I’m sure many of you will remember the late Barbara Woodhouse, the famous dog trainer whose catchphrase “walkies” has lived on.
Is there a dog owner who doesn’t use that phrase, I wonder?! Certainly all three of my dogs (the bearded collie cross, Gracie; the border collie, Mabel; and now Lady who is a border collie/flat coated retriever/chihuahua mix) all knew the meaning of the word and were/are keen fans of it!
Surprising DNA
Oh and how do we know about Lady’s ancestry? As we’ve owned collies before, we knew Lady’s coat wasn’t a collie one so we used one of the DNA tests you can get for a reasonable price over the internet. We sent back a swab (from Lady’s gum), and the results came back – 75% border collie, 12.5% lab/retriever (and we know flat coat as there are pure bred flat coated retrievers locally who have exactly the same coat), and 12.5% chihuahua.
That did come as a surprise. We had expected there to be some spaniel in Lady’s make up due to some of her behaviour when we first adopted her but no!
Exploring Locally
So back to walkies then and I was delighted to find the link here for walks in Hampshire. Hope fellow walkers, with or without a dog, find it useful!
One thing the lockdown has done for me is make me explore the local area much more and of course I can’t possibly do that on my own. Lady has to explore with me. She has loved the walks we’ve been on and we’ve discovered the joys of Cuckoo Bushes, walks around and to the Hiltingbury Lakes, and various routes to get to Hocombe Road, amongst others.
I’ve mentioned before I’ve enjoyed spotting the various painted stones in the area. Well done, everyone who did these. They are pretty and I always loved playing I-Spy as a kid, as I mentioned last week. Every walk I’ve been on I’ve spotted some of these and it’s been good to see new additions as well. I hope these stones stay in place once everything is back to whatever it is we are going to call normal.
I’ve also loved spotting rainbows in the form of paintings, chalk diagrams, and, in one case, a rainbow made from hardboard and attached on a rope to hang from a tree! I did compliment the owner of that. It’s a lovely piece of work.
But it has also been a delight to see the wildflower meadow back in full bloom at Hiltingbury Recreation Ground. I took the pictures earlier this week and it was a real pleasure to see the combination of colours and the likes of poppies “hiding” in amongst the other flowers. It is also nice that the netting which had been around this area has now been taken down as it makes it so much easier to appreciate the flowers (and to take reasonable photos of them too).
Life with Collies
I’ve enjoyed spotting a reasonable number of butterflies around (and am thankful Lady takes no notice of insects. Gracie did once get a bee inside her mouth, she always did hate the buzzing noise, she loathed those noisy motor scooters too for the same reason, but fortunately she opened her mouth again and out came a soggy bee which was no doubt relieved to fly off. Not as relieved as I was that it hadn’t stung Gracie, mind you!).
I’ve spotted some bees around but not enough for my liking. I can’t tell whether things are better in that department this year or not. I do know I’m not seeing as many bees as I used to, even five years ago.
Of course one great thing about a dog is they do make you exercise. When I’ve been in between dogs, much as I’ve meant to keep the walking up, I didn’t do so. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. It was so odd not having a lead in my hand.
Having a dog takes away excuses not to go and walk and I always feel much better for getting back home with Lady after my daily constitutional. Mind you, when it is tipping down with rain, Lady and I do speed up! Fortunately she does not mind being dried off. She sees it as a chance for a cuddle with Mum and I get even wetter! I also bless my washing machine as I couldn’t tell you how many soggy, muddy dog towels I wash over the winter months!
Litter Louts
The main negative about walkies has been seeing so much litter about, particularly at Hiltingbury Rec. I am at a loss over this. There are plenty of bins, well spaced, and they’re bigger than they used to be too. I really don’t understand why people can’t be bothered to put their rubbish in a bin. Even dogs know not to mess their own dens. What is it about some humans?
I am glad to report most dog owners are responsible in clearing up their pets’ mess but it is hard not to take the view that this at least is organic when you see the mess that was left behind on Bournemouth Beach. That definitely wasn’t organic. It wasn’t necessary either. I still think they’re banning the wrong species from the beach from May to September.
It is one thing I love about the Scottish beaches. With few exceptions, dogs are not banned from the beaches, there are good bins about, and even where I know of exceptions, there are other beaches close by the dogs can still be exercised on.
How Finding Walks for Dogs Helped Me
I got into walking more with my last dog, Mabel. She had hip dysplasia and we discovered she had no ball in one of her hip sockets. It was all muscle so we had to (a) manage her weight and (b) manage her exercise to strengthen that muscle but at the same time not put too much of a strain on it. So the majority of her exercise was lead walking and we found different places to go to make such exercise more interesting for her.
The side benefit of that was it was more interesting for my better half and I as well. And walking is a major part of my keeping fit/weight down regime and I’m grateful for it. Again, as mentioned before, one thing about living where we do is there are a number of places to get to easily enough and if you can combine doing that with having fun with your dog, well that’s a double whammy as far as I’m concerned.
Right time to share this post and work out where I’m walking Lady tomorrow then! See you around!
Related Posts:-
Read interviews with Chandler’s Ford writer Allison Symes: Part 1 and Part 2.
Read blog posts by Allison Symes published on Chandler’s Ford Today.
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If you need bees, Allison, there is a hive of them in our soffit. They have been there for 15 years now and are as active as ever. We do not have honey leaking through the ceiling or running down the walls. We only get stung if we tread on one in bare feet.
We have to remember not to leave the bedroom window open with the light on after dark or half a dozen will join us in bed.
As children, we had a collie called, with great imagination – Collie. He took a liking to chickens. During WWII all chickens had to be accounted for to the Ministry of Food. After two or three chickens, Collie disappeared.
I like bees but as with most things, Mike, there is a time and a place! I’m sorry about Collie though!
I enjoyed reading your article Allison, although I confess that I have never used the word, ‘walkies’. I use several words, English and German, which indicate the kind of walking we are about to attempt.
It is not really advisable to walk giant dogs in public places because even if they are well behaved many members of the public with smaller dogs find their presence difficult and often hold up their dogs high in the belief that this will protect them. It’s distressful, so I hire land in the countryside and privately exercise my dogs there. Of course we have ‘Swimmies’, although I don’t use that word, and take my dogs to the facilities provided by Eastleigh Council at Lakeside for training groups. Additionally we have carting venues and perform demonstrations in dancing, draught and water work throughout the country.
I do remember Barbara Woodhouse but used to cringe at the way the dogs were jerked on their choke chain and lead. See Video. Poor dogs. She never used treats. It taught me never to use a lead when teaching dogs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x9ePfBVRxQ
Like you Allison, I despair at the litter left behind by humans, far worse than the mess left by a minority of irresponsible dog owners.
My dog, Blue, who was injured when fire destroyed our house, continues to make spectacular progress, with thanks to the many good people from Chandler’s Ford, and various countries including the USA, Russia, The Ukraine, New Zealand and more who supported him during his six weeks intensive care when his life was in the balance. Here is his latest video, with the song Teach Me’.
Am so pleased to hear Blue is doing well, David. I’ve always positively trained my dogs and that works well so why do anything else? Happier dog, happier you. It takes time and patience but it is what is needed. I am sorry you face the big dog scenario. I’ve occasionally come across it with Lady and I wouldn’t say she was huge. It has been my experience that it is the bigger dogs who are usually as gentle as anything and the smaller ones that can be the yappers (and in bad cases literally ankle biters). I’m glad there are training facilities provided by the Council. Had no idea about those. I do lead walk Lady but let’s just say she looks forward to being put on the lead. It should never be used to make a dog afraid.
I’m not sure that dog mess is any better or worse than litter; they are both odious, though for different reasons. However, remembering how carefully we had to place our feet when out walking as a child (one footpath in the town was locally known as “dog dirt alley” (or something like that) for obvious reasons) reminds me how well dog owners have cleaned up their act over the last 30 years. Though what’s the hanging a bag on a bush all about?
Having done a litter pick around Lakeside and Fleming Park this morning, I am strongly of the opinion that 95% of litter is left by 5% of the population.
And how about a campaign against smoker’s debris? The filters in cigarettes are made of plastics that do not degrade. They don’t filter either, but that’s a different story.
Many thanks, Chippy. Yes, I remember when dog mess was everywhere or so it seemed. The good news is most dog owners have literally cleaned up their act and wouldn’t dream of going anywhere with their pet without the necessary clean up bags.
I have no idea why some leave dog bags on bushes. I think those who are doing that are expecting the Poo Bag Fairy to turn up. (She won’t). If there’s no suitable bin, you take the bag home and put it in your own and that’s that.
Well done on the litter pick and thank you. The big bugbear for me (and other dog owners I know) is broken glass. That is a real pain. It is so easy for a dog to cut its pads. It’s a rotten thing to do (and have happen to the dog).
I would hope, as less people are smoking now (or so it seems to me), that smoker’s debris would become less and less of a problem. Having said that, no litter at all is what we should all aim for regardless of what type it is. My late mother drummed it into my sister and I that there was only one place for rubbish and that was the bin – and rightly so too.
I must admit though, Chippy, I do get a bit tired of dogs being blamed for messes (it is always the fault of the owner for not picking up) when we humans are responsible for so much more!
I think there’s a thing with the painted stones where you are supposed to take it and hide it somewhere else. Also, there is a whole collection (not for taking and hiding) near Lakeside Country Park – just outside the entrance near the end of Arnold Road.
Yes, I’ve heard that too, but must admit I’ve loved spotting the displays around Hiltingbury that have clearly been meant to be kept together. Next time I’m around Lakeside, I’ll look out for the ones near Arnold Road. I hope the stones stay. They’re lovely.