The Tigger Diary

Studio shoot - what is that?

2010-12-08T23:59:00.000+00:00

We were taken into a photographic studio today by Kati and Miles! They wanted us to put some strange things on our heads et cetera, and expected us to stay put in front of some really bright flashy lights. Well, really, I wouldn't have it. Long story short: here's Kati's blog about it. http://lighttrick.blogspot.com/2010/12/mythmas-shoot.html

And here is the photo that she is using for her Mythmas cards, apparently!

Snow...

2010-12-01T19:07:00.009+00:00

Hey, there's more of that white stuff on the ground now! And you know what? You can hardly see me when I'm running on it! Well, apart from my brown bits. And tongue ;p

Zebedee sometimes chases me when we are out and tries to bully me. His doing it in this photo.

But he can't always catch me any more! I can run so fast now!

There are a lot less smells when the ground is covered in snow. Luckily there are still smells near trees, though.

Snow or not, it's still so much fun to run free. We went for a long walk in the woods in Stanmer Park today.

And we were asked to stop for a photo... as if they hadn't taken enough photos of us...

Snow means less smells, but it's still fun to run around outside. Wish we were allowed to be out exploring more! I'm getting a little restless spending so much time indoors nowadays. I could easily run around for hours!

White stuff in our garden

2010-11-30T01:27:00.004+00:00

I have been playing (=play fighting, wrestling) with Zebedee most of the evening. It's been great fun! I don't know why Kati and Miles keep telling us to calm down and be quiet every now and then. Anyway, we decided to go and play upstairs in the bedroom so that we wouldn't be disturbed by them. After a while we hear this "Tigger! Come! Come and have a look at this! TIGGER! Zebedee! Do you want to go out! Come! Let's go out!" Well, we would have liked to, but the bedroom door was closed! We hadn't noticed that we'd closed the door by mistake while we were playing. And Kati kept shouting "Tigger, come! Zebedee, come, let's go out!" As if we could!

Well, luckily, Miles came over and realised that we were stuck behind a closed door, and let us out. So Kati leads us out in the garden looking so excited and Miles looks so excited, too, and - well, what on earth are they on about? It was just cold like it has been for a few days now.

Is it this white stuff they are so excited about?

Well it doesn't smell of anything interesting and it's just cold. People make a fuss about the weirdest things!

South Downs

2010-11-07T23:59:00.001+00:00

Today's walk was on the South Downs between Stanmer Park and Ditchling Beacon. And as soon as we got out of the car, wheeeeeeee!!!! We can run free!!!

I can't get enough of this running stuff! It's fantastic! :)

They are back!

2010-11-06T23:59:00.008+00:00

I have some back log of blogging to do, but I'll post this first:

Zebedee and I have stayed with a different family for the past four weeks. It's been fine... I was just a bit surprised at first that I was in a new place and new people all of a sudden, like when I was moved from my mum and siblings to Kati and Miles's place a few months ago.

To be honest, Zebedee took a lot longer than me to get used to the new place. He was restless for a few days, whereas I just thought, "well - OK - I'm here now". We had visited this house once before, after all. I guess Kati and Miles wanted to check with the people that it was OK for us to stay there.

We had fun with the people... in fact, I got quite into watching Formula 1 on TV with them. The sound and the cars whizzing by... it's compelling to watch! The only bad thing is that when we went out for a walk, we were not allowed to run around free in the woods at all! They kept us on a lead all the time. That was really not funny at all. I felt compelled to pull as much as I could and it got so bad that I had sores in the places where my harness rubbed against my skin. So the sores on my neck were healing, but I got new ones from pulling on the lead. But I couldn't help myself!

But enough about that - today Kati and Miles came back! Zebedee went completely bonkers when they arrived: he was completely beside himself, jumping and swirling and wagging his tail like it was about to take off. I was happy to see them, too, of course. But I'm happy to see anyone any time.

First thing we did together is to go to Stanmer Park in Brighton, and we got to run free!

Oooooh, we were both so happy!

We were all happy, in fact! Kati and Miles kept laughing and calling us back every now and then. Petting and telling us how good we are. And Kati, being a photographer, went on about "how beautiful it is"...

Yeah, OK - but back to us. Beautiful or not, I loved running around in Stanmer Park again!

Zebedee has taught me a trick for when you get thirsty in the forest: there is always water between the roots of big trees. Here Zebedee is drinking from one of those "water bowls". Well, you can only see his bum, really.

And here's me - thirsty - looking for another one. ;-)

It's great to be able to take walks in the woods again, run free, sniff all the smells and go grazy.

My last milk tooth

2010-09-20T23:59:00.003+01:00

I have one canine left! One puppy canine, that is. All four adult canines are already growing, but I just have this one odd one left. Miles helped Kati take a photo of it.

See? It's the bottom left one. It's like a weird double canine with the milk one stubbornly hanging on and the adult one growing next to it.

I wish it dropped off already, as Kati and Miles keep trying to open my mouth every now and then just to have a look whether it's still there. Strange people; obsessed with my teeth. They've saved a couple of my canines that have come off... they keep them in a bowl in our living room. Weird, eh?

Lost tooth

2010-08-13T23:59:00.001+01:00

Look what Miles found on the floor today!

It's one of my teeth! Lots has been happening with my teeth recently: I have lost all my front teeth and they have been replaced by new, bigger ones that have slowly appeared from inside my gums. I still have my original canines, though, and this tooth above is the first one to disappear from the back. Very, very strange.

Lots has been happening in my life otherwise, too... Kati is in Finland at the moment and she has all my photos with her, so I will have to wait until she comes back before I can fill you in on everything that has happened. There's been an embarrassing trip to the vet's, for example... but more about it later!

Very very wet

2010-07-24T23:59:00.004+01:00

Today we went to a tiny hamlet called Piddinghoe for a walk.

...or a run, rather. ;-)

I was in for a surprise: we came across a little lake!

Zebedee jumped right in, so I was curious what this lake thing is. I tried to reach it from the edge of the grass which was higher up than the water... I stretched closer and closer to the water until I just almost touched it... and then, I fell in it!! Kati didn't get a photo of me falling in, unfortunately. I'm guessing she was worried whether I'd know what to do. To be honest, I didn't know what to do! I was completely under the water for a second or two before I realised that I have to get my head above the water. Phew! That was a bit of a shock.

Afterwards, both Miles and Kati tried to coax me back into the water...

...but I wasn't so keen on the idea.

Zebedee was jumping in and out of the water all the time; he was fetching a tennis ball for Kati.

I didn't quite have the courage to jump in, myself. It was great fun to greet Zebedee every time he came back to shore with his ball, though.

...and then I could play with Zebedee on land, run around like a loonie, as usual.

So much fun! Hope we go to Piddinghoe again some day soon.

Just an ordinary lunch time

2010-07-17T23:59:00.002+01:00

Guess what I'm doing in this picture.

Chewing a rawhide!

They are great! I feel like entering in a trance when I chew one. It's bliss.

Here's a typical moment in our house: me having a wrestling fight with Zebedee.

Zebedee often rolls on his back when we wrestle. It makes him look rather extraordinary.

Here's me having a sudden moment of clarity in the middle of a fight. I'm between Zebedee's legs, as usual.

Where's my tooth?!

2010-07-16T23:59:00.001+01:00

Hey, I've lost a tooth! What's going on?!

I asked Kati to take a photo for proof!

How can I eat now, without one of my teeth? Will I get a new one?

High up

2010-07-10T23:59:00.010+01:00

This evening Kati and Saana took me and Zebedee to Newhaven to see the sunset from Castle Hill.

There was lots of new stuff to see and sniff there.

I ran higher up the hill...

...until I came across a sudden drop.

Kati called me to stop there.

I wanted to have another look, though. I could see the sea from there!

We were high up on a cliff next to the sea. Then Saana called me and said that she had a treat for me.

..but when she said she'd show me where the treat is, there was nothing on her hand!

I don't know what she was playing at, so I thought I'd run along.

Every now and then Kati called me...

...and I ran back to her to get a yummy treat.

Here's Saana, chimping.

We stayed on the cliff top for quite a while because - apparently - there was an interesting fog phenomenon over the sea. Kati will write a blog post about it in her own blog soon. Anyway, this is how the sunset looked.

...and later on, this is how it looked once the fog had reached us!

Puppy School

2010-07-02T23:59:00.003+01:00

Today I went to school. Yup, a puppy school! I didn't know such a thing exist, either! Miles joked that he should get me a satchel and a cap!

Before the class I met all the other puppies outside.

Then, when we got in, we practised to 'sit' on command...

...and something they called 'loose lead walking'. I didn't quite understand what I was supposed to do. I just got treats from Miles when I followed him.

We also practised 'recall'. This one was dead easy: all I had to do was run to Miles when he called me, and I got a yummy treat.

I didn't like to play with the other puppies much. I preferred to lie on the floor and watch.

When we got home I was really tired and went straight to sleep.

Baa!

2010-07-01T23:59:00.003+01:00

We went for a little walk today, all five of us (two dogs and three people). It was fabulous. On the way back, though, Miles took me to see some strange animals I've never seen before. They said 'baa' a lot. The weird thing is, first Miles takes me to see them, but what he actually did was give me a lot of praise as soon as I looked away from them! What's that all about eh?

Busy busy busy!

2010-06-30T23:59:00.008+01:00

Wow, today was full on! So much happened. First, we all went to a big park for a walk. I'm not allowed to get too much exercise (because I'm growing so fast at the moment and too much exercise might damage my joints), so we walked into the woods first...

...and then returned to a grass area pretty quickly afterwards.

I loved running around free.

Later I saw in the photos that my face looks pretty funny when I run.

See what I mean? I don't usually look like this:

Or this:

Or even this! Actually, in this photo, you can see very clearly how much my nose has changed colour. There's hardly any pink left, now.
(Compare it to this one Kati took just over a month ago.)

When we got back from Stanmer Park, our neighbours were just about to go out.

Seeing as there were three different sizes of dogs present, my photographer (Kati) decided to line us all up.

And here is the result! (She had to clone Miles out of the photo, though.)

After which, Cerberus went back into his house... only to surprise Zebedee moments later with an impromptu flying exit!

A little later on, it was time to go to my second puppy party at the vet's. Our people were asked to handle us again.

It got quite boring pretty quickly so I just laid down and watched others.

Kath (the behaviourist) used me again to demonstrate something.

This time it was to show that our people should do some short handling exercises during our walks, too. Just casually call us back and then have a look at our ears and such. I guess it'd be handy if we had grass or something stuck in our ears or somewhere else and they'd be able to take things off our fur without us freaking out or anything.

Do you remember The Gorgeous Golden Labrador from last week? Well, I do. She wasn't paying much attention to me, I thought, so I adopted a new method. Since subtle doesn't work with her, I thought I'd draw her attention to me - quite literally - with the help of her lead.

Surely she can't ignore me now.

There! Yes! She noticed me!

But hang on a minute, now she's pulling her own lead away from me! No! I didn't mean to start a game of tug-of-war....!

I meant, just... get... closer... to... me, OK?

And then... she did... and when she did, I got very shy all of a sudden!

Isn't she lovely, though? Her name is Ellie.

Anyway... Kath told our people a lot of things about us. Like that we aren't really deaf if we don't seem to hear some things they say to us. Oh, no... she revealed our secret! Still, I guess it's good that she told them, as I sure wouldn't want to be shouted at just because an ignorant person didn't understand that we can hear very, very well indeed - we just choose to act as we didn't when we feel like doing something else than what our people ask us to. I much prefer that my people do something else instead of shouting; like, offer me yummy treats for doing what they want me to do.

We did some socialising again at the party... all of us getting to know each other a little better.

Ellie is my favourite, though.

Grounded!

2010-06-29T23:59:00.002+01:00

Meaning: today is the first day I'm allowed on the ground! First, Miles took me for a walk to the pillar box at the end of our street.

Was I ready to go out? Try and stop me!

Walking on the lead took some getting use to, though.

That's it, I'm almost there... just checking out what else there is to see around here...

On the way back I started to get hang of it.

Takes some concentration...

Add a little speed...

And that's it! I've mastered it!

That wasn't all, though. Later on Miles, Kati and Saana - Kati's niece who is visiting from Finland - dragged me into a forest!

A little awkward at first again...

...but as we got out in the open again, it was a lot easier.

I was let loose, and Miles ran away from me calling my name. I followed.

Miles gave me some treats.

And then he ran again. Weird! But kind of fun.

I guess it's some kind of game. Well, whatever, I'm game - especially as I get a lot of treats!

Miles and Saana started another game with me by sitting away from each other and calling me each in turn.

Every time I ran from one to another when they called me, I got a yummy piece of chicken!

I think it was great fun to be able to run around in a big space.

Soon they put me back on the lead, though, and it was time to go home. I was quite tired, so that was fine by me.

And you know what - I slept well after all that! What a day!

Puppy party

2010-06-23T23:59:00.006+01:00

Do you know what a puppy party is? Neither did I. Well, I'll tell you: it's a party for puppies! Haha.

The puppy party was held at my vet's, and there were about seven of us puppies there. A dog behaviourist explained to our people some of our behaviour, and how to look after us. In the meantime we were getting used to seeing a lot of other puppies!

I was the shyest of them all, along with another little puppy who has adult dogs in her house. See her there on her own in the corner, way away from everyone else?

The dog behaviourist explained that it's quite common for puppies who have adult dogs in their homes not to know how to react to other puppies all of a sudden. They know how to interact with adult dogs, but have forgotten how to play with puppies.

Our people were shown how to handle us in a manner that makes us feel calm and relaxed.

They were taught how to check our ears and eyes for any problems, and also our paws and teeth. And then all of a sudden they put some gunge in our mouths!

That was a bit weird.

It did taste nice, though, whatever it was. Apparently this is called brushing teeth. I'm not sure about this at all. It felt so strange.

We had some more time to get used to each other while the behaviourist explained all kinds of doggie behaviours - like how we shake our head after we have played with someone and switch onto doing something else. It was quite funny 'cause I hadn't realised I was doing it, but now that they mentioned it, I saw that I, and all the other puppies do it, too! There was this flapping of ears every now and then in the room as someone switched from play mode to calm mode.

This Golden Retriever girl was probably the most lively of all of us. She seemed really interesting, but I was too shy to get close to her, so I just watched her from a distance.

The behaviourist asked me to demonstrate with her how to teach 'sit' to a puppy.

Our people were taught not to give us a treat if we try and reach up for it.

They were told only to give us the treat when all our four paws are on the ground. Boring, eh?

I knew all this already, so I was more interested in watching others learn.

(Actually I was hoping that I would get some of their treats...)

After a while I plucked up the courage to go and say hello to some of the others. (I'm told that people are more subtle in their ways when they go and say hello to new people.)

And after I'd done that, I felt confident enough to go to the Golden Retriever.

She was sooo cute!

And it seemed that she liked me, too!

Well, that's what I thought - but then, I turned my back, and see what she was doing! Flirting with other puppies! Shocking behaviour, don't you think?

Well, never mind. It was fun, all the same. And I can't wait to go again next week. I'm sure I will be much more confident next time.

Second jab

2010-06-22T23:59:00.002+01:00

Today I went to the vet's again to get my second vaccination jab.

This time I knew what goes on at vet's, so I was relaxed and got a little sleepy while waiting, in fact.

As before, I was weighed first. 5.8 kg! Wow, I have put on 2 kg in three weeks.

Then it was time for the jab.

This time, I felt it. Not too bad, but not too pleasant, either.

I got a nice treat, though, for all my pain and suffering.

Mmm, yum.

On the way home we went to a pet shop and got me a collar and a lead! How do I look?

Also, on the way home, I threw up in the car again. The same thing happened three weeks ago when I got my first jab. Very unpleasant. In this picture you can see that my mouth is wet from puking.

They say that I will have to wear this collar thing all the time from now on. I don't see why, but I guess I don't have a say in that matter.

Pub crawl

2010-06-20T23:59:00.010+01:00

Got your attention, right?

I wasn't on a pub crawl, silly.... I'm too young for that. But I did go to a pub today with Miles and Kati. And you know what? It was dead boring. As usual, I wasn't allowed on the floor, so in spite of all the interesting smells, I had to stay on Miles's lap. So, naturally, after a while I just got sleepy...

...and sleepier...

Zzzzz.....

And then Miles and Kati got another pint of cider, and I carried on sleeping. Don't know what all the fuss is about pubs. Well, perhaps it'll be more fun when I can sniff around and go and meet people.

Back at home I was wide awake again. Zebedee noticed it, too.
(Just call me Tigger The Tornado.)

I can play nicely with Zebedee...

But not for long. 'Cause every now and then I need to show Zebedee that I'm no push-over. Grrrr. There! Take that!

I can pull a really scary face at Zebedee.

Although, I guess it'll be more scary when I have bigger teeth.

Exhibition opening

2010-06-18T23:59:00.004+01:00

I went to an exhibition opening this evening. It was at the seafront in Brighton, and there were lots of interesting people there.

Kati's friend Juliet took a few photos of me. I look a little startled in this photo, but it's only because I'd never seen a flash before.

Obviously it would have been a lot more fun if I didn't have to stay in the puppy bag...

...but I did manage to meet quite a few people, and they all seemed really nice and fun.

Here is some of the artwork I saw, taken by Kati.

Upstairs downstairs

2010-06-17T23:59:00.001+01:00

Our version of Upstairs Downstairs.

Ahhh, how peaceful. For a change.

Boris and Barbara

2010-06-15T23:59:00.006+01:00

This evening we all went to visit some friends. Let me introduce them:

Boris:

and Barbara:

They are Irish Setters. Boris is two years old, and Barbara is four months old. We met in their garden. I was quite surprised that I was too shy to play with them!

(see little me at the top of the steps?)

But I did want to join them...

They just all seemed so big and fast so I kept my distance at first.

Barbara ran to greet me every now and then, but she was a little too much for me. She growled at me once and that scared me. I mean, I am completely used to Zebedee growling at me - I don't take any notice of that, but when someone I've never met before growls, that's another thing. I had to jump up on top of a flower pot a couple of times to run away from her (and to be as tall as her).

After a while I got used to Boris and Barbara more and went closer. They were all playing together and barking a lot. I plucked up the courage and barked at them once or twice, and then ran for cover behind Miles. They didn't take ANY notice of me.

The visit was fun mostly - I got to run around and explore the garden and the house, but it was a little overwhelming at times. What the people should have done first is restrain the big dogs and let me go to them on my own time, but it wasn't too bad. Now that I know what visiting other houses is like, next time I will have more confidence, I'm sure.

Seaside

2010-06-14T23:59:00.003+01:00

Heeeey, another day, another adventure!

Well, first of all, not so much of an adventure as a fight over a leaf with Zebedee.

We always end up like this. Don't we look fierce?

Anyway, later I had a look from behind some other leaves and saw our neighbour Cerberus up in his window.

Isn't he cute? (He's about 10 times bigger than I am.)

I did do something new today in the garden: I thought I'd try and get on a flower pot.

Haha, it was fun, maybe I'll grow up faster now.

In the early evening Miles and Kati took me to the beach!

They found out that it's OK for me to go on the beach at low tide when the sea water has just washed it.

Lucky me!

Whoo-hoo! Watch me go!

I ran towards the sea...

...and - well, it was wet!

Zebedee was there, too, of course.

I dug a hole in the beach.

What fun it was! I ran back and forth so much that I was panting.

And that was when Miles and Kati decided that it was time to go, before I get too tired.

What an experience, though! Hope I can do it again soon.

Naked people

2010-06-13T23:59:00.002+01:00

Today Miles and Kati took me for a quick outing in my puppy bag. I saw some unusual things!

I wanted to get out of the bag and go and explore, but I wasn't allowed to. Wish they'd let me!

Here are some of the things I saw... photographed by Kati: naked cyclists.

The puppy bag is handy, I guess, so that I can see the outside world - but I would prefer to be able to run around wherever I want.

BBQ party

2010-06-12T23:59:00.002+01:00

I went to my first ever party today! It was at Kati's friend Naz's place. There were lots of people and quite a few small children, too.

Naz was really nice, but to be honest, I was more interested in what Miles had on his plate.

I got to explore the garden on my own while others were eating and drinking.

It was really exciting, as this was my first time on someone else's garden!

I learned pretty quickly that this man would always give me a treat when I went near him. I'm glad he didn't listen to Kati who asked him not to give any more treats. I had lots of yummy pastry!

Back at home we had a play with Zebedee, as usual.

If Zebedee is too rough with me, I make myself really small so that he wouldn't hurt me.

But I'm not really that small. Only in relation to others, I am.

Neighbours

2010-06-11T23:59:00.000+01:00

Our neighbours are the best! They came over for the evening today and we had a great time. Christina held me in her lap, and I could have stayed there forever.

(click on the photo to see how happy I look. :-)