Holiday at the Country Club

Its been a great start to the year so far, just got back from a run on Beckhampton Gallops and thought we should update our blog as it's a little overdue!

Christmas wasn't looking too promising, bags were being packed which is always rather worrying, but there was a surprise in store, a human called Tim arrived and along with some of our favourite toys and bedding we were chauffeur driven to our holiday home - The Canine Country Club

We soon became good friends with Tim & Jackie and had great fun, we had a very luxury room to stay in which had underfloor heating so we were snug and warm. It was very cold outside though so we made sure to keep reminding Jackie that we feel the cold, our hotel room was always very snug and warm though. In fact since returning home I have been trying to tell Mum that she should install underfloor heating, heat coming out of the wall is all very well but you can't lie on the wall can you?!

We also went swimming in a heated indoor swimming pool where I showed off my swimming skills, not sure what I thought of this indoor swimming lark though, not quite the same as a lake or the sea! Ditto said she felt lots safer in an indoor pool but she is a girl after all!

Each day was filled with activities, walks and fun. Emptying out the toy bin became a daily ritual, one can never have enough toys and its always important to check them all before making a selection - Jackie and Tim let me bring my favourite toy home with me - a very squeaky Christmas cracker which makes huge amounts of noise :)

Below is a selection of our holiday snaps (Courtesy of Canine Country Club):

Ditto sitting pretty

Ditto beat me to it!

Sitting waiting for the next throw

This is my "please please please throw it for me" expression

Snow is great fun - catching a snowball!

Playing in the snow

Chasing Tim

Whats next?!

No matter how large the field we often like to run on the same piece of grass!

We are looking forward to going to visit Tim & Jackie again later this year, there is a plus side to Mum packing her bags :)

Seaside and Camping !

We had GREAT fun at the weekend on a camping trip with mum and a few friends, it's always a worry when we see bags being packed as this normally means being abandoned, but not this time - our beds and food were included in the packing! And this is where we ended up two hours later...

It was great to see Auntie Han again also, she always gives me lovely head massages, to show my appreciation I like to curl up on her lap, Mum says I'm too big and bony to be a lap dog but I disagree - look I fit quite well, utter bliss!

Humans and dogs (much to our disgust) generally sleep separately, but this rule also got changed, we shared what is known as a tent with Mum who had this really snugly, warm, cosy, comfy (yep you get the idea) thing she called a sleeping bag, now to me it looked like my new dog bed but I was put firmly in my place on this one and we had to fall asleep dreaming of being inside it, so unfair!


The campsite was fun and we were very well behaved, this is Ditto doing her morning stretches ready for some action:

We had a very important job to carry out, guarding our new territory and Mum's belongings, here we are keeping an eye on the rucksack and camera AND more importantly my new toy!
Hmmm no comment on this one, humans do the strangest things, a fancy dress party on the beach? Very odd behaviour.

Now I know why we were brushing up on our swimming last week, its lots harder swimming in the sea as there are waves, plus the water tastes funny, and not nice when it goes up your nose, but we had such fun retrieving out of the sea. Here are some photos of me:



As you can see I love leaping into the water, it was such fun. Ditto never gets a chance to water retrieve whilst I am there as she just isn't as quick, so I have to be told to wait, so unfair, whilst Ditto gets her chance to retrieve. She was a bit unsure of the waves but even I have to admit she was very brave and still fetched it each time.
Not sure if this is a very flattering photo of me, I'm rather tired and wet looking, with salt water up my nose!

Then the next day we headed off to a different beach:

Here we had a great game of fetch on the beach!
I generally get there first, but not always, one false step and Ditto is right there to snatch it from under my nose, here it bounced off the rocks, I look horrified to spot that Ditto is almost on it as I quickly turn in mid air
Then for the pounce

We both dive to get it
and Ditto gets there first, much to my disgust as she smugly trots away!

Ditto again, she always seems to pose at the same time as retrieve, must be a girl thing.

People always comment how cute and adorable looking she is

Where as I am more workmanlike and just get on with it with my usual high level of enthusiasm!

Even though I often get there first, we never argue and always remain the best of buddies.
A well earned rest

View from above

Must get Mum to take us camping more often!

Swim practice

I took a sneaky look in mum's inbox and see there is talk of camping and seaside! So thought I had better get some swim practice in and show little sis how its done....


(Click play to watch)


Ditto swims a bit like I used to when I first started swimming - too high leg action, she'll soon get the hang of it. Very annoying though I had to sometimes stay on the riverside so she could have a go at retrieving, the things you have to do for little sis! It's not my fault I am so fast!