Harbour-side visit

I had a fabulous day visiting Sally yesterday. Depite having to be in the car for a looooong time and having to listen to Jude cursig the traffic, and being LATE (OMG! yes late), we eventually arrived. Sally was happy to see me, and we did lots of chasing around the back courtyard. 

After lunch the humas took us to the dog beach, which is a wonderful, fenced off section of beach where dogs rule. When Jude first took my collar off I didn't realise that I could do whatever I like, and run wherever I wanted. I soon got the hang of thigs though, and was trotting around, meeting and greeting people and running around exploring. There were lots of dog at the beach. Most were friendly, though a few were very big and scary looking. There was lots going on - bum-sniffing, games of chasey, digging in the sand and even dogs playing in the water. When we'd been there for a while I got brave and put my front feet in the water - it was fun. Next time I might go in further ... maybe. 

This is me with Mike.

This is Milly, Sally and me. You can see the Melbourne skyline in the background.

Sally - here I come ...

Grrrrreat news - I'm going to visit my girlfriend Sally tomorrow. I can't wait to see her again. I hope she feels the same way about me but Jude tells me this may not be the case - she says the fact that Sally spent most of the time last time we met trying to get away from me may be a clue. Huh - that can't be right can it?

The downside is that Sally lives a long way away from us. I'll have to go in the dreaded car! For hours! 

I wonder if this is the way to Sally's house?

Woofs

Toby

Oops!

You remember how I told you about my new toy, Quacky Duck? Yes well, her head fell off - I'm not sure how. Oh dear! 

Sore paw

The last few weeks I've had a sore paw. I think one of my paws is allergic to grass or something, because it gets very itchy, then I can't seem to stop licking it. A few weeks back Craig & Jude took me to the vet, who said that because i have lots of bacteria in my mouth (that was a bit personal I thought!)  I've been infecting my own foot with my saliva. Anyway, the vet prescribed my some digusting pills that were shoved down my throat several times a day, much to my disgust. It helped for a while, but now my foot is sore again. 

Craig came up with the idea of using some special vet cream on my paw. It has some local anasthetic in it, which stops the itching (yay!). It also has some special medicine that helps the sore bits to heal up quickly. The humans have been putting it on my paw several times a day, and so far so very good. There might be a few ointment-y paw prints around the place but the humans say that is a small price to pay for me not to be constantly licking my paw. 

Hopefully I'll be all happy and healthy for the Christmas holiday.

Woofs

Tobes

 

Getting ready for Christmas!

Wooo Hoo! We've been getting ready for Christmas. I'm excited because we'll be going to Point Lonsdale to stay with Hamish (and some human relatives too). Craig and Jude have been shopping and have purchased my gift for the "shift and lift" game - phew. It's a really good gift - a bone-shaped tin of dog biscuits - and I hope that who ever ends up with it is good at sharing.

The other important preparation for Christmas is that I've had a beard trim. Gran says that my beard is long and straggly and drippy (I can tell from her expression that she's thinking it's disgusting). She says that if she was my owner, my beard would be kept very short, or perhaps shaved off completely. I say that I wouldn't look like an Airedale if my beard was missing - so Jude just gave me a light trim. She says I look much younger now that it's so beautifully shaped. What-evs ... I'm sure you'll see that I'm looking very fine now.

Woofs,

Tobes

Supplies!

The humans got me some new biscuits- two packets. Yum! They unpacked them on the bench then went off to do something. I thought someone should check and make sure that they are the right flavour. 

Here I'm standing up on my back legs, paws on the bench checking them out. 

Next comes the taste test. 

Woof to that. 

Tobes

Hallo-what?

Something strange was happening at our place last weekend. There was a strange witchy looking woman hanging around that looked a bit like Jude, especially the nose.

We also had a bunch of kids ringing our doorbell (waking me from my afternoon sleep) and asking for treats. Strangest of all was that Jude gave them treats from a bowl she'd prepared earlier...

I'm confused - these humans have strange habits! 

Woods,

Toby

New friend

IYay! I got a new friend (toy) today. Jude got it for me because my old toy, Brendan, is all beat up. He's has so many operations (repair jobs) that there's no fabric remaining for necessary fixes. 

I love my new toy 'Whacky Duck' - it has a really loud squeaker. I think Jude might have forgotten how much I like squeaking my toys - he he he! 

Yippee! It's Saturday

I was out walking early this morning in preparation for a trip to Ballarat. (I'm coming Hamish!). You might be thinking that I am looking particularly handsome- that because I had a haircut this week. 

We saw lots of kangaroos - some of them were enjoying nibbling on grass and plants in house gardens. 

The valley is looking beautiful today. 

Woofs

Toby

Spring has sprung

I woke Jude up early this morning - so she could feed me. She pulls the sheet over her head & pretends she's asleep when she doesn't want to get out of bed. But I'm persistent so eventually she gets up. 

The fog was very thick today so we couldn't go for our walk until mid- morning. It turned out to be a lovely day! We saw lots of kangaroos & sqwarking magpies & people walking dogs. (Where were they in winter?). Everything is looking very pretty at the moment. 

Visiting Hamish

I'm in Ballarat visiting Hamish and saying 'happy Father's Day' to Lloyd today. As regular readers of my blog would know, Hamish absolutely loves to see me (not). While the humans were off having a celebratory lunch Hamish and I stayed home end enjoyed the Spring sunshine. 

How our fun time together goes is - I run around Hamish like a maniac and Hamush stands in the middle and barks at me. 

In the photo above you may also see my beautiful new collar - purchased at Fifth Paw pet store in Gisborne. 

The only way it could have been better is if people gave me more food!!

Woofs

Toby

Thinking ...

Here I am, sitting thinking intelligent thoughts. How to solve global warming challenges, whether the Pope is a Catholic and when I'll get more food? 

So much to do, so little time. 

Happy birthday Gran

We went to Ballarat yesterday to say happy birthday to Gran. I had to put up with driving in Jude's car for hours! She said she had it set to 'comfort' mode but I didn't feel very comfortable to me!

It turned out to be a good day - I got to play with my best friend, Hamish, plus Gran gave an entire scone to eat! Good thing she doesn't know that I am supposed to be in a diet! There was a birthday cake (Jude cooked it herself) but I didn't get to eat any of it - because "chocolate is bad for dogs". Humph! Jude almost dropped the cake when she was getting it out of the container - i would have swooped in and gobbled it up if it made it to the floor. 

While the humans all went off for lunch somewhere Hamish and I spent some fun time together in the garden - I can't tell you the details because apparently what happens in Ballarat stays in Ballarat. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAN. 

Woofs, Toby

. 

Standards dropping?

I had to take my friend (toy) Brendan in for some surgical treatments this morning. For no apparent reason a gap had opened up under one of his wings, and his stuffing was in danger of falling out! Why his feet are facing in the opposite direction to his face is an entirely different problem - Dr Jude says she isn't qualified to deal with that level of surgery. 

Is it just me or have surgical standards dropped at Dr Jude's pet surgery? The stitches look very messy to me. 

Grrrrrr

Tobes

Fashion statement?

A woofing good morning to you. 

Just back from a wild and woolly walk - the weather here this morning is nothing if not wintery! The humans bought me a coat a few weeks back, and Jude insisted that I wear it on our walk this morning. She said it was because it was raining but I think it actually was because she's too lazy to dry me off after the walk. That's a pity because I really enjoy wrestling for control of the towel. 

Anyway, here's what I look like in the coat. I'm not sure if it's a positive fashion statement. I did notice that the local kangaroos took one look at the coat and hopped off at speed! 

What do you think? 

Frost in the valley.

It was very cold around our place overnight and we awoke to a landscape frosted in ice. Fortunately Jude wasn't put off by the low temperature and took me for a walk anyway. Lucky I'm tough because all the grass was frozen - Jude thought my feet would be cold but I didn't mind - it was good to be out when the smells were nice and fresh!

Brrr - Ballarat is cold in winter!

We went to Ballarat to visit Gran and Pa (& Hamish of course) on Friday & Saturday. It was lovely to catch up on all their latest adventures, and fun for me to have enough time to explore all the smells in Gran and Pa's garden. 

I noticed that it gets very cold in Ballarat when the sun goes down so thought I'd better check out the accommodation. I was very pleased to find that the guest bed was a bit lower that the bed at home, and I thought that I might be able to climb up and share with Craig & Jude, but apparently not! That was a pity because I'd been inspecting the bed and I thought that the quilt and croqueted blanked looked very warm and comfortable! 

Please note: my back feet are still on the ground in this photo. 

Anyway it turned out that I had a lovely warm blanket to sleep on so everything was OK. Woofs, Toby 

Thursday or Saturday?

Is it Saturday today? How come Jude is home? She's on holidays you say? All I know is that I've been for 2 x walks and 2 x drives today. I'm loving it! 

Woods,

Toby

Cold mornings

Woods and hello. 

It's been cold here for the last few weeks. Jude and I went walking early today - it was minus 3.2 degrees when we set off and minus 2.2 degrees when we got home. Jude was wearing so many clothes that she looked like a Sasquatch - with a coat, hat, gloves and 2 scarves the only part of her I could see was her eyes - what a sook! I just wore my usual fur coat. 

Eventually, later in the day, the sun came out. I found that my bed was in a pool of sunlight and I just couldn't resist taking a nap on my snuggly new blanket. 

It's a tough life huh?

Toby

How cute am I?

Craig and I visited 'SpaBark' today for a haircut. Jude had been saying that I was getting stinky (totally untrue) and Craig said I was looking scruffy (also not true). I thought I looked spectacular but it's too late to worry about that now. 

As you'll see below I'm now looking stupendously handsom. The ladies at SpaBark even gave me a tie! The second photo shows me trying to take it off. 

I just hope you're not too dazzled by my cuteness! 

Shopping anyone?

The humans set out early this morning for a day in the City - to have Jude's car serviced. I thought it would be a terrible day for me, home alone and sad lonely and blue! But it turned out to be a great day. Aunts Shirley and Uncle Stephen (our next door neighbours) took me out for two walks - which was fabulous! Then when the humans returned they had bought me a warm snuggly blanket for me bed. I think it's been a great day!

Beautiful morning

We took some photos while we were walking this morning which I thought you might like to see. 

This is me looking handsome! 

This is our house. 

Our favorite tree. 

Craig Lowndes 100th win

Have I ever mentioned that I don't like V8 supercars? That's because the humans pretty much completely ignore me when the races are on - they really need to get their priorities sorted out!

Anyway, the humans' favourite driver was the first person ever to achieve 100 race wins - apparently that is some sort of big deal! So congratulations to Craig Lowndes! (Does this mean we don't have to watch the races tomorrow?)

Winter is here!

Jude took me for a walk this morning and it was VERY cold. When we left the house the apparent temperature was -0.1 degrees C. Not too bad for me because I have a lovely warm fur coat, but Jude said it was cold for humans. She recently bought a knee length down coat, so she put that on, plus a woolly hat, gloves, thick socks, a scarf etc - it was a miracle that she could even walk with so many clothes on. 

We went for a bit of an adventure walk - along the edge of Lake Grenfell and up the hill to the Northern Paddock. I've never been up there before, and I found lots of great new smells. I saw some wombat holes (Jude wouldn't let me go in and check them out - mean of her don't you think? She said something about the wombats crushing me ... hah! )

We walked past a house we haven't walked past before, and the dog who lives there barked VERY crossly at me coming so close to his property. I kept Jude between him and me - not that I was nervous or anything ... I just didn't want him to be jealous of my handsomeness!

Anyway, the cool weather must have invigorated Jude because we kept walking, and walking and walking! After the first 5 kilometres or so I tried to give her the clue that I was getting tired by staring intently at every car that drove past ... but she was a bit slow on the uptake. 

The coat kept Jude quite warm - she had to unzip it and walk along with it open after a while - but it didn't keep her face warm. When we got home and inside where it was warm she got pins and needles in her face when the circulation returned - she said it felt like she'd had a massive dental injection that had worn off. I say good job for torturing me by making me walk so far!

I'm off to bed now for a good long sleep.

Woofs,

Toby

PS: This photo shows the weather a few days earlier - it was even colder that day. 

Squeaker-ectomy

Last night we almost had an emergency in the house - my friend Cow's squeaker fell out! I have no idea how this happened ... we were just playing under the table, me biting her and her squeaking (much to Craig's annoyance) when the squeaker fell out. 

Luckily Dr Jude was on hand. She assured me that a squeaker is not a vitall organ, and that with some immediate surgery Cow could be saved. With immense bravery and disregard for her own discomfort (Cow was drenched in my slobber which apprently felt disgusting) she filled the gap with some spare dacron stuffing and sewed her back up. Phew! The only question I have is, if Dr Jude is a doctor, how come she wasn't wearing surgical gloves during the procedure? 

Cow is now recovering ....  you can see by the expression on her face that she's looking forward to spending more time with me. 

Woofs, Toby

Saturday housework? Not really ...

Oh the indignity of it all! When I heard Jude talking about doing a bit of a clean up this morning I had no idea that I'd be involved. Turns out that she felt that my whiskers and bottom were stinky and messy - and unfortunately that she also had the time to do something about it. 

I've just been subjected to the horrors of a beard trim ("I'm just cutting out the worst of the dreadlocks" she said)  a back end tidy up (thank goodness I couldn't actually see what was going on down there), and WORST OF ALL, a wash of both regions with warm water and soap. I'm just grateful that Jude thinks it's too cold today to wash all of me. 

Now I look like some type of pretty boy and my whiskers are all bouffant! This is totally wrecking my street cred - I'm off downstairs now to sit n my dog pavillion and think of ways to get dirty again and regain my delightfully authentic canine aroma. 

Grrr!

Toby

Loving my new toy!

Woofs and hello!

My lovely girfriend Sally and her humans brought me a toy when they visited last weekend. I only found out about this today (my humans must have been a bit slack with unwrapping it!)

Needless to say I luuurve it! Thanks Sally!

April visit to Ballarat (Hamish still doesn't like me!)

I meant to tell you about a recent visit to Ballarat.

The humans visited Gran and Pa to help sort out (lots of) books for the church jumble sale. We sorted out lots of boxes of books to go to the sale and also stirred up lots of dust (which made Jude sneeze a lot).

While the inside work was going on I went and did some serious exploring outside in Hamish's yard. For some reason he stayed inside - maybe he was feeling cold?

When Jude was sorting some photo collections out she found two that she particularly like - this one of Craig taken at about the time when they got engaged, and another that shows Gran and Pa back in the old days. Is it just me, or does Pa look a bit like Clark Kent?

Anyway, when it was time to go I wanted to get a photo with Hamish to add to my blog, because I luuuuurve Hamish. He wasn't too keen on having his photo taken - I think he was worried that he hadn't brushed his teeth or something. Based on the expression on his face what do you think?


Woofs,
Toby

Sally visited

Woofs and hello!

Great news - my girlfriend Sally came to visit me yesterday. I haven't seen her for ages (the last time was when we were both just young pups) but she is still as beautiful as I remembered. Oh yes, and she brought her humans with her too - someone had to drive after all!

We had lots of fun playing in the backyard - running really fast, playing bark-chasey, woofing, scratching up the grass etc - a perfect afternoon. Sally wasn't overly impressed by my dog pavilion - she said it was a bit drafty and asked why there were so many of Craig's old socks on the ground.

Something strange happened to my special dog-door while we were playing - a huge suitcase somehow came out of the storage room and propped itself in from to the door flap. It took Sally and me a while, but we soon worked out how to push the suitcase out of the way and ran upstairs to the humans where there was delicious food that we thought they wanted to share with us (turned out they didn't want to share at all). The humans took us downstairs again and we ran off for another quick play only to find not only the suitcase but also a chair and a large bin in front of the door! Very strange! After lots of effort we managed to move all of the impediments a bit though we could only make a narrow gap. Fortunately Sally is quite slim and managed to squeeze inside to alert the humans to the strange door blockage - leaving me behind! Hmmm .... eventually Jude came to rescue me, and Sally and I were allowed to stay inside.

We had a fun day - and I really enjoyed having the doggy company. I think I need a canine brother - the humans are OK but they don't know how to play bark-chasey and they strongly resist my invitations to sit in my dog pavilion!

In the meantime I think you will agree that Sally and I make a very handsome couple!

Woofs, Toby

PS: Today I've been doing a bit of extra dozing - guess whether I have been recovering from all that extra exercise or dreaming of Sally?

Damn that racoon!

I don't know who made the hole in my pillow, but I suspect it might have been the racoon. Of course I would never do something so naughty! 

Easter - Day 4

Woofety woof! I don't know if you noticed, but eastern day light saving time ended this weekend. It is playing havoc with my internal body clock - the hiumans want to sleep in for another hour each morning delaying my breakfast (WTF!) and my evening meal is late too.

I've been having to take day time naps to deal with the stress. 

Easter - Day 3

I love playing. I had the best time with the family at Point Lonsdale yesterday, first with Hamish then later with Nick and Cate!

In this first photo Cate and Nick and I had just been playing chasey - they can both run very quickly for humans, much faster than Craig and Jude! They can also change direction quickly, which is quite difficult for me when I am galloping at full speed. Lucky for the kids otherwise I would have caught them lots more times than I did!

As you can see, I was quite hot from running around so fast, hence the tongue and puffing and so on.

In the second photo you can see me trying to hypnotise Nick into coming outside to play with me. That's actually quite difficult when he isn't looking into my eyes at all. Also, difficult to get him to watch the watch swinging back and forth on a pendulum when I don't have hands!

Fortunately I managed to get the message through anyway - thanks for playing chasey with me Nick and Cate.

I especially like this third photo because I suspect that they may be in training to join Cirque de Soliel - look at how amazing the kids are at balancing on a skateboard together. I wonder if I could fit on the skateboard with them? Now that would be something to see don't you think?


I love playing with kids!

Woofs,
Tobes.

Looking good ...

Thought you might like to see these photos of where I live, taken over the Easter weekend.