Today I am telling you about what we were doing recently.
Over a week ago, we were told to get in the car and driven to somewhere we had never been. When we arrived there, Mum told us to wait in the car for a while and went into a nearby building. After a while, Mum came back with two leads, put them on us, and told us to get out of the car.
Because it was a new place, we had to check everything and every smell. Then, a man came out of the building and guided us through a gate into the backyard where several dogs were barking at us over a fence.
Next, the man opened a gate to an empty enclosure and let us in. Again, there were so many new interesting smells that we got very excited exploring the place.
But, when we realised, Mum had gone. We didn't know what was happening.
At first I thought that Mum would come back to take us home soon, but she didn't. Then, I knew that it was a so-called boarding kennel or pet hotel. I had stayed in one of them with Cookie before, but Mint hadn't. Being an older sister, I decided to take the responsibility to look after my younger brother, Mint, until our humans came back.
In fact we had a great time, playing with a couple of Spaniels and a Border Collie in the daytime while we were staying there. I have to admit though that I missed my humans a lot especially at night.
Six days later, Mum finally came back and brought us home! Nowhere is better than home after all!!
This is me resting at home after a week stay at a kennel.
This is Mint.
When our humans saw us at the kennel on their return, they were smiling of course, but those smiles seemed to have a somewhat different meaning. What do you think they said to us, as soon as they saw us? They said "You both have gained weight!!" Hmmmph! How rude they are!! Yes, it is true that we had lost our beautiful waist lines, but let me tell you that I had them back as soon as the next day. We just had constipation, staying in a new environment... Hee hee.
Today we are enjoying summery weather, but until yesterday one question everyone in New Zealand had in mind was "Where has summer gone?"
Since the New Year's day, I hadn't seen the sun much. Having lots of rain every day didn't seem like such a bad thing for my Mum, as she didn't have to water her tomato plants and the grass didn't turn brown like it usually does in summer. But, that was a big problem for us! Lots of rain means shorter than usual walks for us. Nevertheless, we were lucky, because many of my friends sometimes couldn't go out for walks at all, as chances for walks were limited for their humans who don't work from home like our humans do.
However, fortunately it was not raining when Mint and I met up with our big friends Lexi and Jasper the Great Danes at one of our favorite parks, Auckland Botanic Gardens, last week. This park is a wonderful place for doggies and their owners. Although dogs have to be on leash in most areas of the park, there is one off-leash dog exercise area. In on-leash areas humans can enjoy browsing a huge variety of plants and trees in well-designed landscapes, while doggies can enjoy many different smells, including familiar smells, exotic smells, and intriguing smells. When we had a walk with Lexi and Jasper, we had a great time finding new smells as usual.
By the way, do you wonder how we play with such big buddies like Great Danes? No worries! I have had a wonderful Dane friend, Honey, since I was a puppy. So, I am used to Great Danes at least. As for Mint, he seems to have some difficulty in understanding the size difference. He has never been hesitant in front of big friends. So, look at this! He was trying to hump this big guy who we met on the walk, as well as our big friends Lexi and Jasper!
This big black dog looks puzzled, but Mint doesn't take any notice of it. *
Hey, Jasper, what are you doing? Have you found anything interesting? *
Let's see what Jasper has found (Jasper has already lost interest and walked away)
We never fail to do our job, sniffing!!
Mint fetches a ball only because ... *
... he can get some treat every time. *
Mint, behave yourself, at least in front of our friends! *
I am a big sister, so I need to watch what Mint is doing. *
We posed together for the camera after a great walk :-) *
*) Courtesy of Lexi and Jasper's human
After the walk, our humans wanted to have a cup of coffee in the outdoor area of a cafe in the Visitor Centre (Dogs are not allowed in all areas under the roof), but all tables in the outdoor area had been taken by visitors with dogs. So, instead, they sat on a bench in a different area to have a chat before going home.
We had a wonderful time with Lexi and Jasper! I hope we can meet up with them again soon!!
Firstly, thank you very much for your lovely comments on my previous posts about a recent Paws N Music competition (this and this). I still can't believe that I won in the competition. But, reading your comments, I really felt that I had won indeed :-)
Well, today I am going to tell you about our trip to Porirua, Wellington, where the competition was held. Or more precisely, I will tell you about places where we stayed on the trip.
Actually a year ago we didn't think that we were going to make the trip, as Wellington is far, far away from Takanini, Auckland, where we live, which means that it doesn't only take a long time to get there but also cost a lot. A year ago my humans thought who would spend so much money and time just for a dog dancing competition. Especially for my humans, who are freelancers, being away from home means no income for the period. However, after contemplating about it over and over, they decided to give it a go, because it was the only competition we were able to enter in the year after the last competition I entered a year ago.
The first thing we had to do was to find accommodation that allows dogs in the unit. Some of so-called dog friendly motels don't allow dogs in the unit. You may think that such motels shouldn't advertise themselves as "dog friendly," but as long as they allow dogs in their property no matter where they have to stay, such as in the car, they seems to be considered "dog friendly". So, my humans had to send email to every "dog friendly" accommodation that they have found in online accommodation directories, to ask if they allowed dogs in the unit. Because we made bookings well in advance, it was not as difficult to find places where we were able to stay inside as we thought it would. We booked three motels, one for the first night in Taumarunui, a small town near National Park halfway from Auckland to Wellington, one for the second and third nights in Wellington, and another for the last night of our trip in Taupo, a resort town by New Zealand's largest lake called the Lake Taupo.
On Friday, two days before the competition, we set out for the trip. Taumarunui, where we stayed on the first day of the trip, is a small town surrounded by mountains. Although dogs are banned in the town centre, there are many off-leash dog parks (See here for local dog exercise areas). One that a manager at the motel recommended was Cherry Cove, where dogs can enjoy walking and running along a river. We wanted to walk on the river bank, but Mum didn't let us, because she was not sure how we would react to other dogs running off leash there. Mum always worry about my reactivity too much!!
Another dog exercise area recommended by the same motel manager was a very little reserve at the end of Byars Avenue. It is very small, but you can enjoy a wonderful view of the whole township and surrounding mountains. One thing I found very strange about the reserve, though, is that there was a sign, something like "This is Electric fence," on the fence between the reserve and an adjacent paddock. Actually I had to ask Mum what the sign was for, as I can't read. I don't think there are many dogs who can read. An electric fence on the border of a very small dog exercise area. It's very dangerous, isn't it? Some dogs might touch the fence without knowing the fence is electric!
The next day we arrived in Porirua. Our motel in Porirua was very conveniently located for dogs and their owners. There were sport grounds nearby and you can even enjoy walking along an inlet with a marina.
After staying in Porirua for two nights (Our competition was on the second night, which coincided with the Rugby World Cup final!!), we headed for Taupo. In Taupo we stayed in a motel by the Lake Taupo, so we had pleasant walks at the beach.
But, look at this!
Mint was such a coward that he cringed every time gentle waves came in. Because he was so frightened of the waves, I couldn't enjoy sniffing interesting smells that I found at the water edge! Mint, you are a boy. You must become braver!
Well, that's the end of our trip. We had a great time visiting new places and sniffing new smells!
Hello readers. Who do you think I am? I am Mint! Yes, MINT!
Hee hee, I have taken over the blog while my sister Cinnamon is mooning over Mango Relentlessly Huge. But I am not going to tell ill of her. I am going to share my experience from which I learnt how great my sister is.
On Sunday we went to Waiatarua Reserve for a walk with some mates. As I am rarely allowed to be off leash, I was kind of over the moon when Mum let me off. I was also fascinated by the cloudy water that looked much darker than the water we usually drink. So, I couldn't resist the temptation to put my paws in the water. Then, after a while, I found myself on the other side of a stream of water. I don't remember how I got there. I wanted to go back to the side where my mum and sister were, but I couldn't because there was the water stream between us. I ran along the stream back and forth, trying to find a way back, but there wasn't a bridge or anything. It was at that time that my sister Cinnamon came across the stream, turned around, and went back to the side where Mum was! All I had to do was follow her, and I was finally with Mum!
Don't you think Cinnamon is great?
This video was taken just before I went across the stream. At the end of the video you can see a man on the bridge pointing at something. He was actually pointing at me, saying 'He is there.'
On Saturday we went to a Beagle Walk for the first time in the last nine months. Usually the Auckland Beagle Club holds a Beagle Walk every other month, but my humans were so busy renovating the house, selling the house, moving into a rental house, buying a house, moving from the rental to our new house, and settling in the new house, that we missed some Beagle Walks. But finally we were able to attend one at Long Bay, North Shore, on Saturday.
I knew that my humans were discussing that they were not going to the walk if it rained, so, when I noticed in the morning that it had started raining, I almost cried 'Oh no!' But, as my humans were aware how much I had looked forward to the walk, they decided to head for Long Bay anyway, and come back if it rained and stay for the walk if it didn't.
Then...yay, it was not raining when we arrived at Long Bay!! When we arrived at the car park of the beach, there were several Beagles already.
So, we went to them and greeted them by sniffing their bums. Then, in return, they also greeted us by sniffing our bums.
Some humans were impressed how much Mint had grown since they last saw him. That's fair enough, as he was only seven months old when he attended a Beagle Walk last time. At that time he was smaller than me, but now he is much bigger than me.
Well, going back to talk about the walk, shortly after we set out for the walk on the beach, we found a HUGE driftwood! Of course, none of us Beagles could resist checking the smell of it, as it is our job to sniff everything suspicious.
On the beach we had a great time running around with other Beagle pals off the leash.
On the walk, we even met our new local blog friend, Monty the Beagle! He is young (seven months old) and so charming. You can find him in the above video, although we didn't get a chance to take a photo together. He is distinctive, as he looks like wearing a white pair of pants :-)
It was so much fun!! I hope we can attend the next Beagle Walk in August to catch up with our Beagle pals!!
Yay, we went on a trip to Rotorua on the weekend!! It was kind of a surprise present for us actually. None of us didn't know we were going to Rotorua until Tuesday.
Although I didn't write about it in my previous posts, Mum's mummy, auntie, and uncle stayed with us for several days from late January. Because Mum was too busy to take them out of Auckland for sightseeing, our guests rented a car and went on a trip to Rotorua and Napier by themselves while Mum stayed home working as usual. But, just before they went back home, Mum's auntie realised that she had left something behind at a hotel in Rotorua. Mum immedietely rang the hotel and confirmed that they had the thing. Mum also asked a hotel receptionist to courier it to the aunty's home in Japan. However, on Monday Mum got a phone call from the auntie. She said that someone from the hotel had rung her to let her know that they couldn't courier the thing left behind by the auntie because it contained something valuable. The only way to retrieve the thing was someone went to the hotel in person to collect it. That is how my Mum and Dad decided to go to Rotorua on the weekend.
Mum and Dad searched the Internet to find several motels that allowed dogs. Mum chose one of them, Gibson Court Motel, and booked it because some of its units had private mineral pool.
Then on Thursday Mum got a phone call from her friend. She was looking for a place where her dog could stay for the weekend. So, Mum and Dad decided to take him to Rotorua with us. But, there was one concern. They were not sure how well we, Mint and I, and the dog got along. On Thursday Mum's friend came with the dog called Kurosawa, or Kuro, to see how well we got along. Of course we welcomed Kuro, as both of us, Mint and I, had met and played with him before.
On Saturday morning we went to Kuro's house to pick him up before heading for Rotorua. On the way to our destination, we stopped twice for short breaks. All of us travelled well.
In Rotorua, after collecting Mum's auntie's thing from the hotel and checked in our motel, we got in the car again and went to the Redwoods Whakarewarewa Forest, which we had heard about from our friend Honey the Great Dane. Actually our motel was very close to the forest, only a few minutes' drive away. Mum first visited the information centre to confirm that dogs are allowed on tracks in the forest as long as they are kept on the lead, then we set out for a walk. Despite the high temperature and humidity that day, we thoroughly enjoyed the walk, as the track we walked on was sheltered under huge trees all the way from the start to the end.
Back at the motel Mum and Dad enjoyed soaking in the mineral pool while we doggies had a nap. Our travel mate, Kuro, was so well-behaved (He never tried to jump on a couch or bed!) that he was allowed to be free in the motel unit throughout our stay in the motel, while we were put in our crate when neither Mum nor Dad could keep an eye on us.
The next morning we went to the Redwoods Forest again and on the way back to Auckland we dropped by Cambridge where agility show was being held because Mum wanted to say hello to someone who she knows. There were a huge number of people there, but she did manage to find the person and had a chat with her before hitting the road again to come back home.
It was a fantastic weekend!! I hope Kuro can come to stay with us again soon.
Thank you for all your lovely comments on our performance in the Paws N Music competition at the NDTA (National Dog Training Assembly). I am sorry I haven't been able to visit your blogs to say hello or reply to those who left comments on my last post. We have been crazily busy these days, as my humans have been busy with their work and also some renovation work has been going on in our house. But on the weekend we managed to get out to attend the first coursing of the Hound Racing Club after a winter break.
This time Mint joined the race the first time. When I ran in the hound racing for the first time, I quickly understood what I had to do. But, it seems Mint didn't get it right away. He was more interested in other dogs running with him than a lure that he was meant to chase.
This time my Mum's friend's dog Kuro and the friend's friend's dogs Marvi and Miria also came along. Unfortunately Miria couldn't run with her sister because she was wearing an Elizabethan collar, having just had a spay operation. I hope Kuro and Marvi enjoyed themselves as much as I did!
On Saturday there was a big earthquake in Canterbury region of New Zealand. As Canterbury is far away from Auckland where I live, actually on a different island, I didn't know about it until my neighbour told us about it when we met her in our morning walk. It must have been a very scary experience for people, dogs, and any other kinds of animals living there. This morning I heard that some dogs had gone missing after the earthquake. I hope they will reunite with their family soon and safely.
After we watched news reports about the earthquake on TV on Saturday, we went to Auckland Beagle Club's Beagle Walk. The club holds beagle walks every other month in various locations, and this time it was at Churchill Park, Glendowie, Auckland. As I hadn't been in a Beagle Walk for more than a year, I really looked forward to it. But, we had a heavy rain the night before, and it was still raining in the morning, so I was not sure if I could go until the last moment. My humans had said that we were not going if it rained. Luckily it stopped raining although it was still cloudy, so we headed for the park.
There weren't as many Beagles in the walk as usual, perhaps because of the weather, but I had a great time walking in new places I had never been to. Because it had been raining a lot, the ground was very boggy and there were many paddles. Usually I don't like to get wet, but I didn't mind it at all in the walk.
In the walk we walked through a few more parks, including Roberta Reserve that we frequent, as well as Churchill Park. In a park called Point England Walk my Mum let both Mint and me off the lead. It was so much fun! We enjoyed exploring on and around the track along a stream with two other Beagles who were also off the lead.
When we came back to our car, our legs and tummy were all covered with mud!! I liked the walking course so much that I am going to ask Mum to take me there again.
I hope everyone had a great weekend!! Our weekend was full of training, which I really enjoyed.
On Saturday I met up with our blog friends, Lexi and Jasper the Great Danes, in Mission Bay. It was not just a play-date. Lexi and Jasper's human helped my training not to react to other dogs. Thank you so much, Lexi and Jasper's human!!!
Our humans wanted me to meet as many dogs as possible and that was one of the reasons we met up in Mission Bay, where usually many dogs come down to have walks on the beach. But, we didn't see many dogs on Saturday. However, fortunately Lexi and Jasper's human had brought two dogs under training to become mobility dogs as well as my friends, Lexi and Jasper, so I could practise walking pass them in turn one at a time. Although I sometimes couldn't control myself well enough not to pull my lead toward the dogs, I didn't bark much. :-)
Among other things, the Dane friends' human pointed out that my Mum needed to behave more confidently. The more confident Mum behaves, the less I need to try to protect the pack, which means Mum and me. I thought that was a good point, as I could see Mum getting nervous and in tense whenever she saw another dog coming. Although I didn't realise myself that I was trying to guard ourselves, now I can see why I felt so nervous when I saw another dog coming. Actually some of my blog friends also mentioned the influence of the handler's feeling over the dog in their comments to Mum's post. Thanks, friends!
Hee hee. My barking was not entirely my fault after all!! Mum needs to practise more and more to become a good reliable handler!
After the training, our humans, Lexi, and I went to a cafe in Mission Bay. Because the cafe is next to a burger shop, Burger King, many families who came to the burger shop found us sitting or lying by a table and came to pat us. Then, those families were surprised to see more dogs in Lexi's human's car parked in front to the cafe. If they had been small breeds like me, they wouldn't have been so surprised. But, in addition to Lexi, there was Jasper, another Great Dane, in the car. I wished Mum had filmed it to show you their reactions!!
Then, we went to Waiatarua Reserve together, although we couldn't stay there long as it started raining soon. Actually I couldn't enjoy running around with other dogs much, because I was busy eating rabbit poos and looking for the right spot to do my business. What was funny was Jasper! He kept following me when I was busy. I had to tell him off so many times!
My mum says that Jasper really liked me. If she is right, I am sorry I behaved like that, Jasper. I will play with you more nicely next time we meet up!
On Sunday we trained with our dancing instructor. One of the things she taught us was how to turn when heeling. She showed Mum how to gently pull the lead to keep me close to her knee and when and how to give me reward.
I had a great time in the training because I got to get so much treat!! I felt so full, when we left the place, that I fell in sleep as soon as I got in the car.
I hope everyone had a great weekend. We had a wonderful weekend! It was really refreshing after a week with lots of rain.
On Saturday afternoon we went to St Heliers Beach, and Mint and I walked together on a double lead for the first time.
By the way, can you tell which is Mint? Mint has grown so much!!
The answer is that Mint is the one walking closer to Mum. Who said Mint is walking more nicely than me? I tell you that he is just so much food oriented! He never leaves his eyes off Mum's hand when she has yummy treats!
On Sunday afternoon we went to Cornwall Park to meet up with our blog friend Pepper, who had moved from Wellington to Auckland recently. Originally we meant to meet a week earlier, but we had to cancel it at the last moment because it started raining heavily just when we were about to get ready for the outing. So, we made another try yesterday. This time, the weather was kind to us, as if it had tried to make up for the bad weather the week before. Blue sky with no cloud!
As you know, I am a bit reactive to other dogs. So, my mum was worried about how I would react to Pepper when I first saw her. But, to her relief, I accepted Pepper with no problem, although I don't know why I could do that myself. Strangely I didn't feel nervous at all when Pepper and her human walked to us. She was very well-behaved, and she greeted children, who came to pat her, very nicely. So, I followed her and behaved well in front of the kids myself.
Mint walked with us for the first half of the walk, but then he waited in the car with my dad, while we continued our walk, as Mint is not old enough to have a long walk.
Sorry I have got a couple of blurred photos only, as silly Mum forgot to bring Dad's good camera.
It was a fabulous walk! Before we said good-bye to each other, we promised to meet again soon, with Lexi and Jasper too!
