Me on a diet??!!

Well, I thought I was in perfect physical condition and simply couldn't look any better - but when Coco was told to go on a diet (see her diary) the vet said it wouldn't hurt me to lose a bit of weight as well! What a nerve!

The reason is that of course it's very difficult to give Coco one type of food and me another, as we like to try each other's dishes.

Anyway it isn't too bad, as sometimes She Who Mustn't Be Obeyed gives me a bit extra on the quiet when Coco isn't looking. And we get fresh vegetables! Delicious.

Eeeuw! Runny poos!

Something has upset my tummy recently - and I'm sure it isn't that delicious bit of dropped sandwich on the street the other day, cos it tasted too good to be bad for you. Anyway, whatever it was resulted in quite nasty and painful runny poos, and I felt very sorry for myself and was unusually quiet for over a day.

She Who Mustn't Be Obeyed got rather worried and talked about taking me to the V.E.T. (She thinks I don't get it if she spells it out rather than saying the word, but I do). In the end she rang them up and they suggested trying me on some lighter food to see how I got on.

They suggested "a little white fish or chicken, with rice". So she got some chicken out of the freezer and cooked it, along with some rice and peas. It was delicious! I couldn't get enough! It wasn't fair, cos Coco got it as well and she isn't even ill, but I'm not complaining. We had some more for breakfast and I'm definitely feeling better. My poos have more shape and definition to them as well, so it must be working!

Lots of activity around the house

She Who Mustn't Be Obeyed has got the builders in. They've fitted 2 new windows and are doing lots of painting work as well. Coco and I bark a bit when they arrive, but mostly we've got used to them and keep well out of their way. They have strict instructions to keep the front gate shut at all times, as we could sneak out without anyone noticing.

SWMBO also warned them not to leave their lunch too close to the edge of the kitchen counter, as I'm famous for the felony of lunch theft. Spoilsport.

Not as stupid as some people would have you believe

Last Sunday, I had big praise from She Who Mustn't Be Obeyed for being clever.

We'd arranged to meet our doggy friend Frankie and Aunty Suz for a long walk. We haven't been able to do this for quite a time as Frankie has had a dodgy hip and hasn't been able to walk far. He's a lot better now, so we made our usual arrangement to meet in the car park behind the football fields.

We arrived a few minutes early, and SWMBO said, "Oh, they're not here yet - Aunty Suz's car isn't here". But I knew better. I'd know Frankie's smell anywhere, and it was all over this smart little silver sporty number. I jumped up a couple of times to see if he was in there, but he wasn't.

Then both Aunty Suz and Frankie walked over from the field, and SWMBO was surprised to see them. It turns out that Aunty Suz changed her car a while back, and now has this much nicer one.

But of course, I immediately realised this. It's nice to be appreciated, with everyone saying things like, "What a very clever boy!" But really, it's no big deal. Just doing my dog thing as usual.

Too much of a good thing?

It was a lovely day on Sunday, so She Who Mustn't Be Obeyed decided to have some friends round for a barbecue. She had bought a magnificent rack of ribs at the market, perfect for a barbecue. They smelled so good when they were cooking!

Of course, Coco and I were VERY interested and did the rounds, gazing imploringly at everyone in turn until they relented and gave us some bones to chew. Delicious! We were very successful with our begging, and polished off about three bones each.

But...we were both sick as dogs later, and the next morning, and were very subdued for the whole day. Could it really have been the ribs that caused it? I prefer to think that it was something else, like our regular dog food that we have every day, or our water, or just one of those bugs that go around. I'll tell you one thing - it won't stop either of us begging for bones in the future!

How handsome I look!

I've had another haircut! She Who Mustn't Be Obeyed had to take Coco to have her eyes checked miles away, (see Coco's diary for details) and dropped me off at the doggy hairdressers on the way.

It was good to see my old chums there - it's also a boarding kennels where Coco and I have had some good holidays.

I was relatively good (for me) with the result that I allowed them to do a really nice job. I'm not at all keen on having my tail touched, so I howled like a banshee when that bit came up. It doesn't seem to make much difference though.

Much praise and admiration both from SWMBO and Aunty G, though Coco didn't say much. My new look was noticed on our morning walk today as well!

What's happened to Aunty G's bed?

One of my favourite pastimes is ruffling up against the side of Aunty G's bed. It's something called a divan, which means that it has a solid base, which is very good for giving yourself an energetic rub along one side of your body.

There was lots of activity the other day, which involved moving the divan base into the back bedroom and assembling a new bed in Aunty G's room. I suppose it looks nice enough, and it gives her room to put stuff underneath, but it is not good for ruffling up against! It's just not solid enough, it just doesn't work.

Aunty K will be using the back bedroom next week, but she doesn't usually let us in there, so perhaps my ruffling days are over...

The Poo Wars

Aunty G and I had a bit of a fight today. She noticed that I had a poo-y bottom, probably due to eating something delicious but tummy-upsetting while out on a walk. As there were things dripping in that area (eeew!) she thought she should do something about it before I left my mark all over the house.

But I was, as ever, one step ahead. I spotted her prepping the bathroom, getting towels out etc, and I just knew that the next thing would be the gross disgrace of being picked up and put into the bath! So I refused to be caught, and she gave up.

But she did catch me off guard a bit later, and dragged me unceremoniously up the stairs by the collar and into the bath. The shame of it all! I did manage to fight back though, and she now has a scratch on her arm inflicted by me! That'll show her!

I couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for her, as usually it's She Who Mustn't Be Obeyed who gets to do this kind of dirty work, but she was out. I'm a little bit wary still, though I don't think she's going to try it again. I'll have to watch out for attempts to cut the fur round there - I hate that almost as much as the bath, so I make a terrible noise, as if I'm being tortured. That usually does the trick.

I always try to be helpful

We went for a really great walk in the park on Saturday. I was in a particularly generous mood, and decided to make life slightly easier for She Who Mustn't Be Obeyed.

I spotted a discarded plastic shopping bag on the ground, with some empty sandwich wrappers and banana skins in it. After I'd checked out that there was actually nothing good to eat in the bag, I decided to do a poo in it.

I did what I had to do very neatly inside the open bag, so all She had to do was pick up the bag and put it in a nearby bin! I was very pleased with myself. She laughed and gave me a pat, and lots of other people laughed as well. Spike the Public-Spirited, that's me!

Happy Birthday to She Who Mustn't Be Obeyed!

She had a thing called a birthday recently. Not quite sure what it means, but it's great because extra post comes, so I have more stuff to pick up off the floor and chew!

On the day itself, She went to somewhere called Edinburgh for the day with some friends. She didn't take us, because they were going on an plane, and having lunch and shopping and things.

But on the following Sunday, She took us for the walk when we go and see our mate Frankie. It was a lovely day, and we ended up in Frankie's house, eating his food and chewing his toys, and although Frankie sulked a bit, I got on really well with his friend Toby.

The humans had something called Buck's Fizz and chocolate cake and sat in the sunshine in the garden.