This is a nice old video.
William, old Winnie and George have long gone leaving Mary as matriarch with the ever neurotic Dorothy as back up but it’s important to remind myself that the new Puppy will find his way, like his predecessors did, with the help of Swedish meatballs and some continuity of care.
I’m a firm believer of succession planning when it comes to dogs. Having one in back up never dulls the pain of losing an older dog, it just makes is tolerable.
Dogs also do better in a larger group, I always think. They become more reliant on each other and less reliant on you , which makes the whole pack stronger and more adaptable to change
Mary and Dorothy need a male dog’s presence.
They spark off each other too much with Dorothy’s blind love for me dominating the pecking order a little too aggressively.
Winnie, was the calming voice in the pack.
Now it will be hopefully up to Roger who,
I hope , when older , will be able to step up to the mark and control the girls.
I’ve always, always wanted a dog called Roger.
In fact I really don’t know where the name Finlay , came from, when my first Welsh terrier arrived .
Roger was always going to be his name
Roger was Gerald Durrell’s first dog and his first friend.
He was the constant supporting actor in Durrell’s My Family And Other Animals and Birds Beasts and Relatives and The Garden Of The Gods and followed his ten year old master all over the island of Corfu
What was your childhood dog called?
Skippy, after the bush kangaroo Aussie thing on tv at the time. Skippy was a whippet cross and lived up to her name, she was very bouncy and fast.
ReplyDeleteRoddy. Well, he was the corgi my brother Paul had. I hadn't realised I had family - I'd lived with my mother and my wonderful aunt Moira in the North Island, until suddenly, aged 8, my father turned up, and whisked my mother down south. I was put into weekly boarding school, as Moira was very senior in the public service so couldn't care for me full time. Then after a term, I was put on an aeroplane - a rattly old DC3! - and landed at a small airport, to be greeted my my parents, who introduced me to "Garth, Paul and Roddy" ... well it took me quite a while to work out which were the boys, and which the dog!!
ReplyDeleteMy first dog was a German Shepherd called Max. And then a labrador called Darcy joined him. They were gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteDougal! He was a Cairn Terrier.
ReplyDeleteSuzy, although I only remember her from photos. I've always been a cat person really. No pets now, I just make do with my neighbours 3 cats who treat our house as their holiday home. Come in for a sleep, then go! xx
ReplyDeleteMy childhood dog was called Prince, a black crossbred, with what we never knew he was lovely
ReplyDeleteAs a family we only ever had one dog - Candy - but went through loads of cats.
ReplyDeleteWe ended up with Candy because though she was actually bought for my sister by her new hubby - even at my tender age then of eleven I could see that Candy was really only there to perform the function of a 'substitute child' until a baby arrived, my fears being confirmed on that arrival when Candy was totally ignored or, worse, treated as a nuisance - and so my family took it over, me being the one to do the daily 'walkies' which I didn't mind at all. I recall my feeling of horror later when I overheard my sister telling my mum that she (sister) was thinking of getting a puppy for the baby to 'play with'. I knew full well the same thing would happen with any unfortunate puppy though, thankfully, it never materialised.
Nipper, a Jack Russel. Named after the dog peering into horn of an old fashioned record player.
ReplyDeleteA lab x german shepherd called Heidi
ReplyDeleteFirst dog, Joffa Boy.
ReplyDeleteI liken what you do having six children as against having one. You are going to be a lot more careful and cautious if you don't have any spare.
I found a dog asleep under a hedge early one morning in the snow-I wasn't a child but in my 20 s (my mum wouldn't allow a dog but rabbits)-I named him Toby but later found out his name was Rex-He was my 1st of my love affair of my 9 -My reason for my living x
ReplyDeleteNell, a Corgi.
ReplyDeleteWhat! It is against the law to call a dog Neil!
DeletePut your specs on Pudding - the word is NELL
DeleteTina, a Pembrokeshire Corgi..officially Amber Delight...which she was, the litter runt and a loving cheeky so and so
ReplyDeleteCindy. My father brought her home. A coworker was not able to keep her for reasons I cannot remember.
ReplyDeleteMick or Micky, was what was then known as a mongrel, looking back he was probably part sheepdog/collie, a lovely russet colour for the most part - so much so that I was once standing at Grosmont station (North Yorks. moors railway and a man came up to me and asked why I had a fox on a lead. He was one of those dogs who could laugh with his nose wrinkled up,. He lived until he was about 18 and I wept buckets when he died.
ReplyDeleteChaps. A sort of spaniel cross. I will never forget my mother sitting me down to tell me he had been run over. I remember my mother's distress more clearly than the dog himself.
ReplyDeleteMy father had a hunting dog, but no house dogs, I could go into the deep psychological reasons,
ReplyDeleteVictor, a Carmarthenshire corgi.
ReplyDeleteWe never had a childhood dog. We had a tortoiseshell mama cat oddly called Oscar who gave birth to numerous litters of kittens. I still prefer cats to dogs.
ReplyDeleteYP-But you have Not met my thatch x
DeleteWe don't need your smut flis thank you
DeleteMy thatch appears to look very similar to John's Roger x
DeleteWhen did you see Roger? I thought John hadn't got him yet.
DeleteTich, he was the best brother I ever had X
ReplyDeleteMy mother always had a dog usually a terrier of some sort. My husband to be had a wonderful lab, Brutus. Later my husband and children chose another lab, Kirby. But the dog I have now is “my” first dog. He is a shelter rescue a part bishon named Nicky. I got him during the pandemic and he is a joy! Jane
ReplyDeleteMy childhood dog was a sweet smart sable and white Collie. His name was Moochie. I remember sitting beside him as he was dying. I was about 8 years old at the time I was there with him as he slipped away.
ReplyDeleteWe just received our little Pomeranian puppy. Her name is Fritzi. She weighs about 5 lbs. She is solid black, with shiny black eyes. She has a beautiful coat of fur. She looks like a little angel, but she can think of more mischief to get into than any puppy I have ever seen. She likes to watch a show that is called Too Cute. It is all about people raising litters of various breeds of dogs. When it is on she is glued to the tv. One episode had a little Daschund pup that was i some sort of oversized hot dog costume. The pup got flipped over onto its back and couldn't get back up. Fritzi was so worried about that puppy on the tv that she started barking and crying for it. When everything was fine with that puppy, Fritzi settled down and continued to watch the show intently. I never had a dog that watched tv and actually new what was going on with the characters in the show.
First Whiskers, part lab or something - I was very young and only remember him from pictures. Then came Peppy. I think he was part terrier and part lab. Boy did we love that little guy, but he ran off one day and my mother said good riddance. I hated her for that. Never got over it.
ReplyDeleteBarney - black and white sort-of collie. I have always been an animal lover - maybe because of him.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was fifteen my parents agreed I could purchase my very own dog. I was flush with money due to being a popular neighborhood babysitter. I decided on a Basset Hound puppy which I found in a newspaper ad. This was before the internet and all correspondence was done by mail. She had to be flown in by airplane because she came from another province. I was a little surprised when I first saw her because she didn't look quite like the basset hounds I'd been drooling over in my newly purchased "How to Raise and Train a Basset Hound" guide. As it turned out the reason she didn't look quite right was because she wasn't a pure bred at all. I loved Sasha just the same although I had to put up with some neighborhood snickering and eye-rolling during my early walks with her when I was still attempting to defend her bloodline.
ReplyDeleteOur family dog when I was a child was named Velvet. She was black and tan, similar to a Doberman, but she was a mix. We always had cats as well. Velvet loved my mother so much, that she would howl when she went out. -Jenn
ReplyDeleteMy childhood dog was a Boxer named Ginger. Very gentle dog, good with kids, never ever barked.
ReplyDeleteBeauty, a standard Black and Tan dachshund and the love of my life.
ReplyDeleteA pomerium called Kim. Died aged 16.
ReplyDeleteTwo weeks after buying my first house I acquire Bonnie and Whisky via a rehoming advert in a local paper. Should have been Bonnie and Clyde I think. I always try to have two dogs or more at a time. It makes things easier for every one including the dogs.
Topsy, my Dad, driving to work for an early shift, saw a man dragging her along with a piece of string around her neck. The man was carrying a holdall type bag which was obviously heavy and walking in the direction of a large pond.
ReplyDeleteDad got out of the car, asked the man what he was doing out at such an early hour (Dad was a Police Officer so, was always 'switched on'). It turned out he didn't want the dog, but also didn't want to pay the shilling (5p) it would have then cost to have her put down. The bag contained bricks, he was going to drown her in the pond.
How my Dad kept his temper at that moment and didn't throw the horrible man in the pond I shall never know!
He took the dog from the man, and carried on to work, where she lay behind the desk warily watching everyone who came in.
When he brought her home from work with him, my Mum just accepted that now we had a dog, and Topsy loved us all from then until she died 15 years later.
I was only just over 12 months old when Dad brought her home, so although she wasn't a puppy, we more or less grew up together!
If Dad hadn't been on that part of the road at that time, our Topsy would have died in a horrible manner. As it turned out, she had a wonderful life with us, with a Promenade to go for long walks on, and a family who loved the bones of her, especially Dad, she was his other 'daughter'! X
A little Terrier named Tippy. Always trying to hump our legs and when we moved, I have no clue what ever became of Tippy.
ReplyDeleteMostly we had cats when I was growing up.
Guv'nor, a black lab mix that we got when I was 16.
ReplyDeleteTo
ReplyDeleteTopsey, and Kim, Beauty and Ginger,
Velvet, Sasha and Barney,
Whiskers and Peppy,
Moochie and Fritzi, Brutus, Kirby and Nicky,
Sweet Tich,
Oscar and Victor,
Chaps and Mick,
Cindi Tina and Nell
Toby, JoffaBoy
Heidi, nipper and candy,
Skippy, Roddy and max
Dougie, susie and Prince
And Raymondo’s Candy
You can feel a great deal of love
Simple real love in these. Comments
I won’t forget the others
ReplyDeleteYour dogs are so well behaved, waiting their turns. You have trained them well.
ReplyDeleteMy childhood dog was called Dino but he only lived three years sadly. He was a daschund cross with god only knows what. He was such a sweet little dog but would not come for love nor money. Perhaps meatballs?
My first dog was Ching, a Pekingese, he was owned by the publicans of the pub at the end of our street. The pub was being demolished as part of the 'London slums clearance' the building would now be worth about 10 million in todays money!! Anyway they had to moved pubs, the new brewery didn't allow animals so Ching became mine!
ReplyDeleteHe came with half eaten boiled sweets stuck to his fur and was quite uncared for. He was quite a snappy little blighter and bit my nose on our first meeting, still has a slight kink to it even now. Anyway my mother persevered and he settled down. Many a walk we took, to look in Gamages window at High Holborn . An 8 year old with a posh dog, his lead looped to a mobo scooter, alone wandering about on the City streets. Different times now methinks! Your friend, never met, Tess x
I have nearly finished reading My Family and Other Animals.Never laughed so much. The other 2 books in the Corfu trilogy have just arrived today. ( good old Amazon) Hope they are as enjoyable as this one.
ReplyDeleteNo dog in my childhood, but I married into DH's family that had a collie named Shep, then we had Punkin, Daisy, and Toby. We miss them still.
ReplyDeleteHugs!
When i was 3 i received a cocoa colored poodle for my birthday who ofcourse called Cocoa.. Then there was a German Shephard in my teens called Sheba who went hiking with me in the woods everywhere.. And then another poodle.. the runt of the litter i called Baby . I taught her to jump through a hoop..
ReplyDeleteMy childhood dog was a boxer, called Champ. He was a lovely, energetic dog - very loyal and great fun to be with. We nearly lost him when he was 2 - he swallowed a peach stone and it lodged in his bowel. A very expensive operation later, he was returned to us and lived a happy life. He was 10 when he passed away.
ReplyDeleteA boxer named Zazaika , my best friend till I was 13. I still miss her!
ReplyDeleteIt's so hard to think of Mary as the matriarch ... it seems like only yesterday she was that little pup sat in the dish on your sidebar photo, the baby of the family.
ReplyDeleteI didn't have a dog growing up, in fact until I met Alan and he had Sophie, the Border Collie I had only ever had cats. Sophie was definitely the matriarch of our eventual pack, and Rosy and Suky worshipped the ground she walked on. When they got even slightly out of hand a big gentle paw would be placed on their head and they knew to calm down and lie down.
My first pet was a cat named Freddy. Later there was Little Bit, a Boston Bull Terrier. She was the runt of the litter and given to me by a breeder and family friend.
ReplyDeletemine was daisy a beagle
ReplyDeleteNot a childhood dog but one of our dogs is named jumble , named after just Williams dog , my youngest grandson can't say jumble but calls him jungle lol .
ReplyDeleteA jack Russell called Trudy. She idolised my grandad but only him and would snarl if anyone dared to sit by her. We all loved her very much.
ReplyDeleteWill someone be neutered or will puppies surprisingly appear? My childhood dogs were German shorthaired pointers, Red and Sam. Sam was a pheasant/ duck dog, but Red was my dog from age 2 and bec he was gun shy he was retrained to care for me/ us and be our guardian and companion. Pointers are very calm gentle dogs. Now I have just one Pug.
ReplyDeleteBess. Shortened from Mallard's Best, a purebred Black Lab. My dad got her as a puppy when I was a baby. She grew up with the 6 of us kids and there was never a problem, although she did once snatch my ice cream cone right out of my hand. She went everywhere with us and loved to go swimming with us kids at the lake. She was a very well train hunting retriever as well and went bird hunting with my dad and his brothers every fall. She lived a good long life, but eventually passed from cancer. I miss her still.
ReplyDeleteBarb
My first dog - a Yorkshire Terrier - was called - appropriately - Tichy
ReplyDeleteMy first (and only) dog pet was a Cocker Spaniel named Honey. Since she left us, I've been a cat person all my life. But your video today was so marvelous. I sent it to two friends, one of whom is a "dog whisperer" and rescue person who usually has anywhere from 4 to 8 dogs living with her temporarily. And when feeding time comes, they all line up like yours and each gets their bowl in turn and doesn't try to take an other's food. So I loved your video.
ReplyDeleteMy dad always loved German Shepherds. Nina was the first one we had, soft natured a big girl. We have had a dog called Roger around 35 years ago. Large Jack Russell cross we picked up as a stray hence Roger the lodger. Nearly blind and going deaf. Stayed with us for the rest of his life as no one claimed him. We had two other mixed breeds also and they all got on well. Lovely to be having a new dog in your pack x
ReplyDeleteTicky,Ben, Sam and red,
ReplyDeleteTrudy and jumble
Daisy, Freddie, little bit,Sophie
Zazaika( !) champ cocoa, sheep, pumpkin, daisy and Toby,
Ching and Dino
Great names
Great memories
I only had a rabbit and a cat growing up, but now we've very recently welcomed a feisty little westie to our menagerie, hoping he'll eventually redress the slight imbalance left by our dear old Archie boy - the older female yorkie dislikes the pup but the young lab ( yes, we are complete idiots!) absolutely adores him and I'm hoping he'll be the making of her. Incidentally we've called the pup Stan .
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
Our first dog, my brother and I, in 1963, was called Jip, for Dr.Dolittle's dog in the stories!
ReplyDeleteTucker .....short for Sir Thomas Tucker. But was changed to Tucker short for Sophie Tucker when my Dad took a closer look a few days after we brought her home. She was loved!
ReplyDeleteLinda from Alabama
A black cocker spaniel named Mateo. He loved baby kittens! He would baby sit for the mama cat and climb in the box with them and lick them so gently.
ReplyDeleteE
My parents had a boxer before I was born I never was told it's name but I never had a childhood dog until I was about 12 then Dad brought home a tiny whippet called White Lady, shortened to Lady. Then he bought home an even smaller fawn whippet called Ricardo Red Racer we called her Pippa or Pip. My parents used to race them on the weekends. I loved both of them to bits.
ReplyDeleteJo in Auckland
Tammy she looked like a black westie dog. Every day she had a bowl of tea with 2 sugars in it. I just loved that dog. ❤️ x
ReplyDeleteA collie mix pup from my aunt and uncle. The father was named Jigger and her name became Jiggsy.
ReplyDeleteI didn't have a dog as a child but we always had cats. They were all called either Tiddles or Blackie. I suppose it was us children who named them!
ReplyDeleteMy first dog was called Mickey a collie cross - 60 years later we have just got 3 terrier cross pups - lots of work but worth every minute.
ReplyDeleteThat video has made my day!
ReplyDeleteI didn't have one as a child but my first dog was a black Patterdale Terrier named Billy. I still miss him. X
Jules - I've had 2 rough coated patterdales - Last one 4 years ago-It is still so painful for me x
DeleteThey're great little dogs with lots of 'character.'
DeleteA black cockerspaniel called Star. But my mother hated animals. We had her less than a month when she was gone. My mother said the little boy who gave her to us cried every night, so we had to give him back. Yeah, that was a lie.
ReplyDeleteMy first dog was named BoBo. I could say MaMa and DaDa too.
ReplyDeleteA dog hybrid named Duchess was our family dog for my first few years. childhood dog companion/protector and best friend was a wire fox terrier named Perky. She was extraordinarily intelligent. WFT I adopted when I was grown up was quite the opposite. Proving that not all dogs of same breed are alike.
ReplyDeleteTwo poodles Jemima from Playschool and Sooty !
ReplyDelete