Tracked by a pack of dogs, my two gave chase

RANT MODE :- today I walked my dogs, on their leads, down the driveway. It is private land with a public path running through the bottom of the land for walkers and their animals if they wish.

It is not farm land as such, but it will shortly have horses in the two paddocks which are fenced and gated, the new stewards will be riding their horses through the grounds to make it quicker to check and for pleasure as is their right as they are paying a vast sum to stay here.


A man, had his dogs off lead ( three large black retrievers) . They decided to pack as a group and hunt me and my dogs. 3 dogs in hunting mode....how can you tell? well for a start a dog hunting lowers his shoulders and extends his neck forwards. They walk in a loping movement, tracking then as they sight the target they begin a slide running movement forwards towards the target and some will begin to bay or bark, others just go straight for the kill. These were slop shouldered , heads down, eyes focused and loping towards me. No idea if it were me as the target or my boys, my dogs decided it was me.


My Jake is blind in one eye, elderly and suffers epileptic fits and lately a suspected leaky heart valve. He should not be getting excited , running fast or as happened today...leaping to my defence. I could hold Caesar the big dog, his training is more in depth but Jake, went for it. I chased my little dog, screeching to the male who was over 150 yards away down at the bottom of the property to call his damned dogs off.


He didn't listen and certainly didn't act fast enough. My Jake ran like the clappers after them, they turned from hunters to hunted in five seconds because by then Caesar was baying and I couldn't hold either of them back.Jack Russel's do not stop, they will die trying to defend you, they are aggressive hunting dogs in their own right, it is part of their nature. Jake was in full defencive mode of his Mum and determined, leaky heart valve or not, to get these dogs on the run. He succeeded. With Caesar in full Staffy mode, a big strong dog in his own right, yet not as large as these three, he joined Jake in full defence mode, not a good sight to behold. My boys are not trained to kill, they are domestic pets. Yet their full nature was let loose immediately. I personally wouldn't like a Staffy to have a go at me, for that matter the ankle biting Jack Russell is a fearsome foe if riled.

Yet whose dog would feature in the media as vicious? as uncontrolled?. The media takes no notice of truths, Staffordshires are constantly hit on as being vicious and violent. Not true in the main. Bad owners make bad dogs 99% of the time. But my dogs are both rescue dogs, both gentle and loving in the norm. Not today, today I saw what my dogs are prepared to do for me, their Mum. I will defend them with my very life, because today, they thought they were doing exactly that for me. Jake knows he is sick, he makes every effort to remain quiet, he suffers his ailments quietly.

It is strange to see an animal act with dignity, yet he does exactly that. Caesar would lick youto death ,just to be patted and praised. Though today, I saw bunched muscles, I saw teeth bared and I saw determination to defend. I hope never to see such a thing again. It is, in a strange way very reassuring to know I am defended, it is also very scary, because it took me a good five minutes to get them back to my side, under control. The man raising his voice caused them no concern, they didn't see him as a threat, they saw the dogs as a pack, threatening their Mum and retaliated immediately.


I managed to catch Jake by tangling his extention lead in passing vegetation, the same for Caesar. The man very arrogantly sent his dogs down a steep stairway and informed me he would have his dogs off lead whenever he liked he was on a public path..WRONG dogs are not allowed freedom to enter the private part of the property, nor are they allowed off lead going through private property. They are supposed to be controlled at all times.

Tomorrow, my dogs will go for their walks again, I haven't got a different route to follow, their isn't one that doesn't involve scratchy brambles or deep vegetation. I will be keeping them leashed for their own safety. I will be watching for these dogs, because now they know their is a target, a prey, and I am certain, the arrogant owner will have his animals off leash again...........and I will defend my own dogs appropriately.


These dogs packed, they were hunting, albeit ineffectually. They put me, my dogs and the local wildlife at risk...if i could I would have punched the arrogant sod on the nose. grrrrrr rude, arrogant and stupid man. end of rant or so i thought.


Turn around to come home and two cyclists are happily taking a short cut through the private and well marked driveway claiming they didn't know it was private...Having passed the large sign at the gate, the second sign on the left, the third sign on the right that is so big it could be used as an advertising board, then a fourth sign...all saying 'private property, 24 hour cctv' ......and continuing,......with such bad eyesight they shouldn't be on the road gahhhhh and riding a bike on a walkway isn't right either grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr now...end of rant


The person who owns this estate, is not a rich mogul, they saved, scrimped and saved some more, they bought the land and the property to enjoy and to love. They are perfectly nice people...who if I had my way, would buy a large thick treaded bicycle and ride it through these peoples gardens , up and down their drives. Then return again with a horse and do the same, then return again with a few dogs and let them loose to crap all over the garden, chase the rabbit and the cat, run through the lawn leaving digging clawed marks, tangle themselves in the flowers and destroy a few bits of hedge...then when the owners came out and said 'what are you doing, this is private property' calmly state, 'I didn't know'.

The size of a property is not what should be envied or arrogantly judged, if its private, then it should be respected....shouldn't it?

The Howlelujah Chorus and Standing Down from Duty

I am sufferinng the Howlelujah Chorus ! Caesar and Jake are pretty confused right now. For the whole of 2015 they have been 'on duty'. They have defended this estate from vandals,thieves,would be squatters and invading trespassers. In the middle of Devon, in one of 'the' most beautiful and protected zones in the whole of Britain with a Right of Way Public Path through the bottom of the estate. They have been busy boys.

People who walk their dogs along public paths choose not too see the signs which say 'keep your dog under control' loosing their dogs off lead, they walk through the estate with (for some) a total disregard of the wildlife. In particular the Roe Deer. Regularly, at the beginning of my coming here, there would be a couple of dogs discover the joys of chasing the Roe Deer. Right through the estate, oblivious to the animals distress, the crossing into private land or the damage to flora, and other wild life. Following in hot persuit would be an harrassed owner trying to clamber through heavy undergrowth, deep patches of brambles and various pitfalls. Shouting their pooches names in ever increasing desperation.

All they had to do...was keep their dog on a lead. My own dogs would react as would any animal 'on gaurd' and the resulting cacophany of barks and howls would continue until I could either get the trespassers off the land, or the poor Roe Deer would escape to another part of the forest not under my stewardship and peace would once more prevail for Caesar and Jake.

It took many weeks of letting people see me, hear me shouting down to them 'get your dogs on a lead this is private land' generally making myself unpopular and gaining the 'mad woman in the woods' title after one particular incident. Poor Caesar saw a woman and her dog (off lead) running down the private driveway, he went into defending Mum mode. It took a lot of strength to hold him back, he saw a dog off lead, and a complete stranger and I am  in my sunday morning PJ's and wellies (yes I know what a sight I looked haha) The runner just carried on towards me, despite seeing the struggle I now had with Jake joining in the 'defend Mum' actions. In the end, it was apparent this rude miss wanted me to hold my dogs down (I was actually hugging Caesar by now to keep him with me) so she could carry on running where she wished.

In the end I reverted to a good scouse F*** Off because she was simply focussed on doing what she wanted...denying she had seen the private property signs was simply the last straw. Bright white paint with big black letters isn't easy to miss amongst all the green...anyway I am digressing...she left. But for the boys, it was a moment of high excitement and took a while for them to calm down. SO.....

New neighbours have movedin. With only two buildings on the estate they are naturally next to each other, more properly opposite and across the drive. These good people will now take the reigns...and they have four Terriers...and my boys can retire. They don't understand it, they still want to do their job as they see it. So these last two days they have been doing a lot of Danger Stranger barking through windows, excited snuffling at the doors, and I am getting weary of the sharp staccato yap yip yap from Jakes little terrier mouth...because one of the dogs is female and he is...a lover more than a fighter.

My poor lads are having a tough time readjusting, they will, in time. We will be here a couple more months now. So they will perhaps learn to stand down.

Until then, I have the Howllelujah Chorus to contend with :)

OH NO ITS BATH DAY

No unwanted passengers allowed ! We are staying together, sleeping in the same 'zone', eating and travelling together so the first rule is no fleas, parasites, worms, extra passengers of any kind, shape, form or indigenous to wherever we end up staying.

Jake has epilepsy which is triggered if he comes into contact with any chemical forms of control, it caused a great many issues when he first came to stay because of course we didn't know what all the triggers were originally. A process of eliminations followed.

Caesar has very thin fur and unfortunately the pink skin of the white dog which burns easily in sunlight. Hence he has a gorgeous coat because it constantly gets liberally coated with sun screen oils and Jake gets to have the same as Caesar (because he gets jealous if he doesn't ) so of course both my boys have beautiful coats that can withstand a lot of the normal exposure to rivers, sea salt and sunshine with a fair bit of defence.

But FLEAS ! ah that's a different problem. A flea can survive for up to 24 hours in water and after some time will revive.

they crawl to the surface looking for air

I couldn't very well pop the boys in a bath for a day and night. I began to do a lot of research and discovered that because the flea is a hard encased insect it is almost indestructible by normal methods and the various problems this proposed made me re-think my approach. If I couldn't drown them, was unable to comb them 'all' out with any certainty and could probably end up with a house infestation or in our case now, a car infestation....I could do only one thing if fleas were suspected.....smother them.

That is how I developed my personal way of dealing with the horrid things. I smother them to death. I rub a mixture of coconut oil (for Caesars scar) and olive oil into their coats and leave for half an hour, any fleas come rushing to the surface looking for air...I immediately put more oil into their coats and leave again..

Its important the dogs are not on a carpeted surface,

Caesar is less prone as he has very thin fur

the fleas begin to fall off their coats, looking for air, looking to survive..........I hoover them up once I have scrundled them into a ball of paper also smothered in oil. The wooden floor I use is lovely....oiled to perfection from the dogs coats, the fleas are dead and what are left are about to be hit with a second wave of war.

The bath:-

Jake loves his bath, he will sit in warm water luxuriating in being petted and praised for being a good boy. Shampoo is lathered into his coat and he loves the rub and smoothing of his fur, the fleas are by now (if any survive) , attempting to run up my arm or up towards his head where...I am waiting with a handful of soap. They swim, the scurry they make for the tail and Jake, well versed in the art of Flea war, promptly sits down and drowns the little oiks. Eggs have had the 'glue' used to attach them to the hairs loosened and corrupted, they fall away into the water, looking like so much sand.

deep and not overly warm

I begin emptying the bath and turn on the shower head, scooping warm water from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail, under his belly (he loves that) and in his groin. Now it is the third wave of war. 

Conditioner.
A really good hand full of conditioner rubbed in well and then rinsed seems to get the last of the hardy little warrior fleas off and away, I swish them down the plughole ruthlessly.
Caesar has the same process but with a little difficulty as unfortunately he isn't into the bath experience and can get a little difficult to control if he thinks soap is going into his eyes. The big softy, I use baby shampoo which doesn't sting.

Once the boys are washed we have a good shake off, the water goes all over the place, then a really good rub down. IT isn't over yet. I search their fur and let them dry and let them lie on a clean cover. Everything else has been washed. Which won't kill the fleas but does mean I can iron the seams with a very hot iron, or tumble dry for a couple of hours and wallah...clean bedding.

The car has completely clean bedding, not anything the dogs have slept on before. Today they have bath one.

Mid week they will have the second bath and dry, making sure I have got everything sorted. A final comb through 'just in case' then immediately they will go into the new bedding in the car before we set off.

I am REALLY determined we will have no little passengers. It has been my defence for the dogs for three years and it works and has served me well....so we shall see if flea and I are at war today, or not...oh yes, they get a worming today 'just in case' too.
No extras on this journey. !

All About Jake

Jake the little man with a big personality.

He was born by Cesarean (which amused me when he came and his pack leader is called Caesar) , the Vets scalpel slipped during the operation and little Jake was blinded in one eye. He hasn't let it deter him in life one iota! When he has his image taken, his blind eye often shows up as it has in this picture, a horrid glare or sometimes just a lifeless black colour, it doesn't show up in his life like that, just if I take his picture. As I never use a flash it is disconcerting at times.

All of the pictures I have of Jake stem from the day he came home to live with us. Sadly his Mum and his human sisters were moving to new homes and the landlords 'no dogs' clause was not negotiable. All three of his 'old' family have remained in touch to find out how he is, if he is happy and it is fair to say that he mourned them deeply once they had left his physical world.
For three days, he sat at the top of the stairs watching the front entrance down a steep set of stairs which, he was afraid to run down. Jake's loss of one eye, means he cannot judge depth and as a result he is afraid of steps, slanted or very steep ground, it must , I suppose, appear oddly to his perceptions and causes him to hesitate.
It took me many weeks of encouragement and sitting beside him, one step at a time before he would run up or down steps with any confidence. These days he zooms around like a whirligig but in those days, 3 years ago, that wasn't the case.
I lost count of how many times I would pick him up and encourage him, me sat there, him trying to get his little legs over the top of the step without stumbling...but we did do it.

He is very fond of sleeping under a duvet and likes to wriggle around until he has his favourite spot, curled up behind me, tucked into the curve of my knees or stretched out along my spine if he can get away with it. His pack mate prefers his head on the pillow and being cuddled, Jake is far more independent.
He is also destructive of any package wrapped in Christmas Paper, they are ALL his presents as far as he is concerned...and no, the one in the picture was actually mine :)

Jake hated water when I first got him. he had never been to the seaside, never experienced the joys of body surfing down a sand dune and didn't have any life experiences to measure the freedoms of running helter skelter along a seas edge with wet paws, sunshine blazing and not a soul for miles. 
His eventual delight knew no boundaries. He threw himself into the experience with great enthusiasm and eventually became confident enough to skip along the sands all by himself, go rock pool snuffling, he even took on his first huge crab with amazed but definitely delighted challenge.

But for Jake, it is always going to be the forest that claims his heart. he adores rabbit holes and would dive down one in a heart beat if I allowed him, he was and remains still, a superb Ratter. I don't like animals being killed, it isn't 'were I am at' but a dogs nature is very different, they can be predatory and a terrier in particular, has an ancestry of hundreds of years of being the hunter. keeping the home and the yard free of vermin. Of course he doesn't need to kill anymore than I do, but he remains a great tracker.

His love of the forest and his tracking abilities have on occasion led me deep into dark places and discovered baby fawns,foxes at play, even a Buzzard who had decided to land for lunch on a small rabbit. He is however so fast, that if a nest or a burrow is within his jaws he will kill, and eat what he has caught. We have had a few words over this in the past.....he remains unrepentant.

He is totally anti social, quite capable of throwing himself down any dogs throat and .............choking them to death. Which makes him a horror at times, he definitely has 'small dog syndrome'...and yet, with humans, he is totally adorable. Loves attention, would literally die for you. He is a complex sort of character my Jake. He loves people, he loves children more than adults and where babies are concerned you must never raise your voice or look threatening because he won't think, he will run between you and the baby constantly 'running interferance' and barking until you shut up.

I love this 'little man', he is not only my friend, he is one of the best watch dogs I have ever had. He will howl, growl and leap to my defence in a flash and all he wants from me, food and a few treats and the occasional share with my duvet.

The greatest moment and one captured perfectly in this picture was the day I finally was able to let him run off his lead. He SKIPPED I swear he did. His joy in the freedom so seldom available to him (for his own protection) knew absolutely no bounds. He ran, he rolled, he dove into water for the first time, ran off into the sand dunes (an hour to find the little devil!) and he finally came running to me...his first ever acknowledgement I was his pack leader, his mum. wonderful moment for us both.

This picture is my most favourite of all, skipping with freedom and no sign of his age.

Sadly Jake isn't young anymore, he has arthritis and he suffers from epilepsy. It is triggered by anything chemical which means it is difficult to find preventative treatments for fleas or ticks for him. I use pure olive oil to smother the horrid things, then a comb through with conditioner and finally a decent bath with lots of conditioner afterwards. The result is a magnificent flea free coat.
If we are by the sea, his daily bouts of sea bathing keep any fleas or ticks off him too which is a bonus of the effects alongside his excellent muscular health.
I love this little dog with all my heart.

After a recent bout of fits I managed to sort him out and he is 'all better now' the image was produced to give his many loveing humans the news he was back on track. The most up to date image, taken two weeks ago in September 2015, my little man, my Jake, healthy, having a good go at living.....my friend.

All about Caesar

Caesar in his Lord of All I Survey stance.

Love for a dog is not usually a long drawn out process. The human looks at the dog, the dog looks at the human and instantaneously...we connect.

That is how I fell in love with Caesar.

I drove 129 miles to 'view' this boy, when I met him he had just recovered from a nasty operation on his leg and had spent quite some time in his cage to prevent any further issues with what was a truly nasty scar. He was , by all accounts an adorable puppy, pictured here with his litter brother

he had a life ahead of him that was filled with challenge and disaster as he became severely injured. The Vets performed an operation on his leg which left a huge scar, but before he could learn to walk on it again, he would spend weeks in a cage for his own protection which has, to this day, left its mark on him. 

You cannot cage him at all, he is completely unable to be handled if you try to give him a respite of any kind, such as travelling or space away from Jake by introducing him to the safety and quiet of a cage....he will rebel. The day I sold the cage on , was one of total relief for him. He could see the cage leaving the house and from that moment I had a very different dog to contend with. Prior to the cage being removed, it had 'lived' in the large hallway, he passed it every time he moved from one room to the others and would skirt the cage with a wary eye, almost as if he expected me to gaol him. Here is an image of him in his cage before I brought him into my life. Once the cage was gone (inside the first week) he was also the subject of local gossip. Thanks to a friend who was unafraid of controversies, I was told questions were being asked. Was he a Pit Bull ? was he a half breed? the very fact the local policeman made it his business (after not saying more than Bore Dah to me for three years) to say hello to the dog, to walk up to him and pet him, had my defence buttons all well and truly pressed. I had made an appointment for Caesar to see the Vet for a health check, now it was time to up the need and I made a phone call and explained my fears. I was told to bring him into the vet immediately.

Thank gods for a decent Rural Vets. No hysteria, no apprehensions, no  judgements were passed, Caesar walked into the room, genuinely apprehensive but was such a sweety with the vets nurse that she called in her superior to note his wonderful desire to be loving and well behaved. He stood calmly and allowed the usual uncomfortable procedures of a full check over. To keep him safe from Defra Determinations, to make sure he could never be accused of being anything other than his own truth, the Vet was unusually thorough. 




He decided that Caesar was a Full Staffordshire Terrier and recommended he was castrated to ensure he remained calmer than his natural nature intended. That he was prevented from suffering a variety of ailments common to the uncastrated dog. He also decided to remove some of his eyelashes which had ingrown and would investigate his various marks and the scar, and give him a top up to all his injections worm him and treat him for anything else that was needed.

Caesar had no pigment in his skin, the needs of repair in his recovering body were not met by a normal diet and he was given a large variety of many different food types and put on an 'eat when you want to' regime. His colour finally faded from bright Barbie Pink to a more natural colouring, his fur grew thicker, he developed the traditional black markings under his coat, he grew muscle and his skeleton strengthened. He wore the Cone of Shame for two weeks...but at the end of it, we had a very healthy, safe and secure and very excited Caesar. 

He was ready...to see the Sea, meet the Forest and generally investigate his new home. 

One strange occurrence took place. Whenever I took a photograph of Caesar, it looked as if a beam of light followed him everywhere. It shone on him in forests, at the beach, even on occasion in the home. This image is probably the clearest and those who would say its sunlight through the trees overhead...no, it wasn't ...I checked.

It was a very clear white light. I have lots of images to show but this one, is my best. 

He learnt to be free of his training harness on occasions, but the harness was an advertisement that he was 'training' and it did ensure that people approaching gave him enough room, understood the excitable dog howling to come over and meet them, had issues.

He remains at present, unable to meet other dogs without having problems in being the friendly playmate. He still needs to dominate other dogs to ensure his Pack Leader status and that is a difficulty I am addressing with him, but in the main, he is friendly, approachable. If you gave him a treat he would be your slave for weeks.

If you gave him attention, he would flirt with you forever. If you give him a toy he is convinced you are the canine equivalent of Father Christmas!

If your a child then you are safe, you are protected. He loathes adults shouting at children and during training I raised my hands as if to slap my grand daughter...he leaped to her defence immediately, mouthing my arm and pulling it down. He received a lot of praise for that. Instilling in him he had made the right decision, because he also has had training in defending me, his Pack Leader. He had to decide if he served me, or defended what was, to him, a vulnerable member of the family...he made the right choice. Good Lad Caesar.

Now he is a very different dog from those first few months. It took months before he felt safe, before he would sleep in perfect peace, totally relaxed, but he did get there eventually.

It took a year for his weight to balance, castration causes a fat dog if your not careful. He is sturdy, not fat I can still feel his ribs under his coat, but he has a fine set of muscles, and a strong skeleton.

He isn't too happy with cold, and will snuggle under a duvet as fast as any human.

he loves silk and velvet and fur rather more than cotton and wool...so he has taste. He is a happy lad, bouncy, beautiful , my friend. Caesar.

He has had lots of adventures of his own, caused or created by him being exactly what he was meant to be as a dog. he discovered a Deer, or the Deer discovered him, either way he ended up with Musk all over his back, sprayed their by a very determined beast.

It stained his skin and coat for months, no amount of shampooing would sort him out...but he smelled divine, he relaly did.

His love of the sea became part of his actual personality, he will dive into waves, over and under, totally fearless. he actually taught Jake to face his own fears and become fond of a paddle too. Jake was naturally inhibited, had , just like Caesar, never been anywhere near the sea before.

Slowly, Caesar would 'play' with Jake, and then run into the sea, barking encouragement. it took about five or six visits, but eventually Jake too began to love a paddle. He won't dive in like Caesar but he does like that splish splash moment.

Ceasar loves to snuffle,

to meander, 

to investigate, he gets very excited with forests and deep drifts of leaves,

he is at this time of his life, now 3 years old and very strong, very healthy and very active...a happy lad. This final image is of Caesar now , 2015, three and a bit years old, happy, healthy and fearless. He is my best friend alongside Jake. He is quite literally, my little lad.

Sunday Morning October walk

WoodleyWoodFarm 2015

We had our Sunday walk today its not the gorgeous Ramson decorated drive of spring now which you can see in the picture, instead we have

CRUNCHY LEAVES ! There is something about pouncing paws and the crunch of a good bed of leaves , the sound, the hidden treasures under them, the way the wind blows as gently as it can and we still get a cascade of swirling leaves to chase and yap and bark excitedly about.

Caesar loves snuffling his nose deep into the leaves, the deeper the drift the better and he always comes up with something crunching in his mouth. I have to check it isn't snails, he is a devil for them (must have a touch of French blood in him somewhere)

Jake is more nonchalant, he just likes to scuffle his paws through the drifts making noises.

The day has been very misty, and a sharp cold snap in the air. Perfect for a Sunday Morning clear out.

But of course Caesar found water...he always manages to get a little somewhere, if it isn't the river its puddles !

I could have throttled him for this one, he just ran through and through and pounced and jumped and generally splashed himself, me and Jake in thick red mud filled water...*sigh, sometimes he is an absolute menace for it. The problem of course is that the water (which doesn't smell because it is fresh and drained off the land) is actually surface flood water. Once it drains down to the driveway it can't 'go' anywhere it has to seep through the compacted soil of the drive. So it is thick with mud, small stones and the gods help us if the sun has had a chance to get too it because every water egg laying insect for miles comes to make a deposit...euwwwwww!

Never the less he is adorable and I forgave him. He is currently lay on his big fuffy blanket looking thoroughly happy with himself and caked in mud because I didn't even get the chance to just sponge him down.

Oh no, Mr Caesar who can do what he wants if he decides to be stubborn, headed straight for his blanket and that was it, eyes closed and off to doggy sleep heaven. Jake on the other hand went for the water bowl and a good clean up, he is a fastidious little chap. Where his pack mate will lie in caked mud for hours if we let him, Jake is more like a cat, long cleaning sessions and then he wants to be stroked and cuddled for a while before he finds a sun spot onn the wooden kitchen floor to lie in  perfect contentment...I should say Purrfect, I swear he must have some cat genes in him, he even jumps up onto the back of the sofa like a cat does, if there is sunshine to be lay in, he is so there.

So Sunday has been a great success and the boys know i go to the shops today to pick up their food 

and treats 

so they are behaving extra specially well...because Mum has 'treats' to buy. 

Sunday Morning walk was a wonderful moment of peace and tranquillity today no disturbances, not even a squirrel or a wandering deer, just me and the boys.

PS: the journey into Kingsbridge today was eventful, I met the delightful knowledgeable and vibrant Jenny and stunningly pretty and amusing Trish, both ladies gave me time to share my experiences and asked for this link...so hello girls :) welcome to our world.

Our First Walk. DEVON

Gimme the fields...yessssssssssss
Jake cannot resist anything that looks remotely like a good high stretch of grass, he hurtles into it with abandon. Being the smaller of the two dogs he sometimes has the advantage on Caesar because he can see where Mr Fox has been.! Not just smell him, (and Jake is an amazing tracker) He can often see the tunnels through extremely long grass caused by the Fox on its own deadly hunt during the night.

I can let Jake run a good 20 feet on his Flexi lead but the problem has not been his run, it has been Ticks. Oh euwwww they have been a pain this year. Were we are currently is along the River Avon. The fields here haven't been cut for a long time, once a year at most, they are thick with Ticks amongst other things. Slow Worms, Grass Snakes, and huge spiders but the Ticks have been the main issue. Poor Jake had one of the vile little pests on his eyelid. OUCH ,

So the public right of way marked as being from Loddiswell Station to Topsham Bridge. Through the Kahdr Estate  in parts. We walked through the countryside part of the walk. Where various write ups say 'quiet country lanes' I always want to shout at the author...have you ever walked down a country lane? tractors, harvesters, drivers in four by fours who bowl along at speeds that are not exactly slow...and unexpected bicyclists ...yes the roads 'can' be quiet, but why walk a road when the main path...is through a quiet and beautiful countryside?

Following the old railway line. Is muddy in places, not too bad as long as your good on your feet and wearing wellies. As much for yourself and protecting your ankles and calves from the Ticks as for keeping your feet from being wet. Jakes body had a thorough search when we got back because he really doesn't do well if bitten by anything, it can trigger his epilepsy off.

Caesar had a different experience due to his very thin skin and fur he had to have sunblock rubbed along his back, the sun was fierce and  he goes 'Barbie Pink' very quickly. He had several ticks trying to burrow under his tender flesh around his chest and under his belly in the groin and on his tail! They took ages to remove.
Staying out of the longer grass he wanted a dip in the river...not really a good idea, its very fast flowing at the moment , very clean as you would expect River Avon feeds into the water supply for humans. Seeing it filled with the red  mud from the hills after a rainfall is really a wow moment and it can flood this little path but today, it was a good fast flowing crystal clear water.

Denied a swim, Caesar contented himself with attempting to eat huge snails and chasing a snake but I stopped him doing both. The look your seeing in his image...is because he saw the wild Deer. Currently there are two young deer wandering around. how much longer for is a mute question with hunters and so on, but for now these gorgeous animals are roaming freely through the land and Caesar would have 'loved' to chase them. That focussed vision was right there.

A pleasant walk if a little overgrown in places, brambles spoil the edges of the Public Right of Way, there are numerous abandoned machinery along the path on the privately owned land and accessing the fields is prohibited (and tick ridden) as it is private property. The path over the old railway bridge is very overgrown, nettles and brambles, so a good coat for the human and a stout walking stick to hack them down so the dogs avoid sore eyes or scratched skin is probably a good idea.

Sadly the advertising blurb doesn't match the reality. Agricultural  and Industrial archeology comprises of rusty overgrown machinery and a few broken walls, but for the true enthusiast you can figure it out. Barbistelle,Pipistrelle, Daubenton and Long Eared bats swoop around the area. Several Owls make their presence known. A late evening walk can be restful, peaceful and very fulfilling for human and dogs.
The wildlife is proliferate, dragon flies, Buzzards, and all sorts in between, Palmate and Crested Newts rub shoulders with frogs like this cute fellow . Amazing collection of wild flowers, probably the most varieties I have ever seen 'all in one place', not so happy to see Japanese Knotweed and

Himalayan Balsam which no doubt will strangle a lot of the hedgerows. But in general...a great walk to investigate.
Fantastic walk for wearing the dogs out, and me...but not a well kept walk, it has its issues.

ADVICE

Walking Stick
Strong Wellies or waterproof boots (very muddy)
Good strong thorn proof clothing
Water for the dogs if your out a while, drinking from the river isn't achievable safely.

You can access fuller information from this link but the picture they have used is 'to' the walk not the walk itself.
http://walks.walkingworld.com/Walk/Loddiswell-Station---Topsham-Bridge---Woolston-Farm-Circuit.aspx

Caesar and Jake and The Last Great Adventure

           

Caesar

Jake

These are my boys Caesar is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, 3 years old with various scars and marks from his past before I got him. Jake is a Jack Russel who is nearly ten, has epilepsy, and suffers blindness in his left eye due to a slipped scalpel when he had a caesarian birth. Both dogs are rescue, that is they came into my life having had previous owners and I can honestly say they are my babies, my boys.

Jake is fascinated by the land, he loves nothing more than hurtling through the woodlands and especially if holes are involved which is why, you will see him in that terrain with his collar and lead on. He is too old to go rabbiting and ratting, the natural behaviour of all Terriers, he is a naughty boy, wilful and determined and he runs off. I have spent many an hour feeling hopelessly upset because he has done a runner, sitting dispirited because I couldn't find him, only to have him turn up, with that cheeky little face (I swear grinning) and wanting his cuddle. he is a great big softy and loves his luxuries, extra pillows, a snuggle under MY duvet...all is there for his comfort..but he wants mine the little devil.

Run through the mud, rolled in the fox doo dah and now...just what is THAT ? can you eat it?

The boys work together, occasionally they fight together but its normally handbags and snarls time. It 'looks ' horrific but anyone with more than one dog will tell you its a common problem. Jake really believes he should be top dog, Caesar is equally convinced he is top dog by right of coming to my pack first.

Caesar is a darling, spoiled rotten and ready for a hug, a cuddle and if he can climb on your knee he will . He is very particular about who he is affectionate with, the list comprises of............anyone who will give him attention. He is an outrageous flirt. For Caesar it is the sea and the call of the water which will rule his preferences. He loves the sea in every manner available, to splash in, run through, dive under, fetch sticks, snuffle fish, he is a real water baby.

        He constantly amazes me with his desire to be part of a group but if he gets anywhere near another dog he is a very different boy. His desire to be top dog means he also wishes to dominate other dogs, so that's what he does. The minute a dog agrees he is the boss all is calm, he wants to play, so he has a lot of learning to do as yet. Socialising for him is not possible with his current behaviour, he isn't vicious but he is unlearned, unable to comply with a nice walk and a gentle stroll, he wants to run, to rough house, to play.
One day, I am hopeful we will find a way for that enthusiasm to finally be harnessed in an acceptable way for him and for other dogs.


So these are my two boys and they have this blog because they are going on an adventure with me. We are going to travel around Britain, gathering research and data and they are going to investigate Great Walks , ones that tire a four legged friend out with happy moments. That should be enough work and pleasure for them.
We hope you come back and visit us, the boys like to investigate and will love sharing their adventures with you.  

coming to your area most probably...and soon, the boys !