Happy Birthday Lucas
Posted on August 13, 2007
Filed Under Dog Bloggers | 7 Comments
Lucas, one of Bernard’s blog buddies is celebrating his 2nd birthday today.
So from Bernard and myself:
“Happy Birthday, Lucas!”
Dog Walking in the Churchyard
Posted on August 12, 2007
Filed Under Bernard Photos | 6 Comments
Jan mentioned in a comment about Bernard’s first walk that one of the great things about taking a dog for a walk is find all these great places that you would otherwise drive by.
This is so very true with Bernard and I. We take him for walks around the Churchyard across the street from us and he loves it. I’d never been there before getting Bernard though (despite it only being 200 metres away)!
Here’s some pictures of the Church:
Bernard sniffing in the grass:
And finally there are some beautiful sunsets at the moment and a great view across to the 3 spires of Lichfield cathedral:
If you have any stories or links to pictures of your dog walks then please leave a comment on this post for others to share.
Bernard’s Bath - Update
Posted on August 5, 2007
Filed Under Bernard Photos | 7 Comments
After Bernard’s bath the other day and Jan’s suggestion that it’s easier to take your dog to the grooming shop, we’ve come up with an even easier way to give Bernard a wash: The washing machine:
Bernard’s Sweet Tooth
Posted on August 3, 2007
Filed Under Bernard Photos | 2 Comments
Yes, another in our series of free puppy toys. This time it’s an empty ice cream carton. It proved to be a great shape for Bernard to really get his teeth into.
Sadly, the best pose Bernard did with the whole of his snout in the carton wasn’t captured for posterity this time, but I’m sure they’ll be more chances in the future.
Bernard in the Bath
Posted on July 25, 2007
Filed Under Bernard Photos | 2 Comments
A little doggy shampoo…
A quick rinse…
A quick pose for the camera…
And I’m ready to get dirty again!
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I’ve Got Very Smelly Ears
Posted on July 23, 2007
Filed Under Dog Health | 1 Comment
Yes, Miniature Schnauzer’s have very hairy ears; inside and out. Sometimes this can cause them a few problems though.
As we were putting Bernard to bed the other night we noticed just how smelly his ears have become. As new dog owners, particularly as new Miniature Schnauzer owners, we weren’t sure whether this was common and normal or whether it was something to worry about.
A post and a few replies on the Schnauzer Club of Great Britain forum later and we were worrying that it might not just be a case that Bernard has smelly ears. There are a few reasons why dogs might have smelly ears:
- They’re simply dirty.
- Your dog has ear mites.
- You dog has an ear infection.
Although when we looked inside Bernard’s ears we couldn’t see any ear mites but we wanted to have our minds put at ease and we were also keen to make sure he didn’t have an infection. So we decided a trip to the vet was needed.
The vet had a good look inside Bernard’s ears and told us he neither had mites nor an ear infection. She told us that Bernard simply needed to have his ears plucked and cleaned and the smell should go away.
A pluck and a few drops of Epi-Otic ear cleaner later and Bernard is back to smelly just as bad as every other dog.
Bernard and the Broom
Posted on July 23, 2007
Filed Under Bernard Video | 4 Comments
Chasing My Bowl
Posted on July 18, 2007
Filed Under Bernard Photos | Leave a Comment
Bernard has discovered another “free” toy:
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Door Mat Chewing Update
Posted on July 18, 2007
Filed Under Bernard Photos | 2 Comments
The door mat has officially taken a battering over the past few days.
When we asked him about it though, Bernard didn’t seem to know who had been chewing the mat:
The Best Toys in Life are Free
Posted on July 16, 2007
Filed Under Bernard Photos | 1 Comment
As a teething puppy, Bernard fills just about every waking moment looking for something to chew. He also has a very destructive nature. Our door mat is a testament to both these points.
We thought that a cardboard box might be the answer to Bernard’s puppy dog urges and give the door mat a few more weeks of life:
“What have we got here then? Cardboard box? Interesting.”
“Now, I’ll just give it a quick nibble…”
“Forget it, I’m going for it!”
And sadly the box did not see the light of the next day. So Bernard’s back on the door mat. Oh well, it was a valiant effort.
I Do Dog Tricks
Posted on July 16, 2007
Filed Under Dog Training | Leave a Comment
Here’s a fun little site I Do Dog Tricks that Lucas was very kindly bought to my attention.
One day Bernard will be this clever and we shall rejoice: “There are no more accidental wees!”.
Puppy Classes
Posted on July 15, 2007
Filed Under Dog Training, Bernard's Adventures | Leave a Comment
We’re thinking about taking Bernard to puppy classes. We think it will be a good way for us to learn a few more tricks about training dogs (and to show of how much Bernard already knows) and, although Bernard has met the neighbour’s dogs, we’re quite keen on him socialising with other puppies while he’s still young.
So we found a local puppy training class and went along to watch one of the classes without Bernard.
8 dogs and their owners were at the class (held at a local village hall) and there was quite a mix of breeds (including a Rotweiler, St Bernard, a Bull Mastiff and another Miniature Schnauzer). Would you believe that when you get a large number of puppies together in a group it very quickly turns from Puppy Training Classes into Puppy Fight Club? When we arrived, there was a large pile of puppies all scrabbling around on top of each other gently growling and nipping each others ears and tails As a St Bernard puppy is quite a bit bigger than a Miniature Schnauzer it made us feel a little concerned about Bernard’s safety. But puppies are puppies and they know the difference between playing and fighting so we’re pretty sure Bernard would be OK.
When the class got under way so did the treat feeding (It’s now Puppy Feeding Class). This was a bit of a surprise to us as it kind of goes against how we’ve been treating Bernard. If we’re trying to teach him something then we use treats but very quickly we get him to do things for praise alone (he learnt sit on only one biscuit). So generally we don’t give him treats. This isn’t the policy at the puppy classes. It’s a little bit of a feeding frenzy. This may be because it’s impossible to stop the dogs fighting with each other without harnessing the power of food but the teacher got through a good sized tub of treats in the hour we watched the class. Blimey.
As the class went on I wondered more and more how much the owners actually managed to get from the class. Over the top of the noise of dog’s chewing, barking, whining, leads rattling against name tags and the owners talking to their dogs it was all but impossible to hear what the teacher was saying. She literally had to say everything twice which must become very frustrating for her.
However, the puppies looked like they were having a really good time (probably because of the amount of food they get to eat!). They clearly enjoyed each others company and the chance to burn off a bit of puppy energy. So I think we will take Bernard along; even if we don’t get something from it I’m sure he will.
Bernard Makes Some New Friends (Sort of)
Posted on July 15, 2007
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Last weekend our next door neighbour had some visitors: an Irish Wolf Hound and a German Shepherd cross. This gave Bernard a great chance to meet some other dogs and to realise that he isn’t the only doggy in the world. He did this all from the safety of our side of the gate, but in all honesty I think the Irish Wolf Hound was more frightened then Bernard!
Anyway, here’s some photos:
She’s behind you, Bernard!
“Hmm, I’m not too sure I like the look of this”
“Now that’s a big dog!”
“Yes, you’re smaller but you could still eat me whole”
“That’s better. Back to being the only dog”
Puppy Prison and Protest Pee’s
Posted on July 14, 2007
Filed Under Dog Training, Bernard's Adventures | 2 Comments
Despite choosing to buy a puppy and deciding that we want him to be part of our lives, sometimes we have to do things about the house that don’t involve Bernard. For example, we’ve decided it’s best not to share baths with Bernard, and Bernard isn’t too keen on the Hoover (in fact, it’s fair to say he’s terrified of it). There’s also the odd occasion when if Bernard is misbehaving in the lounge we punish him by not allowing him to sit with us for a short while (normally only 4 or 5 minutes).
The kitchen is the place we put him and close the door. The kitchen is not only a pretty big space, it’s also got his crate in it, his water bowl and all his toys. It’s not a horrible place to be shut into for a brief period of time, or so we thought.
If he can hear us in the next room he sits and yelps and scratches at the door. Eventually he quietens down then starts wandering back and forth and generally being miserable. We’ve put this down to (depending on the reason he’s in the kitchen) a) separation anxiety or b) sulking because we’re punishing him.
When we let him back into the lounge or go back to the kitchen once we’ve finishing doing whatever we were doing, there’s normally a wee on the news paper we’ve put down. This always makes us wonder “Did he really need to go or was that a protest pee?” We normally decide upon the latter, it was just a protest pee.
To try and put an end to the yelping and the pee’s we bought a baby gate to put between the kitchen/lounge door. Yes, we’ve made a puppy prison!
If we’re busy round the house he can see that we’re actually doing things and not just sitting around, and if he’s being punished he can see that he’s not allowed to sit with us.
However, the experiment has not been a roaring success. Little did we realise that if we’re in the house and he’s behind the baby gate it would make him yelp even more. However, unlike before the baby gate, he never seems to stop yelping. And of course it hasn’t stopped the protest pee’s. He still happily does these, it’s just that now we can watch him do it. Wonderful.
So we’re going to focus a bit more on his separation anxiety. As The Dog Whisperer tells us, dogs are pack animals and don’t like being left by themselves. It’s just not natural to them. So we’re going to start leaving him for short periods of time, then returning. Increasing the time each day until he’s a little more comfortable with it.
As for the protest pee’s, we’re still thinking about how to stop that one.
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Bernard’s First Walk
Posted on July 6, 2007
Filed Under Bernard's Adventures | 3 Comments
After having his 2nd inoculations 10 days ago it was finally time for Bernard to leave the restrictions of our house and garden for the first time. Yes, it was time for Bernard’s first walk!
We’d read in a Kennel Club magazine that the a puppy should only go out for 5 minutes for each month of his age. This meant Bernard could go for a 15 minutes blast around the local church yard.
I think it’s fair to say that my wife and I were more excited about going out for the walk than Bernard was. In fact, putting his lead on started off as usual with Bernard having a great game with his lead:
When we finally got him outside and walked him down the side of our house Bernard was so frightened that he had to relieve himself (great action shot):
As he got to the top of the steps, he heard and saw the traffic on the road for the first time. His ears pricked up and he stood watching for a few seconds not too sure of what to make of it all:
In fact the road was a bit too much for him. So we had to carry him a little way until it was a bit quieter and he felt a little bit safer. As we made our way my wife said to me “Have you got the poo bags?”. Blast, no I didn’t have. I was too excited to remember that, so I had to run back home and get them (noticing that we’d also left the lounge window open). I needn’t of worried because Bernard was going full speed on the end of the lead and didn’t have time for a poo:
He loved being out and sniffing all the new smells for the first time:
I don’t think it will be long and Bernard is going to look forward to his walks as much as we do.
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About
This blog chronicles the adventures and high jinx of Professor Bernard Armstrong, my pet Miniature Schnauzer dog. You'll find information about looking after and training a Miniature Schnauzer as well as plenty of pictures and tales of Professor Armstrongs life.
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