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).