Plymgreys

I have scientifically calculated, using logarithms and a slide rule that you will see 101 Walmart trailers on your trip. And WOW what a trip. I'm sooo envious. May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be ever at your back May the Good Lord keep you in the hollow of His hand.

Some of you here will remeber me and my dogs Bobby & Lottie. Sadly I have to tell you that our beautiful, handsome, goofy boy Bobby died yesterday. While under anaesthetic 3 weeks ago for a dental he had some x-rays taken of his hips and back legs to establish the extent of his arthritis. It seems this set off some sort of arthritic crisis which he never recovered from. I can't put into words how bad I feel. Bobby aka Penn Slippy 14/3/1997 - 9/4/2008 When they go they pull that band around your heart too tight to bear.

We have been told that a t-shirt can reassure nervous/anxious dogs. A bit like wrapping a baby to comfort it. Tellington Touch therapy also uses a similar theory with wraps. No idea whether it would work but it would be easy enough to try. ETA - And a fine excuse to go shopping for your doggie.

I voted other because Lottie is always muzzled when we are out on a walk. I'm not bothered about her snapping at anything but when she gets excited about cats/squirrels/dogs etc. she attacks her leash. So much so that I worry she'll chew right through it one day. If we take them to somewhere they can run they both get muzzled. In the yard it's so rare that they run around that we don't usually bother and to be honest they are in and out all day. They are not muzzled in the house or car.

Yay! Good job Jeff, thanks a billion.

Bobby, 9yrs, no health probs, has had the ocasional bump but nothing major. Lottie, 4yrs, no health probs, had to have lotsa teeth taken out when she retired also has the odd knock or scrape.

Ours pretty much get half an hour in the morning and again at night. If the weather is wet or cold we might shorten it a bit. When the weather gets warmer and the lights lasts longer I anticipate longer evening walks. Like someone else said we didn't take on dogs until one of us was working less so that we had the time to do it properly. While we were both full time (and sometimes away from home) we felt it was unfair to have pets. Interestingly figures here show that over the last 15 years the number of pet dogs in the UK has fallen by about 1 million while the number of pet cats has increased. The reasons for this seem to be that working patterns in most households can more easily accomodate a cat which pretty much looks after it's own excercise routine than a dog which needs walking. Maybe this also has something to do with rising obesity rates in the UK!