Snowy goes to town

I have been busy tracking our new harnesses via the ParcelForce website. A strange message came up. They tried to deliver our parcel yesterday and if we don’t arrange to have it redelivered it will be returned to the UK.

Um, I think what they really mean is that it has been delivered to customs and Misery will need to go and collect it today or tomorrow but clearly ParcelForce doesn’t have an option for that one. She also needs to buy her half a dozen Christmas cards (I wish the Gib SPCA sold cards or if they do we’ve never seen them), book an MoT for my Landy, sort our insurances and various other bits and pieces. However, I am pleased to see she is was keeping up to my blog. For once. Next post will have the Pippa review of our new harnies and leads.

Little rat is trying to eat my breakfast. No chance Little One

Anyway, on with the tales from our first reunited weekend together.

September 2013

Snowy’s Diary – 6 – Ouch! and, I am Podenco

The next day started out well. I went out without BFD into the big rumbling thing. It was fun. Up and down the dirt track we went and into town. To see someone called Pedro.

Pedro said I was chulo and made soppy noises. Then he said I was a Podenco Albino and I was very rare. Rarissimo in fact. How special am I?

Podencos are Spanish and Portuguese hunting dogs. We are a very old breed descended from greyhounds in North Africa. We were brought to the Iberian peninsula (and the Balearics) firstly by Carthaginians and then later by the Moors.

LW’s Observer Book of Dogs refers to the Ibizan Podenco and says:

“It has maintained a high degree of purity and is valued as a hunter and watch dog.”

Does hunting toes count?

“Two Ibizan Podencos were shown at Crufts in 1929.”

Her Blandford Book of Dogs says some Podencos have been crossed with local sheepdogs. But when she asked Pedro if I was cruzado (cross breed), he said, no, I was Podenco puro.

So there we have it. I have a distinguished heritage, and should grow up to be medium sized (Pedro told us there are small, medium and large Podencos), fast and with a racy body. I reflect my local environment. We have Carthaginian ruins just a short walk away, and, all around us in the fields with Moorish terracing, the town names, the architecture, are reminders of when Andalucía was part of the Moorish caliphate.

Then Nice Man and I went into a back room and LW hung around in the front uselessly. OUCH! I yelped in my loudest puppy voice. What was that? Nasty jabs for puppies. NM carried me back out and LW did strokies. Wimp. Her, not me.

There was lots of paperwork. I got bored and peed. LW dashed into the clinicy bit for kitchen towel and wiped it up. She asked for a mop but Pedro said they would do that. I was proud of my peepee. It went straight down on the floor and not over NM who was still holding me. Wasn’t that clever of me? It could have been a woman’s fault as she came over to stroke me. Pretty puppy me.

Anyways, it seems I am a strong puppy in good health with good bones. And although albinos often have sensory problems I have good hearing and good eyesight. I need to be careful in the sun though and not spend too much time outside when it is hot unless I am in the shade. My people wonder if I was thrown out because I am albino. It’s not nice to throw dogs out because you don’t like the look of them. When Nice Man was in the clinicy bit with Pedro, Peds said I wasn’t found outside the bin – I was inside it for two days!! Whether I was outside for five days or inside for two days, someone thought I was rubbish 😦 So a big X to Rocío for taking me in.

Pedro said if I had survived my first few days and not picked up any nasties that I was pretty tough and after my first set of jabs (for parvo) I could go out on the street.

LW had already bought a tiny harness for me when she got my horrid worming tablet, so that we (ie me) could practise wearing it. So next she bought a lead. They are both blue and look rather dapper against my snowy white fur.

September 2013

Snowy’s Diary – 7 – The travelling Podenco

I was having a fine weekend. Apart from the OUCH! jab.

Buenos días, Big Furry Dog

Can I help you Pippa?

I played and played with BFD and he stole my toys I let him play with my toys. He is meant to give me education, but he didn’t know how to play with toys properly so I showed him. And then he ripped my big piece of cane in half and took my plantpot to chew. He is a nice dog though and I am keeping an eye on his gate in his absence.

Good mates with Big Furry Dog – or maybe he’s hiding my toy under his paw?

Sunday was a very busy day. I discovered how to dig to Australia.

My people have been there so I thought I would go too now I have my own passport. I thought digging would be cheaper than flying or sailing. But every time I started LW brushed all my work back. I think it will take me a long time to get there. Next, BFD decided to stop me going by lying in the way.

Digging for victory

What do you want? I’m busy

Hello Master, I’ve been so busy

Angels with dirty faces?

Keeping out of trouble Supervising

I think I’m nearly there. Shall I bury my bit of cane down here?

A bit later it was time to practise on the terrace with my harny and my new lead. But NM and BFD were going out so we all went out together. Such fun! But everyone has much longer legs than I have so I had to run to keep up. We went miles and miles and miles. I think. [Pippadog: a ten minute walk up the back – a few hundred yards]

Off I go, sooooo exciting – my very first walk

Later we went out again. I could like this. So many smells. So much to see. A puppy’s life is such fun when you get past the rubbish bin.

Dirty Snowy. Why didn’t you wash your face before you went to bed?

Note from Pippadog editor:

Podencos are often abandoned at one or two years old. Because they are used for hunting in their early years when they are young and fast, once they are past their usefulness, they are chucked out. And presumably, some new ones take their place, and so continues the cycle of abandoned dogs.

In which I go back to the finca to check on Snowy

Pippa here with some more excerpts from the Rat’s Snowy’s Diaries, in which I feature, so that is A Good Thing.

But first some PippaNews. Misery has ordered our Christmas presents. The other day we were out for a walk, I was showing Snowy how to behave of course, and Misery was just cleaning up after him in a car park. Master was holding Snowy while she trotted off to a rubbish bin.

Then when he gave the lead back to her – she was left holding a lead with no Snowy at the end of it! The D ring where the lead was attached had just come apart, it wasn’t welded together.

Silly Snowy thought this was ace fun and charged around the place. I wanted to play too. Misery quickly walked in the opposite direction and told Master and I to follow so that Snowy didn’t go on the road. Have to say Misery thought rather quickly there while Master was in shell-shock mode.

Misery’s friend Vicky sent her a link to a dog website that produces strong harnesses. After some emails – because Misery had to explain that although Snowy is small he is very strong – and a ‘phone call, the company despatched the parcel the same day. What good service. And because Rat is getting one, I get one too, plus we both get matching new leads. I will report back when they arrive, but we are excitedly waiting for them.

Here is a pic of me from the weekend at the finca. On my own of course.

Just me – and Snowy’s plantpot toy which seems to have appeared between my paws

And now, here are Snowy’s scribbles. I mean writings.

September 2013

Snowy’s Diary – 4 – Training

Her training is coming along well. Last night I slept in the bedroom with her. When she woke up at 3 or 4am she knew immediately to take me outside. I was rather sleepy but being a good clean dog, I quickly did what was required and back we went to sleep.

Although I have my own little den with toys and a comfy towel I do like to sleep on the rug in the bedroom. Above me is a stool, and behind me is a wall and a wardrobe so I am nice and safe. The stool is master’s bedside table. He was working on a job and the Moroccan owner didn’t want his stools any more so he asked master if he wanted some. He took half a dozen.

On my rug under the stool (I am too big now to get underneath but back then I wasn’t)

This morning LW didn’t want to get up. LW stands for Lazy Woman as well as Limping Woman. But when she woke up her first thought was ‘I must take Snowy out’. See, I told you I was getting her trained.

After I have been outside I have breakfast – a few tasty croquette biscuits. They are nice. When I have had enough, I leave the rest. I am not greedy.

Then I lie on my kitchen rug and play with her toes my toys. I have a lot of toys. I have a couple of corks from cava and cider bottles. Master made me a tug toy from climbing rope. I have bits of cane from the garden and sometimes I bring in leaves from plants, like aloe vera, and I chew those. LW also gave me the insides from kitchen towel. These are very good fun. I can play tugs with LW with them but mostly I worry them and rip them apart.

Fine toys – kitchen towel and cane

Taking my kitchen towel insert for a walk

My pink comfort towel

And – taking it for a walk

Toys don’t need to be expensive. They just need to be appropriate for puppies. LW is the best toy but she doesn’t seem too keen on being chewed.

Naptime after hard work playing with toys. Note Podenco scene of destruction, rather good I think

I was busy pulling her long fur the other day and managed to pull out a bit of metal that she had got stuck in her ear. I took it back to my rug under the stool for safe-keeping so she wouldn’t get it stuck again, but this morning she found it – and – would you believe it? She stuck it right back in her ear. Oh well, I tried.

13 September 2013

Snowy’s Diary – 5 – Excitement

The other day Limping Woman was in a cleaning frenzy. Something about Nice Man and Big Furry Dog turning up the next day, maybe even that evening, but she thought NM was probably asleep in the chair in Gibflat.

Suddenly there was a huge rumbling noise and LW ran outside. The neighbours yelled out. Total chaos because of the big rumbly noise.

A strange thing with scaffolding pulled up outside my terrace. [Pippadog: this is called a roofrack, Snowy, not scaffolding.] I hope to climb up there when I am bigger, or maybe even now. I like to climb.

LW screamed with delight when she saw BFD. NM said ‘Hola, buenas tardes,’ to the neighbours and then ‘Hiya mate,’ to LW. She was more interested in BFD.

I remembered BFD and his lovely long furry tail. We played and played and played. I was so excited that I vomited my previous meal. No more food for me that day 😦

We all sat and played outside until it was very late. Then BFD went to sleep in his usual spot under our table and I went to sleep in the bedroom on my rug under our stool. It is such a nice safe spot. As always LW woke up to take me out during the night.

It was my best day yet. It was much more fun playing with BFD than with LW.

Me and Little One at my gate – look how tiny he is!

Just me again

Me – and more of the Rat

Thank you to everyone who has said they want to see pictures of me on my blog. I have decided to put my pic at the beginning of the post and not the end. So here I am. Not only is Little Rat not on the photo, but I have total possession of The Toy.

Eating Little Rat’s toy

Anyway, having stamped my authority over my blog, the Little Rat can now post some more excerpts from his diaries.

August 2013

Snowy’s Diary – 2 – Let sleeping puppies lie

Puppies need to sleep. The limping woman has a fine lap. It is puppy sized. And she strokes me too. Nice.

Laptime – naptime

And the other way around

Chairs will also do

Shoulders are good too

And arms

A bit more about me. The nice man decided to call me Snowy because I am all white. My Spanish neighbours call me Copito (de nieve). Little snowflake. I have two names. Isn’t that impressive? In fact I had another as Rocío called me Poncho. Poncho? What sort of name is that? Can you image someone calling for their Poncho? It’s like calling for trousers or for a shirt. Snowy or Little Snowflake are much more me I think.

I have green eyes. Perhaps they will become brown. For now they are pretty. I have nice sharp teeth. After all I am a puppy. And I am very good at worrying. Towels, rugs, toys, anything really. I think Pippa (the big furry dog) is too big for me to worry but maybe we could go on a worrying expedition together. Cats. Rats. Who knows.

The world is our worrying oyster.

Let me up onto your lap, I am your little green-eyed dog

September 2013

Snowy’s Diary – 3 – From Snowflake to Rat

One morning limping woman woke up at 5am. We sat outside on the terrace together. It was warm, tranquil, peaceful. She put our outside light on because the street lights weren’t working. She wonders why she pays her contribución for council services.

Trying to take off her bandage

On my terrace. Not at 5am but you get the idea

After an hour we went back inside. I didn’t go to my patio den, I went to my den in her bedroom, and a little while later, I went to the rug on the other side of her bed. I like rugs. You can lie on them, chew them, and tug them.

My bedroom den. Note, the door is not closed on my den, I go there when I want, if I want

Kitchen rug

Playing on my rug

At 9.30am she woke up and took me outside. [Pippadog: Lazy toerag isn’t she? Master had been working for an hour and a half by then. And he’d taken me out and fed me.] I think I am getting her trained as the first thing she does when she wakes up is to take me out. After all, she can wait and I can’t.

Some of her friends have told her that goats milk is good for puppies. Plenty of goats here but no milk for sale as it all goes off to the big dairy factories. So she bought me some queso de cabra (fresco). It is lip-licking yummy. I get a tiny helping with my lunch. But it seems to have gone very quickly. I am sure I haven’t eaten that much. Perhaps SOME PERSON has been raiding it.

Last week I weighed 2lbs and 13ozs. My first week in my new home. Now in my second week I weigh an extra pound. 3lbs and 13ozs. Soon she won’t be able to weigh me on the kitchen scales as they only go up to 4lbs.

She has stopped calling me Little Rat and now calls me Fat Rat. I prefer Snowy or Copito or Little Snowflake. Much nicer names. I am NOT a rat. Even if I am small, and white and have sharp teeth.

I am not fat am I? It’s just the angle created by the bad photographer