A peaceful moment with Flynn
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Treasure!
I LOVE it when people create & leave little things like this, for others to find. Made my day when I came upon this wonderful painted pebble, while out with Flynn yesterday :) So cute!
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Visit to Deer Park with Flynn, March 20th '24. The trees there still look wintery but it feels like spring. A warm breeze in the air, all the little song birds were singing away in the hedgerows, lambs out & about, soft green grass growing & flowers beginning to appear as well.
Flynn got very excited about the prospect of going to a stream & the pond, which you can see in the background of the pic below. In his hurry to go have a paddle, he ran far ahead. A bit too far! However, despite the distance between us & the temptation of nearby water to play in, when I called Flynn's name, he immediately stopped & when asked to sit, he sat nicely & then recalled happily.
Spring flowers, plus a sneaky collie in the background... lying in wait.
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Flynn inspects the spring flowers, planted just outside the main entrance to our town's old church.
Pic below is from a few years ago but look at that doorway, it's so pretty:
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hi! is barney the dog from the Dear Polly: I'm the loneliest person in the world! article? In that article, there's a picture of a dog that looks like barney atop a hill, and the countryside looks so similar to a picture that barney was in <3 i was convinced i'd never find the dog
Hi!
From a quick search, I think this must be the photo from the article you mentioned? -
I'm afraid Barney isn't the dog from that image, no! Barney was a border collie & the one in the pic looks like a smaller terrier type dog.
The photo of my Barney sleeping on the hill top was taken on the Malvern Hills, in Worcestershire, England. The scenery there is definitely similar to the article photo :)
The article picture is a lovely one - I do hope one day you find out who the dog is & where it was taken :)
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Aw, Flynn loves playing keep-away too & it makes me laugh so much. He clearly thinks it's hilarious to trick the human. Sounds like his version is similar to Louis'. Flynn mostly plays by making a big deal of carefully positioning the toy somewhere tempting on the path, letting me get really close to it, before he dives back in & snatches it away again, at the last moment. He will repeat the game over & over. Flynn doesn't play growl during keep-away but he's very dramatic when pouncing on - & then prancing away with - the toy. You can practically hear him: "Haha, fooled you! You're too slow!". The more I pretend to be frustrated at not managing to grab the toy for myself, the more delighted Flynn is.
He will take pity on me eventually & let me "win" though. Flynn's developed a very particular ritual to communicate when he's stopped playing keep-away & is genuinely offering me the prize. He carefully positions the toy, like usual. He then backs up once, stops, briefly makes eye contact, backs up a 2nd time, stops, looks at me again, backs up a THIRD time & final time, makes eye contact, then looks at the toy & just waits.
You cannot trust Flynn if he backs up three paces all at once. He has to back up, stop, make eye contact & repeat 2 more times! You also cannot trust him if he only backs up twice in total - even if he does pause & make eye contact both times. In either case, he may still be plotting to swoop in & commit theft! But if Flynn has backed up 3 separate times, well, then you can be 100% certain he isn't playing a cunning trick & he will allow you to pick the ball up this time, no funny business. I've never known break his own rules on that.
Come get the toy, you know you want to!
Love dogs, they're so much fun.
keep-away is such a funny game - louis will bring his toy, drop it at my feet, stare at me and as soon as i reach for the toy, he’ll growl and pounce and run away with his precious prize. sometimes he’ll hold the toy in his mouth and stand in the middle of the room, softly play-growling until i make a move to chase him. he then leaps away full of delight and that’s it. that’s the game.
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Avebury! I thought I recognised it from the photo... My aunt lives nearby, so old Barney & I went there a couple of times. Enjoyed it more than Stonehenge. The main circle is absolutely huge, amazing place.
Still got sheep.
Avebury Stone Circle, Wiltshire, England, ca. 1941 - by Bill Brandt (1904 – 1983), German/English
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Flynn out for a snowy walk on Saturday... 2nd of March, 2nd day of meteorological spring but it seems the weather hasn't been informed about the change in seasons just yet! We had a day of snow, then sleet, then rain, more snow, then sleet & rain again!
I am so glad I got that jacket for Flynn to wear - & that he'll happily let me put it on him! Flynn definitely appreciates it. Last year, when we had a similar wet, heavy snow fall, I remember Flynn was really excited to go play in it but then very quickly turned into a sad, soggy, shivery puppy, who just wanted to go home & he was then achy & miserable with his arthritis for ages afterwards. The coat made such a difference yesterday - Flynn still got to have fun outside, but he stayed warm & dry-ish & didn't seem to feel too sore at all later on.
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Barney, enjoying a (probably slightly chilly!) paddle in a small stream, February 29th 2012.
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1 photo a year, from 2015 to 2024.
9 years ago today - on February 19th 2015, I (reluctantly!) went to meet a 21 month old border collie, who was very, very rapidly running out of time & chances, thanks to his unbelievably difficult behaviour. I was not looking for a 2nd dog, let alone one with major problems that needed working through but somehow, I found myself being persuaded to just "go see what you think of him".
I met Flynn, though that wasn't his name then - along with my dad (who'd been the one doing the persuading) & Flynn's then owners - we went out for a walk together, on cold, rainy, mirky afternoon. From what I'd heard beforehand, I was expecting to find some poor, sad, skulking, defensive creature, who didn't like anyone... Flynn was not that. I looked at him, as he joyfully ran circles in the gathering dusk... carefully making sure he offered the ball to each person he was out with - including us strangers... & I felt there was hope for him. Or, at least that it'd be a shame to let this young life get cut short, without at least attempting to see if he could improve & overcome his fears.
The early years were hard for us both. I am in no way a dog behaviourist, or trainer & I was in over my head with Flynn! Even at our worst moments though, Flynn was always clearly desperately keen to keep *trying* to work with me, trying to not be scared of things which clearly terrified him, trying to trust we were on the same side - & that kept me trying too. I'm so thankful we both stuck at it! 9 years ago, I met Flynn & suspected there was a terribly clever, affectionate, funny little dog, hidden under the distrust & fear & stress... I was right. More & more as time goes by, Flynn's true nature has shone through & he's come further than I ever thought possible. He is a wonderful companion & brings me so much joy every day - haha & even when he's a grumpy old man, we can laugh about it. Good Boy, Flynn... I'm glad I went to meet you on that nasty day in February, all those years ago.
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Flynn, on the edge of the woods this afternoon, enjoying a good breeze which was coming up from the orchards & fields beyond.
I wonder if dogs appreciate the scents drifting to them from across a landscape in a similar way to us humans, when we pause to look out at a beautiful & interesting view? When I watch Flynn sitting still & quiet, face pointed into the wind, eyes closed, nose twitching, I think maybe he does.
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My best little gate-finder! Flynn always points gates out to me, whenever he spots one along the path... I didn't want to go through this one, but thanked him anyway!
I also like the fact that even when a gateway is left wide open, Flynn usually still waits at the entrance for me to catch up & tell him to go through (or not!). Given we're out in farmland, I much prefer to check new fields, before he enters them. Firstly, not every field has a public footpath going through it but more importantly, I like to check if there's livestock in there, or tractors/farm machinery in use.
Flynn's got his issues but he's a nice easy pal to potter about with in the countryside.
Good boy!
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Flynn, in Jan 2016 & Jan 2024! His eyebrows are much more impressive these days :)
He's a tri but his tan was quite subtle as a youngster - now he has grey mixed in, his markings are more noticeable.
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