuggly snooze in bed, and I have nearly worked out how to open the door of my pen, which has a slidey thing you have to scrabble at till it makes a big enough hole, and I know to stop half way to the car to wait for the others, and only to chase Tilly when Sophy and Poppy join in because otherwise she chases me back, and lots of other things too.

This is me yesterday when MH kept trying to play and take photos at the same time and it didn't work very well.









Freddy xx


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## 94Magna_Tom

You are such a BIG BOY Freddy! And you learn so quickly too! Humans love that! Those pancakes must be yummy yummy in your tummy! No wonder you are happy to please! Keep your human happy and you'll be happy too! Good work Freddy!


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## fjm

Now I'm getting grown up I don't see why I should have to do what I'm told all the time - I don't _want _to get in the car, or have my lead put on at the end of a walk, or settle down in the evenings, or all the other boring stuff. It's not fair, being bossed around by everyone, just because they are older than me. I am just as big as Sophy and Poppy and Tilly, and I can run much faster, and I think they should all leave me alone to do what I like, and that goes for My Human too. Games are OK, and pancake is lovely, but I want to do my own thing!

Freddy xx

[Here we go - amenable puppy is rapidly developing aspects of stroppy teenager! fjm]


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## fjm

I think if the cat is allowed to go outside whenever she likes and come back in at all hours and jump onto the table to eat (and she never eats all of her food - she leaves some just to taunt us dogs) and then walk right past me to the water bowl giving me superior nur-nur-ne-nur-nur looks then I should be allowed to bark at her without being sent to bed. Even with a biscuit. It's all Tilly's fault...
Freddy xx


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## fjm

Today MH said I had little lumps of hair behind my ears and it was all her fault for not seeing how fast my hair is growing there and brushing it more often but that they would have to be sorted before they got bigger and sore. So she started brushing them and usually I quite like brushing but this time it got tuggy and uncomfortable and I didn't like it and wriggled and bit the brush and she left my ears alone and just did the nice bit on my back instead. Then when it was scrummy toothpaste time she spent ages finding things in the bathroom, but I got lots and lots of toothpaste to lick so it was OK, and she fiddled a bit with my ears and something went snip snip while I was licking and she said it was all done, but now I am growing up we will have to brush ears more often. Sophy says it only hurts if there are lumps, so it may be OK...

I'm bored. It is not time for a walk and Sophy won't play and I don't want to play with toys and Poppy is being cross because I trod on her. Gus and Elton are not at their house so I can't go and see them and Amber is silly. I am staring at MH to tell her it is time to stop just sitting there and to come and play an interesting game, but she says it is good for puppies to entertain themselves sometimes. Humph!

Freddy xx


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## fjm

I found out what I wanted to do - a lovely long sleepy snuggle on MH's lap. Now I know why Sophy and Poppy always try to be there first.
Fxx


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## fjm

My Human has been fiddling with my ears for _days_ but she says the lumps are all gone and now we have to keep them gone. On one day I had so many treats while she fiddled with my ears that I got an upset tummy and did a big splat poo in the kitchen and had to have a bath. She says there are more little mats on my tummy where I have peed and my harness rubbed a bit but she will shave those. Does shave mean the buzzy, tickly thing? It's not too bad when it is next to me or just touching me, but I'm not sure I want it right next to my skin, especially just there. Anyway there are now special Brush Time treats that fit into the end of a Kong and are quite difficult to get out, so brushing time is not as boring as it was and as long as the brush doesn't tug I don't mind too much.

Last night the bedroom light was on nearly all night and Sophy kept getting out of bed and going downstairs or into the bathroom to be sick and MH went with her and in the end they went downstairs and stayed there for ages - it was nearly getting up time when they came back. But My Human went back to sleep and didn't wake up for hours, not until it was actually light outside - just as well I'd had a pee in the bathroom on one of their trips in there. This morning we went to see the lovely vets and had a go on the scales and treats and cuddles and it was lovely. Sophy says her bit was horrible, and she Does Not Like Vets, especially when they want to squeeze her tummy when they know she hates it, and then bung things into unmentionable places and stick needles into her. MH says she was being a drama queen, and if she kept still she would hardly feel it, but I'm glad they don't do things like that to me!

[It is not just poodles that mat in minutes during coat change. And it looks as if poor Sophy has a second dose of the gastric bug that is doing the rounds. I am scheduling a long, much needed nap for everyone this afternoon. fjm]


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## 94Magna_Tom

Awwwwe. I hope Sophy feels better!


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## fjm

[Sophy has had a tiny lunch and tea of canned gastro food, but doesn't want treats, or to play, or to exert herself in any way. There is a nasty gastric bug around, and I am pretty sure that is the problem - just grateful a Prevomax jab stops the vomiting in its tracks and enables her to eat and drink before dehydration becomes a problem. We all had a nice long snooze this afternoon and Freddy is being very good about not teasing her and putting up with a boring snoozy day - I must take him for a lovely long adventure tomorrow to make up for it. fjm]


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## Streetcar

Get better quickly, please Sophy 😍!


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## Rose n Poos

Yes, please do Sophy!


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## fjm

Sophy still doesn't want to play with me but she is not being sick any more and she didn't leave any of her breakfast for me to try, even though I wanted some. And everyone slept for ages and ages - I had a pee in the bathroom and then got into bed with MH and everyone for a snuggle and another sleep until it was actually light again. I like snuggling in bed but it is all a bit unfair, with lots of rules like Don't Wriggle and Leave Sophy Alone and Don't Bark at Tilly. But MH doesn't just wriggle, she makes huge earthquakes every time she turns over, and she barks at Tilly-cat when Tilly walks all over her, so I don't think it's fair at all. Poppy says her whole life has been unfair and having to put up with a puppy at her age is the unfairest thing of all, so be quiet and let her sleep. But I don't think she really means it because I am very careful not to tease her and she gets lots of extra treats when we play games and she really likes treats.

I think I am getting the hang of Settle Down though. It means having a snooze without being in my pen, just finding a comfy spot somewhere and waiting for things to get exciting again. It's quite easy, once you know how. There was a lot of it yesterday because both Sophy and My Human were very snoozy for some reason - we even all went to bed upstairs during the afternoon instead of going for a walk, which I've never done before. MH said I was very good to settle down so well, and we played interesting games afterwards, but I still think walks are better than so much snoozing.

Freddy xx


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## 94Magna_Tom

I love your perspective Freddy😍


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## fjm

I had a poorly tummy yesterday evening and during the night - there were pads in the sitting room and in my bedtime pen though so I didn't have to go outside like Sophy did. I got special paste to lick and scrummy medicine in chicken just like Poppy and went straight back to sleep, and this morning I got the special food from a can that Sophy had yesterday and it was OK - not as nice as the usual breakfast though. But MH said I was whiffy so first we played a game of tickle tummy with the buzzy tickly thing which isn't dangerous after all, not even the very buzzy end, and then I had a bits wash in the basin with shampoo and a cuddle in a towel which wasn't too bad either. But it is another snoozy day and I don't mind much because I am feeling a bit snoozy too. MH says it is called being convalescent and it is important to take things easy till we are all better.

Freddy xx


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## fjm

What is a Toad? MH said I was being one when I didn't want to come home after our teeny tiny walk this afternoon and had a lovely game of Keep Away when she tried to put my lead on. She cheated and grabbed me when I went through the narrow gap in the wall so I think I won. I won't go through the gap next time!

Freddy xx

[20 minutes in an icy North wind, with the other two desperate to get back to the warmth of the car. He is bouncing back from the tummy bug much faster than they are and really needed a longer walk, but we will be playing the collar grab game this evening! fjm]


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## fjm

This is me doing a really good Settle Down with Poppy, and not teasing her one bit!









There are rather a lot of bits around as I found some nice cardboard and more cork to chew...

Freddy xx


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## fjm

It's a bit boring here. When we go for a walk the sky throws lots of wet and bits of ice at us, sometimes very hard so that it stings. Even when it is not raining the fields are all soggy which I don't mind but the others think is horrible and they all want to go home as soon as we get to the end of the hard path - they even complain about paddling through the lovely big puddles on the path! Grown ups are weird - splashing through puddles is one of the best bits of the walk. They think the best bit is Nice Warm Towels when we get home.

Sophy says she is feeling yuck and Does Not Want to Play, and Poppy never plays. MH plays tug and fetch and doing things for treats, but she is not much good at Bitey Facey, which is one of my favourites. She is very good at making Kongs though, and when life gets too boring to bear I have one in my pen and it sends me to sleep. I'm learning how to undo the door on my pen whichever side it is done up, so soon I will be able to let myself out every time without having to wait for MH.

Yesterday got quite exciting though. The Flappy Flappy Bang Bang Monster attacked, and we chased it away again and again. MH was doing that thing where she lies on the bed and waves her legs in the air - she did try to get us all to hide in the bedroom with her but the door wasn't properly shut so Poppy and I got out and ran up and downstairs shouting at it to Go Away whichever window it tried to get in by. We won - it gave up and went away.

What does Don't Tease the Cat mean? MH says it when I ask Tilly-cat to give me some of the scrummy food she does not want, and then get cross with her when she won't.


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## fjm

My legs get better and better at jumping. I can get up onto My Human's lap by myself now, and I can jump out of the car by myself too. I did it this morning when we went for a walk and MH made a sort of shrieking noise about cars and tried to catch me, then she said Freddy Come! properly but I still didn't want my lead on, so she said I should go over the stile and have a good sniff while she got Poppy and Sophy out of the car. We were right by the stile so it was not far to go. I think she is muddled though - Freddy Lead! is part of the One for Poppy, One for Sophy, One for Freddy, One for Freddy Lead! game, not for when it is just me. When we got home we played a new game called Freddy Wait! and I got pancake if I waited for her to lift me down.

It's nice today - no rain for once - so MH has promised we will go for a proper walk this afternoon, with lots of games and pancake!

[Taught the wrong chain there, didn't I! I need to get him out more with just the two of us, instead of being lazy and walking all three at once. It is much more relaxed and enjoyable walking as a pack, though, as I know Sophy will keep an eye on him and warn him off any dogs that are not up for puppy shenanigans. Onwards and upwards! fjm]


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## fjm

Mornings have been a bit different since my ears got tangled. Now I lick the toothbrush on MH's lap while she brushes my ears and then we play the tooth tickle game - it used to be with her finger but now it's with the toothbrush. This morning she said my tummy was smelly so when she got out of the bath I had a paddle in the nice warm water and she washed my tummy, then when I was dry we both put our chins on the edge of the bath and watched the water go down the plughole which was nice because she was just the right height to touch noses. It's very interesting watching the water go down - it goes round and round and makes a sort of hole. 

It is very windy and wet today so instead of getting in the car and going for a walk we went out in the gardens so we could dash back to the house if it started to rain. Albie was out with his human and Sophy and I went exploring and we played the Freddy Come! game and I ran very fast and found MH even when I couldn't see her and then remembered to wait for the Freddy Lead! treat too, and then Poppy was getting cold so we came back in, even though it wasn't raining. But it was nearly as good as a walk, and much less wet.

Tomasz, one of Amber's humans, came this morning and did something to the tap in the kitchen. It was difficult to see exactly what he was doing even though I watched very carefully because it was inside a cupboard, but MH said it was a job that required very long arms and an adjustable spanner, and while she could probably have found a spanner she couldn't make her arms long enough. It seems wobbly taps are a nuisance and a worry, and she is very happy that it is fixed.

Snooze time now, with a crispy pancake Kong. Are all humans good at making pancakes? Most of the dogs we meet don't know what they are so perhaps their humans don't share the good stuff? Crispy pancake is thicker than sticky pancake, and goes in the oven for ages till it is hard and crunchy and nice to chew on.


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## fjm

More wet and windy today. My Human says I am a Ninja-pooper because I can poo on the pad without her even knowing I have gone to it - this morning I did a lovely big one in the bathroom while she was cleaning her teeth. I had been outside just before but it was raining lots and she didn't want to go all the way round to the front which is the proper place for poos so I didn't have time to do it outside. The pads are jolly useful - all warm and dry and no wind blowing.

Poppy has shown me a wall around the corner where there are often interesting things to eat. There is a hole in the hedge and if we are quick we can vanish through it while MH is looking the other way. It's not as good as pancake, but worth investigating.

Today we are playing rainy day games, and Freddy Wait! and Sit/Flat! and having lots of snoozes. I hope it stops being so wet soon.

[Thank you, Poppy... fjm]


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## fjm

Mostly I like to be with all the others but sometimes I feel it would be nice to be all by myself for a bit, and have a private think somewhere quiet. But My Human says going off upstairs to have a meditative gnaw on the corner of the skirting board is not a good idea, even if it is just the right height and size. Grown ups just don't understand - chew toys can never be as good as the things you find all by yourself.

Freddy x


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## fjm

This morning I had another tummy wash, and we went for a walk and met Gus and Elton, which was lovely. They have been away for weeks and weeks, and I got very excited when I saw them in their garden last night, but they just said "Oh, Hi" and went back inside, which even MH thought was a bit mean. But they played a bit when we walked back with them and I ran lots. 

Then MH did the weirdest thing - _she combed my bed_! She said it needed washing and I had chewed so much stuff into the long fluff that it would probably block the washing machine, so she combed it to get it out. Humans are truly odd. But she is cooking more scrummy food and promised to make more pancakes, so I suppose we have to put up with it.

The sun is shining, and we are going for an extra specially good walk this afternoon because it is going to be very wet and windy for the next few days. I can now get out of my pen even when MH hides the door - she puts it round the back or the side but now I know to look for it I can find it and open it. Dogs are much cleverer than humans!


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## Mfmst

Hope all of your wind and wet weather will yield blue skies and green fields next month(s). Enjoy all of the breaks in the nasty weather and every pancake offered


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## fjm

We are having a very nice day. There were lots of dogs I know on our walk this morning and this afternoon we walked with Hamish and his humans and helped Hamish learn how to share treats politely, which his humans say is something he needs to learn. Sophy and I showed him how, and got lots and lots of treats! Then we dawdled back to the car meeting nice dogs and people on the way. When we got home I had a Kong with biscuits and pancake in it for Freddy Beddy! and everything is warm and sleepy and quiet and nice. My Human says she should be doing housework but doesn't want to disturb the peace with a noisy vacuum cleaner.

Did you know Wait! doesn't just mean Wait-on-the-rug-in-the-sitting-room but Wait wherever you are, even outside? It's more difficult outside, especially when there are really good sniffy places just ahead. Wait in the car is quite easy, and Wait in the house is very easy, because Sophy and Poppy do it too and I just have to watch them. I'm usually first to find MH when she calls "All come!" though because I can run the fastest!


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## fjm

We are having lots of storms - all wet and windy and dashing out and back in again. It is quite fun, even so - today was a Nice Clean Tummy day and I've decided I like getting into the bath when it doesn't mean getting my ears wet. My Human baked some really good biscuits yesterday that are really good to chew on when I am ready for a snooze. And best of all Sophy is playing with me again - Bitey-facey and Sit-on-the-sofa-and-pretend-to-grab-me while I run round very, very fast. What does "Play _quietly_!" mean? MH keeps saying it, but I don't see how anyone can be excited by playing and quiet both at the same time.

PS And a parcel came this morning - it was mostly food for Tilly and toothpaste for us dogs, but there was a bag of little tennis balls for me too! 

[Sophy is being an absolute star, keeping him happy even as the rain pours down. Freddy Beddy! comes as a decided relief to her, even so! fjm]


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## fjm

We had a very blowy walk this morning and the wind got stronger and stronger all day. I was trying to lift my leg very high to pee so that everydog would think I was really big and the wind nearly blew me over! There has been too much Settle Down and not enough Fun today, although I had a lovely game of chase with Amber first thing. Sophy doesn't want to play, and Poppy is grumpy, and Tilly smacked me when I barked at her, and MH just says it is winding down time before bed, and it is all so _boring_! We're going to have proper walks tomorrow though, as long as the wind doesn't blow too many trees down.


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## Getting ready

Dear Freddy, 
Sometimes we get a whirly wind and the leaves and dust blow round and round. It is so fun tomchase but then sometimes I get distracted by my tail and chase that instead. Do you get whirly winds? Does your tail every distract you? This happens a lot on so boring days. Good Luck.

Your pal, blueberry


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## fjm

Not proper whirly winds, but we do get the kind that make leaves and twigs skitter across the ground and they are fun to chase. And my tail can be very distracting - it moves so fast when I chase it! Lovely sunny walk this afternoon, with nice people to talk to and a little dog called Tess who liked playing chase as much as I do. I have had my tea and now it is time for a snooze - it is much easier to snooze after running and playing in the fresh air.


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## Liz

Someone here mentioned that these stories read likea Beatrix Potter novel, and I can imagine the watercolor portrait: a cozy living room, with two papillons curled next to each other and a poodle lounging belly up, and tea cups and saucers set aside while a ginger cat rests in the sunlight.


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## fjm

[Add in the torn up cardboard all over the carpet, the chewed pair of spectacles, and a voice saying "Leave the cat _alone_!" and that is not too inaccurate! fjm]


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## fjm

I have been playing games. One I made up all by myself - I pick up one of the soft squishy toys and then try to pick up a ball as well. It is very hard to do with big teeth as they don't catch in the fluffy stuff on the ball as well, and when you try the ball runs off across the floor so you have to chase it all over to get it into just the right place where it can't get away. Sometimes it goes right out into the hall, and then My Human is very helpful and looks after the squishy toy while I fetch the ball. Sometimes the ball gets under the table where there are lots of legs and bars and the floor is slippery and it skitters around a lot. It can be quite difficult to make it go up over the edge of the rug, too, so it can be quite an exciting game. MH says it is like a human game called "football", but they don't carry a toy and they kick with their back feet and don't try to pick the ball up in their mouths, so I can't see that it is a bit the same.

The other game is a new one with MH, with me on my lead and chicken on a long spoon and I follow her very closely for licks of chicken. I think we played it ages ago when I was little, but everything was new and busy then, and it was hard to concentrate on just one thing, even chicken. Now it is much easier, although there is not much room to follow her in the house. Perhaps we will play it outside soon.


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## fjm

My Human has changed the rules which is Not Fair. When I get a bit tired I bark at Poppy or Sophy or MH, and MH says it is time for a bit of peace and does Freddy Beddy! with something lovely in my pen. But today when I tried it for the second time she just covered up Poppy's face so I couldn't disturb her and looked away and both Sophy and MH made growly grumbly noises and when I tried just one more bark MH made the same sort of "Enough!" noise that Sophy does, so I am having a Settle Down on the rug instead. MH says that I am being very good and grown up, but it is not as much fun as doing Freddy Beddy!


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## fjm

Today is a lovely dry sunny day, and I want to make the most of it! When all the others went up to the bathroom I found something really interesting to chew - MH says it was foam and horsehair and she wonders just where I found it but I haven't told her because there may be some more and I don't want her to take that away too. Then we went down by the river and even though we walked a bit more when we met Solo and his Human it was hardly a proper walk at all and I wanted to stay and see if more dogs would come to play so I said No, I did _not_ want my lead on, although I managed to get most of the pancake even so. And I went on saying No, and I remembered how MH caught me in the gap in the wall so I didn't go through it, and I always came when she called me so I was still being Good, but I wouldn't let anyone catch me - Keep Away is a really good game when you are very small and very fast! Then they all sat on the step by the gap, and I still stayed away. Then MH got a big bag of biscuits from the car and came and sat on a big stone in the field and the biscuits were rather stale and crumbly but very interesting and when she broke them up lots of bits dropped on the ground and while I was busy finding them she grabbed me and lifted me up and that is cheating, I think. But I did get a big biscuit when I was in the car.

MH says I am a typical teenager and a toad twice over, and that while independence is a Good Thing it can be taken too far. But you have to try things out when you are growing up, and I came back very, very fast when she called me. Solo came too - he likes pancake just as much as we do. He doesn't come back when his human calls because she only has very boring biscuits...

We are going for a longer walk this afternoon. MH said something about playing the Spoon Game too, which sounds like fun.


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## 94Magna_Tom

When I'm out in the backyard and MH wiggles my fluffy blanket at the door and calls me, I just can't resist it! Even if I am playing keep away! We just go inside and play a little more though, still no leash. I usually get to go out again as soon as I ask, so just play along. It's still lots of fun! 
Your pal Elroy 🐾


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## fjm

I don't mind coming back into the house because I always get something nice but it was just Too Hard to leave the river and all the lovely smells and the sunshine and other dogs and people to meet, just to get in the boring car. This afternoon we played the spoon game whenever I had my lead on and that was much more fun, although MH says we need to practice it more so the spoon is in the right place and I don't jump in front of her to get at it! And I think the spoon would be better if it was not quite so hard - MH said she would make it softer with some silly stuff, or if that doesn't work glue the bit that gets longer and shorter into a wooden spoon. I like it because it has chicken stuff on it and I get lots and lots of licks and she likes it because it means she doesn't have to bend over so much - she keeps yelping every time she bends. Sophy says she should go to the vet, but it is very hard to get humans to go to the vet and MH says she already has the dentist to not look forward to, and that is enough for one week. A dentist is a sort of vet for teeth, Sophy says, and vets doing things to your teeth is Extremely Horrible, so we have to be very kind to our Human until it is all over.


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## fjm

It's been wet and horrible again, but it's been a good day even so because My Human has been baking! She said we needed to eat just the right amount of fish, but not so much as to upset tummies and has made absolutely _wonderful_ fishy biscuits! They are crispy crunchy fishy scrummy, and our new favourites. She says they are very easy, and we need to eat 6 or 7 a day because they will be good for us - Hurrah!

[Tin of sardines drained to give 90g/3oz, 60g/2oz flour, a little of the sardine liquid or plain water to make a soft dough. Press out as thin as possible (2-3mm) on a non-stick sheet and score into pieces with a table knife. Bake in a moderate oven (160-80C, 320-350F) for 40-50 minutes, until very dry and crispy.]


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## cowpony

Baking sardines must give off an interesting aroma. You must have the dogs gathered in a drooling circle in front of the oven.


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## Streetcar

Thanks for the recipe - Oliver loves sardines. What a great idea!


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## fjm

cowpony said:


> Baking sardines must give off an interesting aroma. You must have the dogs gathered in a drooling circle in front of the oven.


[I am already planning one big batch, so that I only have to open all the doors and windows once! The dogs are very good at reminding me when there are treats in the oven, although the drooling circle is usually in front of my chair, willing me to get out of it and check progress. I found the recipe on a website that I have now lost, so can't take credit, but do think my method of marking out the pieces in situ is an improvement on cutting them and transferring them one at a time. I checked online and vitamin D, EPA and DHA are unaffected by gentle baking, so the nutritional profile is still good, and it is an easy, inexpensive way to get fish oils into them - if I buy the oil it goes off before half used.]


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## fjm

I am being very good. This morning I did the first pee of the day very early out in the garden instead of on the bathroom pad - it helped that MH carried me downstairs because I am absolutely bursting when I first wake up! Then I had breakfast and after checking Sophy and Poppy had not left any of theirs (they hardly ever do but we all check all the bowls just in case) MH and I had a fun game of chase and tug with lots of toys - I found them all back in the box, I can't think how they got there when I left them nicely spread out around the room. After that I thought it was time for Freddy Beddy! and had a really nice Kong in my pen - MH twizzled the pen round so the door was against the curtain but I know about that and as soon as I had finished my Kong I unzipped it and wriggled out. Nobody wanted to play, though, so I have been doing really good Settle Downs, first on the bed next to Sophy's and then on the rug with a toy. I think it must be nearly time to go outside again, and then do lovely toothpaste up in the bathroom - I really like the toothpaste but it would be much easier to lick it off if MH would hold the brush still and not keep waving it around so it goes right into my mouth.


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## fjm

I got bored with being good and waiting to go out so I did a poo on the mat while MH was getting ready, and then when the others wanted to go back in I went for a lovely sniffy explore all by myself in the big garden at the back. MH came to find me much too soon, but we played the With Me! game for treats all the way back to the house, so that was all right.

On our morning walk we met Gus and Elton and Teddy and Ronnie and lots and lots of other dogs I know, and we went much further than usual so I think MH's legs might be beginning to work properly again. She has promised to bake lots more treats today as we have eaten nearly all the others and it would be _awful_ to run out, especially if it gets all wet and windy again and we need to play rainy day games inside. She said something about chicken jerky chews which sound really good!


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## fjm

Today everything was nice and usual - pees and poos, breakfast, teeth cleaning, walk - and then MH said "Right, stay and be good dogs!" and gave us each a biscuit and went out! _Without us!!_ She hardly ever does that, and Poppy hates it - Sophy says not to worry because MH always comes back, but none of us like it when she leaves us and we shouted at anyone we heard outside to _Go Away!_ in case they were dangerous, and shouted for our Human to hurry up and come home. And when we heard her car after ages and ages we shouted even louder to make her come really quickly because Poppy was desperate for a pee.

MH said hello and let us out and gave us all lunch (hours late) and said she'd been to the tooth vet and there was an Emergency and she had to wait for nearly an hour but we all have to be patient when there is an emergency because sometimes it is us who need to go first. And no, Poppy needing a pee wasn't a real emergency because there are lots of pee mats around the house if she really needs them. And nor is a meal being an hour late. But she will try very hard not to leave us so long next time, and we were Very Good Dogs not to do anything naughty while she was out, although perhaps it was just as well she warned Janet-next-door we might be a bit noisy...

[Filling that was such a hassle last year split and needed redoing. I was pumped full of local anaesthetic and left for it to take effect while the dentist saw an emergency patient who needed far longer than foreseen. As I was already numb I couldn't really rearrange the appointment, although I was very aware of time ticking past tummy and bladder alarm clock times, and that I hadn't left Freddy in a pen. fjm]


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## 94Magna_Tom

Another step forward into 'Big Boy' territory! Congratulations Freddy!


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## fjm

It's been a very unusual day. First there was MH going out and leaving us alone for _ever_, then when she came back she cooked lots of really lovely food for our tea but instead of going for a walk we hung around till the man came with lots and lots of groceries which MH piled into the fridge and in heaps in the hall and then she said she was hurting after the tooth vet so when we had eaten our tea and been outside for a bit we went upstairs for a snooze - in the middle of the day, practically! And I didn't want to be picked up in case she put me in my pen, so she put two pillows on the floor so I could climb up onto the bed by myself and it was quite comfy, and interesting because Tilly-cat kept coming and going and Sophy and I kept changing places and MH made strange noises and we sort of snoozed in between the more interesting things until there was a knock at the door and we all got up and ran downstairs and it was two of Amber's humans - the very big one and one of the boys.

I slipped out while they were bringing in interesting stuff and went for an explore by myself in the dark, which was very exciting! But MH came and played the With Me! game for pancake, and when we were got back to the house they had emptied out the cupboard under the sink and started doing very, very interesting things with the tap and tools and water. And I watched very carefully, because I'm sure I could mend things too, especially if I had really good stuff like theirs. I borrowed some of the tools to try when they put them down on the floor, but MH made me give them back because she said screwdrivers were not chew toys - how am I meant to learn how things work if no one lets me try?! Anyway, after lots and lots of trying, when first the tap would not turn on and then it would not turn off he fixed the drip but now it turns the wrong way! It needs another bit, MH says, which they will get tomorrow. I'm sure I could have done it better, especially if I had thumbs... 

But MH just says she really must tidy up before they come, because both times so far have been when she has been cooking our meals and the sink was filled with pans and things soaking, let alone all the groceries heaped in the hall! 

[Dithery and sore post dentist, supermarket delivery much of which needed bagging up for the local Food Bank, batch cooking dog food, and helpful neighbour arriving to fix the dripping kitchen tap at just the worst moment...! fjm]


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## Mfmst

Relax, no one’s judging and if they are, on them. Most folks can relate or don’t even notice stuff we feel cringeworthy about.


----------



## fjm

We had the loveliest walk in the sunshine yesterday. It wasn't too muddy so we went to huge fields by a different river and there were lots of nice people and some dogs small enough to play with, although most of them were on leads because they didn't know how to play the Freddy Come! game, which was a shame. But Sophy showed me all sorts of interesting things, and played a bit, and she was going to show me how to hunt for rabbits but there weren't any so we couldn't

There were some _huge_ white birds though - we saw them between us and the river when we went into the field and both MH and Sophy said it was best to stay away from them as they can get very cross, but I watched them for ages. MH said they were geeses, and escaped years ago from a farm. On the way back they were right on the path and MH said we should all wait for them to go down to the river but I ran in great big circles and herded them off the path and back to the river and it was very exciting! Then I realised MH was saying something and went to see and had pancake and let her put my lead on and we went back to the car and home for tea. And in the evening I did very good Settle Downs with Sophy and Poppy, after I'd collected lots of interesting things to play with and spread them out on the beds.









PS Geeses make big soft poos that are scrummy to eat. MH kept calling me away, though, for some reason.

[I am not sure Freddy's idea of "herding" would win any prizes at a sheepdog trial! fjm]


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## Rose n Poos

Such a sweet circle!


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## Minie

Thanks for the biscuit recipe. The dogs are really pleased. I think the neighbours are eating out tonight 🤣 
While they were baking, both dogs wandered to and fro between the living room and kitchen making sure I hadn't forgotten them.


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## fjm

[Definitely a bit pongy - I now keep them in a sealed box! fjm]


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## Minie

fjm said:


> [Definitely a bit pongy - I now keep them in a sealed box! fjm]


Yup but really good and simple. You know what's in them,. Matteo has a sensitive stomach so I am glad to give him something and not worry about his tummy.


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## Mfmst

Hope the “tooth vet” got it sorted. Thanks for the sardine treat recipe. Buck will definitely be be by the oven for that! Cheers Freddie, your Human also shared the spoon game with us


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## fjm

This afternoon we went down by the river and there was a dog with a thing over its face and MH said I had to be extra polite as he didn't like bouncy dogs and he grumped at me a bit but when I stayed still and was very very polite he wagged his tail and said hello nicely too and his humans said we were both very good. And on the way back I found the Best Smell Ever - better than biscuits or chicken or pancake or anything - and I followed it backwards and forwards and round and round and I think MH may have been saying something but I was too busy to hear. And then she wanted to put my lead on, which was silly when everything was so interesting and exciting - I wanted to go and see if anyone new had arrived in the car park. Harry came with his humans, and I had some of his treats, and then Poppet came with her human, and I had some of hers, and at last I began to feel just a bit tired and I had one more treat and let MH put my lead on so we could go home for tea. But I do hope that smell is still there tomorrow.

[I don't. Could be rabbits, but I suspect female in heat + testosterone surge... fjm]


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## fjm

I forgot to sniff for the smell today - MH had a big bag of chicken in her pocket and we all had some when we got to the field, so I had to stay quite close for when she got the bag out again. And we met Sid and Rusty and Ted and Solo and a really fun new dog called Charlie so I was busy playing and forgot to sniff. I sort of thought about it when Solo and I wandered up to that part of the field on the way home but then MH called me for more chicken and I forgot again in the hurry to get back to her.

[Chicken - the magic solution to so many problems! fjm]


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## fjm

I have been very busy - I got a new bag of tennis balls in the post this morning and I had to tear up the cardboard, and there were some other bits I found while MH was in the kitchen washing up, and I had to get the toys back out of the toy box. All very exhausting so I am now going to sleep for a bit!









[So much for a patterned rug not showing the bits! fjm]


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## Liz

A pup's work is never done!
~ Mia


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## fjm

It is wet again here so we are having a lazy day after a walk this morning. We're not playing many new games, just lots of the old ones like One for Poppy, One for Sophy, One for Freddy, One for Freddy lead (I sometimes try to jump away when it is the last one but it doesn't seem to work as well when MH leaves the lead trailing). And the With Me! game, which is when everyone who is close when MH stops gets a treat. We don't seem to play Freddy Beddy! as much these days, but I sometimes snooze in the pen just because it is nice and peaceful in there. Mostly I snooze on the floor or the other beds, though, and sometimes I climb up onto MH's lap and have a snuggle there. It is nice being able to choose. Night Night God Bless Freddy! is sort of the same as Freddy Beddy! but up in the pen in the bedroom - I got them mixed up at first and went to bed in the sitting room one instead, but I know the difference now. 

Mornings have changed a bit too - now first everyone gets teeth done and an extra dab of toothpaste for being good, then we do Nice Clean Tummy, sometimes in the basin and sometimes in the bath. The bath is better, because there is room to paddle and try and catch floating bits and watch the water go down the plughole. At first MH rubbed my bits as well as my tummy and it all got a bit sore, especially when she did it with the towel, but I told her it was not comfortable and she said she was sorry, it was because she was not used to boys, and now she is more careful and I don't mind getting washed and dried.

Yesterday MH was being busy-busy-boring with a really interesting toy - sort of like a leash but with metal bits both ends and stiffer and wigglier. She kept letting the end wiggle on the floor then telling me she needed it and taking it back when I grabbed hold. Sophy says it's best to just snooze when humans are BBB, as they can get cross if you go on at them, but if you leave them alone for a while and then stare at them and pretend to be all sad and needing a pee they jump up and play games or go for a walk or do other nice things. It is very helpful having Sophy to tell me this sort of stuff, even if she is a bit bossy sometimes.

[Trying to measure sugar bag corners with a determined Freddy on the other end of the tape measure got interesting... fjm]


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## fjm

I have had a very interesting afternoon. After lunch someone came to talk about tictacs for a difficult meeting, or something like that, and MH shut us in the house and talked outside, and I got a bit bored and went back to experimenting with the big door rug in the hall. It has lots and lots of loops all over it and if you nibble to get hold of one and pull it gets longer and longer, but MH always tells me to go and play another game when they get a bit big. But while she was outside I discovered that if you pull really hard they go brrip brrip brrip and pull out into lovely long curly stuff, and once one is out it is much easier to get hold of the next. But when MH came back in she said it wasn't a game she approved of, and found me a rather boring chew and cut all the lovely long tuggy bits off. And then her friend came round with a huge puppy called Jethro, who is much younger than me but much bigger, and we wanted to play but our Humans said No until he had grown up and learned to be careful. What's the point of having a puppy visit if you are not allowed to play?!

Then we went for a walk where it was lovely and bright and sunny and I met a dog who was quite big but had very short legs and I wanted her to play but she just went very flat and MH said I was beginning to bully rather than play, and put my lead on. But this morning I met a dog not much bigger than me with a strange, squished face and his human said he never, ever played with anyone but he did play with me a bit when I asked him very nicely, and MH said I was very good and got it right most of the time, so am allowed to get a bit overexcited now and then. And when we got home she put us in the house with a treat each while she sorted the bins but I didn't want to stay there if I couldn't play with the rug so I slipped out when she was shutting the door and went for a lovely long explore around the back for ages until she came to find me. And then it was time for tea, and then the two nice little girls from the corner came home from school and came for a ride on the rocking horse and played with me, and it has been a Very Busy Day!


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## fjm

It is being a lovely day today. I woke up very early really needing a poo, so MH took me to the bathroom and I did an enormous one, then we went back to bed and I snuggled in the big bed with everyone else until it began to get light. After breakfast and a snooze and teeth and Nice Clean Tummy we went for a long walk - much further than usual - and it was sunny and dry and quite warm and perfect. And just as we turned round to come back we met Ted and Rusty and Charlie with their human and I had a wonderful time playing chase and helping them find their ball and pretending to fight with Charlie who is nearly the same age as me but much bigger.

Charlie is feeling especially happy because his first Human was very kind but she never took him for long walks or let him run and play with other dogs and his hair and nails got all long and uncomfortable. He likes his new Human because he makes the rules easy to understand and always the same, and takes the dogs to interesting places and had all the uncomfy hair shaved off. And because Charlie is having more fun than ever before!


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## Liz

So happy to hear Charlie is doing well in his new home!


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## fjm

[Unfortunately it might still only be temporarily. John wants to keep him but his original owner has yet to agree to give him up. She loves him dearly, just does not have a clue how to care for him and is unwilling to learn, or to pay for grooming, walking, etc. Poor Charlie if he has to go back to a life of boredom. fjm]


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## Liz

Well, that's deflating. Perhaps she'll recognize that Charlie is better off with John, or at least agree to joint custody/visits. Perhaps there's a dog better suited for her out there (in rescue, I met several dogs who wanted nothing more than a warm lap and reliable meal).


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## fjm

Today my Human did something really weird. We were getting ready to go out, and I had my lead on and she had her boots and coat on and had put treats in her pocket and all the other things we do to get ready, then just as we got to the door she turned round and walked away! I stopped barking (ever since I saw George the cat next door in our garden I have to bark to tell him that we are coming) and stared at her. She did it over and over again, sometimes even beginning to open the door, and I worked out that if I didn't bark she got closer and closer to letting us out, and if I did she got further and further away from the door. Humans must have really strange ears if barking at George makes their hands stop working! I'm going to see if it works this evening - we need even more barks in the evening in case there are monsters out there, as well as George.

Two lovely long walks this afternoon, all along the river in the sunshine, with lots of stops for pancake. MH made a big batch today, and I can smell chicken biscuits in the oven - perfect end to a nice day!


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## fjm

I am 8 months old today and am feeling very grown up. MH said now that I am bigger than Sophy I need a big crate all to myself in the car, instead of the little one that is really for Tilly-cat, so now I don't get my ears squashed when I stand up. And there isn't a pad in the sitting room any more, just the one in the bathroom, so I have to remember to dash upstairs if I really need a pee or poo and MH is not listening. And I am not feeling quite so muddly inside - it is easier to remember things and to Settle Down and Not Tease the Cat and other things like that.

Yesterday MH got all stressy and busy-busy-boring about difficult meetings or something, and she went out for _hours_ in the evening and left us all alone and was still a bit jittery when she got back. She says it was like when we meet a dog that makes faces and growls so we get all cross and snark back and it can take a while to stop thinking about it, but with humans instead of dogs. And it doesn't really matter because she won't have to deal with them much now for months.

[The joy of Residents Meetings when one is on the minority side...! fjm]


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## Rose n Poos

Freddy, you are a dear, darling boy and make your MH very proud .


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## fjm

Guess what?! Last night we all went up to bed and instead of giving me a biscuit in my pen MH lifted me up onto the big bed and I slept there all night! There were lots of us - MH and Sophy and Poppy and Tilly and me - but we all found comfy spots and I hardly wriggled at all. We did all wake up very early, though, and I did a pee _and_ a poo outside and then, after breakfast and a snooze, I told MH I needed to go outside and when she took me out I did another poo, and that seemed to make her very happy for some reason.

And I have had a long walk and a lovely game with Amber, and another with her very small Human. She has lots of them, in all different sizes, and the smallest was playing a game with cups and leaves and flowers and water and I played too. It is interesting playing with very small Humans - they are quite different from big ones.

This afternoon we are going to the vet for weighing and biscuits. It is very warm outside, and nice and dry and MH has promised to take us for a walk by the river near the vet. It won't be a very big walk as Tilly is coming with us to see the vet and she will have to wait in the car, and we can't leave her there for too long.


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## 94Magna_Tom

fjm said:


> It won't be a very big walk as Tilly is coming with us to see the vet and she will have to wait in the car, and we can't leave her there for too long.


WOW! The big bed! You must have been a very good boy Freddy! It's so nice of you to be so considerate of Tilly! She might not say it much, but I think she really likes you! 🤩


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## fjm

Tilly likes me sometimes, but not when I get the other dogs to bark at her with me. That is good fun but MH makes us go into another room when we do it, and says things like "WHAT have I said about teasing the cat?" and "Leave the cat ALONE!". If it's just me beginning to bark MH tells me to find a toy instead, and I do because it's not much fun getting smacked by Tilly, and she does smack if it's just me. I used to get very cross that she had lovely food up on the table where I couldn't reach it and she never shared it, but her food is in the cloakroom now and I don't go in there much so it is not as annoying. But sometimes she comes through the cat flap and it makes a clacking noise and it is just so exciting to wait for her to jump down and then chase her up the stairs that I can't resist.


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## fjm

Today something very strange and unpleasant happened. We had a very nice day and came home and had a lovely tea then went out for pees and poos and Poppy ran round to where the bird food is, even though MH called her back - Poppy can be very deaf sometimes. And while MH was taking big chunks of cake away from Poppy I crept round to where she couldn't see me and found some more and gobbled it up quickly till there was only a bit left. She took that away too, then looked at it and made us all come back into the house and she talked on the phone and then we all got in the car and she drove very very fast so I was nearly sick but not quite and went to see the vet. And in the vets they stared at a screen and talked a bit then I stood on the table and the vet tickled my neck then we went back outside and Poppy got back in the car, and MH took me for a walk on the grass and suddenly I felt very, very sick. And went on feeling and being sick, even after we got home again. I'm feeling better now - just sleepy and empty - but it was all very strange.

[I caught them eating what looked like cake with sultanas or raisins in, and was not taking any chances. The emetic the vets use was contraindicated for Poppy because of her liver condition - it rather unhelpfully said it was for the vet to assess the balance of risks without explaining the risk from the emetic - so given she had not eaten much and has survived raiding my neighbour's garden innumerable times, I chose not to give it to her. Poor Freddy did get a dose. I'm still unsure what was in the cake, but there was no one home to ask, and I always feel better safe than sorry. They will both be going out on leads or the foreseeable future, and I have left my neighbour a note asking her to be careful about what she chucks out. fjm]


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## Liz

What a scare! Glad everyone's safe.


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## Streetcar

Goodness, sorry that happened and good job for getting them in right away fjm! Happy ending, and a relief.


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## fjm

[The more I think about it the less convinced I am that the sticky bits were sultanas - and if they weren't I owe poor Freddy a big apology! He has bounced back, and seems none the worse. fjm]


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## Streetcar

You handled things correctly in the moment. Better a big barf than blowing a kidney, etc.


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## 94Magna_Tom

Glad there both OK. Better safe than sorry.


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## Rose n Poos

Another crisis averted, thankfully.


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## fjm

[Making the call on Poppy was the hard bit, but she is absolutely fine this morning, thank Heavens, so either no grapes or not enough to trigger a reaction in her. Freddy is back to full bounce too, I have rebuilt bridges after the difficult meeting earlier in the week, and the forecast is for warm sunshine. Let's hope for a few peaceful days...! fjm]


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## fjm

I have to say My Human is a very good cook! When I first came here I just got lamb and kibble to eat and the lamb was nice but the kibble was a bit boring. But now I am nearly grown up I get lovely grown up food like Sophy - lots of meat and vegetables and interesting chunks and gravy. And yesterday MH made chicken pancakes and chicken biscuit sticks and lots of fishy biscuits, enough for at least a week, and I get some of the sticks if I am good while she brushes me, and pancake when we are out on walks, and fishy biscuits when we get home. I'm very hungry at the moment because of longer walks and lots of running around, and MH says I have got just a bit skinny so I can have a bit extra at mealtimes as well as lots of treats, and I think that is a Very Good Idea. 

We are going for a walk soon, even though it is earlier than usual, because it is very bright and sunny and Poppy doesn't like walking when it gets too hot. I don't think she really much likes walking even when it is cool, but MH says it is good for her to walk a bit. Yesterday we had hardly started before she wanted to go back to the car, so we took her back and left her there while we went for a proper walk. But MH says if we need to do that we have to go before the sun gets strong and makes the car hot, so we may have to start walking when we usually snooze, and snoozing when we usually walk, which all gets a bit confusing.


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## fjm

Some interesting things happened yesterday. In the afternoon the small humans from across the courtyard came to visit, and they got inside my pen and went to sleep in my bed! They wanted me to get in too and I did for a bit but they hug and squeeze rather a lot and although I was very polite about it My Human said it might be better to play another game, as a bit of being hugged and squeezed by little girls is good practice for puppies but too much might not be comfortable, so she lifted me out and we played a very exciting game where I tried to lick their toes through the mesh until it all got just a bit too noisy and a bit worrying and MH said it was time to stop that game, too. I like small humans very much but I think it might be very tiring to live with them!

Then later on we all went out for pees and poos and came in and had a fishy biscuit and MH got on with stuff in the kitchen and then did a Dog Count and I wasn't there. And she went all over the house and I still wasn't there. When she came downstairs she was calling really loudly and woke me up from the lovely snooze I was having in Tilly-cat's crate in the hall - it's the one I had in the car and is small and dark and snuggly. I don't know why she got in such a worry as I was only a few feet away from her all the time.

It was almost hot yesterday morning - too warm to run around much - but much cooler in the afternoon. And MH says it's going to be quite cold for the next week or two so we don't have to rush to get out early for walks, and Poppy might need a jumper again. The weather can be very muddly...

Freddy xx


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## Rose n Poos

Dear Freddy, 

Little humans can be fun and exciting, but they also have Rules and might forget them when a sweet boy like yourself is around to play. Your MH was once a little human and can remember how things might be. 

It's also Very Good that she does Dog Count because that means love. Next time, leave a bit of your tail out so she can see it and then she'll let you snooze a bit longer. 

Your friends, Remo and Neo


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## fjm

MH says when she and her sister were little and they had puppies to play with they used to put bonnets on them and push them around in a doll's pram! I'm glad they were big before I met them...

Last night when MH did a Dog Count she looked in Tilly's crate first, so she knew I was there. It's rather nice having my own secret den, even if it's not very secret any more.

This morning I went out first thing without a lead on! MH said it was very early but properly light, so we did not need leads and flashy collars and torches and stuff. Everyone needed a pee very quickly, so she let us out but didn't come with us straight away as she was looking for her shoes. And when I'd peed I went back into the house to see where she was, which she said was Very Good Indeed, and we went out again to fetch Poppy and Sophy. After breakfast I went out without a lead again, just so P&S could do all the things they forgot about when it was time for breakfast, and MH took a ball and when it was time to come in she rolled it all the way down the hall into the sitting room and we had a lovely game of chase and tug. I think it may be even better than getting a biscuit for coming in when she calls!


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## fjm

Last night when we went up to bed I put myself to bed in the pen up there - MH had left the door open for me. Then after a bit I decided it was too lonely, and she lifted me onto the big bed and I snuggled down. But very, very early in the morning I really needed a pee, so I jumped down and went to the pad in the bathroom and when I came back everyone was still fast asleep so I curled up in my bed in the pen and went to sleep there. And when she woke up MH said that was very Grown Up, and very Kind not to wake her up, and just the right thing to do. So now I know what to do in the night and just have to remember next time.


----------



## fjm

We saw Charlie the cockapoo this morning and his Old Human has decided he can stay with his New Human, and his New Human is looking for the absolutely best possible forever home for him, with lots of walks and lots of cuddles and not-letting-his-coat-mat and the right sort of food and perhaps even children all of his own! Charlie is very happy now he feels safe and comfortable and gets lots of running around - he was too bouncy for me today so I stayed close to MH. There is a safe place between her feet that is just right when you don't want to be bounced.


----------



## Getting ready

Dear Freddy,
What does “too bouncy” mean? Am curious

love,
blueberry


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## fjm

_I _think it's when a big dog jumps at me, rolls me over, and then jumps on me again before I can get up, and sometimes it hurts. MH thinks it is also when I try to make another dog play when they don't want to and won't leave them alone, but that is silly - I don't hurt, just bark and jump up and down!

Freddy xx


----------



## fjm

I felt rather icky last night and went on being icky all night and I really needed to poo but the bedroom door wouldn't open and MH didn't wake up so I used the mat by the bed. And then I needed to poo again in a hurry and this time she did wake up but too late, and I thought it would be a good idea to go outside just in case, and when we came back in I thought we might as well have breakfast but she said 3am was Too Early and we should go back to bed. I stayed downstairs and MH let me, and I had to do another poo but she didn't find that one till morning when she trod in it.

I felt a bit better in the morning and ate my breakfast but after a bit I began to feel icky again and it all came back out. We had a very little walk but I didn't really want to eat even pancake and MH said I had better have some scrummy medicine - did you know sometimes scrummy medicine is really nice scrunchy tablet things, and sometimes it is chicken with nasty tasting crunchy bits inside? And if you wiggle it round your mouth a bit you can eat the chicken and spit the nasty bit out? Then you get more chicken! After a snooze I felt a bit better and we went for another walk and this time I liked pancake again, and when we got home I had some of the special tummy food for tea and some more for supper and MH says So Far So Good, and perhaps it will be a peaceful night after all...


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## Streetcar

Sure hope for all of you this tummy bug goes away quickly!


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## 94Magna_Tom

Hope you are feeling better for good now! _Your_ MH is learning your commands pretty well now but you should know that if she accidentally trods in your business, that can cause her a big training setback. Be careful where you go or you may have to start at the beginning again!


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## cowpony

Wow the tummy bug going around in the UK seems to be generating a lot of business for vets and carpet shampooers.


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## fjm

I did do another small poo in the night but MH seems to have learned very quickly to put the light on and watch where she is putting her feet. More tinned food for breakfast - it is OK, but not as nice as proper food. Last night when MH wanted to brush me I said I felt icky and started to make hiccupping sounds and she put me down on the floor and I felt better straight away. Must remember how that works...


----------



## fjm

There's a new game I want to play but MH won't let me. When I climb up onto her lap her arm is just right for playing humping but if I try she moves me away and if I insist she puts me on the floor. I sort of tried with Poppy but she said No too, and somehow I know it would not be a good idea to even ask Sophy. There must be _someone_ who will play it with me...

Freddy xx


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## Liz

Dear Freddy,

Don't ask Tilly, either.

Your friend,
Mia


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## PowersPup

Freddy, mybe you could find a special pillow or big toy to play humpy with. Most other living things do not like to play humpy. When I try it with my people, they turn away from me and then tell me to go to my bed and chew on my bully stick. My Momma gets so mean to me and yells "Off!" so I stopped trying to play it with her. The big human doesn't do this, so I still try to play humpy with him, or bite his pants legs. That's SO fun!

Your friend, Topper


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## 94Magna_Tom

Yep ^^. Listen to topper! He's got a great point!
I have a special pillow that I can play "humpy" with all I want. MH never yells at me for playing it with _*my*_ pillow
Your pal Elroy 🐾


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## fjm

I'm not sure about toys and pillows - they don't feel the same somehow. MH says it's probably best just to play a more interesting game, or settle down for a snooze as I usually only want to play it when I am beginning to feel sleepy. I have a new special place for snoozes - MH sits in her big chair and puts her feet up on a stool and wraps her legs up in a big fleecy blamket, and it makes a sort of tent with just enough falling on the floor for me to snooze comfortably underneath her legs, all hidden away. And my big comfy bed is back in my pen - it disappeared for ages after I was sick all over it - so that is another good snooze spot, along with Tilly's crate in the hall and the big bed upstairs and the bed in my pen up there.


----------



## fjm

This morning when it was time for Nice Clean Tummy in the bath MH said my face needed washing too. I said no it didn't and she said yes it did and put a horrible wet face flannel on it and I said I really, _really, _REALLY did _not_ want to have my face washed and bit the flannel. So we played a game called Drippy Drip Drip instead, and MH got the flannel wet and held it up so I could try to catch the drips, but she was not very good at it and lots of the drips went all over my face. It was quite a good game even so. Poppy had a bath _all over_, with shampoo. 

We went for a different walk this morning, somewhere I have never been before. I found a very interesting path that went over a bridge into fields but the others wanted to walk along the tow path by the canal so we went that way. Afterwards MH said my way might have been better, as the tow path is rather worryingly close to the busy road just there, so next time she might let me choose which way to go.


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## fjm

I have had a very strange sort of day, with some very exciting bits and some very boring bits. Yesterday we came to MH's sister's house, which meant being in the car for ages but I am used to that, and when we get there it is always nice with special food and toys and games. When we woke up this morning MH said it was Too Early, and after we had been out in the garden said we should go back to bed for a bit, but I still needed a poo and there wasn't a pad in the bathroom so I did it on the tiled floor, and she said that was a very sensible place to choose under the circumstances. And after breakfast we went to the park for hardly any time at all then got in the car and drove for hours and hours till we were somewhere all different that I have never been to before.

And we all went for a walk and the first bit was all on a lead and a bit boring but then we got to another park and MH let us go and there were lots of wonderful new smells and a _huge_ pond with ducks on it - MH and her sister say when they were small there were boats with handles to turn to make paddles go round and drive them round the pond, but the paddles would get full up with weed so they would not be able to turn them and they were always getting stuck in the middle of the water. But I wasn't really listening because there were also ducks, and the ducks floated around on the pond, and I chased some off the grass and onto the water and should have stopped but didn't and I don't float as well as ducks... Fortunately MH's sister saw me fall in and caught the lead that was trailing and helped me out, because it was too high to climb out by myself.

Then we went for a walk, and then back to the car for lunch, and MH told us to settle down and be good and went away for ages and ages, although she did keep coming back to make sure we weren't too hot or too cold or too wet and to let us out for a pee. And then she said I could come into something called a party, and we went into a big house and there were lots of people and very slippery stairs that I didn't like so she carried me up and then there were tens and thousands and hundreds of people [around 20, fjm] and it was all a bit much because I have never seen that many humans all at once. And some of them were very small indeed, too small to walk, and it all took a bit of getting used to.

But once I had looked at them all for a while I decided they were all quite nice, and I played a bit and got to know one of the little ones a bit and it was OK. Then MH said it was time to go home and we went and got Sophy and Poppy and had a little bit of a walk and had our tea, and then drove for ages and ages and _ages_ until Poppy said she was _bursting_ and at long last we got back to MH's sister's house and went to the park across the road for pees and poos and then we had biscuits and a game and now I'm beginning to feel sleepy. MH says she has been feeling sleepy for hours...

[The first weekend of the school holidays and a long trip on motorways for an old friend's birthday party was not an ideal combination. But i did get to meet my baby great niece. fjm]


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## 94Magna_Tom

I love the way you see things Freddy! I love all your secret entries! 😍


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## Getting ready

Hi Freddy, 
I just did something called babysitting. I think it is when human are too small to walk and they sit or walk like regular puppies. I found it very exciting and I ran all around and jumped. Scribble tried to kick the baby's face off so he had to take a break in the crate. Then we all three, dogs and small human, took a rest on the floor. I think small humans are very fun but they have not yet learned zoomies which is sad for them but good for us because the small ones csn be grabby. 

Ducks sound great. Parties not so much. 

Take care, 
Blueberry


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## fjm

Sophy says small humans are a Good Thing because they drop food all the time, even when big humans are holding them up high. And when they are down on the floor they drop even more. But she says you are quite right about some of them being grabby - this afternoon I practiced Keep Away with MH for ages so as to be ready for them when I next meet some. MH says the very, very small human who was not much bigger than me is part of our family and one day will be big enough to play with, but not for a long time yet.

And Sophy says ducks belong on the water and it is OK to chase them back to where they belong, but not to go in after them. And parties are Good because they mean things like sausages and crisps and lots of other nice things to eat, and if no one gave me anything yesterday it must have been the wrong sort of party. Sophy knows lots of useful things.


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## Mfmst

Freddy, you really don’t want your human to step in in it. Most especially inside the house. Accidents happen, but may need pointing out. You will get credit for this, promise.


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## fjm

How do you make your Human wake up and get up in the morning? Today MH didn't get up till _7am_! That's practically the _afternoon_!! Sophy jumped off the bed to tell her it was morning, and MH just moved the duvet to make a space for her to jump back up. I got very close to her face and stared at her and suggested breakfast might be nice and she told me to come for a snuggle instead. And when we tried again she got cross and grumbly and said Settle DOWN! I'm SLEEPY! in a cross and grumbly voice. I tried to play with Sophy but even one teeny tiny little bark made MH even grumblier.

By the time she did get up it had been light for hours and hours. I think waking up time should be as soon as it is light enough to see outside, but how do I persuade MH out of bed? She used to get up if I said I needed a poo, but now she just tells me to go to the pad in the bathroom by myself, so even that doesn't work. We were very nice to her when she did get up at last - even Poppy gets bouncy when it is time for pees and poos and breakfast - but it was an awfully long wait.


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## Rose n Poos

We try digging ours out from under the covers and bring her toys but if that doesn't work, we make urp urp noises. 

That always works, but not for long unless we really are urpy. 

Your friends, Remo and Neo


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## PeggyTheParti

Freddy,

If you sleep in a bit, that means _more energy_ for the day’s adventures! I highly recommend giving it a try. 

Your friend,
Peggy


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## fjm

Urp Urp sounds like a good idea! And just at the moment I think there should be less sleep and more adventures - I want to be a famous mountain rescue dog and pull a sledge across Alaska and go out hunting in the dark with Tilly and be all famous and heroic! Or even just catch a rabbit, like Sophy. Nothing exciting ever happens to me, except not very nice things like falling in the boating pond.


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## For Want of Poodle

Dear Freddy,

I only get up before 7 if I need to puke, otherwise I lounge in bed for as long as possible. Then when my human gets up sometimes I make her tell me a bunch of times to get off her bed before I do, then I go outside quickly, then nap on the couch until breakfast, usually 9:30 or so. Mornings are meant to be savoured.

I agree with your human, I am quite unimpressed when my human gets me up at 7!

Xoxo Annie

PS- Unless there are chippies. Yesterday we were away visiting and I heard chippies at 6:45 am so my human unzipped the tent for me and let me out. Maybe try telling your human about chippies? Because those are worth getting up early for.

PPS- or, just make retching noises! That gets my human out of bed really fast!


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## Mfmst

I do a full straddle over my female and stare and stare. I have successfully moved wakeup from 5:00AM to 4:00AM for the last few days. More critters in the dark and an early breakfast. Win, win😎. She is so easily trained! And then she manages one cup of coffee, before we go back to bed. I have noticed she’s crankier. Her alarm goes off for my medicine at 7:00 AM which is perfect for another walk in my big yard. I’m happy, and she should be too. Carpe diem, earlier the better.
Your pal,
Buck


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## 94Magna_Tom

I just wait for MH to get up. Sometimes it's 8, and sometimes it's even 9 O'clock before he gets up. We do go to bed late though, usually right after our night-time walk, so I don't mind at all.
Your pal Elroy 🐾


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## fjm

We are staying with MH's sister again. Yesterday was a really good day - MH woke up quite early for a change and we went out and explored the garden before breakfast and a bit later on we went for a lovely long walk while all the other humans sat around in pyjamas drinking tea and coffee. It was to a sort of park and some of the walk was on paths and some on fields and I ran lots of zoomies and found lots of smells - one was a lovely very, very dead rat and it was so nice I wanted to roll in it but MH was mean and wouldn't let me. The morning was so nice and sunny that she sat down on a bench and let me play with all the different dogs that came along, but I still wouldn't let her put my lead on as it was far too nice to go home. There was a really fun spaniel with a ball and his Human tickled me behind the ear and somehow after that I had a lead on but MH let me run and play with the spaniel for ages so it was OK.

When we got back there were all my favourite people and MH's niece played with me lots - she was the first other Human I met when MH brought me home so she is special. And we went in and out of the garden all day - it is not very big but it is very interesting, with lots of steps and good places to hide and a stream at the bottom, and there are squirrels and other things. In the evening when it begins to get dark we stand at the top of the stairs and bark to scare away the monsters and the foxes before we go down, which is good fun. Breakfast was at the right time today too, so perhaps MH is getting trained at last. She may even get better at playing Keep Away if we practice it enough.

[I am definitely going to have to find a new way of teaching Fred to let me attach a lead - touch and release for a treat doesn't hack it anymore. A really solid few weeks of on for a few yards and off again to play fun games with chicken, I think. I am uncomfortable having him trail a line when playing with other dogs or in areas where he could get tangled up but it is the lesser of two evils while he is being such a toad! fjm]


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## Mfmst

You will figure it out. Glad you had a nice visit with your sister 😀


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## fjm

We are having an interesting sort of day. When we woke up MH said there was only a dribble of water coming from the tap so she filled the biggest pan just in case. And then it stopped altogether, so we had to use water from the pan to clean our teeth and there wasn't enough for Nice Clean Tummy or for MH to get washed or anything like that, because she was saving it for Important Things like coffee and water bowls. Then Tilly came in with a big bird - too big for her to eat all of it so she shared it with me, but MH found us with it under the chair in the bedroom and took it away, which was mean and very wasteful, I think. 

Just as we were going out for a walk the pipes started making squeaky noises and when we got home MH said the water was Back On, but she was a bit discombobulated by it all and forgot to check the door was properly closed and when she looked it was wide open and I wasn't anywhere to be seen and she went all over outside looking for me and I couldn't hear her because I was upstairs looking to see if there was any bird left. But when I did hear her I came down and waited by the door so she could see me, and she said that was very sensible and deserved a biscuit, so that was good. But I would rather have had the bits of bird back...


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## Getting ready

What fun for Freddy! Not so much for the Human, I think.


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## For Want of Poodle

Dear Freddy,

If you disappear into the forest and reappear with a bird wing, your human will give you more biscuits. 

They wrap it in plastic and throw it out, which is quite wasteful, but there isn't much meat on a bird wing anyway so I guess that's okay. 

Xoxo Annie


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## Mfmst

OMG! A dead bird in the house! Luckily we have kept Buck’s opossum fake kills outside. (They deserve Animal Oscar’s for playing dead,)


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## fjm

MH was very kind last night - I had a Goodnight God Bless Freddy biscuit in my pen, and I did think about going to sleep there but she offered to lift me into bed so I said Yes Please. I don't think she was looking properly though because she didn't much like the nice feather I was chewing when she lay on it later in the night...

[The perils of life when you are very short sighted and have taken contact lenses out! fjm]


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## Getting ready

fjm said:


> MH was very kind last night - I had a Goodnight God Bless Freddy biscuit in my pen, and I did think about going to sleep there but she offered to lift me into bed so I said Yes Please. I don't think she was looking properly though because she didn't much like the nice feather I was chewing when she lay on it later in the night...
> 
> [The perils of life when you are very short sighted and have taken contact lenses out! fjm]


I have just told my husband that I too would like a Goodnight God Bless biscuit before bed. Make mine with chocolate. He looked at me like I'm crazy. But I think this is something we should all adopt.


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## fjm

Little Amber across the courtyard smells strange, and so does her pee. She didn't want to play the usual games and kept pushing her bum in my face, and I didn't know why, and MH said Long May It Last or something and told Amber's Human it would be a good idea to keep an eye on her for a while and took me home to play a fun game of tug and fetch which was much better. Gus says he wants to play Amber's new game Very Much and he even jumped over the wall between their houses which is a huge jump for a dog with such short legs - his are much shorter than mine. Their Humans saw him jump and Amber and Gus both got taken back indoors, but I think they should have been proud of Gus for making such an effort. The wall is much higher than his nose even when he stands on his hind legs at full stretch.


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## Rose n Poos

Oh My!


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## cowpony

Galen remembers meeting a very nice Labrador girl when he was young and running on the beach. She ran over and she was so very friendly and didn't mind at all when Galen stuck his cold nose right against her bum. All the humans were very upset and put leashes on the dogs and made the dogs go home. It was very unfair because the Labrador girl was very good and Galen was very good and nobody barked or growled or anything.


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## fjm

More new stuff yesterday. There are cows in the field where we walk - MH says they are small babies but they look very big to me. And she says I am not allowed to play with them, or chase them, or bark at them or anything else fun, just walk past them quietly. She says teasing them teaches them to chase dogs and humans and that is Not A Good Idea, and for once Sophy agrees with her. I think they look rather fun, but MH held onto my lead all the time we could see them and although she let me stand and watch them as much as I liked she wouldn't let me go any closer. They do make delicious cake things that were all over the path so that was nice, although MH tried to hurry us past those, too.

In the afternoon MH took absolutely everything out of the big white box thing in the kitchen and did interesting things with cloths and bowls of water and a sponge. Then she put nearly everything back in except for a few bits she put in the rubbish bag. It all looked just the same to me when she finished but she said it was all clean and there was more space and less ice so I suppose she thought it was worth it. Humans spend so much time doing strange and pointless things when they could be playing with us, or making dog treats, or something else useful.


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## Streetcar

Freddy, my mum needs to finish her also pointless big white cold box cleaning. Sheesh, she could just let me in to lick up the spill, just I'd truly get TOOO cold.

So maybe I'll forgive her this once, as she assures me it will help my food stay fresher.

Love, Oliver


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## fjm

I wasn't even allowed to eat the peas that fell out, Oliver. You'd think they'd be _grateful_ for help, instead of saying Leave It! all the time...


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## fjm

MH has been very Busy Busy Boring for the last few days, with lots of tidying and putting away and cleaning. Sophy says it means someone will be coming to visit, which will be fun. We had a good walk this morning but this afternoon MH was still busy so instead of a walk we went into the big garden at the back and she threw one of my balls for me to fetch. It was a lovely game - there is much more room to play outside and it is more interesting hunting for the ball in the long grass. MH said we had to be very, very careful not to lose it as it was a small one and would be dangerous for the bigger dogs if they tried to play with it, so I took it straight back to her every time I found it and we both watched to make sure we knew where it went when she threw it. It nearly made up for not being allowed to play with the baby cows this morning - they were having a game of chase and I wanted to join in but MH would not let me, and made me walk on my lead until we had left them behind. She has made some new treats that make it almost worth walking close, even though she walks so slowly and takes ages to get to the interesting bits. The treats are called chicken hearts, and they are even better than pancake!


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## fjm

You know, I think just possibly Sophy and MH are right and calves _are_ too big to play with. Today they were right next to the path waiting for their breakfast and they were _huge_, much bigger than they look when they are right across the field. I wasn't sure about walking past them they were so big, and one Looked at me in a very meaning sort of way so I barked at it, and then MH said if we went a bit further past them I could have some chicken hearts so we did and then some more by the gate.

MH is getting better at walking on a lead without pulling. I explained to her about her walking too slowly and she walked much faster today and didn't stop as often or pull nearly as much, so I think she may be learning.


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## fjm

We had a _lovely _walk yesterday afternoon. We went to the other side of the river where there aren't any cows so we only had to be on leads for the first bit where cars sometimes come. We met lots of nice dogs and some of them played with me, then Sophy really wanted to run and play and we raced ahead and galloped through the long grass and it felt wonderful! Sophy wanted to go on and on but MH said Poppy would struggle to walk all the way back to the car if we went any further so we turned round and Sophy showed me the interesting little paths that go down to the river from the big path and how you can run along out of sight and pop back up and take everyone by surprise. MH said if we were playing that game it would be safer without a trailing line so she took my lead off altogether and that made running and playing even better. I ran so much and had so much fun that I didn't mind when she put the lead back on, and then I ran a bit more before we got to the gate and the bit where cars go.

When we were nearly back to the car there were lots of people with dogs waiting to collect children from the school so we stopped to talk to them, and by the time we got home there was just time for a biscuit and then it was time for tea, so that was perfect.


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## fjm

This morning we only had a little walk because we met other dogs and their Humans told MH that the calves had wandered across the river and been chased by a dog there and come crashing back through a fence and were all over the place running around because they were scared and upset. So we only walked a little way and MH said the ones on our side had their heads down to graze so were probably All Right but we would not go closer to give them time to settle down properly. And someone from the farm came driving over the field quite fast to check them and then drove back even faster, but we were good and stayed with MH for chicken heart, so we were safe too.

And this afternoon we only had a little walk because it suddenly got too hot for Poppy and MH was spending ages on the phone getting cross with people. She hardly ever gets cross so it was a bit worrying, but after a bit the phone kept ringing and bit by bit she stopped being so cross and started sounding more like herself, so perhaps it will all be all right now.

[It turned out that the cataract op I thought was booked and settled wasn't - the clinic claimed not to have received the GP's referral letter. After half a dozen increasingly complicated phone calls to the clinic's call centre and my GP practice the call centre said that as I had been discharged back in November (in error, I strongly suspect) I would have to start again from the beginning, taking my contact lenses out for two weeks ahead of an assessment. Anyone who followed https://www.poodleforum.com/threads/lensless-in-lancashire.280131/#post-3379728 can imagine how well that went down - I think it may be the first time in my life I used a four letter word to a stranger on the phone! To be repeatedly told "that is our policy" even though it contradicted what I had been told by the clinical staff back in November, and "there is nothing I can do about it" had me insisting on escalating the call to management, and from there to a different department that could actually talk to the clinic staff. At which point good sense began to prevail as I had known it would all along, if someone would actually ask them - their response was yes, I did need another assessment, but not one that required me to take my lenses out before the day of the appointment. So the op will be delayed for a month or so but at least I have got past the Kafka-esque circle of nobody admitting to any responsibility or ability to sort it out! A second stiff G&T needed, I think. fjm]


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## reraven123

I think those call center people get special training in obstructionism before they are allowed to start working. They are all _so_ good at it!


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## fjm

Definitely well trained in obstructing - I was reminded of the old aphorism "To err is human but to really foul things up you need a computer". Once upon a time a human faced with a problem might have tried to solve it; now it seems that if the computer says no that is the end of the conversation. All it needed from the very start was for direct contact between the GP staff and the private clinic medical staff, but that was not allowed so instead we went round and round on computer systems that had not been updated with vital bits of information. The saga ended with a very nice call from a nurse at the clinic - when I said I thought their call centre was dire she said they had no direct contact with the people there but thought of them as Yeti, surmising their existence from the footprints they left on the patients!


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## fjm

What are yetis and why is MH writing about them in MY diary?! 

Freddy xx


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## reraven123

Freddy, trust me. You don't want to meet one.


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## twyla

Freddy,
I wonder if Yetis are like Sasquatch? Momo says I have hairy feet like them. 
Pia


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## fjm

Well, I haven't seen any unusually big hairy things so perhaps MH was making it up. She often says strange things - this morning she said it was jolly hard keeping everyone happy all the time, just because I wanted to go out in the garden very early and then have my breakfast and Poppy just wanted breakfast and Sophy said it was too early for anything and we should all go back to bed. I offered to eat her breakfast for her but then she decided she wanted it after all and got cross with me. But it wasn't hard to make us all happy - it just needed MH to hurry up a bit.


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## PowersPup

reraven123 said:


> I think those call center people get special training in obstructionism before they are allowed to start working. They are all _so_ good at it!


Maybe they get chicken hearts for obstructing a patient's progress.


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## fjm

I've been having a lovely day. MH's sister is staying and she is very good at playing and she walks _very _fast, so when we all go out for walks she gets way ahead and I can run backwards and forwards between her and MH and it is a good game. I asked MH why she does not walk fast like her sister and she said it is because of dodgy hips and having to slow down so Poppy can keep up, but I think she is just a bit lazy. But because she is slow there is time to explore and I found very interesting places on both our walks, and then found that although I could hear MH calling and knew where she was I couldn't get to her. So I remembered what Sophy showed me about sometimes having to go back to where I left the path to find it again and I did that and it worked and MH says that is Very Clever and some dogs never do learn how to do it.

I did lots and lots of running and when we got home it was tea time and then it was aperitif time and now I am very, very sleepy so that's all for now.


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## fjm

The sitting room was all tidy and boring so I have worked very hard to make it comfy again. It was tiring but I think it was worth it...


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## fjm

When I woke up we had tea and then MH took me out to play with a ball, which is really good fun. It flies through the air and then bounces and sometimes I catch it before it rolls off and sometimes it bounces into the grass and I have to hunt for it and then I dash back to MH and pretend not to let her have it and then I drop it and she throws it again. I think it is now my best game. MH says I am very good at it and is a good game to play while her hip is wonky, but she doesn't like the way the ball gets all wet and slimy. She is going to look for something called a Chuckit and see if there is one for very small tennis balls.


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## fjm

What does "grounded" mean? I had a very exciting day yesterday. Instead of going down by the river in the morning as we usually do we went to the lovely squishy wet muddy place by the shore. There was a very small dog and he looked as if he wanted to play but when I went to say hello quite politely he got all snappy snarly so I got all excited and barked and pounced and MH put my lead on and dawdled till they got well ahead and said it was best to copy Sophy and ignore dogs that didn't want to play. After that we met lots of nice dogs, and MH put my lead back on while we let some horses go by and wouldn't let me go and sniff them. Then just as we were having a rest for Poppy and playing the sit for treats game I saw another horse coming quite a long way off and dashed off to investigate before MH could put my lead on. The horse wouldn't stop to talk to me and I chased after it and it just plodded on so I ran around behind it shouting and bouncing but it just ignored me. And I sort of heard MH calling me so when the horse was really boring I dashed back to her for chicken. I was quite right about her usually being a bit lazy, though - she moved even faster than her sister for a long way to catch up with me and the horse, and so did Poppy!

After that we went back to the car, but I had nice games with friendly dogs on the way back and did lots and lots of running and splashing and it was lovely. But MH says we will need to do lots more practice at ignoring horses and other big animals because chasing after them is Very Dangerous and Very Naughty, and so is teasing dogs who don't want to be teased, even if they are rude. So it sounds as if things may be a bit boring for a while...

[Fortunately only bomb proof ponies are ridden out in a very popular dog walking spot on a busy Saturday morning, but it was still extremely mortifying. Fine in the distance, but then they turned and came towards us and I was slow getting Freddy's lead on - lesson learned! fjm]


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## Rose n Poos

Very glad that turned out all right!


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## fjm

Yesterday we saw rather too much of the small cows in the field where we walk by the river. In the morning they were all over the path and MH said she had better keep hold of my lead till we were safly past. I wanted to hurry because I could see Hamish ahead and his Human has biscuits, so once we were past the cows MH let me run ahead but Poppy was dawdling and the cows came following her and trying to sniff her and when MH went back to tell them not to I wanted to go with her so she held onto my lead again. But It was a bit worrying being that close, even with MH, and I shouted Go Away! at them just a bit, so when she had persuaded the cows to stop she took me back to Hamish's human and he held onto my lead and then she went back and pushed them back to where their food is, so they stayed there and didn't follow us anymore. Pushing cows is very interesting when humans do it - no touching, just arms spread very wide and walking slowly while calmly and firmly telling them to move on. It worked, so perhaps she is right about shouting not being a good thing to do.

Coming back we played the With Me! game and Poppy joined in, so we were past them in no time and Poppy kept up with us so they didn't try to sniff her. And in the afternoon they were right across the field where they are not worrying at all. It was lovely later on - there were lots of children out playing and I joined in. MH says there have not been small children here for years and years and now suddenly there are lots again and everyone is enjoying them very much - I'm glad they got here just as I did because they are very good to play with.


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## For Want of Poodle

Freddy, I saw cows the other day too! I'd never seen them before. We had to park on the road because the parking lot 'was flooded' when we went for a walk and they were on the other side of the road, across the field.

Cows are really weird looking. 

I was a VERY good dog (my human said, and gave me treats and everything!) And I didn't bark, just looked at them and asked to get walking, because walks are more important than stupid cows. I think I woulda barked if they were running though, like when those rattly horse-cars go by. 

I don't think I would have liked to have the cows on my path !


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## fjm

Yesterday evening I got lost, or my human got lost, or Sophy got lost - it all got a bit muddly. MH had gone to bring the washing in and I was playing with Sophy and sniffing around while staying where we could see her, and just as she was ready to go back to the house I saw something interesting and went a bit further away. I sort of heard her calling but there are lots of different ways back to the house and sometimes it can be hard to tell exactly where she is calling from and I was rather busy. So then I heard her calling from all over the place, and then she brought Sophy out to look for me and they were wandering around - MH even went down to the road which is Not Allowed. I got so muddled by it all that I just went and waited by the front door, and at last MH came back and found me there and said it was a Very Sensible Thing to do, and let me into the house with Poppy. But then Sophy was missing, and MH went all over looking for her and found her more easily - she was stuck behind a gate and just sat and barked until MH came and let her through. Sophy says it's what humans do - they stand and shout and wait for you to come - so they are able to understand when dogs do it.

When we went out later MH put my lead on, which was a nuisance as George the cat was out and it meant I couldn't chase him. MH said this was a Very Good Thing, but I didn't think so. 

[Freddy is usually so good at coming immediately when called that I was getting really worried that he'd got shut in somewhere or gone out onto the road. It is a bit of a maze of interconnecting gardens and courtyards here so there are lots of ways of missing each other, and sound bounces off the walls which must be confusing - I think we were just going round in circles looking for each other! fjm]


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## fjm

I do think MH is very kind. She leaves baskets of interesting bits of paper and card tubes and stuff all over the house, just right for exploring for something good to chew, and when she takes her clothes off she leaves them where I can reach so that I can nibble the pockets where treats were. She takes me out lots (although she keeps muttering about poos for some reason) and she bakes very good biscuits - so good I don't much mind her brushing me while I am eating one. She is still not much good with toothpaste - she keeps poking her finger or the toothbrush into my mouth while I am trying to lick it off - but she has got much better at doing Nice Clean Tummy without making me sore. And she is very nice to snuggle with at bedtime, and has a very comfy lap for cuddles and snoozes during the day. But there is still a bit too much Settle Down and Leave the Cat Alone and Don't Tease Sophy, and not enough Exciting Things for Freddies!


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## Rose n Poos

Freddy dear, it's so good of you to notice what your MH does for you, and I'm sure your Aunties and also Tilly cat, too.


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## fjm

I'm discovering gardening - it is really interesting and fun. There is digging and weeding and hunting for interesting things in the bushes and watching Ian next door laying bricks and running round from the front garden to the back garden and wheelbarrows and all sorts of stuff! MH says I will be more help when I learn which things are weeds and which are not, and that nice, easy to dig earth is usually easy to dig because she has just planted seeds in it, but everyone has to start somewhere and even she agrees that I am very good at digging.


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## fjm

MH was really mean and shut me in the house while she was gardening yesterday. And I was having so much fun, too. I had lovely explores all over everyone's gardens round the back whenever she opened our gate - some of them have gates too, but the bars are a long way apart and I can slip through. And Poppy and I played How Close Can We Get To The Wheelbarrow Without Getting Squashed, and I followed MH up to the compost heap she is building on the back field and stayed up there to dig and sniff and play for a bit. When she made us come back into our garden and shut the gate again I sat and watched her for a while but she said it was dangerous as she was moving heavy pots and there was not much room, so I dug for a bit and then found a really interesting lump of stuff she had thrown away and was taking it into the house to chew properly but she made me give it back because she said it wasn't thrown away, just waiting to be repotted. I _saw_ her toss it away, just the way she does my ball when she throws it for me, so it was really not fair. That was when she made us all go back in the house and gave us each a biscuit and shut the door. Really, _really _mean!


----------



## Rose n Poos

Freddy, ask your MH "might I have a bit of earth?”


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## fjm

I did and she said Yes, but to dig in not to take back into the house! I have sort of forgiven her though because this morning we had chicken for our walk treat and she has made lots of pancakes and there are chicken chew biscuits and fishy crunch biscuits baking in the oven and smelling lovely.


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## fjm

Are all cats as weird as Tilly? She is on MH's lap _asking_ to be combed! Brushing and combing are alright if there are really good biscuits, but not something you ask for. And she has whole bowls of lovely food and she just takes a few bites and leaves the rest for later. I can smell how delicious it is but she won't push any off the bench for me even though she doesn't want to eat it herself. And this morning she didn't want her scrummy medicine yeast tablet, although that was better because it dropped on the floor and MH said I could have it, and a bit of chicken too, which is what I usually get because Sophy and Poppy get two doses of medicine and I only get one and the chicken makes it fair.

It has stopped raining at last but it is very windy and MH didn't want to walk far this morning because the dust was getting in her eyes, so I ran very fast in big rings round everyone - wind makes me feel very boingy, somehow.


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## fjm

Today we had a party and it was _wonderful_! We had a lovely walk in the morning and when we got back there were people out doing interesting things with poles and canvas on the grass but MH said the men were all getting a bit cross trying to fit the poles together so we had better leave them to it, once she had dug tables and chairs out of the garages. When we came out later Sophy said it looked like a party but there was no one else there so we went home and waited a bit until Sophy couldn't wait any longer and we went out again. Parties are the Best Thing Ever! There were lots and lots of people and lots of dogs and lots of food and things to drink and everyone was happy and there were children playing and the cars went very, very slowly and the poles and plasticky canvas stuff had turned into outside roofs in case it rained and there was music that was fun and not too loud and it was all _lovely!_ 

Sophy says there used to be lots of parties but for some reason the humans stopped having them a few years ago and this was the first really good one for ages. There was even a bus that came through the gate so David could get out of it safely in his special wheely chair - we have never seen a bus come through the gate before, and nor have any of the humans! 

I am very sleepy now and so are Sophy and Poppy but it was a lovely afternoon. The sort of day that stays all happy inside you for ages and ages...


----------



## Streetcar

Huge congratulations to you, your MH, all the pets, to your countrymen and women, Freddy. Your country and the Commonwealth are celebrating an historic event and time. Oliver and I send our best wishes and loves to all as you honor your beautiful Queen. God save your gracious Queen.

My late mother was such an admirer of Her Majesty. They were contemporaries, and lived through the war at the same time and almost exact same age.


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## Rose n Poos

A most wonderful day, indeed!


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## fjm

Well, MH gave us our tea very, very late and then she fell fast asleep in her chair till after midnight. And even though we went to bed very late indeed she woke up listening to the rain pouring down at 3.30am and started worrying about Tilly, and we all went downstairs to check she was in and she wasn't, so MH took us out for pees and poos and then back to bed - Tilly came in with us so she was all right. Then Sophy thought it should be morning at 5.30, and we went out again and back to bed again. And we've just been out again now that it is 7.30 and quite late, and the remains of the party are still there but very, very wet, and MH says there will be a lot of people feeling very fragile this morning as lots of them moved on to party indoors when it started raining and she is very glad she didn't, as she feels quite fragile enough as it is. She explained to us about why it was a holiday but we all think it was special more because there used to be lots of happy parties here and and for years there have been hardly any than because of Queens and things.

It is going to rain nearly all day so everything will have to wait till tomorrow to get dry. We are going to have a lazy day, MH says, and let tummies and everything else recover. We are still very tired!


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## Rose n Poos

Freddy Dear, 

I think you're right. Parties are oh so very much fun but they do take some practice and there hasn't been much chance for some time. We'll all learn again, even if it takes just a bit longer. 

Even when we're in practice things can be a bit topsy turvy after a party, so get some rest and have a soft, lovely day.


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## fjm

Guess what! I can jump on the big bed all by myself! I found out the other day when I jumped up without thinking about it, and now I can nearly do it even if I think about it. But I have discovered that it is very, very important not to jump on top of Sophy, so I think if she is on the bed I will wait for MH to lift me up, just in case. Sophy is _scary _if you jump on her when she is asleep.

Yesterday we had visitors - a Human I have never met before, although Poppy and Sophy sort of remembered her from ages ago, and three small dogs. One of them was called Stevie and at first he was a bit grumbly and unfriendly but we all went up to the big garden at the back and after a bit he stopped worrying and played with me and that was fun. But he didn't understand why Tilly-cat didn't run away so he could chase her like the cats who came into his garden and when we came back in he tried to make her run and got his ears boxed and yipped, just like I did when she did it to me, and after that he was very, very careful to leave her alone and hid behind his Human whenever she was around. Tilly can be a bit scary sometimes, too.


----------



## fjm

I found a really, really good treasure, the best one ever. A _huge_ bone! I found it while MH was talking to Ian-next-door and I brought it back to the house and took it to my bed so I could chew on it in peace but MH made me give it to her because she said it might be dangerous - _huh! _I thought dogs were _meant_ to chew on bones, especially lovely big lamb leg bones. I did get lots of biscuits as a swapsie but the bone was better...


----------



## The Popster

Awww... bad luck!!
I like a bone every now and then, from the butchers not the 'trash' mind


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## fjm

That bone looks delicious, Poppy. MH says if we had bones she would be forever sorting out squabbles over which was whose or who had the best one so No Bones. Huh - it's _so_ not fair!


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## For Want of Poodle

Dear Freddy, 

That sounds like a prize find, I can't understand why the human would take it from you! 

The Dog Gods have been kind recently here too. 

Yesterday I got a bird's wing that was left for me right outside of our house when we were coming home from a walk, and the night before I got the dead squirrel I've been eyeing for weeks, because my human was talking on the phone and distracted. And a couple days ago, we were walking by the lake and I disappeared into the rushes and came out with a fish half down my throat. 

Next time you find a bone, I suggest having it half down your gullet by the time the human notices. If it's suitably rotten, they are also less inclined to take it from you. 

My human says it's a good thing my heartworm prevention covers worms. I don't know why - worms are tasty too when they get all crunchy on the pavement. 

Xoxo Annie


----------



## cowpony

Galen sympathizes. He found a chicken bone on a recent walk. It was too big to swallow whole, so he tried to chew it. Then everyone else on the walk heard him crunching and turned to see what he had. Uh oh! He laid the bone lengthwise on his tongue, closed his mouth so nobody could see it, and looked up with the most innocent expression he could manage. Unfortunately his human pried his mouth open and took the bone away. He got a bunch of treats to make up for it, but they were the same treats he always gets. Chicken bones are new and interesting!


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## fjm

I did try to eat it Annie but it was huge - much, much bigger than my head. It's easy to eat the bits of rabbit we sometimes find on walks but this was the sort of bone that is good to chew for weeks and weeks. I just found an interesting bit of plastic upstairs and MH swapsied that too...


----------



## For Want of Poodle

Hmm, Freddy, have you tried growing bigger? I can swallow far bigger tasty things than Trixie. 

My human is mean like that too. Her dad's house has all sorts of big cow bones lying around. They are well pre-chewed, but still gnaw-able. And she runs around picking them all up muttering about 'vet bills' and 'broken teeth' and when the other dog was still there, 'dog fights'.


----------



## fjm

Yesterday Sophy was away for hours and hours at the vet's, and we even went for a walk without her. When she came home she was sleepy and grumpy and smelled all wrong, and even though I told her how very much I'd missed her and tried to get her to play with me over and over again she just said "Leave Me _Alone!_" and wouldn't. And MH said not to tease Sophy because she was feeling a bit yuck, and we went out to play with a ball instead, but it was very hard having Sophy home but not being able to play with her. 

This morning we woke up early for pees and poos and then went back to bed for ages and ages, and I think sleeping must have made Sophy better because although she still doesn't want to play she is not cross any more. And today I have been very careful not to tease her, and MH says that is Very Good and Very Kind of me, and gives me chicken. MH says Sophy will probably want to play again when she smells right, and I just have to be patient for a few days and keep sniffing to check. I do hope so - it is a bit boring with no one to pretend fight with...


----------



## Getting ready

Oh poor Freddie. You are such a good brother. I hope Sophy is back to her feisty self soon.


----------



## fjm

This afternoon on our walk Sophy ran with me and played a bit and although MH said Not To and it was Not Allowed I think even she was happy that Sophy wanted to play. I just played a bit, till Sophy said she'd had enough, and then we had a nice time together sniffing all the smells the rest of the way home. I'm very glad she is not sad and grumpy any more.


----------



## reraven123

So are we! Glad to hear she is feeling better!


----------



## fjm

We are staying with MH's sister again and I am learning lots of new things. This morning Poppy told me that when MH starts packing bags and putting them in the car it is very, very important to get in the car and stay there or you may get left behind. And when we did set out we stopped almost at once because there was a hedgehog in the middle of the road, and MH stopped and the bus coming the other way stopped and the hedgehog stopped and the cars coming up behind us stopped and MH was just getting out to chivvy the hedgehog off the road when it decided which way to go and trotted off into the bushes.

Then when we got here there is a baby There are lots of things to know about babies. First, you must never, ever wake them up if they are asleep, and they sleep at all sorts of strange times, so there is lots of Hush Freddy and No Barking and Play Quietly. Then they don't like to be jumped at, just sniffed gently. And they have toys that are just like dog toys and mats that are just like dog mats but humans seem to know the difference. The good thing is that even though this one is too little to really eat proper food the humans give her things to bite on like celery sticks and bread crusts and she drops them, and when she waves her arms about stuff falls off the table. Yesterday a whole bowl of butter landed right by my nose, but MH grabbed it before I could get any except for a tiny bit left on the carpet. I did get the celery and bread, though.


----------



## Rose n Poos

Dear Freddy, you're quite right about babies and food. They're like piñata's except you don't have to open them. (Your MH will explain )


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## fjm

That's just what they are like!

Another thing to know at MH's sister's house is not to run out of the front door even if it is open because there are Cars and it is Dangerous. I wanted to go to the park across the road...


----------



## Rose n Poos

Oh Freddy, please never do that. Cars do not play nicely so you must always wait for your MH to accompany you. I know you are big now and smart and strong but the cars do not care. Humor your MH and listen to her.


----------



## Getting ready

Dear Freddy,
We did baby sitting once. It is A LOT of sitting. (But also a lot of yummy crumbs on the floor.). We would like to meet a hedgehog
Love,
blueberry and scribble.

(Human here. I remember we had a dinner in a restaurant for my daughter’s first birthday. She dropped a meatball and bellowed “Puppies come.” Our dogs had trained her well.


----------



## For Want of Poodle

Dear Freddy,

I was doubtful for a while, but although babies are very LOUD, they are pretty okay.

I recommend that after they are out of their special chair, you go over and inspect it thoroughly - there is often stuff left behind that needs to be cleaned up. Their hands are very tasty when they are in their special chair, but my human says I need to 'leave the baby, Annie!' The bigger humans put food on a spoon and put the spoon in the baby's mouth. I tried standing next to the baby in the chair and opening MY mouth, but my human said 'Leave the baby, Annie!' again, so I guess it only works for babies, not for dogs. But after they are gone, from the chair, it's fine to clean it. And if you hang out nearby, SOMETIMES they will let you finish the stuff in the bowl the baby didn't eat, like extra mushed berries. The baby's humans were very nice to dogs, even if my human has too many rules.

I got extra chews and extra treats for being 'a very good girl' so I hope you get extra treats for dealing with the baby, too! 

Xoxo Annie


----------



## fjm

It's been a bit boring since we got home. First there was all the driving which made MH tired, then we went to something called Holstery - Sophy and Poppy say it used to happen lots but not for years and years. MH left us in the car in the shade with all the windows open and kept coming back to make sure we were all right and take us for little walks but it was all a bit snoozy and boring. Sophy and Poppy said it was Just Right after a busy time visiting but I liked the walk we had at lunchtime best - all sorts of interesting smells and a lovely big grassy field to run around in. 

Yesterday started really hot so we only did a little walk, and when we went to play ball in the big garden at the back one of the neighbours was there coughing a lot and for some reason MH doesn't like to be around people coughing so we came home quite soon. So when it was bedtime I still felt very bouncy and not ready for sleep, but no one would play with me. Then Sophy got up wanting to go outside, and MH got up too and I went with them, although it took ages to get ready as MH had to find her dressing gown and shoes and specs and a torch and a flashing collar for Sophy and a lead for me. Sophy did a pee and we all came in and went up to bed and MH and I had a snuggle and we were just falling asleep when Sophy said she needed to go out again. So we did the dressing gown, shoes, specs, torch, collar, lead thing all over again and Sophy went out and barked and woke up Albie so he barked and MH said to hush because everyone was trying to sleep and Sophy did something eventually and we all went back to bed. Then Sophy got up again, but this time she just went halfway down the stairs so we didn't get as far as shoes and specs. After that MH said it would be a good idea if I went to bed in my pen with the door shut as it looked like being a long night, and the next time Sophy got up I stayed in my bed and missed it all. I think after that everyone stayed asleep till morning...

Nice and cool today, so I am hoping we get Proper Walks and games. MH seems all snoozy though, for some reason...


----------



## Rose n Poos

Hope it was a more restful night!


----------



## fjm

I have discovered that the pen in the bedroom has the same sort of door as the one downstairs and I know how to open that, so last night I got to go out with Sophy twice. It is interesting in the dark, even with a lead on.

This morning some very exciting things happened. Gus and Elton caught up with us while we walking and I had a lovely game with them, then on the way back MH put my lead on to walk past the cows and I saw Solo and his Human up ahead, so once we were past the cows she let me run ahead to say hello. But there were more cows lying down hidden in the long grass just by where Solo was and when I'd said hello I saw them and went to bark at them and make them go away. And they lumbered off to join the others, and I chased after them, and I could have herded them all right up the field but MH called me back and after a bit I heard her and remembered that she had chicken in her pocket so it was worth leaving the game. She said I was Very Good to come but chasing cows is Not Allowed, and the sooner I forget how exciting it was the better...

[Weeks of carefully practising walking past on lead undone in one glorious chase... The young bullocks weren't particularly fussed, but good manners around livestock is an essential life skill where we live. More practice needed... fjm]


----------



## cowpony

Ooh, Freddy, it's a bad idea to chase livestock. Sometimes the livestock turns around and chases you right back, and that's no fun at all.


----------



## reraven123

That you were able to call him off is HUGE!


----------



## Rose n Poos

Dear Freddy,

What would you do if you caught one? They're a bit big to dig a hole and hide them in. I don't think you'd be able get it thru the door either. 

Maybe it's best to just admire them from a distance. Your MH has more experience in these cows and I think it will make her happy if you do that.


----------



## fjm

I don't think I want to catch one - I just like the way they go away when I chase them. I certainly couldn't fit one in my crate in the car... Sophy says she once had the same problem with a rabbit she caught - she carried it all the way back to the car but when she got there she couldn't jump in while carrying it, so had to swap it for a biscuit and let MH take it away. I bet I could get _lots_ of biscuits for a whole cow...


----------



## fjm

We are having an interesting time. Yesterday when we got home from our walk there was a parcel waiting with tummy medicine just in case and lots of things for me - 6 squeaky balls and something called a Dumble which is a really good shape to carry and doesn't get lost as easily as a ball. Then MH spent ages being busy-busy-boring putting shiny stuff on the back door and she wouldn't let me help or even go near as she said I would get sticky, but she was the one who got stuck because the wall of tables and boxes she had built to keep me out was too close to the door for her to get up when she'd done the bottom bit!

Then last night she got all cross and impatient because her computer thing wasn't working properly, and when we got up this morning it still wasn't working even after a good night's sleep so she was still a bit grumpy and wouldn't let me go and help the nice men who are making a _huge_ hole by the gate. Poppy says they have monsters, but I think it is very interesting and I'm very good at digging so I'm sure they would like me to help if MH wasn't so mean. But we did go out in the car very early and MH went to a shop for a few minutes and then we went for a lovely early morning walk along the shore because the shop is near there and when we came back she fixed the computer thing and did some more shiny stuff and had a coffee and stopped being grumpy. But she still won't let me go and watch the digging...


----------



## fjm

Horrible things today. MH said I had a lump on my ear and she needed to look at it and I said No! and _Shan't!! _and _GO AWAY!!! _but she really insisted and then she said I had a Tickle and it would have to come off no matter how much I said No, and I _hate_ it when she holds me like that and she _knows_ I do, but she did it anyway and then said all done, although I have an itchy lump where the Tickle was. So then she gave me a nice big treat and when we were friends again she tickled me all over in case there were more, and then she tickled Poppy and Sophy too. And I don't mind that kind of tickle, but the kind that make her hold me still by my collar and use the I-Really-Mean-It voice are horrible, even with lots of treats.

[Freddy has very decided ideas about restraint, which we have been working on. But ticks need immediate action, unfortunately! fjm]


----------



## cowpony

Galen's human got a tick too. He got yelled at just like he was a dog: "Stop flopping around like a panicked fish and STOP BLOCKING THE LIGHT...this needs a magnifying glass...just STAY PUT...again, stop flopping or I'll post a selfie and let people draw their own conclusions about why we need to apply a magnifying glass to your anatomy." Galen's human didn't even get a piece of chicken when it was over.


----------



## PowersPup

fjm said:


> We are having an interesting time. Yesterday when we got home from our walk there was a parcel waiting with tummy medicine just in case and lots of things for me - 6 squeaky balls and something called a Dumble which is a really good shape to carry and doesn't get lost as easily as a ball. Then MH spent ages being busy-busy-boring putting shiny stuff on the back door and she wouldn't let me help or even go near as she said I would get sticky, but she was the one who got stuck because the wall of tables and boxes she had built to keep me out was too close to the door for her to get up when she'd done the bottom bit!
> 
> Then last night she got all cross and impatient because her computer thing wasn't working properly, and when we got up this morning it still wasn't working even after a good night's sleep so she was still a bit grumpy and wouldn't let me go and help the nice men who are making a _huge_ hole by the gate. Poppy says they have monsters, but I think it is very interesting and I'm very good at digging so I'm sure they would like me to help if MH wasn't so mean. But we did go out in the car very early and MH went to a shop for a few minutes and then we went for a lovely early morning walk along the shore because the shop is near there and when we came back she fixed the computer thing and did some more shiny stuff and had a coffee and stopped being grumpy. But she still won't let me go and watch the digging...


 I'm really good at digging, too, Freddie! I dug a hole in the woods that was big enough for me to hide in! I don't understand why nobody wants me to help dig holes when they fix things along the road or sidewalks. 

Your friend, Topper.


----------



## fjm

Absolutely Topper - first they tell us _Don't dig there!_ and then they won't let us help dig where they _do_ want a big hole. Humans are very hard to understand.

Today we had visitors and one of them was a dog called Snoopy who was really nice and played with me a bit and he had a human who was very good at playing too. And all the humans sat round the table to eat which hardly ever happens here, although they do it when we are staying with MH's sister, and MH said there are rules about not asking for food at the table but I don't know them because there has never been food on the table to ask for! Sophy and Poppy explained that you just find a comfy settle down place and wait for the clattery noises to stop and then there are good things to eat in the kitchen. It seems silly to me - why not just let us have it straight away?!


----------



## fjm

There are these very nice squidgy things on some of the plants in the garden. MH gave me one to try and I liked it and then I found that where they have grown into the grassy garden next door there are lots and lots down near the ground where I can reach them and they are very easy to nibble off. But MH says a small dog can have too much of a good thing and they might be why I had a tummy ache and a bit of an accident on her bed in the night. But as it was good fun going out for an explore in the dark and I got scrummy tummy medicine and special food I don't really mind if they make me just a bit uncomfy.

[Humph - I do! 3am ker-splat... fjm]


----------



## Mfmst

Freddie, what did you eat? Escargot?


----------



## fjm

I think they are called wahzbwies, or something like that. What are escargots? Would I like them? Oh, MH has just said they are a big No-No, and not to try. She says they sometimes have a nasty worm thing in them that makes dogs very poorly. I wonder what they taste like...

I had more of the delicious tummy paste yesterday and slept in my pen all night, and this morning I had proper breakfast instead of the special tummy food. And yesterday we went for a lovely long walk by the river on the side where there aren't any cows so I could run and run instead of playing the Freddy Come! game all the time, so it was a nice day even though MH seemed a bit dozy for some reason.


----------



## Getting ready

Ooh wahzbwies in the garden! So lucky! I think worth the tummy ache. But what is this is scrummy tummy stuff? Please tell my mom because I do not like what the Dogter gave us.


----------



## fjm

It comes in a sort of nozzle thing and tastes of chicken!

[Protexin Pro-Kolin paste fjm]


----------



## fjm

Yesterday MH's sister came to stay - the one we don't see very often - and yesterday we went in her car to the river for a lovely walk. And this morning she and MH went off without us quite early and were gone for hours and hours, and when they came home MH had a funny thing stuck on her face ovr her eye and she smells peculiar - Sophy says it is a vet sort of smell. MH seems quite happy though, because she says she should be able to see well enough to drive very soon and she was afraid that she wouldn't be able to see for weeks and weeks, and it is horrible when she can't see - no proper walks and she is all cross and miserable, so that is a Very Good Thing.

[First cataract done, and surgeon suggested upping the distance vision from the -1.5 recommended by the previous chap I saw, so we went for it. It's less than 2.5 hours since the surgery and I can already see at least as well in that eye as I could in specs, and it is improving by the minute to be as well as in contact lenses, hurrah. fjm]


----------



## 94Magna_Tom

[Been a long time coming! Glad you're happy with the results!]


----------



## fjm

[Sore now, but will be worth it! fjm]


----------



## Johanna

Dear fjm,
Glad to hear the cataract surgery went well. Isn't it amazing to be able to see again?! Sending you blessings and good thoughts for a quick recovery,
Johanna and Zoe


----------



## PeggyTheParti

Hooray! Best wishes for complete and speedy healing.


----------



## Skylar

{hope your recovery is smooth and quick. Must be a huge relief to be home from your cataract surgery.}


----------



## fjm

[Why, amongst all the rest, don't they warn you about the runny nose and boxes and boxes of tissues...! fjm}


----------



## cowpony

Congrats on the cataract surgery. My brother in law had his magnification corrected at the same time. He says it's been great; it's returned his vision to what it was when he was in high school.


----------



## fjm

[I had +7 diopters inserted - subtracting the adjustment for astigmatism and cataract that gets me pretty close to the difference my contact lens made. I might need a little additional correction in due course, but it is infinitely better than it has been since I was 12 years old. 8 weeks till the second one gets done...! fjm]


----------



## Streetcar

Congratulations and rapid healing to you, @fjm 🥰.


----------



## Rose n Poos

Speedy recovery to you!


----------



## fjm

MH is being really boring - she just wants to sit around or snooze in bed or do other boring stuff. We did go for a teeny tiny walk this morning and out to run around outside but that's not much fun. She says she is still in recovery mode and may be feeling more energetic in a day or two when her brain catches up with her eyeballs - sometimes she says the wierdest things!

One good thing is that Amber is playing with me - proper roll around on the grass playing. MH says it is because I have learned how to make myself small and not barge into her - Amber is very, very small indeed and makes me feel extra Big. But she can be fun to play with as she runs very fast and is very brave.


----------



## fjm

AT LAST! This morning we went for a Proper Walk again! MH says her eyes are now talking to each other properly (more weird stuff...) and she can drive so we can go for walks. It was lovely - just running and sniffing and having things right again. It's very hard to sleep at night when there is nothing to do all day, and we have all been waking up in the night and very early in the morning so she has promised us lots of interesting walks to make up for the lazy days and to tire us out a bit. She seems much happier - quite bouncy, in fact - which is a Good Thing as it's not much fun when she is all worried and grumpy. 

Yesterday Sophy and I got so bored we wandered off down to the gateway onto the road and Sophy went right out! MH called and called and I stopped but but Sophy didn't hear her - there was a big ambulance coming but it stopped and so did the cars and Sophy woke up and came back in and MH was there by then and called us all into the house for chicken. So now we don't go round the front much but up to the lovely wild bit at the back which is safer because there aren't any cars. And MH said she would teach me a new game called Emergency Recall and remind Sophy at the same time, although if Sophy is getting a bit deaf it may need a new call noise. Sophy says she sort of remembers playing it before and it means lots of Good Stuff For Dogs, so that sounds good. 

And then this morning MH suddenly jumped up and said "Where's Poppy?!" and checked outside and in the kitchen and was getting really worried until Poppy woke up from her nap in the bathroom and came downstairs. Poppy said she got confused because MH did some of the bathroom stuff for her eyes very early and then went downstairs, and Poppy was waiting for her to do the human and dog tooth cleaning bit that usually comes straight after and fell asleep on the bathroom sofa while she was waiting for her to come back.

[Specs don't work now one eye is fixed, so I am putting the contact lens in my other eye soon after getting up rather than after an hour or two with coffee, emails, news, etc. The dogs are confused by the change in routine! fjm]


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## fjm

We have had a very exciting morning. We got up very early and had breakfast then MH did all the bathroom stuff and waving her legs in the air stuff and said we should go for a walk before it got too hot. On the way to the river she saw the two Not Nice Terriers, so we went to the other side of the river to avoid them, and then saw them coming the other way just as we got to the big field, but MH gave us chicken and put our leads on and they went round us in a big curve so that was all right.

Then we had a lovely, lovely walk, all green and sparkly with the grass still wet and big patches of sun and shade and lots of places to run where the grass has been cut for hay. On the way back Sophy and I went down to explore along the river but Sophy went further than I did and when MH called us I dashed back to her but Sophy didn't. And MH called and called and I told her where Sophy was but she couldn't see her because she didn't want to go through the barbed wire fence. And then Sally and her human came along and Sally's human is not as tall as mine, and she wiggled under the fence quite easily and said she could see Sophy down on the stones by the river under the very steep bank where it was too high to jump back up, and so MH wiggled too and we all came to watch. 

It was very interesting. I don't think two legs can be as good for climbing as four, because first of all MH teetered down the first bit of the bank, grabbing hold of stuff, then she turned round and went down backwards, then she got to the really steep bit and practically went down on her tummy. Poppy got really worried in case she had fallen and hurt herself and tried to go and help her and Sally and I wanted to get closer so we could see what was going on and Sally's human was trying to stop us jumping down to the river like Sophy so it all got quite exciting and MH had to use That Voice to get us all to back off enough to make space for Sophy when she lifted her up. Then she clambered up the steep drop bit grabbing onto things but carefully in case they were brambles or nettles and did the rest of the bank on her hands and knees with us all helping her and I played bitey facey with Sophy because I was glad to see her again and Sally's human thought we were fighting which was silly because anyone could see it was just play, and it was all very exciting. Then Sally and her human went on with their walk and we came home. But MH says that next time Sophy gets herself stuck she had better look for one of the paths further along, even if they are all overgrown and difficult to find at the moment.

[Can't help feeling clambering up and down overgrown river banks on hands and knees would probably have been on the list of post op banned activities had anyone thought of it! fjm]


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## Streetcar

Oh my word, yes. I hope you're home and resting that eye the rest of the day - at the very least!


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## cowpony

Freddy, tell your girls to stop scaring your human. You'll have to get a new human if you give this one a heart attack, and the new one probably won't know the recipe for chicken pancakes.


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## fjm

We went to the river twice today but it was to the boring side both times, not to the side where exciting things happen. I can't think why MH wouldn't drive just a little bit further to the exciting bit...


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## fjm

I can paddle! We had a lovely long walk somewhere unusual this morning while it was still cool then this afternoon we went down by the river and it was not really hot but too warm for Poppy so MH sat with her in the shade while she cooled down and Sophy and I explored. And MH threw a stick for me and it went in the water and I went to fetch it and discovered paddling! Then on the way back she threw it too far and I ran after it and got stuck because the water came right up to my tummy and I didn't want to go forwards and I didn't want to go backwards and I thought MH should come and save me but she told me to be brave and I was and came out in a rush and ran around very fast because it was so exciting. And then we came home because there weren't any more safe sticks and somehow I'd had enough paddling for now...


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## fjm

When we went out for pees and poos in the evening I found a very interesting thing to chew - all silver and pink and sparkly. MH made me swapsie it though - she said it was a tarara and not meant for chewing, which was a silly thing to say as it obviously was! Then she said that if I wanted a career as a jewel thief I needed to learn the difference between precious stones and plastic - I told you she says weird things...


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## Streetcar

Freddy, you only want to chew the _real_ tiaras, assuming you can wrest them from their keepers in the Tower of London...😂.


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## fjm

It is being very hot here and we get chicken nice cubes, which are lovely. I found a piece of bone this afternoon and MH offered to swap it for a ball but I wouldn't, nor for chicken nor for a fishy biscuit nor for a ball _and _chicken _and_ a fishy biscuit, but when she offered a chicken nice cube I swapped at once! Now we are back inside with the curtains drawn and it is cool and comfy. I don't mind it being hot but Poppy and Sophy sit in the shade and won't move.


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## Rose n Poos

Please look after yourselves well.


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## fjm

Last night was very busy. Poppy didn't want to go to bed but wanted to go outside instead so MH took us out and back in and up to bed and back downstairs and outside and in again over and over until we all began to get giddy! Then Poppy had scrummy medicine and a big bowl of chicken water and MH made her a comfy bed in the bathroom with lots of pee pads but she didn't settle down and that made me bark so then Poppy started barking and MH let her out and Poppy went up and down the stairs by herself for a bit and MH said she would Sort It All Out In The Morning. And at last Poppy said she was feeling a bit better and MH lifted her up onto the big bed and we all went to sleep till morning. After breakfast MH took Poppy to the vet and they sorted out more medicine for her and on the way out Poppy did a huge puddle on the floor but everyone was quite pleased because they wanted some of her pee. Humans really are weird, but I suppose they wanted to sniff it to see if she was poorly - I have known she smelled a bit funny for a day or two.

Anyway, we are going to have a lazy day today because it is hot and we all need some sleep, then tomorrow it will be lovely and cool again for walks and playing and nice stuff for dogs!

[Temperatures around 36C/97F today, but dropping back to a more normal 18-20C/65-68F tomorrow. A 30 degree jump in 12 hours does feel a tad extreme! fjm]


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## fjm

MH says today is a special day because it is my Birthday and on your birthday you get presents and lots of nice things happen and so after breakfast she opened the box that came yesterday and there were lots of new toys! The very best is a green chewy thing that can have biscuits in the end and as soon as I saw that one I took it off to my bed, even before MH could put a biscuit in. I have to look after it, though, because when Sophy smelled the biscuit she wanted it, but MH says it is mine and Sophy has plenty of other toys. 

It's not so hot today so MH says we will go for a special birthday walk somewhere nice and have chicken for walk treats and extra chicken with our tea. I like Birthdays!


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## Streetcar

Happy Birthday, Freddy! I'm so glad it's cooled off. I kept open a Daily Mail tab all day today (oops, it's 12:12am, so yesterday now) to have an eye on the news. Awful fires yesterday in London 😢.

Have fun in your more normal temperatures today, all of you.


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## Getting ready

Birthdays are fun!!! And I’m glad it has cooled off enough for fun adventures. Happy birthday, Freddy!


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## Skylar

Happy Birthday Freddy - enjoy your special day but do share the treats with your sisters.


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## For Want of Poodle

Happy Birthday Freddy! I hope your weather is better so you can have all the walks and all the biscuits today!


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## fjm

I got a pink jelly pig too, and it is nearly as good as the green bone. It boings in all directions so is lovely to chase, and it is very good to chew, too. And if I hold the bone in my mouth I can kick the pig around and chase it, which is a jolly good game. I like birthdays!


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## Mfmst

Happy Birthday Freddy! Glad you got a super fun toy and the heat dome lifted for your special day.


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## PowersPup

Happy Birthday, Freddy! It sounds like you. received some very fun presents!


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## fjm

MH says now I have had a Birthday it means I am nearly grown up and am not a puppy any more, so it is time to start the next part of my diary: Now we are One... Freddy's Diary Volume 2


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