Gentle walks around South Ribble

The West Pennine Moors and huge expanses of Lancashire’s sandy beaches are starting to feel like a distant memory these days. We a lucky though to have plenty of nice gentle walks nearby which the dog copes with just fine, although I think I know where he’d rather be.

A walk down up and down the road these days can take half an hour, with his head in the grass sniffing every tuft.  Not the most exciting walk for me but he seems to enjoy it and is full of joy when he realises he doesn’t have to go in the car (he’s never been a fan). Such a familiar walk does give me a chance to judge how he’s doing in terms of eyesight and general health. He steps on and off curbs with no problem in daylight, but it’s harder at night. Having said that, he is far more confident than he was and bight walks are not so different to how they were thus time last year.  I don’t think he can see far, he doesn’t tend to react to dogs on the other side of the road but will acknowledge them when we walk past.  His sight is still good enough to get by day to day without bumping in to things, so doing well!

Longton Brickcroft has been our most visited spot in the past few months. The wide flat paths and plenty of sights, sounds and smells to stimulate the senses have been great.  Worden Park also remains a favourite and he has an occasional run (scamper might be a better word) off lead when it’s quiet. Up to about 30 feet away he can see me I think but further than that I probably blend in with the surroundings.  His ball is still very much the toy of choice but I am pretty cautious and we want no more sprains or torn ligaments.

In terms of general health we’ve had ups and downs. He lost his hearing completely after a nasty ear infection but happily and amazingly it has come back to some extent.  His skin has at the same time flared up at times and despite various antibiotics it’s still not great, but nowhere near as bad as the weepy sores he had a few years ago.  The main problem with antibiotics has been an upset stomach in the past week or so, we he’s off them now as I couldn’t stop him being sick and he lost his appetite , which is just unheard of!  All in all though he’s doing ok, and this morning did actually eat all his food with enthusiasm.

Looking forward to a few nice walks over the New Year, maybe back in the Lakes. A few weeks ago we had Friars Crag all to ourselves, which was pretty special.  I’ll be stunned if that happens again!