The Call of the West Coast

We had a great time during the last three weeks on the island of Sealand. It did the girls a lot of good to experience a change of surroundings, have people and other dogs venture right outside of our front door.

Revenge of the Shih Tzu

"Woof, woof!" Both Tilde and Zerline were barking at the little Shih Tzu who passed by the fence.

To Wart Or Not To Wart

As soon as Zerline noticed the group of people she was away, loudly barking at the approaching "threat". Tilde was right behind her, equally displeased it seemed. A Hovawart arrest was eminent.

Mama's Last Hug. Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves

Animals have emotions. I know, I am preaching to the choir. We - dog people - already know this. Still, I want to highly recommend this book, "Mama's Last Hug. Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves."

Dog Studies Man

The feeling someone is looking at me suddenly comes up. I quickly look at the window, but no creepy person there, neither is there a ghost standing behind my me when I look over my shoulder. Then I notice Zerline, the source of the disturbance in my sixth sense.

Driving Miss Zerline

"Woof!" I looked in my rear view mirror.
We were driving on the highway and the car behind us was so close it could almost touch our towing hook. Another case of an Audi in a hurry.

The Symphony

I wasn't wrong with my prophecy. "Dit is een goed stel hoor," excuse my Dutch.

The Joy Dog

It's Tilde's 6th birthday today. Maybe. She was born somewhere around February 17, 2013. That much we do know.

Distraction

A dog and his person appeared on the horizon. We don't meet many people this time of the year. Most avoid the wind-swept West-coast during Winter. But there are like-minded people who, like us, seek the solitude.

Band of Equals

More than a decade ago, when I visited Kenzo's breeder for my first Hovawart puppy, Kenzo quickly lost his interest in me during our initial greeting. He just sat down, with his side casually leaning against a fence while looking out over the fields adjacent to the breeder's house. Watching the grass grow seemed a whole lot more interesting than us, he seemed to think.

Confidence Collection

No, I am not standing in front of a mirror and giving myself a pep talk. It has been a while since my last post and I thought about what could best capture our long absence from the blog.

Where There Is No Time

I hesitated for a moment. It was 7am. "No, I am not going to do it," I whispered to myself. Before there were dogs in my life, I preferred to start my working day at 7am, well ahead of my co-workers and customers, who usually start at 9-ish.

An Unusual Friend

There she was again, our daily visitor. The doe looked at me through the window. She didn't seem afraid at all. She was only 15 feet away.

A Touch of Crazy

"They are crazy," my friend said. I could hear the astonishment in her voice.

Conversations With A Hovawart #9: On The Job

"You are getting better and better at guarding our realm, Zerline," I said, in an attempt to sound motivational.

Like Me, Like Me Not

With the last guests leaving in the coming weekend, a two and a half month streak of welcoming visitors is coming to an end. Apart from their incident, which both Tilde and Zerline luckily already seem to have forgotten, it was good to be around people again.

Licking Our Wounds

What never should happen has happened.

Conversations With A Hovawart #7: Guests

"When are my next visitors arriving?"

Flying The Puppy Home, A Flashback

Atie and me had a lot to talk about during her visit. We also made many trips down memory lane back to the puppy days, and I realized I never shared with her - and with you for that matter - what happened flying back to Denmark with Zerline. I was too preoccupied with my puppy those first couple of days.

Puppy, Puppy, Puppy

"It's really her, Zerline."