15/6/2024
I went for a run along the lane, and I took Meg as there is rarely any traffic. It was okay—quite hard work because she always pulls slightly harder than is comfortable, even when she's wearing the lead-of-shame (without it, she is uncontrollable). But at least it gave her something interesting to do.
The weather was good—high clouds and pale blue sky with a watery sun. The forecast was dry for the morning, so we drove to Stonehaven and parked in the town car park (which is free, but very full, so we were lucky to find a space). It's a pretty town, with a long quay and stone houses, but it's also very attractive to tourists so it's busy. We parked next to an Italian family.
We followed signs and walked towards Dunnottar Castle. Meg was annoying. Sometimes (often) she's very good in busy places, as there's so much to distract her that she doesn't pull. Not today. Every car or dog we passed, she lurched towards it, and even on the empty stretches she was pulling fairly hard. I know that I should stop and not move, when she pulls, but then we would never get anywhere—it's not like it teaches her not to pull. Maybe when she's older.
We climbed the steep hill behind the town, and followed the footpath along the top of the cliffs. The weather was good—cold but sunny—and we soon rounded a corner and could see the castle, perched on the rock. Unfortunately, Meg was too annoying, and the path was too busy for me to let her run free, so it was all rather stressful. But it was pretty.
In the afternoon we drove to Inverbervie beach. It was busy again, and the beach was shingle, so not great for walking along. Meg seemed happy and collected bits of driftwood, but I was too tired to enjoy it. After a short walk, we went up to the High Street and I waited outside Co op while Husband stocked up on bread and juice. Meg was awful. Barking and leaping at traffic. It's weird—some days she is just annoying, all day long.
We ate at The Anchor in Johnshaven again. They have such a brilliant chef, the food is delicious. I had the lobster, and Husband splashed out on a fish platter (because when you find someone who knows how to cook fish, in a fishing village, you eat fresh fish). All delicious. Meg was at home, in her crate. That's one good thing with her—I keep her routine fairly stable (same food, same timetable, bed with a Dentistix) and in return, I can put her crate in a different place every night if I want and she is happy to stay in it. I know she'll be fine—no worried barking, no nerves, no signs of anxiety at all. She's good at that.
20/6/2024
We drove from Scotland to Chatton, via Edinburgh. I was very keen to see something of the city, to wander through the streets, daydream in the parks, see a few sights. It was not to be. Driving and parking in the centre of any city is stressful, and it wasn't as easy to find a space this time. Meg was very good in the car, and lay silently in her crate. But we were stressed. Then when we eventually parked, and took Meg out, she was a pain. Unlike last visit, she was super-hyper, lurching at traffic, wanting to interfere with other dogs (there were a surprising number of dogs in the city centre). On the plus side, she toileted when I took her to grass and told her to, and she wasn't frightened of anything, not even a fire-engine that zoomed past with sirens blasting and lights flashing. But she did try to chase it.
We took her into a cafe next to the Christian bookshop on The Mount. I'm not sure if the bookshop run the cafe, but they might—they were very welcoming and there were signs saying that non-customers could use their toilets, but please keep them clean (I liked that). We sat at a group of sofas in the corner, and tried to pretend that Meg was well-behaved. She didn't bark, but she was antsy. In the end we took it turns to eat, one of use keeping Meg close and stroking her, while the other one was free to eat. It was okay, but I've had more pleasant lunches in cafes. The food itself was nice, and they were very welcoming to dogs and even brought over a bowl of water (which we declined, because her favourite trick is to throw the water everywhere).
We walked up to the castle, and through crowds of people, and I tried to keep her away from all the men wearing kilts (because she likes to lick bare legs, and I wasn't sure this would be appreciated). There was a man playing bagpipes, and we stood and listened, and Meg didn't join in, but I could tell she was thinking about it. (At home, she howls when she hears bagpipes!) Then we had an argument about crossing the road, and whether I could 'nip across' when I'm with the dog, and how it was all proving rather stressful and not at all relaxing and fun, so we abandoned Edinburgh and drove to the next cottage. I will visit again one day, without the dog, and do the whole meandering thing that I wanted to do this time. One day.
The drive to Chatton was smooth, and we arrived at The Old Stables House, which is beautiful. The village is very sweet—not unlike villages in the Cotswolds—and the cottage (which was once old stables) was right next to The Percy's Arms. The house is lovely, and very practical for the dog. The back garden is completely enclosed and safe, inside there are hardwood and tiled floors, which I covered with various towels to avoid muddy footprints. Most importantly, there is a washing machine and tumble dryer, so I could remove the dog-stink from all our clothes.
We took Meg for a walk, following a footpath across fields. There are lots of livestock, so she couldn't run free. She was also very bad next to the road, even though the traffic is fairly slow in the village, so I was cross with her. We had planned to take her to the pub when we ate there, and had booked a table in the dog-friendly part, but I decided I needed a break, so she stayed in her crate in the house.
Today, we took Meg to Bamburgh Castle beach. The castle is huge, and looms over the beach looking like something from a fairy story. There were several people on the beach (we have been rather spoilt, and are used to empty beaches now) but Meg was good, and I could distract her with a stick, and guide her away from other people and dogs. We had a nice walk, over yellow sand and black rocks, and the sun shone on us, and the waves lapped next to us, and it was lovely. Meg was happy. I like a happy dog. We even managed to pose her, on a rock, with the castle in the background.
We have also managed to persuade her to jump into her car crate. She stopped doing this for a while, just staring at us when we told her to get up. (How does a dog manage to look insolent?) We have resorted to lumps of dried cod and lots of praise, and now she has agreed to do it again. (Tbh, sometimes I make my voice ultra happy and praise-like while swearing at her. She only understands the tone.) I don't much enjoy the 'teenage' stage of a dog's life.
I hope you find life easy this week. Thanks for reading.
Take care.
Love, Anne x
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