Committed Travellers

I took Blue to a different pet shop which fortunately had more stock. I bought him a rain jacket and a set of booties. He loves apple so I kept giving him little pieces to take his mind of the boots. When he was running after a piece of apple he forgot about them for a couple of seconds. This exercise will have to be extended each day to get him used to wearing them. It might help if I put them on the right way - I read the instructions after this exercise! I don't want to start doing this in the middle of the outback where there is nowhere for him to walk without getting burrs stuck in his paws. The jacket was more tolerable and looks good. I also ordered a muzzle for him online - one that will prevent him eating baited food. I used toys to train him to drop today and that was more successful than giving him treats, but I have to make sure Tilly is not around to take his attention. Tonight I subjected both Blue and Tilly to their first teeth cleaning - this is another project that...

Today we had a long quiet time in bed with Blue and Tilly. He was exhausted because I took him to a juvenile dog training class last night. The large park had lots of dogs in different classes under lights. It must have been daunting for him. Our class was in a small fenced area and there were five other puppies and one trainer. At one stage he was trembling so I crouched down to comfort him. After a walk around the outside of the park we tried to teach the puppies to drop from a sitting position. Blue is no good at this so I will have to practise with him at home. We will go once a week until we take off in the Bushtracker. This evening we received a message that our Aussie Road Crew Tour will happen as planned at the end of the month, Many Roadies are headed for the border to get across before the deadline. We will spend a few days with local friends at Mapleton on the Sunshine Coast before heading for Childers. Hopefully we will have time to get Blue and Tilly used to caravan travel...

At the markets yesterday we bought Blue a bag of gourmet biscuits and a beef willy. These are otherwise known as bully sticks but are in fact dried bull penises. I gave it to Blue this morning but he didn't really know what to do with it. He sat looking at it for a while but as soon as Tilly wanted it he decided it must be good and chased her away. These antics went on for much of the day. Late in the afternoon I realised they were both missing and all was quiet so went searching for them. Blue was in Tilly's bed in the bedroom and she was lying nearby. This had never happened before - they tend to stay with us in the main living area. It made sense after I found the beef willy under Blue inside Tilly's bed - he doesn't really want it but doesn't want her to have it either.  Anita and I spent some time getting the caravan ready. We connected the power and water to make sure everything works and there are no leaks. It is over seven months since these have been checke...

Today Blue showed his very naughty side - he used his new teeth to pull out lots of small pieces of lambswool from one of Anita's slippers. Up until now we haven't worried when he takes shoes, socks, cleaning cloths or even my down jacket, because he did no damage to any of them. He has previously played with the slippers. I'm not sure what got into him today but we are approaching a full moon. I was out for a couple of hours this afternoon and he was frenetic when I got home. I don't encourage this crazy behaviour but it took a long time for him to calm down. Maybe it was revenge or perhaps he was just entertaining himself. Here he is being delightfully contented with Tilly. She emerged from under the doona at the end of the bed after he basically laid on top of her.   At the markets this morning he was well behaved and discovered an appetite for water melon. He is bigger than another 5 month old toy poodle at the market, but a lot smaller than this big bear. He is rel...

It was with some trepidation that I agreed to taking Tilly with us on our walk to the Salt cafe at the Brickworks on Ferry Road. Before we left I made a quick check of the regulations about cats visiting cafes. Since she is a "companion animal" it seems the same rules apply to her as those that apply to dogs. She travels well in her backpack and I kept her in the pack on my lap. Unfortunately Anita's meal was not very good and my smoothie order was forgotten. Nobody objected to Tilly's presence but I kept a good watch out for other dogs but Blue was the only canine. Tilly can't come with us on a weekend when everybody takes their dogs out with them.  Back at home I applied some more of the chlorine solution but this is a slow process and I have to make sure Blue doesn't come outside before it is hosed off. I moved on the the caravan wheels and applied the Penetrol. This is a paint additive that makes paint flow better so it went on easily. Part way through pai...

I promised a friend I would put a photo of Blue at Bunnings. At least a dozen people smiled at him during our five minute visit. I went for some Penetrol which should help control the rust on the Bushtracker wheels. I washed the wheels but they need to be totally dry before I use the Penetrol so that will have to wait until tomorrow.  On the way home I deviated to the Home Brew Shop in Southport to stock up on dextrose. This is used to make beer but I use it as a sweetener instead of sugar. I mix it with cocoa powder to make hot or cold milk drinks and make a simple chocolate mousse. Another job I have been avoiding is removing the mould from our sandstone pavers. I had some old pool chlorine but it took several applications to start working. This will have to be finished another day. We took Tilly for a walk in her backpack. Blue walked the 2.5kms and I only had to carry him across the main road for safety. He is very good walking on a lead these days. I wore the backpack and didn...

Our friends left this morning so I decided to go back to caravan jobs. Before starting I went to the vet to buy worming pills for Tilly and to book Blue in for his so-called desexing operation - he will still be a male dog. We needed to make sure he will have sufficient recovery time before we take him away with us in the Bushtracker. I ended up doing a lot of research into touchup paint for the van and where to source the specialist products. Our wheels have been replaced twice under warranty because they have rusted within 12 months of being supplied. There is evidence of further rust on a couple of the wheels but I will first try to deal with it myself. There are other areas of rust that need to be tidied up, but nothing is cause for concern.  Tilly and Blue were fairly quiet today after a couple of busy days getting to know our visitors. They seem to have woken up now just as it is time for them to go to bed! Blue wants to get on the bed with me but that isn't happening.