Buzzed

Happy Birthday today , Dad. 50! Officially an old git! Nice cards from lots of people, but mean age-ist ones from his brothers!

He reckons on your 50th birthday you should do lots of things you want to do and nobody should make you do anything you don't want to do. He decides it's warm (hot) enough for us all to need a good ol' buzz over with the clippers, so out comes the wooden board, the patented non-skid sheet of left-over pond liner, and the tupperware box full of clippers, blade oil and bits and pieces.

We are rounded up one by one (I am last) and given the works. In Meg and the H's case, they also get a trim up around the feet, as their pads are so wide with fluff they look like snow shoes. Dad is, by his own admission, no expert, but he's getting neater with the practise and Meg and H say it's nowhere near as embarrassing to go out in public with recent efforts than it was when they were younger.

Anyway, I think I look quite neat and tidy - very smooth around my back, flanks, rump and neck - No 5 with the grain over most of it, against the grain up my neck, No 3 around my bum and a scissor cut round the head and ears and along the tail. I was very brave and did not object to it, except once when Dad disappeared round the back out of sight. I remember when he combed me once as a pup and caught a knot of tangled hair and made me yip. I thought it was going to happen again, so I yipped pre-emptively, but I was told to shoosh, and it went OK after that.

Cooler now in the sun

Look after yourselves. Humans are off to see chum Abdulk for a restaurant meal tonight, so we'll be left to fend, I guess

Deefer

Haircut, Hastings and Shampoo

What a big day! We started off (at my 07:00 request) with a walk all around the Abbey Fields and the Iron Wharf. Dad likes to see the Thames Sailing Barges, although a lot of them at this time of year are in drydock, being fixed, or are under "poly-tunnels" of plastic, with their masts and rigging all lowered. We like this walk in the wet, as it's not too muddy, but we still manage to get dirty "skirts" through the puddly bits

Then it was time for a haircut. Megan and Haggis got a proper buzz-over (No 5) their necks, backs, flanks and bums, plus a scissor trim round their faces. Dad admits he's no expert, but they come out looking OK, and every time he does it he saves £35 or so per dog. There were HEAPS of cut hair everywhere. Then it was my turn, but Dad only gave me a light scissor cut to trim off my whispy, voluminous "hareem pants", round off my ears into the family uniform "teddy bear" shape, and tidy my bum, then buzzed the trimmers near to me without cutting any hair, to get me used to the idea. Then we all got a treat

The buzz-cut removes all the beige-grubby outer fur, leaving us stark white above the "tide-line", and only serves to accentuate how dirty were our skirts after the puddle-bashing. A shampoo-ing was threatening, but first we had to go to Hastings to visit Grandma and Grandad. Every Saturday for 50 years or so (probably longer!), I am told, Grandma has cooked steak and kidney pud, so Mum and Dad generally arrange visits for the Saturday! The only Saturdays they miss are Christmas (in which case the pud is on the 26th), or if they are away. They were great, although I had to have a gruff and bark at Grandad's wheelie-walker thingy. Scary. The garden is great, too - all old, long-established and wild. Even has a 70 foot, 40 year old gnarly old willow tree.

The shampoo came to all of us when we got back home. Dad lit a real fire, so we'd be able to dry out quickly, then dad took us one by one (me first) into the shower, while Mum was on towel duty on the landing. Now, you can see from the photo, we are all gleaming white, fragrant and fluffy

Soon change that!

Deefer