Has Spring come?

Hi! Cinnamon here.

Hope the heat peak of summer has passed in the Northern Hemisphere. It seems winter is coming to end here down under.

In the last week we found some signs of spring, although spring hasn't started yet according to the calendar.

The flowers smelt nice but didn't look like something to eat :-P

I liked the red colour of those tulips.

Early flowering cherry blossoms!

And we have started Agility training after having a winter break!

Mint's runs were very slow.

I couldn't help smiling!

I love spring!!

Cinnamon loves playing with a puppy

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

Today, after seeing a physiotherapist, I visited my friend, Solace the Miniature Poodle, who lives near the clinic, and met this adorable puppy, Bear, there. He is a eight-month-old Shih Tzu.

As you may know, I am not good at playing with other dogs, and that's why Mum started training me seriously six years ago. Recently I have been able to control myself much better in encounters with other dogs on our walks, but I still can't help but bark at other dogs sometimes, especially when they suddenly appear in front of me. But, I am usually better with puppies perhaps because they are non-threatening.

Bear was one of those non-threatening puppies. I didn't need to bark at him whatever he did to me. In fact he kissed me a lot and sniffed my bottom a lot. He even hamped me! But, strangely I found them enjoyable!

These photos are a proof!

Anyway I really enjoyed playing with him. I hope I can meet him again soon! Hope he doesn't mind playing with a middle-aged lady like me.

Practising playing!

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

Recently Mum has been very strange. She wants to play with me, but she doesn't give me any treats or offer any toy to play with. How strange!

Mum says that playing with no food or toy is called "Personal Play" and that if I learn it I will be able to ignore other dogs better, or at least that's what Mum is hoping.

Here is a video of our practise session yesterday. As you can see, Mum was moving around overly excitedly. Sometimes I even found it a bit overwhelming.

This morning Mum was doing a little better, although I lost focus from time to time.

Now I wonder what our play will be like when we have mastered it.

Cinnamon at 8 weeks old and at 8 years old

Hi. Cinnamon here.

Mum hasn't given me any birthday present yet.

As she doesn't celebrate my birthday, I have decided to celebrate it on my own.

Do you know how I did it? I dug into my old photo album, found a photo of me at 8 weeks old, and compared it with a photo of me taken a few days ago.

Wow I was so tiny when I was 8 weeks old!