The Langdale Pikes, training classes and Rivington Pike - A great walking weekend

Friday was one of those increasingly rare days off with nothing planned other than a walk in the Lakes and, now he’s pretty much fully grown, Marley’s first real Lakeland mountain. Under perfect blue skies with a hard frost underfoot we headed up Stickle Ghyll from the National Trust car park in Langdale, gaining height quickly before emerging at the Tarn for a brief ice cold paddle.  With no sign of tiring, Marley continued enthusiastically to Harrison Stickle, passing a few fell runners, walkers and dogs on route, where we shared a cheese sandwich and a drink of water. Descent was much harder on the icy ground, taking as long to get down as it did to reach  the summit. All good for trying to get some close lead walking though.

Saturday brought a few hours of training classes, which  are going well. Over the past few months we’ve seen a big change. Yes, he’s still a crazy dog but he can hold it together for a meet and greet most of the time. We not yet cracked birds, bikes and joggers, but he doesn’t kick off quite as much these days. He’s though the worst of puppyhood and turning in to a good boy, bit by bit.

Sunday saw another first with a walk up Rivington Pike. I was surprised how much it’s changed in the three years or so since I was last up there. Looking very smart on the terraces and by the Japanese pond. We were joined by lots of Santa’s doing a charity walk at the top. Couldn’t have wished for a better morning walk, which ended with some training amongst the brave or foolhardy bikers who had come over on the Belmont road in such icy conditions.

Autumn colours and the Ribble

Loving the new path to the Old Tram Road.  On a gorgeous Sunday morning we wandered down to the Ribble and Avenham Park, through the autumn leaves, enjoying the sunshine.  En route we passed runners, bikes and kids.  No kick offs although of course he was interested.  Happily the road is still closed to traffic.  Not sure it will be open by the time we leave this place. 

Also had a first visit to doggy daycare this week.  Think Marley loved it!

The Old Tram Road - On the doorstep

For the last 14 years our route to the Old Tram Road has involved a 20 minute walk along busy roads or cutting through the old derelict Lostock Hall Gas Works.  Finally, the new link Road is open to pedestrians and this weekend we wandered over the bridge, down the tram road to Factory Lane, and enjoyed a stroll around Walton Park.  It was so odd to walk along roads and paths that have felt so far away!  It’s like two communities of dog walkers have merged in to one 😊

Other than local walks, we’ve had a good trip to the beach at St Anne’s, plenty of trips to Lytham Green and of course Saturday visits to dog training club.  Marley is still very excitable, but maybe a little calmer week by week.  Tonight I was confident enough to walk with headphones in, one of life’s little pleasures, for the first time in our walking together history!

Hopefully we will get a few decent walks in over the next month or so, after which we might be on the move. Very exciting.

Summer’s gone

Summer has gone and this week we had our first frost!  Been a busy summer, things on most weekends and also another week away in September.  Walks have been mainly local, with plenty of visits to our local park, a few trips to the beach and of course lots of weekends at Worden.  Oddly enough we’ve not been on the moors for months.  We had a day up in the Lakes, where Marley dragged me up Orrest Head which was nice, followed by a walk around Tarn Hows with mum and my sister.  Mostly though summer was about training, continuing to work on loose lead walking and learning to trust him off lead (only when it’s quiet!). We then had a bit of a disastrous period following his neutering, where he was out of action for a few weeks.  Happily we still managed to ge5 down to Cornwall in September, staying near the stunning Cape Cornwall.

Now I’m looking forward to autumn weekends, a few trips to the woods or beach and hopefully a dog who continues to get a little bit calmer. My main mission remains to stop reactivity to kids, birds and bikes but hopefully have some fun with it.

Back to Cornwall

June saw a trip back down to Cornwall, this time to Tregoose Barn, at a fantastic dog friendly holiday home near Helston.  With a huge wooded garden it was pretty much perfect for chilling out, games with a ball or just sniffing round after the visiting rabbits and foxes.

It wasn’t far from Porthleven so we got a few early morning walks in along the coast path and around Loe Pool, somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit. Towards the end of our visit I realised Porthleven beach welcomes dogs before 9am so as the tide was out and a calm sea we also had a stroll on the sands.

We visited plenty of pubs and cafes as usual, but this time there was more outside eating and drinking to be done. That proved a challenge is there were playing kids or birds getting close. Whilst he is calming down a bit, he still goes nuts, especially when kids are around. Given that, the lead stayed in for much of the time out and about but the long line was invaluable again as he had his first proper paddle in the sea at Porthluny.

After all the excitement of a summer holiday life back home seems a lot calmer. Even walking on the main road is easier, but not easy, now. Months of training might be stating to pay off!

Blackpool Prom, Lytham Green and back to Worden Park

Dog training has become a way of life rather than I thing I do! One of the the most important principles of our training programme is to train for the situation, not in the situation. That begs the question, how do you know whether you’re ready for the situation? Two weeks ago we had reasonable success with our ‘bird’ training so last week I thought we’d give a busy and novel environment a go. What better place than Blackpool Prom!

Having parked at South Shore we had a challenging 5 minute walk to South Pier, largely due to paper blowing in the wind.  Clearly not ready for blowing paper yet!  Second was go-karts, which I expect would have been a major tigger a few months ago.  Marley strolled past the noisy karts without concern so I call that a success.  Next was the busy spot around South Pier.  Again, no big issues and we made it happily to the grassy area that lines the prom, watching trams, horses, carriages and the expected stag and hen parties wander past.  Again, no issues.  Eventually, we made it to North Pier and under the shadow of Blackpool Tower we listened to some live music close to a crowd of several hundred people. Success again.  Amongst the crowd was a young boy who decided to run across the prom which prompted some lunging and whining so at that point we headed back, with only birds and blowing litter prompting any reaction.  All in all a good walk in the sunshine and a good test of where we are at.

Last Monday (bank holiday) we headed to Lytham and a nice walk on the prom and through town. Only birds proved a challenge, and another little boy playing football. Monday night was a bit of a nightmare with jumping and humping, prompting a telling off followed by a rethink of our approach to keep a nice calm dog.  With hindsight, his bucket would have been filling all weekend so hardly unsurprisingly it overflowed on Monday night.  We have done lots of calming training since.



Today saw a return to Worden for the first time in a few weeks.  A group of friendly lady runners said hi to him and whilst I wouldn’t have him off lead near runners, he didn’t lunge or jump at them.  More than 5 minutes watching football practice proved a challenge, as did birds (again). We had loads of off lead time though, with other dogs and people around, which was great.

Since we got back he has been a gem, even allowing me to (largely) get on with work on my laptop tonight. Maybe we have turned another corner!

Bronze Award and Meresands Wood

What a great weekend. Saturday morning saw our crazy springer transform in to a dream dog for just long enough to get through his Good Citizen Bronze Award. He really has come on leaps and bounds, or a little less of them, in the past few months. It didn’t quite last for the obligatory photo shoot but hey, he was having fun. Sunday saw a lovely walk at Mere Sands Wood, one of my favourite places to visit when Finney was slowing down. Two circuits of the wood were in order for Marley, who had a good sniff and had some calming (ish) training near the woodland bird table. He even managed some loose lead walking afterwards. Happy days watching the transition from unruly and challenging puppy to a manageable adolescent!

Run to the hills

It’s been a great bank holiday weekend.  With Marley soon turning one I decided it was t8me to get him out and about on the moors.  Yesterday saw an early morning walk in the cold sunshine up to the top of Great Hill, my first trip up there for a couple of years.  It was an ascent full of memories but as we reached Joes Cup and gazed back over the Lancashire landscape towards the sea it was one of those happy to be alive, fit and healthy moments. The walk up was easy thanks to a pulling springer spaniel. Marley was certainly happy on top. Descent was a little more tricky but to be fair the past 4 weeks or so of disciplined heelwork seems to be paying off.

Today saw a morning and late afternoon walk to Jubilee Tower. Again, great to be up on the moors and even after meeting plenty of bikes, runners and a not very friendly collie he generally stayed close on our descent.  Won’t be long before we head for a mountain or two!

Still very jumpy and excitable but a little bit easier to control these days.  We need to get some more pub practice in though.  It’s weeks since we went out.  We did have a nice weekend at my mums over Easter though, where he was pretty well behaved.  We even got up Mam Tor!

Out and about in springtime with a springer

I love spring. The days are now longer so we get a walk in the light in the morning and plenty of time for a trip to the park after work.  Marley is off lead much of the time on the park these days which is great.  I still clip him back on if there are too many distractions but his recall isn’t bad and he is far more interested in me and a ball than most other things!

We’ve been out and about a lot lately. Last weekend saw a trip to Keswick and Grasmere. It was quite challenging walking around a busy Keswick, and just too much to walk through the park to Derwentwater, but lunch in the Dog and Gun was a fantastic success, as was a visit to a little cafe in Grasmere.

The previous weekend we had a nice walk round Rydal, cut short by a capsized canoe, but that’s another story. We also spent a few hours on The Helm near Oxenholme which was lovely and clearly treasured by local dog walkers.

We are (mainly) sleeping again and other than jumping, humping and still a bit of mouthing Marley is getting a bit more manageable, mainly thanks to lots of boundary training with his bed. Still a long way to go with heelwork!

Springtime with a springer

Spring has arrived. We made it to the park last night after work for a good half hour of ‘football’ off lead. Still carefully watching for runners, bikes and kids but I am pretty much the focus of attention, which is great. We have also had a good run on Worden Park early morning these past few weeks, visiting our favourite quieter spots for a game of fetch.

Heelwork is slowly improving with high value rewards. Jumping and mouthing is slightly better, although he still gets wildly giddy at times. Sleep at night is terrible in the past week or so. No idea why, but hey, can’t have everything.

First walk up Pendle Hill

There’s a rule of thumb that you should walk a dog 5 minutes for every month until they are fully grown.  Whilst I get that over exercise can cause problems, and looking back I probably walked Finney too far too soon, there comes a point when you know your dog, especially a springer spaniel, needs more exercise!

Now 9 months old, we’ve not been on a decent moorland walk, so with a hint of spring in the air it was the right time to climb Pendle Hill.  Our ascent began near Sabden, which I think was the place I first attempted to reach the top with Finney (we took a wrong turn in the mist!). Marley was as usual unphased by the walk ahead, dragging me up to the point where I thought he’d give a husky a good run for his money.  Despite the constant pulling, it was good to be back on the hills, and as we walked alongside the peaty stream after leaving the ridge it just felt good!

After a paddle and drink we headed over the paved path to the trig point. Funnily enough I was thinking what a feat it must have been to lay that path, when we hit what resembled the early stages of a building site near the summit. To be fair, it will no doubt be great when finished, as the constant heavy traffic takes its toll on the peat. The summit itself was a huge anticlimax today, with dozens of people ascending from Barley, clearly on some kind of sponsored walk. We rested a while looking towards the Yorkshire Dales before retracing our steps.

A few times I let Marley off lead.  He is like a rocket, racing off until he realises I’m no longer with him at which point he comes racing back (happily). I wouldn’t dare let him off lead where there was a chance of a fellrunner going by. He is still very reactive to fast moving things, be it people, birds or bikes. When we have space though, he’s great.

With all his pulling my legs ache and my arms are wrecked. I bought a new Ruffwear front range harness yesterday so tonight used it with the front clip. Albeit with chicken in my hand, we had a lovely short walk and probably his best heel work to date. Very pleased as I don’t much care for the Halti I bought last month.  It tends to ride up to just below his eye so a bit of a concern. I might go for the opti fit version if I can find one and the front clip doesn’t prove successful.

After an afternoon with the first grass cut of the year, I’m looking forward to spring!

Cornwall in the snow!

Cornwall is fantastic out of season.  Some of my favourite holidays have been in January or February.   Storm watching is exciting, and so it was that when we arrived that 60 mile an hour gusts and huge waves were pounding the coast path between Polzeath and Daymer Bay. It made for an exciting walk and a challenge for the dog, let alone me, to keep our feet on the ground.  We stayed in the little village of Trebetherick, just behind the St Moritz Hotel. A great location for dog owners out of season, with two fantastic beaches within 15 minutes walk, and a great coastal walk linking the two.

Later in the week the weather took an interesting turn, with heavy snow.  After an eventful lunch and afternoon stranded in St Mawgan we had an even more eventful evening stuck on the A39 near Wadebridge. Happily we made it back to our holiday about 9.30!

Next day of course we were rewarded with spectacular snowy scenery!

Jolly January

It’s been a generally good month with our first trip to Roddlesworth, which readers over the past 12 years will know was a favourite haunt for me and Finney.  It was a tough walk, with Marley over excited as usual until I found a quiet spot to let him off lead.  It was great to see him running round and he was far calmer afterwards.  Sadly though he is so excited when he sees runners and cyclists I have to keep him close in most environments whilst our trains continues.

Cue this week and whilst doing our usual stay training (on lead) near a busy road a group of runners go by.  It was a brilliant training opportunity made even more exciting when they stopped for a spontaneous photo, with Marley as their mascot. 

Arnside Knott - First Trigpoint

I love Arnside. So far as shortish walks go, the walk along the Kent Estuary and up to the trigpoint, with views over Morecambe Bay and the Lakeland Fells, is as good as they get. 

Yesterday was Marley’s first visit to this wonderful place. With the tide turning, and on the way out, the muddy shores were ours to enjoy alone for the most part. That meant some off lead time, but also an horrendously muddy dog!  Heading up to the Knott there was no sign of tiredness in Marley. He pretty much dragged me up, and back down. It was lovely to be back though, and it remains one of my favourite places. 

The Sparrowhawk and a walk on Formby beach

Fabulous day today. We booked in for lunch at the Sparrowhawk in Formby, which I’ve never visited before. It was very welcoming and the food was gorgeous. To cap it all, Marley was really well behaved, giving me my most relaxing meal out since we first took him to a pub in September. After lunch it was time for a walk on the beach. It was too busy for us, but still nice. Love days off!

The Old Tram Road and Avenham Park - Happy New Year!

It feels like years, and probably is, since I walked along the old tram road to Avenham.  Seemed like the right thing to do and leave the car on the drive this morning for obvious reasons.  Things have certainly changed.  The new estate on Wateringpool Lane, once a big field where I played ball with Finney, is now complete. A little further on, the new bridge which will link with our end of The Cawsey to create the so called cross borough link road, is almost complete.  Not looking forward to the extra traffic but assuming there is access from it to the footpath below it will be much easier for us to walk this way.  Headed down to Avenham not much has changed.  Lots of cyclists, walkers, joggers and a horse en route.  Marley pulled on the lead all the way. His heel work which was coming on so well has gone to pot in the past few weeks. More chicken needed I think, as bits of beef had no effect today!

Walking back, we stopped off at Middleforth Park for a quick run off lead, cut short by a rather annoying fellow dog walker who wouldn’t give us space despite us being tucked away in the far corner of the park.

2 hours later and Marley is still tired, as am I.  It’s hard work holding back a pulling puppy for 5 miles!

The last month has seen him calm down a little.  He is so excitable around kids, (and bikes, and joggers) but we made it through Christmas Day on the lead without incident. Also had a trip to Derbyshire, which was fine.  We have had a couple of trips to the lakes. Yesterday to Skelwith Bridge and the Talbot, lovely steak and ale pie and very dog friendly, followed by a short walk along the lake in Bowness.  A few weeks ago we went to Grasmere and Tweedies Bar. Again, very dog friendly and after a wander round Ambleside revisited the Giggling Goose Cafe, still as good as ever.

Whilst we’ve not yet been to the top of the moors we enjoyed a trip half way up Great Hill a few weeks ago, and a walk round Entwistle Reservoir.  I think now he needs more exercise so this week we will make it up to the top of something, weather permitting!