Sniffer, Diary of A Dog In Isolation!

Only a local walk this morning, Noisy One up for it, chariot employed. Lots of flowers coming out now. Hardly saw a soul, only half a dozen in distance. Lounged around most of day, watching humans being busy, busy. Pond is starting to look inviting...........might “accidentally” fall in at some point in future. A second walk with Quiet One once he emerged from his man cave. That giant wasp was around this afternoon again...

Hi to Sniffer and all you others with restricted walks.
I've got my Man keeper trained to kick a ball up the garden – he thinks it's for my benefit but he gets tired first and on occasion sits down with a small bottle in his hand.
I retrieve the thrown ball and drop it at the top of some steps and the ball rolls down them to his feet ready to give him more leg exercises.
Sometimes he claims he can't reach the ball near his feet but I'm very patient and he eventually has to get up and get the ball.
We can't go to the park any more for three months and all my work at identifying my visits on the trees and bushes will go to waste.
On the plus side the Man keeper has cut the grass, which apparently helps him find my deposits a little easier, and it's much better to lie on and roll about on.
We've been digging today – they've replanted the strawberries and I've just been digging – how long that bone had been buried I'll never know !
Have to go now, it's time for the Man keeper to exercise with the ball again.
Keep wagging …..

Sounds like you have a good plan Merl. My two are untrainable really, I’ve tried, but it’s just not going in. About the only thing that has stuck is Quiet One is easy to blag a biscuit or a carrot from, I only have to give him the “poor me” look, and the tin is open. Not the noisy one though, hard as nails that one. But she’s great at massage, hits all the right spots, gets that old uncontrollable back leg going.......

I am taking time out to sort out my soft toy collection tomorrow . It’s quite extensive, as us retriever types like to practice carrying things, and one of my human’s best friends manages a large pet store, so I get lots of presents. Some of them smell delicious at the moment, but it won’t be long before Noisy One interferes, and they get “washed”. They get a good dunk in pond every now and then , surely that’s all they need really!🙄

Hope that you managed to get your toys sorted Sniffer, pal. I'm not a great one for toys but do have one favourite ball on a string with which I annoy t'old fella, banging it against his leg and then not letting go of the string when he tries to take it from me which results in us having a good old heave ho! 

I had a good run on the beach today, well away from anyone else, although a little Yorkie did try to join me in my run, but I soon got rid of him by running in the tide. It was just a shame that we had to head home just as I was getting ready to go and hide in the dunes....they know me too well, me thinks. Well time for a snooze now and a dream or two of more seaside adventures.

I have got my pair into a good routine now Flyte.👍 Noisy does the morning walk, it’s close, so we take my chariot and we roll along nicely with me hopping in and out. She likes to take photographs of all the flowers, so I get lots of easy sniffing time. I thought we might have been heading for my old favourite spot, the ornamental pond, this morning, but she swerved off last thing, muttering about “stinking like a Swamp”, might just catch her out tomorrow though. Millie and me spent some happy times in there, it was a great way to cool off in Summer.

Toys got a reprieve, they were too busy today, but they are heaped in a box at the moment, looks ominous........🐶

Good evening, This is Sniffer’s Mum tonight. He’s gone to bed early, I can hear the snores from his basket, so thought I would do his diary tonight. No staying power I am afraid, and I read he has been calling me names as well, Noisy One indeed.🤨

We had a nice local walk this morning, only saw other folks a very long way away, so everyone being well behaved. The big lump loves his chariot, but he has to do the walking, it’s important for his joints and his condition, but equally so that he gets the sniffs, the scents, it’s all part of being a looked after dog.  We had hoped that he might start some water treadmill therapy this week, but that’s on hold obviously at the moment. He’s quite busy at home as well though, likes to potter around, play with his toys, and he gets some good doggy contact with the girl next door. 

Spent a good part of day snoozing in the lovely sunshine we are enjoying at the moment, had a trample round some of the flower beds, as you do. Thankfully, he’s not a digger, only on the beach usually. The Airedale’s were prolific excavation artists, it wasn’t uncommon to find all three of the little blighters in the same hole. The pond has been trashed a few times though, Sniff/Rieves does love water! 

Second walk is teatime with his Dad, again only local at moment. Then it’s back home for a snooze in front of stove.

Hopefully, he’ll be back online again tomorrow, with a tale to tell........😘

Hi I'm Arbuthnot, a hedgehog I hope that's ok. 

Woken recently and delighted to find that the box my gardener built for me has been cleaned out - we can be lazy critters when it comes to hygiene but it worries me not, and put in some nice fresh hay, needs a bit of a shuffle around but that takes time. They'd even put out some nice dried small biscuits in my food bowl. Well they did for a couple of nights then it stopped. Apparently the fussy one feared there was a long tailed 4 legged visitor she didn't want calling harrumph. So I had to make it plain I had returned by showing myself plainly in the sensor light 2 evenings ago!

The fussy one spotted me, watched while I ate some dried bread on the grass, how things have gone downhill in the 2 years I've offered my presence, more about that in a mo. Anyway I allowed her to get a good look from indoors, she kindly pulled up the blind so we both knew who was who. She disappeared I continued on dry bread. She carefully opened the door, thought she'd fooled me, oh how wrong, she thought it was the other sensor light going on alerted me 😂. Sadly I admit to being a little frightened and stupidly gave away my over wintering place in my panic, it took longer to find the entrance - the fussy one insisted the side went right to the ground only leaving a space for the garden canes to slide under, as she had suspected under their very posh shed. She says I'd hold several families and is bigger apparently than a caravan whatever that is. Best of all she scattered some of those lovely small biscuits that she has labelled as kitten food all over the grass whilst I watched from my safe place - but I made them wait until I was ready before I went to try them. Since then my food bowl has some in but I hear mutters of plenty of natural food around at the moment, they even watered the ground today to save in biscuits 😱🤔.

Back to my arrival. In November 2015 I was on their grass as a tiny one, winter was coming and I wasn't big enough to survive a without help. Luckily the fussy one had spotted me a few times, but couldn't get the other one to move fast enough from his chair to get me. Eventually I gave him a fighting chance and allowed him to catch me.

At the time I fitted in the grand dogs water bowl. I'll try and add a photo but I understand its tricky. Anyway after a comfortable night I was whisked away to the local hedgehog folk, who apparently have more knowledge on feeding me - didn't think that was difficult! It was agreed I would be returned but it would be a while as they took themselves off to Thailand and New Zealand for several months to celebrate a birthday and see their daughter and her family, as if that was more important than raising me!!

Anyway I was duly collected by the fussy one, she said they had to have the garden checked over to see if it was suitable for my return - like I didn't know how to choose a good garden myself! They have lots of shrubs and places for me to snuggle, log piles and gaps under the fence so I can explore so it was agreed I could return. I was put in a small box for the the journey and I was allowed to leave it at my leisure 😀. Then it disappeared, but was replaced by a posh house with a detachable roof. Not sure about the latter as they have a habit of lifting it when I'm eating or snoozing jolly cheeky if you ask me. I suspect that there is at least one of not two others who call in, but not when I'm there, but they've not been named - so I'm still the chosen one.

Boy this is hard work I need to rest up, maybe I'll pop back another day.

Edit I'm cleverer than I thought. Changed devices, found the photos and added.1st is me when they first saw me out in daylight in November! I look a little bigger than I really was as you can see in the bowl.

Photos didn't appear 😤

I'll try again

How brilliant, a very different (sort of) pet. My human’s will be very interested in your story, as they want to encourage more hedgehogs if they can. In fact only today Dad was cutting holes in wire fencing so that they can trundle through if they want. I have seen a few, my garden does have hedges, log piles, lots of leafy piles, and there’s plenty of shallow water up and down, ‘cos Mum is brilliant at making garden drinking bowls out of old dustbin lids.

Perhaps it’s time to get them to make a proper hog house. Dad keeps looking at how to make on on something call Dougall, or Google, whatever it’s called. The kitten food sounds a great idea........yum yum!

I hope you can post a photo, I am like you, two left paws when it comes to posting photos.

Thanks for saying hello. 🦔🦔🦔🦔

Got the fussy one organised earlier today and she's already topped up my food bowl for later. I left it on its side last night, got to ensure she knows it's me!

Anyway instructed her to take photos and put them on here so you know what luxury I live in. Apparently the walls are part of an old bookcase. They kindly put some waterproof material on the roof but put a handle to lift it off - so they can gap at me! But I think the fussy one puts food in that way so I begrudgingly except the intrusion. 

I have lots of friends in the area - in fact one garden I visit 6 fences up, more titbits there too, I'm one of at least 3. Alledged down the road they have film of 7 or more in the garden at once! See we city dwellers have all we need and plenty of those 2 legged folk to train.