Adventures in the Farnworth Household and a New Guest Writer!!

Okay everyone…Chester here!! Have hijacked my human’s arty blog, she’s been a bit remiss with it recently so though I would entertain you for a bit instead!!

I am a part working, part show cocker spaniel though rumour has it there may be some Labrador/Retriever in my heritage but I am keeping quiet about that despite steadily growing larger than my humans ever thought I would… a solid 14 kilos at my last weigh in at the vets (boy do I love that place… I ran my female human absolutely ragged the last time she took me…. soooo many delicious smells…..)

Anyway they aren’t the most experienced of owners and I have been having great fun testing their good humour, their physical stamina, their emotional well-being and their sleeplessness to the limits and they have now introduced me to another human who is altogether a different kettle of fish (sounds like that would be tasty) and he has me somewhat mesmerised into submission. They call him a dog trainer but I am just in love and so happy they brought him into my life. My trainer says we puppies need boundaries and rules (but all I can do is gaze lovingly into his eyes… sigh) and my humans weren’t too good at that, letting me on their knees, the sofas the bed you name it they allowed it… all I had to do was look at either one of them with my big amber spaniel eyes and they were putty in my paws!!! 

But my new human is teaching me (and them) my place and where I sit in the Farnworth household hierarchy and assures everyone I will be much happier once I know my place as a dog!!  I haven’t been out for my daily run since he came to see me for the first time, he says I need to learn some manners and pay more attention to what my owners are saying before I can be let loose again,  I mean I’m not a bad boy but I more or less do what I want and eventually go to them when they call but they’re so slow they can’t catch me when  I am running wild with gay abandon dodging them with my rugby dummies in the fields!!

Before he came, they decided to take me to a puppy training class, what fun that was!! Full of other puppies though none of them as excited about things as I was so of course it was my job, obligation and downright duty to wind them all up as much as possible, straining to get at them all at every opportunity and generally running riot during the whole session. My humans didn’t seem too pleased about how I behaved there and decided to cut my lessons short and introduce me to one to one training where I can be the complete centre of attention even though for some reason now they seem to be ignoring me a bit and our cosy intimate sessions on their bed and the sofa have been conspicuous by their absence since he came but don’t you all worry I spy my moments and every so often, when they think I’m not looking and they accidentally leave the door open I am up those stairs before you can say pedigree chum and up on that lovely squidgy bed!!

A new device has arrived at the house, seems it’s a new lead which my trainer has suggested the humans get… it is meant to be better for me and to stop me pulling and I am such a good boy when my trainer uses it on me…. I walk I turn, I go slow and I even walk to heel when he drops the lead (he thinks I haven’t noticed but I have!!) haha,  lets see what happens when my humans take me, am not too hopeful of them managing me and I am so excited at the thought of going out again I may not be able to restrain myself!! But I am just so lovely and cute I know they won’t stay mad at me for long even  if I don’t do quite as they say!!

I must say my trainer was right, this concentrating business is fair wearing me out, it requires a lot of my puppy brain power to sit, stay, wait, leave and all the other commands demanded of me, but I secretly quite enjoy the challenge and though I still get incredibly excited whenever anyone different comes to the house I know I will make my humans happier if I can contain myself and not jump up into people’s nether regions with the potential damage I may do there!! I am finding that one difficult, but I am being so good in other respects, it has been a couple of days since I jumped on the furniture, they really don’t like that any more and I am such a good boy on my new lead, and I trot along really nicely for them……and I do seem to be getting a lot of treats, bit like a slot machine, I do good.....ker-ching.....another treat! Not rocket science and sometimes I sit, stay, lie down and leave all at once, as I am bound to have got one of them right!!

So that’s all for now, will update you all on my progress soon!! BTW am really looking forward to Christmas… rumour has it there will be 14 humans here (including 5 young ones who have lots more energy and will be lots more playful)…..and there's even another dog, he’s my cousin, another spaniel boy…….my cup runneth over !!!!