A Brittany and a Greyhound make a comic sight when you're out walking them.
Saturday was hot so we took Goldie and Billy to the Merri Creek, a shady watercourse that is a tributary of the Yarra River. After a few kilometres we came to an enclosed football pitch where we let the dogs run off-leash.
Goldie needed no encouragement to tear around, typical Brittany she is; however Billy is a lazy greyhound and I usually have to run around like crazy in order to get him to do the same. Eventually he broke into a full gallop and did so for at least, oh, ten seconds.
The grass on the pitch was lush and green. In the middle was a round hole, a couple of feet across, for watering access. Above the pipe outlet, the hole was full of mud. Billy pawed at it, and then rolled himself in the mud. He stood up, chocolate brown from his nose to his tail. back home, I had to hose him down to return him to his pristine white-and-fawn state.
3/29/2004
3/23/2004
More dogs than people eating breakfast at the Blairgowrie cafe.
It's true. I counted twenty-seven dogs and only twenty-five people at the outdoor cafe.
Majority: Golden Retrievers. Then Yellow Labradors, Black Labradors, Cavaliers, Beagles, Poodles, standard and miniature, those little grey terriers with mustaches, a Spoodle, a couple of German Shepherds and a bunch of friendly mutts. One woman had a Shih-Tzu sitting up on its own chair.
And of course, Goldie the elderly Brittany who tears around like a pup and Billy the Greyhound who is so shy and retiring and has such beautifully 'mascaraed' Cleopatra-like eyes people think he's a girl.
It was a beautiful still Autumn morning, the sky meeting the sea in a gleaming seamless silver haze. We walked the three kilometres to the cafe and took up a table in the sun. (We had intended going for a 10 kilometre run, but decided a lazy amble to the food store in the autumn sunshine to eat bacon and eggs and drink coffee would be a grand alternative. That's dedication to training!)
Basically, if you have a dog and you like coffee, you eat at the Blairgowrie cafe. And if you don't, you don't. Dogless people are quite welcome though. As are smokers, they can sit outside.
Billy lay on the concrete (taking about five seconds to get down, he's like a camel when it comes to lowering himself) while Goldie peremptorily bumped down onto her haunches and regarded the scene with the haughty magisterial air only a senior female alpha dog (is this possible, I don't know) can muster, issuing the odd truncated bark at one or another dog.
There was a fierce-looking Doberman as well, tied up to the railing. A girl of about four came out from the cafe and started hugging his neck.
We get a lot of interest in Billy. A man with a beagle asked me how energetic he is. That's ironic, coming from a Beagle owner, thinking the Greyhound's going to be hard work.
People are surprised when they find out Greyhounds are couch potatoes. Literally in Billy's case - he has a double 'fold-out' sofa that converts to a bed. Goldie has a regular dog-pad, she's happy with that, although she does occasionally climb up onto Billy's bed. They look hilarious, sitting there like bookends.
Majority: Golden Retrievers. Then Yellow Labradors, Black Labradors, Cavaliers, Beagles, Poodles, standard and miniature, those little grey terriers with mustaches, a Spoodle, a couple of German Shepherds and a bunch of friendly mutts. One woman had a Shih-Tzu sitting up on its own chair.
And of course, Goldie the elderly Brittany who tears around like a pup and Billy the Greyhound who is so shy and retiring and has such beautifully 'mascaraed' Cleopatra-like eyes people think he's a girl.
It was a beautiful still Autumn morning, the sky meeting the sea in a gleaming seamless silver haze. We walked the three kilometres to the cafe and took up a table in the sun. (We had intended going for a 10 kilometre run, but decided a lazy amble to the food store in the autumn sunshine to eat bacon and eggs and drink coffee would be a grand alternative. That's dedication to training!)
Basically, if you have a dog and you like coffee, you eat at the Blairgowrie cafe. And if you don't, you don't. Dogless people are quite welcome though. As are smokers, they can sit outside.
Billy lay on the concrete (taking about five seconds to get down, he's like a camel when it comes to lowering himself) while Goldie peremptorily bumped down onto her haunches and regarded the scene with the haughty magisterial air only a senior female alpha dog (is this possible, I don't know) can muster, issuing the odd truncated bark at one or another dog.
There was a fierce-looking Doberman as well, tied up to the railing. A girl of about four came out from the cafe and started hugging his neck.
We get a lot of interest in Billy. A man with a beagle asked me how energetic he is. That's ironic, coming from a Beagle owner, thinking the Greyhound's going to be hard work.
People are surprised when they find out Greyhounds are couch potatoes. Literally in Billy's case - he has a double 'fold-out' sofa that converts to a bed. Goldie has a regular dog-pad, she's happy with that, although she does occasionally climb up onto Billy's bed. They look hilarious, sitting there like bookends.
3/19/2004
Back on track. And more dog news.
Cranked out a nice hill training session with the group last night after yet another hiatus with back and hamstring troubles. Five times up a long hill of about 500 metres with a sharp increase in gradient over the last 100 metres.
The cross country season is coming up soon and we're all looking forward to running over hill and dale, jumping fences and leaping muddy creeks on cold Saturday afternoons followed by a steaming hot bath (not all together)!
Missed the track & field finals due to the injury.
Kept fit just by walking the dogs. Oh yes - the dogs. Goldie's been a naughty girl, barking at the cat next door and jumping into the pot plants along the fence. Billy's been OK. Bit lazy, though. You'd think a greyhound would want more exercise than a Brittany. Not Billy.
We took them to Merri Creek - where there are wide open fields near Fawkner - and let Goldie go, she was off out of sight immediately, flushing rabbits out and chasing them crazily all over the place. Billy had a good look too.
It was a hot day and the dogs enjoyed getting down into the creek and lying in the rapids after their exertions. The water is quite clean that far north.
The cross country season is coming up soon and we're all looking forward to running over hill and dale, jumping fences and leaping muddy creeks on cold Saturday afternoons followed by a steaming hot bath (not all together)!
Missed the track & field finals due to the injury.
Kept fit just by walking the dogs. Oh yes - the dogs. Goldie's been a naughty girl, barking at the cat next door and jumping into the pot plants along the fence. Billy's been OK. Bit lazy, though. You'd think a greyhound would want more exercise than a Brittany. Not Billy.
We took them to Merri Creek - where there are wide open fields near Fawkner - and let Goldie go, she was off out of sight immediately, flushing rabbits out and chasing them crazily all over the place. Billy had a good look too.
It was a hot day and the dogs enjoyed getting down into the creek and lying in the rapids after their exertions. The water is quite clean that far north.
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