Eight Months Old

Today is Teasel's eight month birthday - we went for a walk to Ashton Court. In the photo you can see her investigating one of the ponds.

The best news for her though is probably that she has finally lost her last puppy tooth. Her final puppy canine disappeared yesterday after hanging on for two months - the other three having come loose early in February. We had been worried that she would have to have a visit to the vet to get rid of it.

Six Months With Teasel

Teasel's been with us six months now. The photo of her to the left was taken on her first day with us back in September 2008 when she was just seven weeks old.

Now she is seven months old (nearly eight months), and the photo on the right of her examining a log was taken last week during one of her long walks in Leigh Woods.

When we got her she weighed 1.2kg, she now weighs 6.2kg, but we think she is pretty much her full size now. She has also changed from a black ball of puppy fluff to a variety of shades of grey (but sometimes with brown feet after a muddy walk).

Longer Walks

The fine weather has meant the local park has got a bit busy and so Teasel has been getting out further afield for longer walks.

On Saturday I took her for a two hour walk to Blaise Castle and Kingsweston Hill - where she indulged in one of her less appealing hobbies of barking at horses.

On Sunday we went to Westonbirt Arboretum and wandered around Silk Wood for a couple of hours taking photos.

And on Monday I took her for picnic to Ashton Court (where the photo, right, was taken). We'd been caught in a deluge there the previous week, and ended up sheltering under a bush before giving up and getting very wet - but this time the weather was great. I had a sandwich in one of the meadows while Teasel chewed a stick. Again we were out for 2 hours.

Then on Wednesday we managed a 90 minute walk in Leigh Woods.

She certainly doesn't seem to have any problems with stamina - I think she's coping better than I am with the longer walks.

I Can See Clearly Now...

... the hair has gone.

Teasel is back from the groomers looking a lot less scruffy after 3 hours there.

I think she got off lightly compared to last time.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Teasel has an appointment at the dog groomers and will soon be a lot less hairy.

This is a "before" photo of her on the chair she likes to sit on to watch what is going on in the gardens.

Ball You Can Eat

In the park today Teasel found an apple, and settled down to investigate and chew it. We brought it back with us so she could finish her investigation at home.

Ruby Wednesday

Today we met three dogs called Ruby in the local park.

This morning we met Ruby #1 - a Vizsla - and Ruby #2 - a Border Terrier that was one of Teasel's classmates in her puppy class (photo).

This afternoon we met Ruby #3, but we didn't get a photo.

Weight: 6.0 kg.

Teasel Meets A Teasel

According to the weather forecasters it is the first day of the Spring. And the weather certainly seems to have taken notice. We took Teasel for a walk in Ashton Court, where she met her namesake plant.

I Saw A Mouse

While we were in the park today a small mouse ran out from under the bins. The West Highland Terrier we were with at the time was very excited, but Teasel didn't pay it any attention at all. And when I tried to flick it off my foot (photo) with the ball flinger she went for the flinger and ignored the mouse completely.

According to our book, the Miniature Schnauzer was "originally bred to hunt rats, then as a companion". Teasel seems to have chosen the companion option.

Westonbirt Dog Days

This weekend we went to Dog Days at Westonbirt Arboretum.

On Saturday it was nice and sunny and Teasel enjoyed meeting all the other dogs (and she did try to meet them all) and dashing around Silk Wood so much that we became Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum, so we could go again on the Sunday and do it all over again.

We met several other Miniature Schnauzers, including a black one called Charlie, and an 11-week old puppy called Colin. We also met Rafferty (now 10 months), who was the puppy we met that led to us acquiring Teasel.

Of course, now we are Friends, we will be going to Westonbirt a lot more during the year.

Four Walks

Teasel usually manages to get two or three walks each day, but today she managed to clock up four walks today. Caroline took her out for a short walk this morning and later on I took her out for an hour long walk in Ashton Court.

Later on in the afternoon Caroline was going out and as she went to the door, Teasel sprang out of her bed wanting to go along too, so she got her third walk of the day.

Now Teasel is sleeping upstairs I try to take her out in the evening so that she can make it through the night without needing to relieve herself, and so this evening she went out on her fourth walk of the day.

Free Again

I took Teasel to Ashton Court this morning. Over the weekend - while we have been walking on The Downs - Teasel doesn't seem to have been attracting the interest of other dogs, so it seems like she has finished being on heat. I let her off the lead once we were clear of the car park, and none of the other dogs seemed to be taking an unusual interest in her, so things seemed to be back to normal.

She only has one puppy canine left to get rid of now.

Weight: 5.8 kg (still).

More Snow

It's Teasel's 6 month birthday today, and there was 2-3" of fresh snow this morning. I put my salopettes and walking boots on (but I decided that putting gaiters on would be over the top - ba-bum!) and took Teasel over to The Downs, where there was a good covering of snow.

Teasel enjoyed herself playing in the snow, but her legs were balling up quite badly. I cleaned them off several times and then we came home because even though she was wearing her jacket I was a bit worried that she might be getting cold.

The news is reporting that this is the most snow there has been in Bristol for 25 years (which is before I moved here).

Weight: 5.8 kg.

Snow

This morning there was a sprinking of snow. I took Teasel for a walk on The Downs at Westbury Park. Oddly the snow seemed to follow us around. I decided that this was because what little snow there was had fallen down the gaps between the blades of grass, so apart from the snow immediately around us the rest was hidden from view. I let Teasel off the lead and we played with the ball for a bit, until another dog came along and I had to put Teasel back on the lead.

This afternoon it started snowing properly. Teasel watched it with her paws on the window ledge, and then went out to investigate the snow that had fallen on the ice in her outside water bowl (photo).

We took Teasel out to play in the snow at Lovers Walk and Cotham Gardens and she seemed to really enjoy chasing snowballs. After an hour we brought her home reluctantly.

Losing Teeth

Teasel has had both her puppy and adult canines for a while now, and this evening I noticed that one of the puppy canines is coming loose. I hope this means that they will all come out naturally over the next few weeks.

Earlier today we went to The Downs again. There was ice on some of the puddles, which Teasel had to investigate. I also found that if I didn't throw her spongy ball too far (or if I was prepared to run after her) we could play fetch while she was still on the retractable lead.

Weight: 5.4 kg.

The Downs

Continuing with investigating new places to walk Teasel on the lead I walked over to The Downs with her.

We walked on Durdham Down by the Water Tower and the bits of The Downs adjacent to Westbury Road.

Earlier in the day, while I had been emptying the compost bin at the bottom of the garden I noticed a furry face next to me watching intently. Teasel had jumped the fence that is meant to be keeping her on the upper patio until we reduce the options for escaping from the rest of the garden.

Walking on the Lead

Being on heat means I can explore some of the places that I haven't taken Teasel because of the proximity of roads. Today I took Teasel out for a long walk on the lead to Horfield Common. We managed to string together a route that let Teasel be "loose" on the retractable lead for a considerable amount of the time. It was a bit squidgy in places, and I think Teasel missed the ability to run free, but it gave her some good exercise.

The Heat Is On

Yesterday there was a dog showing an unusual amount of interest in Teasel's rear end. Today there are unmistakable signs that she is on heat for the first time. It's just over a week until her 6 month birthday, so it's a little sooner than we were expecting. We will be avoiding the local park for the next couple of weeks and looking for less popular walks.

Fortunately, on Monday, I walked over to the Pets at Home store in Eastville with Teasel and we bought a 5m retractable lead, so she will be able to have a limited amount of freedom whilst still being on the lead.

Dismembered Monkey

Teasel has managed to pull the arm off her favourite toy - the monkey she got on her first visit to the vet.

Caroline had previously patched it up to stop the stuffing coming out (photo), but it looks like it's going to need some more surgery.

Weight: 5.2 kg.

Camera Shopping

We took Teasel one stop on the train from Redland to Clifton Down. Now she is a seasoned rail traveller she even managed to jump down off the train when we arrived at Clifton Down.

We looked in the camera shops on Whiteladies Road for a camera that Caroline is interested in (Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1), and the nice people at Jessops let us bring Teasel in while Caroline looked at the camera. Fortunately Teasel was quite well behaved in the shop - I walked her around it so that she was happy to wait quietly because it had been explored.

Outside the shop we met a Border Terrier and a Wire Haired Fox Terrier that Teasel was keen to say hello to. We also had someone come up to us to meet Teasel - they have a Miniature Schnauzer of their own called Tess, but they didn't have her with them. Teasel is obviously becoming something of a celebrity - being recognised in the street.

We caught the train back - again Teasel jumped onto the train at Clifton Down - and went two stops to Montpelier, where the gap between the train and the platform was a bit daunting so I lifted Teasel down and took her to the park for a run around.

Bitten In The Park

When we got to the park today Teasel ran off to play with some bigger dogs while I was looking at the remains of the big cedar tree that has recently been cut down. I heard Teasel give a squeal and I called her back to me. Later we noticed there was a drop of blood on her muzzle.

When I got back home I washed Teasel's muzzle with a damp cloth dipped in warm water (which she licked). There was more blood that I expected, but it was a bit hard to see what damage there was.

The Howling (Part II)

Since we found that Teasel will howl if you hit the right note we have the occasional howl together. Caroline took this video of Teasel howling today.

Ashton Court in the Frost

I took Teasel to Ashton Court again - this time it was -3°C when we arrived, but it was nice and sunny and everything was covered in a wonderful frost. Teasel enjoyed running around in the frosted grass and investigating the frozen puddles.

In A Flap

We bought a cat flap - "For Large Cats & Small Dogs" - (or a Katzenklappe if you're German) from the pet shop yesterday, and while Caroline was out at the park with Teasel this morning I fitted it to the back door.

We managed to persuade Teasel in and out of it a few times if we held it open and used treats, but I'm not sure she has really got the hang of it yet.

New Year at Ashton Court

I took Teasel for another walk in Ashton Court. It was icy again and Teasel wore her coat. She investigated the ice on the frozen dew pond (see photo - I couldn't persuade her to bring the golf ball back).

Later on in the walk she ran through a hollow log and emerged from the other end looking pleased with herself.