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Well, the Nells bells just goes from strength to strength. She can sit for one minute, the down stay is rubbish because she lies on her back waving her paws about, recall brilliant and me going out of sight – rubbish. We have to practice our twirls and twists and I am trying (failing) to teach her to circle me. I tend to get lower and lower while trying to encourage her to circle me, Norma dog trainer has the patience of a saint. I was checking an elderly aunts house (she, like my mother is in a nursing home) a couple of days ago after work. A man appeared at the gate when I was standing at the front door trying to find the keys, he was going around reading electricity meters and having identified himself as such he waited at the gate while I looked for the keys. Nellabi was pulling towards him, tail wagging and trying to ‘talk’ to him and he was speaking very nicely to her. I found the keys, unlocked the door, went in with Nellabi still on her lead and when the man took the step that would have brought him into the house Nellabi flew at him, yipping and growling at him. He stepped back and said, "Oh", I shortened her lead so she couldn’t get him and he came in and read the meter but she was not a happy bunny. I was really quite pleased with her, she is quite protective of her house and family, hardly the size of a mouse but has the heart of a lion. Has not put on any weight at all but eats very well. I opened the door the other day to let them out and she and Dudley took off because one of the local moggies was cutting through the garden. I have to say it went over the fence like a shot and disappeared at a very impressive speed. The dogs flew off round the back of the house, the barking and yipping getting more and more faint, then louder and louder as they both re-appeared from the other side of the house. Our house sits in the middle of the garden so they tear round and round if they think a cat has been about, but they actually saw that particular cat and I bet it was some time before its heart rate dropped to anything like normal. The dogs were on full alert for some time after that little episode. She sits to get doors to open but the second the door starts to open she bounces up – usually reaching the level of the door handle so her bouncing ability has not reduced at all. That said she is on and off the table at the window all the time. Still greatly admired by all and one of the receptionists and the man who hates most things ‘fight’ to given Nells her biscuit treats at various times during the day. She always gets a biscuit to go back into her crate when she has been out so usually ends up with 3 or 4 biscuits a day. Its all a bit cheeky really because the receptionist is the person who buys the biscuits for the dogs! I see there are many lovely little terriers in the pound just now – breaks my heart, I wish I had the room to offer one of them a home but I can’t at the moment. I have everythings crossed for each and every dog in Ashton to find a decent home with good people – they are out there. I hope Fearless is well and no doubt in full charge of her family.Last night of this session of our dog training and we had our test tonight. Norma (trainer) got an outside judge to come and judge us all. Nellabi’s score card follows (figures only):
Twelve sections in all
Possible Score Scored
10 10
10 10
8 8
8 8
8 8
8 8
8 8
8 8
8 8
8 8
8 8
8 8Total Score 100
Am I proud of Nellabi – you bet I am!
I had to put her on a table (next to where the judge was sitting) for the ‘examine your dog’ part of the test and when that was done and I had answered some questions the judge said to me "You have one cracking little dog there, she has a beautiful face". All I could say in return was "I know". I am so pleased with Nells bells I just had to tell everyone. Brilliant work, both of you – and so well deserved. Nells is indeed a little star and why wouldn’t you tell everyone?
Pixie is due to start her obedience training in the next couple of weeks. Should be interesting- so far we can manage "sit", can’t get the hang of "down" at all. Her recall is great, not when I call her name but when I shout "Look what I have for you" Looking forward to classes anyway. Is Nells going to progress to Advanced Obedience now, Indianna? Yes, we are going to carry on at the training club. Norma (trainer) is planning for our group to do a demonstration at a Gala day in June! We do bits of everything apart from agility because she/we don’t have the equipment (although I have an ‘outdoor’ hoop and the milk cartons pretending to be weaving poles.) Maybe we could start a vertical jumping competition – Nellabi would certainly win that! The weather here has finally cleared and we only have tiny white bits at the tops of the hills now. I often think about Pixie because I think she and the Nells bells are very similar – well, I imagine them to be similar. Nells, when she is supposed to be doing the down just rolls onto her back and waves her paws around because she wants her chest and stomach to be rubbed. During the test (recall) she got up, I turned round put my hand up an said "sit" loudly, she immediately sat and Norma said, as I passed her "that is an advanced move". A horse trainer who met Nellabi a couple of days ago said – "she is a top dog, she really is a topper" – correct. She is also a very smart, affectionate and pretty little dog and still greatly admired by all. I can’t even begin to imagine why she ended up in a dog pound. Please let us know how Pixie gets on with her training, its great to hear about all the ex-poundies in their foster homes and new lives, quite makes my day. Well, my two little terrorists certainly lived up to that title last night. I let them out into the garden for their ‘last duties’ before bedtime (11.30 ish), they trotted down the path to the gate as usual. I stepped back into the house to get the torch so the old girls could see where they were going round the back of the house, we don’t have a light at the back. Suddenly there was a whole lot of sqealing, yipping and growling I shot out the door and could see the bush at the right hand corner of the house shaking violently. I ran across, torch in hand, managed to grab Dudley as he came out to run round the bush, I grapped Nells tail, then her collar and got her out. I frog-marched the spinning, twisting, snapping little monsters back into into the house. The oldies hadn’t managed to get out of the house as I shut them in when I went out to see what was going on. My father had gotten out of bed and was at the door of his room saying to me "what happened, was Nellie caught in the fence"? I shouted back, "no", "she was caught in a hedgehog". She and Dudley were rushing back and forth, growling, both had tails as stiff as pokers and Nellie’s nose was bleeding a little and she was what I can only describe as ‘champing her teeth’. I managed to get a hold of her to check her nose and the bleeding had almost stopped. I then (dreading it) went back out, torch still in hand, to find what might have been left of the hedgehog. There it was, still in a tight ball under the bush. I stood watching it for about 5 minutes and then came back into the house. Dogs were still as high as kites, I went back to the bush about 5 minutes later and the hedgehog was merrily cleaning up the seeds that had fallen out of the bird feeders, it stopped eating when I arrived and we both stayed very still. After a few mintues it started to head off alongside the shed. It stopped and spent some time standing beside the wheelbarrow. I returned to the house, put Nells bells on her lead and she and I went out again. Straight back to the bush, then she tracked where it had gone and by the time we reached the barrow the hedgehog had gone. She tracked around and we ended up at the back fence. I then got Dudley out (on his lead) and together they did the same thing again, clever little monsters. They were very keen to continue the hunt but as the old girls had performed all duties necessary we all returned indoors and I eventually fell into bed at about 12.30 a.m., pleased the hedgehog had managed to survive its very unplanned attack. The dogs seemed to have forgotten about it all by this morning because their behaviour was normal once more. Better be careful at night now, just in case. I know its a dog’s natural instinct to hunt and kill but we would never willingly allow the dogs to kill anything – its live and let live in our world. They have plenty of toys to kill and rag. In fact Nellabi "killed (removed the squeak), peeled and tore apart 3 doggy tennis balls last Sunday. It was a pack of 3 bought on Saturday! Her nose is fine today, but getting her nose pricked didn’t stop her last night, silly mutt. I dread to think what would happen if they both got a hold of a cat. They did chase a local moggie up one of the trees. I looked out of my bedroom windown when I heard a load of barking one day and there was a black cat clinging to a very thin branch near the top of the tree (about 15 feet up), Dudley was running round the tree and Nellabi was trying to find a way up it – honestly!!! Life is never dull with the terrorists, just adore them. I bet Lenny would have climbed up that tree. Up-date on Nellabi. What has she been up to lately?Slipped her collar when we were at the vets collecting drugs for the old girls. The waiting room was full (as usual) and there was a man sitting with something (a cat I suspect) wrapped in a towel which he was clutching to his chest. When I took my turn at the reception desk I was chatting to the receptionist while waiting for the prescription. Nells was being a pest, pulling on the lead, climbing up the back of my legs, puffing and whining, suddenly the lead when loose, I turned round to see her at the other side of the waiting room standing beside and staring at a ferret in a cage. I shot accross and got her back on her lead and returned to the reception desk having apologised to the ferret person. He was a great deal less than happy. All I can say is thank goodness she didn’t go to the person with ?? cat wrapped up in a towel, I dread to think what the outcome of that would have been! I bought a 50′ cord line so she can run about (safely). We went for a walk after work a couple of days ago. Work is based on what was once a country estate and the estate grounds are a 2 minute drive along the road. It was a beautiful afternoon/evening and we were wandering about, I call her, she comes gets a great and we wander off again. I was thinking that very soon she would be completely free because she is so good. We walked passed a clump of trees and bushes (surrounded by nettles) and she suddenly shot into the nettles and was gone. I was not worried because I had the other end of the new cord line. I stood for a few minutes then called her name, nothing. I tugged gently on the line whilst calling her name. Still nothing. I tugged a bit harded and shouted her name. Absolutely nothing. I couldn’t see through the bushes and there was no pulling on the line. I tied my end to the bushes and ran round (about 40 feet in diameter) and found a way in. I was bent double making my way through, snapping bits of branches off the lower bushes, got to where I thought she was but couldn’t see or hear a thing. Got back out and ran round to where I had tied the line, it was still tied so ‘went in again’. I eventually had to belly crawl like a comando towards where I thought she was. I was dressed in work clothes, e.g black skirt and jacket, white blouse, black tights and shoes!!! I thought I caught a glimpse of her tail but it disappeared. I stretched across as far as I could (couldn’t get any closer) and when her tail re-appeared I grabbed it and started pulling as best I could, she started to come out of the hole she had found and I manged to grab a bit more of her but I couldn’t get any closer and as I was lying flat on my front I couldn’t sit up. Managed to get her harness, she rolled over in an attempt to get back down the hole and I dragged her towards me. Got a proper hold of her and her harness, edged backwards (with my hair getting caught up in all the twigs and branches. Evenually managed to get to my knees (getting stung by the nettles) and of course couldn’t pull the line through because it was tied to the outside bushes! Had to unclip her and crawl out with this wriggling, puffing creature. Got her clipped up again when we ‘reached the other side’. I thought, "I have just had to drag myself through a hedge backwards". Can’t even begin to describe the state we were in. Back to the car. I did laugh when I saw myself. Cleaned my face (with the collar of the white blouse) as best I could then had to go shopping to buy dog food in the pet store and human food in the supermarket. The person at the checkout in the pet store asked where Nellie was (explaining to another customer who was waiting (and looking at the state of me)) that Nells was a great little dog. I explained that she was in disgrace in the car and also explained why I was in such a state. How they laughed. I then went to the supermarket, got some very odd looks but as no-one asked so I didn’t say. They must have wondered though. We (dog training group) did our little stint at a local gala day last Saturday, all went very well and we are off to do something similar next month at a ? fair in Fife. As for the Nells bells getting off a lead on Bush estate, I can answer that very quickly – N E V E R! She is on very good form but Nellabi and rabbit holes, a very big no no.
oh my god indianna
she is a little horror poor you, i only fostered her a short time and she was so quiet except when she seen my cat boy she has come out of her shell. hope you have recovered.
from shirley and family I don’t think I will ever recover from the shame of the state I was in when I had to go to the pet store for dog food! Honestly,crawling about in the undergrowth, at my age! I really did look a fright. Tonight was the last night of this training session and we had a test. The Nells bells dropped three points overall, Norma (trainer) was delighted with us and informed me that we had skipped the beginners test and had in fact passed the intermediate level. I did wonder when we had to do a 3-minute down, stay with handlers out of sight (we the other candidates and myself) were all hiding in the kitchen part of the hall. Bless her little paws, the Nells bells did it. We got the score card, a certificate and Nells got a squeaky toy which I couldn’t get off her, did eventually but it wasn’t easy. Took her for a bit of a romp on the village green on the way home. When we got home all the dogs were out in the garden, I took some vegetable peelings to the composting bin and noticed a freshly dug bit of ground under the fence. I called Nellabi’s name and sure enough she appeared from round a bush in the neighbour’s garden, squeezed back under the fence (lying on her side and wriggling) and was back where she should be. I suppose it was only a matter of time before she started to tunnel under the fence – she is a terrier after all – 100%. As well as going off hunting and visiting the neighbours (they were not around during her little visit I am glad to say) she can now twirl, twist, circle me and we are learing to weave. She really is a great little mutt. My poor dog has just been stung by wasps, as was I, horrible things, their days are numbered A call to the local council tomorrow for removal. I had just unpacked and set up our brand new weave poles and jump. Nells bells was learning to weave, my brother was visiting and was watching Nellabi (doing very well I may add). She suddenly starting biting at her hip area and I saw the wasp, she managed to get it off. We were suddenly surrounded by about 30 wasps, I was stung in the face, Nells bells had taken shelter under the bushes. My brother said, "there is a wasp nest in the ivy", India, old GSD was standing quite oblivious to the wasp attack. I called Nellabi, grabbed India’s collar, Cassie had enough savvy to have legged it indoors, we all followed at a brisk trot. We gave it a few minutes and snuck back round to the ‘agility area’ and put the poles and jump back into their boxes and back indoors. Poor Nellabi will probably never do agility again now that she thinks she is going to get stung the second she tries to weave – poor dog. She is OK but how unpleasant. I know I have said its live and let live here, but not wasps and certainly not after attacking the Nells bells and then me!oh my god poor you and neillabi,
really hope you are both ok and india wow what a shock, really hope she keeps up the agility amazing little girl Dear GeordieWe are all back to normal today but the agility will have to wait until the wasp nest has been removed. All booked and paid for, just need the people to come and do it. My old girls only do the weaving poles, slowly while following a treat and dodging wasps!!! What a stunning dog your girl is turning into, you will have to take up long distance running to keep her fit and healthy – ready, steady, GO.
Well, the Nells bells just goes from strength to strength. She can sit for one minute, the down stay is rubbish because she lies on her back waving her paws about, recall brilliant and me going out of sight – rubbish. We have to practice our twirls and twists and I am trying (failing) to teach her to circle me. I tend to get lower and lower while trying to encourage her to circle me, Norma dog trainer has the patience of a saint. I was checking an elderly aunts house (she, like my mother is in a nursing home) a couple of days ago after work. A man appeared at the gate when I was standing at the front door trying to find the keys, he was going around reading electricity meters and having identified himself as such he waited at the gate while I looked for the keys. Nellabi was pulling towards him, tail wagging and trying to ‘talk’ to him and he was speaking very nicely to her. I found the keys, unlocked the door, went in with Nellabi still on her lead and when the man took the step that would have brought him into the house Nellabi flew at him, yipping and growling at him. He stepped back and said, "Oh", I shortened her lead so she couldn’t get him and he came in and read the meter but she was not a happy bunny. I was really quite pleased with her, she is quite protective of her house and family, hardly the size of a mouse but has the heart of a lion. Has not put on any weight at all but eats very well. I opened the door the other day to let them out and she and Dudley took off because one of the local moggies was cutting through the garden. I have to say it went over the fence like a shot and disappeared at a very impressive speed. The dogs flew off round the back of the house, the barking and yipping getting more and more faint, then louder and louder as they both re-appeared from the other side of the house. Our house sits in the middle of the garden so they tear round and round if they think a cat has been about, but they actually saw that particular cat and I bet it was some time before its heart rate dropped to anything like normal. The dogs were on full alert for some time after that little episode. She sits to get doors to open but the second the door starts to open she bounces up – usually reaching the level of the door handle so her bouncing ability has not reduced at all. That said she is on and off the table at the window all the time. Still greatly admired by all and one of the receptionists and the man who hates most things ‘fight’ to given Nells her biscuit treats at various times during the day. She always gets a biscuit to go back into her crate when she has been out so usually ends up with 3 or 4 biscuits a day. Its all a bit cheeky really because the receptionist is the person who buys the biscuits for the dogs! I see there are many lovely little terriers in the pound just now – breaks my heart, I wish I had the room to offer one of them a home but I can’t at the moment. I have everythings crossed for each and every dog in Ashton to find a decent home with good people – they are out there. I hope Fearless is well and no doubt in full charge of her family.
I had to put her on a table (next to where the judge was sitting) for the ‘examine your dog’ part of the test and when that was done and I had answered some questions the judge said to me "You have one cracking little dog there, she has a beautiful face". All I could say in return was "I know". 
Looking forward to classes anyway. Is Nells going to progress to Advanced Obedience now, Indianna?
I don’t think I will ever recover from the shame of the state I was in when I had to go to the pet store for dog food! Honestly,crawling about in the undergrowth, at my age! I really did look a fright. Tonight was the last night of this training session and we had a test. The Nells bells dropped three points overall, Norma (trainer) was delighted with us and informed me that we had skipped the beginners test and had in fact passed the intermediate level. I did wonder when we had to do a 3-minute down, stay with handlers out of sight (we the other candidates and myself) were all hiding in the kitchen part of the hall. Bless her little paws, the Nells bells did it. We got the score card, a certificate and Nells got a squeaky toy which I couldn’t get off her, did eventually but it wasn’t easy. Took her for a bit of a romp on the village green on the way home. When we got home all the dogs were out in the garden, I took some vegetable peelings to the composting bin and noticed a freshly dug bit of ground under the fence. I called Nellabi’s name and sure enough she appeared from round a bush in the neighbour’s garden, squeezed back under the fence (lying on her side and wriggling) and was back where she should be. I suppose it was only a matter of time before she started to tunnel under the fence – she is a terrier after all – 100%. As well as going off hunting and visiting the neighbours (they were not around during her little visit I am glad to say) she can now twirl, twist, circle me and we are learing to weave. She really is a great little mutt.
My poor dog has just been stung by wasps, as was I, horrible things, their days are numbered A call to the local council tomorrow for removal. I had just unpacked and set up our brand new weave poles and jump. Nells bells was learning to weave, my brother was visiting and was watching Nellabi (doing very well I may add). She suddenly starting biting at her hip area and I saw the wasp, she managed to get it off. We were suddenly surrounded by about 30 wasps, I was stung in the face, Nells bells had taken shelter under the bushes. My brother said, "there is a wasp nest in the ivy", India, old GSD was standing quite oblivious to the wasp attack. I called Nellabi, grabbed India’s collar, Cassie had enough savvy to have legged it indoors, we all followed at a brisk trot. We gave it a few minutes and snuck back round to the ‘agility area’ and put the poles and jump back into their boxes and back indoors. Poor Nellabi will probably never do agility again now that she thinks she is going to get stung the second she tries to weave – poor dog. She is OK but how unpleasant. I know I have said its live and let live here, but not wasps and certainly not after attacking the Nells bells and then me!- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.