We had a great day on Sunday. We chopped down trees! OK, that sounds a bit over-dramatic. We were actually working with the Countryside Ranger in the Woods, removing the invading silver birch trees. We worked in a triangle along the main path, and found an avenue of oak trees, struggling to grow big and strong. Good job.
We were accompanied by a few other volunteers from the Village, some encouraged by the refreshments, others were there because they care about our environment. I know there are more people who care but just can't find the time to participate in village events. I don't go to everything. I pick and choose the events that will give me the most satisfaction, and it's those that I commit to. The temptation is to try to do everything, and end up doing nothing. I think that happens a lot. So I never promise anything and don't disappoint anyone by not doing my bit.
There were two lovely dogs with us, not the Boxers! Can you imagine our two mad dogs creating havoc? No, we had the pleasure of Charlie and Obi for company. Charlie is a large German Shepherd, Obi is a black labradoodle who travelled from Billingshurst (I think that's actually obi-wan-kenobi but I don't know for sure). Charlie loves a tennis ball or three and we were all distracted at one point or another to throw the ball for him.
I did notice, however, that both he and Obi have very sharp teeth and didn't give up the ball very gently. I am always surprised by this, as my boys have very soft mouths and never 'lick you with their teeth'. Last week, a lovely old boy ran up to me in the car park and sat for a treat. I pulled a Shmacko out of my pocket and he properly grazed my fingers. His owner said afterwards that he isn't very gentle.
Well, I think dogs should be taught to have a soft mouth when taking treats. You never know how some people will react to the teeth. Pulling your hand away or making a noise of surprise could upset the dog, leading to an unpredictable response. I am very confident with dogs and didn't react but it does concern me that dog attacks on children seem to happen so frequently, and I wonder if some of the attacks could have been prevented by not allowing children to go up to strange dogs, especially dogs on leads. Because you can't tell the temperament of a dog just by looking at it, you can't tell if it's nervous or stressed, and all dogs have teeth, soft mouth or not.
You can read about some of our favourite dog walks at Surrey Life.
Follow @Shackleford_LBThere were two lovely dogs with us, not the Boxers! Can you imagine our two mad dogs creating havoc? No, we had the pleasure of Charlie and Obi for company. Charlie is a large German Shepherd, Obi is a black labradoodle who travelled from Billingshurst (I think that's actually obi-wan-kenobi but I don't know for sure). Charlie loves a tennis ball or three and we were all distracted at one point or another to throw the ball for him.
I did notice, however, that both he and Obi have very sharp teeth and didn't give up the ball very gently. I am always surprised by this, as my boys have very soft mouths and never 'lick you with their teeth'. Last week, a lovely old boy ran up to me in the car park and sat for a treat. I pulled a Shmacko out of my pocket and he properly grazed my fingers. His owner said afterwards that he isn't very gentle.
Well, I think dogs should be taught to have a soft mouth when taking treats. You never know how some people will react to the teeth. Pulling your hand away or making a noise of surprise could upset the dog, leading to an unpredictable response. I am very confident with dogs and didn't react but it does concern me that dog attacks on children seem to happen so frequently, and I wonder if some of the attacks could have been prevented by not allowing children to go up to strange dogs, especially dogs on leads. Because you can't tell the temperament of a dog just by looking at it, you can't tell if it's nervous or stressed, and all dogs have teeth, soft mouth or not.
You can read about some of our favourite dog walks at Surrey Life.