Paws in the air

Which is the complete opposite of what we usually say to Xena, which is paws on the floor, when she is jumping up at us. Actually the command is 'off' but it is taking a while for her to grasp that one yet.

Today we were missing Thomas and so cheered ourselves up with going for a walk in the sunshine around Polesden Lacey, a NT property near us. Many breeds have regular group dog meetings/walks, and for Vizslas they are called Vizz Whizzes and they meet up from time to time. Today we were seeing spots as there was a Dalmation group walk, with so many Dalmatians it was incredible to see all of them. I was informed they call them Dally Rallies!

We had a good walk, Xena loved it - here she is flying through the air with exuberance as she chases after us. An extra of Gavin and Xena resting. The walk was followed by a rather good cappuccino with oat milk for me and Gavin's usual double espresso.

As mentioned I  have found a dog boarder who will take Xena for the few days when we are away in November, but I have started getting cold feet about it. She will be with other dogs and the routine they follow is completely different to her own and I am worried in case she chews something at the boarder's house...yes I am just not that keen on her going there. We have been talking about getting a house sitter to live in our house and look after Xena in her own home, but we are extremely fussy and house proud so did not like the idea of someone staying here. However on reflection, with the increase in burglaries and the comfort of knowing someone is looking after our house - being a new modern house it is quite high tech and things can go wrong - so I set about a few days ago trying to find a premier kind of house sitting organisation. I think I have struck gold and found a reliable company who can find a suitable sitter for us, but I will wait and see who they come up with. They have all the right vetting and checks in place and there is insurance so it may be what we are looking for, fingers crossed.