Dorothy is becoming a powerful and rather energetic little dog
The more confident she has become the more I have to lead her in public, so rambunctious and bouncy and excited she is when out of the house!
Her main problem is her amazing ability to jump and jumping she loves to do directly at you in a wide mouthed google eyed way.
With no thought of the ramifications of dirty paws and muscular legs.
I am training her slowly
She is always put on the lead and under control if another dog or walker approaches and when she does get too bouncy, an outstretched hand and a sharp turn sidewards often stops her in her tracks
It's a work in progress.
Today she had been left to run on a totally deserted walkway in the weak spring morning sun when out of the blue a middle aged woman suddenly appeared in view climbing through brambles out of a field.
Dorothy was perhaps forty feet from the woman and a good sixty feet in front of me and she stopped dead still looking worried.
Then I heard the woman say to Dorothy " Hello cutchiface!" in an overly friendly way.
Now I must stop here for a moment to add a bit of colour to the proceedings
" Cutchi face" is a a sort of hybrid Liverpudlian/ Welsh greeting of long ago.
Cutchi is an English version of the word Cwtch which means hug or cuddle in Welsh
Hence Cutchi face literally means huggable face
Hearing such a friendly greeting coupled with an open arm welcome, Dorothy literally jumped at the chance for some affection and so ran forward and effectively dropped kicked the woman mid chest at ten feet away.
Both disappeared through the brambles with a cry before I could even open my mouth.
The first thing I saw when I ran up was a single half Wellington boot lying poignantly amid the brambles
Dotty had literally knocked the woman out of her shoes!
Luckily there was no injuries apart from a very muddy coat and a very dirty sock and after a bit of struggling I had the woman back on her feet in a matter of minutes
" She moves quite quickly for a bulldog" the woman observed wryly as Dorothy smiled desperately at everyone involved
" I'm so sorry" I gushed , hoping not to be sued " These dogs will be the death of me !"
" Almost the death of me " the woman corrected
The more confident she has become the more I have to lead her in public, so rambunctious and bouncy and excited she is when out of the house!
Her main problem is her amazing ability to jump and jumping she loves to do directly at you in a wide mouthed google eyed way.
With no thought of the ramifications of dirty paws and muscular legs.
I am training her slowly
She is always put on the lead and under control if another dog or walker approaches and when she does get too bouncy, an outstretched hand and a sharp turn sidewards often stops her in her tracks
It's a work in progress.
Today she had been left to run on a totally deserted walkway in the weak spring morning sun when out of the blue a middle aged woman suddenly appeared in view climbing through brambles out of a field.
Dorothy was perhaps forty feet from the woman and a good sixty feet in front of me and she stopped dead still looking worried.
Then I heard the woman say to Dorothy " Hello cutchiface!" in an overly friendly way.
Now I must stop here for a moment to add a bit of colour to the proceedings
" Cutchi face" is a a sort of hybrid Liverpudlian/ Welsh greeting of long ago.
Cutchi is an English version of the word Cwtch which means hug or cuddle in Welsh
Hence Cutchi face literally means huggable face
Hearing such a friendly greeting coupled with an open arm welcome, Dorothy literally jumped at the chance for some affection and so ran forward and effectively dropped kicked the woman mid chest at ten feet away.
Both disappeared through the brambles with a cry before I could even open my mouth.
The first thing I saw when I ran up was a single half Wellington boot lying poignantly amid the brambles
Dotty had literally knocked the woman out of her shoes!
Luckily there was no injuries apart from a very muddy coat and a very dirty sock and after a bit of struggling I had the woman back on her feet in a matter of minutes
" She moves quite quickly for a bulldog" the woman observed wryly as Dorothy smiled desperately at everyone involved
" I'm so sorry" I gushed , hoping not to be sued " These dogs will be the death of me !"
" Almost the death of me " the woman corrected
John, your life sounds like a sitcom at times. I had a good laugh with your description of her boot just stuck in the undergrowth. At times your writing reminds me of the James Herriot books, which I love and read again & again when I need a pick-me-up. I hope at sometime in the future you'll consider stringing your stories together in a book. I think with a good editor you'd have a best seller. All the best from Canada!
ReplyDeleteMy favourite book when I was a pre teen
DeleteTricky woo, Sigfried and the rest of the gang
Getting sued is not what you need right now! I can picture the scene vividly. Poor woman and poor you!
ReplyDeleteYour Dorothy didn't mean to be naughty, she is just a full-of-love sweet "Cutchi Face".
ReplyDeletedottie dottie dottie! you need to mellow out a bit like your sister winnie.
ReplyDeleteI get dogs jumping up at me when I am walking around the village. Mostly it's my fault because I like to greet them, and they know it. I love a happy dog with a waggy tail.
ReplyDeleteThat's the sort of incident that I dread happening with Rick; he loves to launch himself at people.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what the woman had been doing in the brambles. Are there any public lavatories along that walkway?
ReplyDeleteTrust u
DeleteOh I haven't heard Cutchiface for years ! What a funny scene you describe John.
ReplyDeleteI have stared using a clicker and treat again as Raffie has begun to approach people eating sandwiches outside even in this awful weather so I predict a difficult summer with a young Labrador !
Raffie has started to lick childrens' faces too so I have to get on top of this before we both get into trouble...... Difficult as we visit a nursing home where the residents positively want Raffie to lick their faces and eat their biscuits !!!! X
Very funny picture. Is that word the same as Freddie 'Parrot Face' Davies used to use, or is 'Chuchieface' different?
ReplyDeleteOn reflection , I think you are more right that I
DeleteI think that's where I remember it
Malcolm our springer pup, loves "greeting" people by trying to land on them. Training is a work in progress. Dottie sounds fabulous x
ReplyDeleteShe's learning
DeleteMaybe that woman will learn from this when approaching a dog that is not leashed. Hard way to learn, I say.
ReplyDeleteI learner not to take a chance letting Dotty off
DeleteOh gawd … lucky the woman was so amenable. She'll not emerge from bushes with quite as exuberant a greeting next time, more likely to be seen waving a little white flag.
ReplyDeleteI think she realised she shouldn't have called Dorothy over...well she regretted it
DeleteA loose dog will only reach a human first how ever good the owner's intentions are. I could see how the story was panning out.
ReplyDeleteI am now crying with laughter.
ReplyDeleteOn Monday I cried with sorrow watching an encore screening of The Cellist (following your blog post).
Thank you for both
Wasn't it amazing?
DeleteThat was so funny. The imagery of the lady falling backwards. I have tear rolling down my cheeks.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear the lady was ok.
Carol
Yes she was fine andvery gracious
DeleteTo misquote a well-known phrase - 'some fathers do 'ave 'em'!
ReplyDeleteWinnie pulled over an elderly lady a year or two ago on the same walkway
DeleteOh my God. That is so funny. I'm laughing out loud here. I'm glad the woman was OK!
ReplyDeleteShe could have broken a hip
DeleteThis reminded me of a song from the kid's movie "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"....... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aak6BqNR150
ReplyDeleteLove the punchline at the end.
ReplyDeleteOoops! Sort of like being lovingly greeted by a cannonball! Poor woman lol.
ReplyDeleteI've always used the expression "gis a cutch", even too my kids (we live in France), and it was only recently that I learned it was a Welsh word. Guess I got it from my mom then.
ReplyDeleteIt's a nice phrase
DeleteIf you join the Dogs Trust for £25 a year, you get liability cover for your dog included. Sheena
ReplyDeleteI have it already flo x
DeleteI always thought bulldogs were like little bulls in a China shop. They don't know their own strength. But she is a cutie.
ReplyDeleteShe's very strong
DeleteLeash. "Heel" "Stop!" The woman could have been very angry and/ or injured.
ReplyDeletereally?
DeleteAbsolutely I totally agree
DeleteI usually make sure Dorothy is on the lead when people are around ...thus is vital with all dogs that you don't know the. History of .
She caught me by surprise.
To be fair to Dorothy , she comes immediately when called
I just never had time to callher
John, the reason I questioned that was because you had explained in this very post that you are in the process of training and we all know you insist on decent behaviour so theres no need to be giving you lessons like you're five
DeleteKylie when training a dog in a public setting they should be leashed for their safety as well as the public's safety. John had Dorothy, who is still young, a re-home and not 100% trained, off leash.
DeleteHe was also in a deserted area and not expecting a lady to emerge from the hedge … accidents happen and we can all learn from them.
DeleteShe doesn’t know her own strength, such a sweetie
ReplyDeleteDear oh dear oh dear.
ReplyDeleteI know the imagery is droll, but this is not a funny thing to have happen to a person.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely , I was mortified . Luckily the woman was very gracious
DeleteIt was the ladies fault really John as she did call out to Dorothy even though Dorothy had stopped as she has and is being trained to do so.So to me she encouraged her to approach her.She,I hope realizes her mistake.A few years ago I was alone and walking througb a local park to feed my uncle's cat.I met a lady and her 2 dogs that looked like lassie.I absent minded stroked one and it bit me and I bled.I knew I needed a tetanus jab
ReplyDeleteand diverted to doctors.I was dripping blood.I told her it was my fault and would not report her x
No it was my fault for letting her off the lead flis x
DeleteAh, the mindless, energetic exuberance of the young! It seems Dorothy did have a moments hesitation before the woman greeted her so perhaps it wasn't so mindless. Sweet Dottie doesn't know her own strength. I'm so glad the woman wasn't hurt and could joke about it.
ReplyDeleteIt's a funny story in the retelling!
Hugs!
She's very nervous of new dogs and new people and will only usually greet after Mary has shown it's ok to do so
DeleteOh dear. Bloody dogs:)
ReplyDeleteI had no idea Dorothy was that enthusiastic. Maybe you should consider the Olympic trials for her.
ReplyDeleteShe's incredibly fast and bouncy..I suspect it's her nervous disposition
DeleteSo funny to read I picture it as a cartoon with the women lying on her back in the bushes and dog licking her face but I'm so glad she wasen't hurt and had a sense of humor.
ReplyDeleteNo licking Dorothy legged it
DeleteWell Dorothy’s enthusiastic behavior certainly sounds charming,
ReplyDeletemaybe not an elderly in a bramble bush though.
Fun read!
Oh, thank the goddess she was a nice person. Of course anyone who starts off with Hello Cutchiface would have to be. AND that’s my new nickname for San Geraldo! Thanks for that, Cutchiface (maybe for you, too).
ReplyDelete