New Fence

This weekend we've been putting up a (hopefully) terrier-proof fence allong the road-line. It's mainly to stop Dusty from running into the road when there's a car coming (and also to prevent him running off in that direction). It looks pretty good and I'm pretty sure it works! What do you think?

 It's bigger at the top than it is at the bottom so it should do the trick.

 Inspections...

 Ok Dusty, we know it's your fence... You don't need to remind us!
 

Also, do you think this would make a good header photo? I know I've got a perfectly good one already, but do you think this one's better?

Probably not, but it's still a funny picture so I'll just put it up anyway :)

Just Jock

 2007...

He hasn't changed much since 2007, so since these photos aren't so good just imagine a younger version of Jockie now... :)

 Jockie Fact: Jock was the last puppy in his litter at the pet store. No one else wanted him because he was the only one with short fur (the rest had the long collie fur). I'm glad we got him, because he's so sweet! <3

The Story Behind Lucy's Tongue

 I was thinking earlier on how I've never explained why Lucy has a chunk out of her tongue. So I thought I would explain it now.
Lucy was being taken for a walk and was let off the lead for a bit. She went to say hello to a dog through a fence, just kindly licking their face. Then the dog suddenly gripped onto her tongue. Lucy ripped her tongue in half trying to get away, and she may had to be put down if her tongue didn't heal. She had to be on soft food for ages.
But the amazing thing is that Lucy never batted an eyelid at it. When she came back home on the lead, I went outside to see blood pouring down her chest. And what was her tail doing? Wagging like anything just because she saw us. The only thing giving away that she was in pain were her eyes. You could tell just from her expression.
But now her tongue is fully healed, and the only difference in her physical health is that she eats a tiny bit slower. But that's good in a lab, right? :P It's hard to see in these photos, but it's definately there. It's on the right side of her tongue.

I'm glad that naughty dog didn't do any more damage than it did, otherwise... I don't even want to think of what might've happened.

Just Jock

2006...

Typical Jockie, not bringing back the ball.

'Let me in' Jockie :)

 Happy Jockie!

 'Just throw the ball already!' Jockie :P

Jockie Fact: Because Jock's a scaredy cat, during thunder storms he used to maneuver his way between the bars of the gate. But the gaps were only as big as the ones in that second photo! (You can see them in the background). I really don't know how he did it... :)

I Haz a Doggie Hat!!!

It's my hat, not yours Lucy! :D

It's so cool and I love it!

Just Jock

2005...

Jock and his favourite thing... a stick :)

 A happy Jockie.

It's only a few weeks until Jock's 10th birthday!!! :D
Jockie Fact (I'm going to start saying things you might not already know about Jock, just to make these posts a bit more interesting) : When we got Jock, we nearly called him Oreo because of his white blaze in between his two black legs. But then we called him Jock instead. I like that name :)

A Walk in the Field

Since it was a bit cooler today (still hot, but cooler), we thought it would be a good idea to take the dogs for a walk in our field. Jock and Lucy took advantage of the excuse to jump into the river and get really muddy. Dusty couldn't be trusted to not disappear and never to be seen again, so he had to be kept on leash. He did not like that. He was straining for practically the entire walk which seriously wore my arm out. He's getting strong!

 I also discovered a doggie version of a happy face. Seriously, I swear they're the same expression!

 As you can see, Lucy gets very excited and energetic out there.

 Jock was his usual posing self.

 Lucy and Dusty had a dip in the river (well, Dusty went in the stream, Lucy went in the river) :)

 The pretty lilies in one of the ponds.

 Dusty cooling off at the end.

 Dusty on a loose leash! (At the end of course :P)

 And just before getting home he found some perfume to roll in... :P

 Lucy before the walk (notice her fur colour on her legs especially... :D).

 And after... ;)

Oh by the way this is my 100th post! Yay, I've lasted this long!

Backyard News

Hi there, my name is Jock and welcome to Backyard News. Today on the show we will be addressing the serious matter of the weather. Also, an unusual obstruction has taken it's position on the front porch. More details on that, after the weather. Over to you, Lucy. 
Yes, thank you Jock. Now, the weather is around 18 Dogrese. Around midday it should turn relatively warmer to 23 Dogrese, and then in the afternoon a thunder storm of 19 Dogrese. Please remember to scratch at the door until it either breaks or opens to get away from the noise. These storms are dangerous stuff, so remember to wear safety eyewear as Jock and I never forget.

And now for the mysterious obstruction on the front porch, just after the break.


  
Welcome back to Backyard news, my name is Jock and now for the update on the mysterious obstruction on our front porch. Here is the story.
Dressed up and ready for a party, Loose-Loose was just walking out the front door of her home when she spotted this strange something. She called the Woof Patrol immediately and investigators have been ever since trying to work out the mystery behind this odd obstruction. Loose-Loose reports that an hour before the descovery was made, noises could be heard from the bathroom window as she was settling for her afternoon nap. She then heard the door open and close and decided it wasn't worth investigating herself. When the discovery was made, pure shock was all Loose-Loose could remember when she first saw the object. Proffessional investigator Dusty gives a heads-up on the investigation so far.

So what do you think it is at this point?
Most likely this looks like some sort of basket. We're not entirely sure what kind or what it's use is as of yet, but hopefully the answers will be revealed soon enough.

 What do you think placed this basket here?
I think this was something to do with the humans. The noises reported from the bathroom and the door opening and closing could also suggest that the humans were disposing of their old bathroom basket and put it out here for later disposal.
Thank you for your time, Dusty. Back to you, Jock.
Thanks Lucy, and that's it for today's show, goodbye and enjoy your weekend. 

Lincoln's French Craze Contest #2

I was reading Honey's blog, and I saw her post on the French Craze Contest on Lincolns' blog. I thought I would enter it, because it looked like fun. If you want to enter, you've got until the 25th of March to get it in, so hurry! I entered with a photo of Lucy and Dusty being really cute together.

Amitié means 'Friendship' in French. What do you think of it?

Just Jock

I managed to find a picture of Jock as a puppy! He's under a year, so it's what I was trying to find. We had to scan it onto the computer and because it was so small I had to blow it up. Sorry it's not really a good photo of him, but he wasn't very good at posing then. :)

And here's one from 2004. I know you've seen it before but I couldn't find any others apart from them eating... Wasn't sure whether you'd want to see that so I just put this one up.

Wordless Wednesday

No Lead

This afternoon we tried Dusty off the lead for the first time since we first got him. When he was first with us, we only took him for short walks and didn't really do big fetch games with him because of his joints growing, so we didn't really have to worry about him escaping onto the road. But then once we started taking him for runs around the paddock, we had to put him on the lead.
But today we let him off (as I just said I think). He was very good at coming back when we called him and he had a very big game of tug of war with Jock. Lucy then started trying to hump him... Ummm... Lucy? Are you ok?

 Here's the photos of Jock and Dusty playing tug of war.

 Then they got tired but still didn't want to let go so they just lay down together.

 Also, do you think this would make a good header photo? Or do you think the current one is better?

This is the current one by the way.

Just Jock

It's Jock's 10th birthday soon! So I'm going to do some post's just about him now.
It's a shame because we didn't have a very good camera when we got Jock, so we have no photos of him at all in his first year. But we have a couple from 2003.