The Fred Swim and other interesting chronicles

As promised, here are pictures commemorating Freddie's First Swim.

C'mon Freddie, It won't be as bad as you think y'know...

Yeah Dad, I guess you're right...

Whoa... water's cold, dad!

Fred: Ok, I don't like this, I wanna go back to shore now. Dad: "NOT. SO. FAST. FRED."

C'mon, little boy...

Fred: I'm not too sure, Dad. That shore really looks beckoning..

..and off they go. look at that huge wake that Fred leaves behind him...

As I turn around, guess what swims past my camera lens?

Harry: "wait for me, guys!!!"

"Hurry up then, Harry!" Dad says with a bemused smile

and a little while later....

See the red circle? They're allll the way over there...

So this is a huge thing, because in the last 18 months that we've owned Freddie, he has stayed away from the water. The last few times we tried, he just stood on the shore and refused to go in. And his weight and size being what it is, we couldn't convince him otherwise. But somehow or other we managed to trick him in, and since it was such a hot day, it ended up that I think he rather enjoyed his little swim.

Here are some earlier pics taken before the Freddie Swim.

Here he is with my nephew-to-be.

I like the second pic when Fred is getting patted, and he looks up as if to say 'Oh gee, that's really nice! Thanks!'

That or he's asking if he can have a sip of that glass of champagne on the bench.

OOooo.. pebbles....

All these pics of Fred's tongue hanging out makes me wonder if he's just super thirsty.

Fred-a-goin-a-huntin'

 

I really like this pic too, because his fur just kinda blends into the grass.

And finally, here is Freddie wishing you a very good Seasons Greetings*:

Fred: "I look so stupid..."

* NB: I am not held responsible for this pic.

Long time no update, doggies!

With a little more time on my hands during the Christmas/New Year break, I got around to getting my camera out more often to show you guys what my little beloveds have been up to.

Fred and Rosie had a fairly quiet Christmas, although we spent the day after Boxing Day down on the South Coast.

In typical fashion, I've left half my photos at home so I can only show you some of the pics I took. However, I must tell you some super exciting news - Freddie finally went swimming!!! I will post up pics soon. Promise!

The pic below is after Freddie went swimming. Sitting on the back deck he certainly looks like a big mass of a dog.

Freddie the Big Dog

As you can see, he's slowly growing into his looks. To me he looks more like a teenager now. Here is a full body shot:

What a handsome boy!

Here is Rosie ignoring us again:

Rosie: "I wonder where all my minions are"

And here is a pic of the dog pack...

Rosie: "can we come in yet, mum?"
"

The little jack russell is called Harry. He is the fiance's mum's dog.
You may (or may not) recognise him from other posts. Harry's a very
sweet and brave doggie. Harry's only small, but he is always wanting to
play with our dogs. In the pic below, Harry is showing doggie affection
by whispering sweet nothings into Freddie's ear. Or maybe he's just
giving Freddie a little lick.

Harry: I wish I was strong enough to open this door...

Rosie: "Gosh, rolling under the house into cobwebs was fun"

Can you see the cobwebs around her face and on her shoulders?

Fred: "So I was thinking, my right side is my Best Side. What do you think?"

Here is Fred on the way home from the Coast. I happened to look over, and got some of The Cutest pictures...

Below is my absolute favourite:

Fred: "I wuv you mum"

Back at home, I was greeted with two very exhausted puppies:

Rosie: "Oh gosh I'm SO BORED"

Rosie: "Is there a fly on my head? Can you get rid of it for me? I'm too tired..."

Fred: "Hey Rosie?" Rosie:" Ssh, sleepy time now Fred"

Fred: "mum, what you doing?" Rosie: "man, I'm sooo bored"

Now this is a really sweet pic of Rosie:

Hiding Rosie

Overexposing Rosie

She's been super affectionate lately. I've been trying to give her a bit more attention, since I usually just lavish attention on Fred. Fred was actually quite put out the other night when I gave Rosie lots of cuddles. He just lay there on the carpet looking confused. As if to say "what on earth are you doing mum? Rosie NEVER gets cuddles. Only *I* do. That's the RULE."

And on the right here is just a pretty artistic shot of Rosie. Since she's so black when you overexpose the picture the effect is pretty cool. You get to see all her markings a lot clearer. These closeups just make you think she must've been SUCH a cutie when she was a puppy.

Fred: "Huh? I think I just heard something!"

And here are some very cute actions shots:

"oh"

Fred: "Ok mum, what are you doing now?"

Mum: "Now stick your tongue out..."Fred: [obliges] This is silly, mum"

I promise to put up the rest of the pics soon. Meanwhile, here's something to keep you entertained while you wait:

I am a Lion - hear me roar!

What a big tongue you have Fred...

All the Better to Lick You With!!

I'm pretty sure I caught that pic while he was yawning.

If you look at all the dirt around him - that once used to be a garden bed. This was before it had met Rosie of course...

We have started laying down old railway sleepers in an attempt to stop her from digging.

Most amusing, I was told by the fiance that after he put down the latest batch of sleepers, Rosie had been walking through the garden and was quite perplexed at his handiwork.

Apparently she had stopped, and looked carefully, head turning, following the sleeper with a puzzled look on her face. I'm imagining her thought processes went something along the lines of:

"... but I just dug that bit of garden up yesterday! WHY is there a sleeper there now? Where's all my digging gone?"

Poor girl. We're just out to ruin all her fun, aren't we?

Pulling on the heart strings....

How come you're never always home, mum?

This is one of my favourite photos of Fred. In fact, so much of a favourite, that he is currently residing on my desktop. Every morning I come to work, and I see his little face looking at me.

We're pretty sure he's full size now and won't be growing anymore. And that's ok.

We were watching Jane Eyre last night, and spotted Pilot, played by a real wolfhound. So much skinnier with a much longer nose. I think I prefer Freddie with his rounder nose and cute expression. The boy is so solid too. You thump him along his ribs, and all you hear is 'thwump' 'thwump'.

Who'd ever believe that I'd ever become so besotted with a dog.

Rosie has gotten a bit more affectionate lately.

Last night when they got let in, they both came up to me and licked me on the knuckles before settling down in front of the tv.

And at one stage when I happened to get up and look at Rosie, her tail half wagged! That's a historic moment for Rosie, The Indifferent Dog.

Course this could just be the calm before the storm as she lulls us into a sense of complacency before she tries her next dastardly dash out the door.

I had to replace her pretty dog tag a month ago, after she managed to somehow lose the old one. I was lucky to get an exact replica, except this time the engraver put a little dog paw on it as well. And just in time too, because a few days afterwards, she went off on one of her little jaunts again. I got phoned up by a neighbour a street away.

When I went to pick her up, he commented about how pretty she was and asked me what type of breed she was. I did the usual, "not sure, but there should be some staffy or great dane in her somewhere", but in the back of my head, I admit to thinking "that's so great that you think she's beautiful. Would you like her?"

LOL.

The Good Morning Freddie Kiss

I came home last night to be greeted by the news that Rosie had run off during her walk again. *sigh*

It's not the first time it's happened, and I'm not sure it will be the last. Fiance is getting a bit frustrated/annoyed at the whole situation, and I don't blame him. She just doesn't seem to listen. She just does what she feels like. Not what we tell/ask/request her to do.

She's like a cat. Except that we didn't buy a cat. We bought a dog. If I'd wanted a cat, I would've gotten a cat.

I'm starting to wonder if we are in fact the right parents for her. Does she need someone who will give her errands to run everyday? Does she get bored, and is that why she keeps on running away? Most times she's not bad. But if she gets it into her head not to come when called, there's nothing you can do =/

So whenever Rosie mucks up, Freddie gets preferential treatment.

The biggest treat of all was that he got to sleep in our room last night as opposed to sleeping outside.

Rosie ended up sauntering home around 9.30 am. I heard this scratching against the front door, followed by frustrated whines. We open the door and in she dashes. To which we expelled her back outside the back door. No dinner for someone who doesn't listen or come when she's called. So to emphasize what she had done wrong Freddie got to spend the entire night inside. And from what I can tell, he also got to spend this morning inside (fiance is at home).

Anyway, I got woken up this morning by a lick straight across my nose and mouth. LOL. I had just rolled over onto my side, before I got the Freddie Morning Kiss. It was 5.30am. *shakes head*

I muttered something unintelligible along the lines of "give me another hour, Fred" and went back to sleep. Except I never went back into deep sleep because I kept on getting paranoid that Fred had woken me up in order to tell me he needed to go outside for his morning pee.

But every time I forced myself up to peek at him over the covers, he was just lying beside the bed, either sleeping or licking his fur.

I was especially chuffed that he decided to sleep with his back against my side of the bed. When I went to sleep, I noticed he decided to settle at the foot of the bed. But somewhere through the night he must've decided that it was more fun to sleep as close as he could beside me.

It was funny too because he followed me EVERYWHERE last night. He's such a sweetie. Every time I got up to get something, he'd get up and follow me too. I probably need to teach him how to 'stay.' I must say though, I don't really have much time to teach him tricks. The only thing I did end up teaching both of them, was to sit before I let them inside after dinner. I must admit, they caught onto that one pretty quick.

Overall, it was nice to be woken up by a Freddie kiss. Although I'm not sure I want to be woken up like that every morning. Especially not at 5.30 in the morning. Well, that and the fact that there is now a whole cubic metre of Fred Fur now covering our bedroom carpet. LOL.

Fighting for the doggie's affections

So I've been trying to post for the last few weeks. Every time I try, I always accidently click an image that I've uploaded, and it automatically takes me into another screen INSIDE the compose screen. Which means that everything I've just written DISAPPEARS. It's driving me NUTS.

I've given up so many times whenever this happens. Half the time, I click on those photos BY ACCIDENT. f&^^&*(^(

Anyway, let's try again.

Here is Rosie during one of her afternoon walks:

Rosie: Wheeee!!! I'm off the lead. Wheee!!!!

Rosie Romping in the Afternoon Sunshine

Rosie: Hrmm.. I sniff Human!

 

Here is Rosie later:

Rosie: Sssshh!!! The Coffee Table is Speaking to me...

We found it absolutely hilarious that she was sleeping with her ear flush against the coffee table leg. I wonder if she was communing with the Coffee Table God.

Later in the evening, I happened to walk in on some boy bonding:

"I love you, Fred. Gimme a Kiss"

Fred: "Ok!"

So not to be outdone, later I tried my best to let Fred know that I was part of his life too:

Fred: aWW MAN, we're taking pics AGAIN?

We've decided that he is probably a wolfhound-mastiff cross. He's so broad in the back, and his muzzle is short, and he's got a big deep chest. He's turning quite stocky, not like a real wolfhound which is just gangly and tall.

Not sure if it's already apparent, but Fred is significantly bigger than Rosie now:

The Big and the Little One

Rosie: Fred, you're such a great pillow

Every once in a while you can tell she's getting peeved about it. She's still growling at him some mornings when they eat. As if to gently remind him that she's top dog. In spite of the fact that he's bigger than she is.

And here's one more of the Sulky Boy:

Fred: When's the next walk, mum?

 

Fred the Couch Destroyer

As promised a LONG, LONG, LONG time ago:

Pictures of the results of Fred the Destroyer:

The Eaten Couch

The Broken Arm

ARRRRgh!!!

And here is the culprit:

Fred: What? What did I do???

Took this the other night. I happened to look down and he was lying on the ground looking at me.

He's gotten a lot bigger - there is no longer a gap when I straddle his back - and he's also gotten a LOT cuter. We're pretty sure now that he's a mastiff cross wolfhound. He's just so wide in the front and very very hefty. I can't really lift him all the way up now. I used to give him a big bear hug and wrap my hands around his chest and under one of his legs. Which allowed me to lift his front paws off the ground. Much harder to do these days.

Just look at the cute expression on his face!

Fred: I don't know why everyone picks on me. I'm just a little dog...

And here is Fred in a much more... composed state (i.e. not couch eating state)

Croissants