Busy busy weekend! - Auckland Beagle Club Fun Day on Saturday

Hi!! It's Cinnamon.

I hope everyone had a great weekend! We had a very busy but super cool weekend.

On Saturday we went to the Auckland Beagle Club's Xmas Fun Day in Cornwall Park. Although there was also a walk before the fun event with lots of yummies (mainly for humans) and games (for both humans and dogs), we couldn't join it as Mum was unable to get ready early enough.

When we arrived at the park, only a few dogs were there, as most of the members were having a walk to the summit of One Tree Hill at that time. But, shortly after we arrived, this little one came to say hello to us.

His name is Luke. He is so adorable and friendly!

Like most puppies, Luke didn't seem to understand the concept of "consideration", though.

But, because I was being nice to Luke, a human rewarded me with lots of tummy rubs!

Although we couldn't run around with other Beagles as the venue was not an off-leash dog park, we enjoyed mingling with each other.

After people and dogs came back from the walk, we did some games, such as biscuit hunt, seven legs race, potato and spoon race, and bag race. In the biscuit hunt, we collected three biscuits but three was not enough to win the game, as the winner found nine biscuits!

After all the games finished, humans had BBQ.

We didn't get any sausage or meat from the BBQ, but Mum gave us the biscuits that we had got in the biscuit hunt, because we were sitting nicely and patiently. The biscuits were in a bone shape and very yummy (Sorry no photos of the biscuits, coz we ate them all ^^;).

As it was so much fun, I am already looking forward to the Fun Day next year!

Our trip to Wellington

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

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.

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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!

Beagle Walk at Churchill Park

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

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.

We had a wonderful weekend!

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

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!

Trick practise session in a park

Hi! It's Cinnamon!!

Today I will show you what I have been doing recently apart from playing with Mint.

This morning my Mum filmed a whole trick practise session that we had in a small park (off-leash dog exercise area) in our morning walk. The video is over eight minutes long and it looks a little foggy because the lens of Mum's camera was dirty. (Mum is so lazy about cleaning her camera!) So, watch it only if you don't mind wasting some of your time or you are really interested in my training.

Come? What does that mean?

Hi, it's Cinnamon!

Today my Mum is looking a little puzzled... She's been saying "Come" many times. Whenever she says "Come", I look at her. But, she doesn't look satisfied with my attention to her.

Yesterday in Roberta Reserve, where my winning photo in Niamh’s Train Your Dog Photo Contest had been taken, I had a great time practisng heeling, sit stays, stand stays, and recalls with my Mum. But, when I made a great dash to a far end of the park and started having a good sniff around trees, Mum yelled at me "Come! Cinnamon, Come!!" from a distance. Although the word "Come" somehow sounded familiar to me, I couldn't remember what it meant, so I just kept on sniffing and checking peemails.



After a while, a dog on a leash came into the park from behind the trees I was sniffing, so I went over to say hello to him nicely. But, his humans didn't look too happy. When I was wondering why they were not happy to see a little well-behaved dog like me, I was caught by my Mun on my collar.

But, never mind!! Anyway I had a wonderful time playing with two other doggies!




From Cinnamon's Mum:

It seems Cinnamon understands the command "Come" only jointly with other commands like "Wait", "OK", and "Go". I had been wondering why she sometimes ignored the command "Come" completely, and this morning I realised that she might not understand the command correctly. When I say "In front" (come and stand in front of me; a command I use in dog dancing), she comes without fail, but she often doesn't respond when I say just "Come." Hmmm, I may need to teach her the command from scratch...

Found a new park!

Hi, it's Cinnamon!

We found a new park! It's called Kiwi Esplanade Reserve.

A walkway runs along the shore of Manukau Harbour. Although this park is not an off-leash dog park, you can still enjoy nice walks along the long walkway.

There were also trees to climb!

I found another dog coming.

Look! I greeted him nicely without barking. But, when the other dog's owner asked my Mum if I was friendly, she replied "Not always." Can you believe that? Because of my Mum's reply, they left us quickly almost like running away from us.

This park is a bird sanctuary, so there were so many birds! On the shore...

And on the grass...

I watched them from a distance, as I didn't want to scare them.

But, here is a close-up photo for you.

It was a great walk! Where are you taking me next, Mum and Dad?

My secret place to practise dancing

Hi, it's Cinnamon!

Today I will show you a place I often go to with my mum in our walks. This place is the dog exercise area (off-lease dog park) closest to my home. Although it is very small, it has beautiful views like this!



The other day I heard something behind me when I was posing for a photo.



I looked around...



... And found him!!



He is a Pukeko, a New Zealand native bird. Isn't he cool? Sorry for such a poor shot. (It's all Mum's fault. I think she needs to practise camera work much more.)

In this little park I often practise dance moves with Mum, although there is no flat area in this park. On this day I practised circling around Mum while she was turning in the opposite direction. I had been able to circle around her while she was standing still, but I had never done it with Mum turning in the opposite direction. Hmmmm...it seems I need more practice.

A day trip to West Auckland

Hi, it's Cinnamon!!

We went on a half-day trip to West Auckland on a sunny day. As some of you might remember, we haven't been able to have walks on nearby beaches since last July because of a poison scare (Several dogs died after eating dead sea slugs that contained toxin usually found in puffer fish. Every incident of this kind happened on beaches along Hauraki Gulf on the Pacific Ocean side of Auckland). My humans who had long wanted to take me to the beach finally did what they wanted.

Ta-dah! This is Bethells Beach, a popular beach among dogs and their owners, on the Tasman Sea side of Auckland.



The sand was so hot that my mum carried me in her arms until we reached an area where the sand was wet and cooler.



The section across this inlet is a dog exercise (off-leash) area.



I had a great time walking freely on the beach!

We even met another Beagle! But, it seemed he was more interested in the water than me. After saying hello to me, he quickly ran away to start jumping around happily in the shallow water. Where were his manners in front of a lady like me?



After leaving Bethells Beach we dropped by Waitakere Ranges Regional Park and took a postcard-like snapshot there. There was an ice cream kiosk beside this picture frame. Althouh I wanted to try a lick or two on ice cream a couple were eating sitting on a bench, our humans didn't allow me to do that.



It was a great day out! Mum and Dad, where are you taking me next?

Peacock, puppies, and racing

Hi, it's Cinnamon. I hope you all had a great weekend! I had a wonderful weekend with lovely weather.

On Friday my humans and I went to Auckland Regional Botanic Gardens, one of my favorite places, and I met a peacock there. I had been to the place many times, but I had never seen a peacock there. I wonder where he came from. From the Auckland Zoo, where my Mum says she has seen a peacock walking around freely? But, do you think a peacock can fly from the Zoo to the Botanic Gardens over 25km away?

Look, I found a peacock across a pond!



He was showing off a display of his beautiful feathers.

Later I went over to have a closer look.



My Mum told me not to scare him, so it was the closest I was able to get to him. But anyway we had to leave as it started raining. I hope to meet him again when I go there next time!


On Saturday we went to a dog show at New Zealand Kennel Club Ardmore Exhibition Centre to meet my breeders and their Beagles including a litter born in late November. I think I behaved very well while I was there, quietly watching the puppies eating their breakfast and treats. I think my breeders were impressed by how good I was, because they gave me a dried tendon too.








On Sunday we had this year's first coursing of the Hound Racing Club at NZKC Ardmore Exhibition Centre. I love racing more than anything! I was so excited that I just couldn't stop barking while I was hearing the noise of the reeling machine. I had a great run with my team mates, Holly the Poodle and Chloe the Beagle.









Look at our fantastic run!!

Two pleasant walks in one day

We had pleasant walks yesterday.

In the morning we went to the Domain. When we arrived there the sun was still very low and drawing long shadows.

The Auckland War Memorial Museum was celebrating its 80th birthday.

From the Domain you can see the Sky Tower, a landmark in the centre of the city.

In late afternoon we went to St Heliers. We hadn't been to the suburb along St Heliers Beach for a long time since some dogs died from eating sea slugs that contained toxin found in blowfish when walking on beaches around Hauraki Gulf. The beaches were still closed for the dogs, so we had a walk on Tamaki Drive and in a park called Vellenoweth Green.

Who do you think we met in the park? We met Chloe the Beagle and her human by chance!! Chloe is a member of the Hound Racing Club and always ran with Cookie at demos in dog events like Discover Dogs and Pet Expo. We hadn't seen them for a long time, because there was no coursing in winter and when the coursing started again in September Cinnamon was being treated for her hip problem and Cookie was unwell.

What a lovely day it was!! We had two pleasant special walks in one day!