Cooling down...

We've had a few blazing hot days her in the UK. It's not often I have to sit in the shade, or dunk my feet in icy cold water for that matter, but that's what I wanted to do the other day. When our bigger dog Jake was alive we would fill a child's paddling pool right up to the top and he would come along and just sit in it, or even lie down sometimes. He'd also allow you to splash it over his back and pour a bucket of water over his face. He truly was a sensible dog when it came to blistering heat. Not so sensible was when he got out and tore round the garden like a mad thing spraying grass everywhere.

You'd think our water loving Springer would be the same wouldn't you? He sniffs out puddles, streams, rivers etc from a mile off and comes back to us on walks with a filthy boggy wet overcoat and a big happy look on his face. So how much terror should a small sand pit filled with clean water hold? Infinite. It took me ages to coax him anywhere near and then only by standing in it myself (that was bliss after the icy shock) and he will only walk through it and out the other side. Clearly he doesn't trust water without generous amounts of bog underfoot!

The beck running alongside the house is running dry in a few places and the rest has only a shallow level of water. It is bog heaven for Harvey. Admittedly we don't discourage him from venturing in when our tennis balls or shuttlecocks go down there (he's a fantastic ball boy) but when there are no ball games going on he sometimes tramps up and down in expectation. So now the make shift paddling pool has become a rinse station.

By the way, the photo above was the best of a bunch of thirty odd shots. I gave up after that!