Why My Perfect Dog Will Aways Wear A Lead. Last night I was taking the dogs out for their last toilet break, something which we do every night before lights out. As we did so, I turned around to find 2 large Staffordshire Bull Terriers squaring up to our smaller dog. They were off lead but my pooches were on a lead. When I requested to the stranger handler, put his dogs on a lead, he replied, "it's okay, they're friendly." Now, my dogs are far from perfect and there's no point pretending, but even if I had the worlds best behaved dog, they would be on lead unless I could see the coast was completely clear. These are the reasons why. 1. My dog is friendly, yours may not be. Now I'm not saying there are lots of aggressive dogs out there, but there are definitely some. My dog may be off lead and friendly and intending to greet or play with the new dog. That dog may misinterpret signs or be aggressive naturally in nature. Without a lead, it would be difficult to control this situation as intervention becomes difficult and more dangerous. 2. My dog is friendly, most of the time. Even the "best" dogs, as with the "best" humans, respond to changes in biochemistry and their environment. They might be overheated, dehydrated, coming into season, or just plain irritated. In this I stance it is quite possible that either dog in an encounter may respond with aggression in a social situation. 3. My dog is friendly, but I'm not. Now lets assume there is little wrong behaviourally in the approached dog, there is always a chance that the owner may misinterpret the signals and play behaviour and step in to "protect" their dog. I'm not saying its likely, just a possibility. So when I have my own perfect, crufts-winning dog, I'll be sure to keep it on lead in public spaces. And hopefully, you'll consider it too.

Home Sweet Home? And so I find myself loving back at the parents house once again. And already, I'm bored. But a little catch up first. Not sure if I mentioned the wrist injury in the last post (basically slipped and landed awkwardly on my troublesome fractured wrist) which had put me out of training. Well I couldn't really resist and ended up going out in my cougar again yesterday. Didn't feel great but certainly manageable, and nothing too strenuous either. I did take some kids out in the little lightning race boats and ended up taking a swim. Note to self: stable boats are more important when coaching. Then it was time to head back home. So naturally I locked myself out of the office where all my money was and my clothes and everything.Phil came back in to help me out then got a lift to the station. Ticket machine was broken so couldn't take cash and the office was closed, so I had to bump into a ticket checker man (who was confused by "arlesey" which to his amazement, did exist). Got into London on the slow train, hopped onto the tube then huge delays around edge ware road. All in all it was a more stressful journey than typical but I got in at around half 10 with a tesco sarny and a gateau. Taking the dogs out for a walk, watering the allotments and perhaps seeing Luton town FC later. And that's where I am now. Can't say I'm too excited to be back but at least there's a few things going on to keep the noodle ticking.

Good morning readers, Firstly I should apologise that this blog never really took over in my routine so much as it should so now, over a month after I wrote my biography and introduction, I'm hoping it can kick off properly. So where am I with things right now? I've competed in 2 races on the water climbing the podium both times. The first race was my local Wokingham Hasler which despite a long hard fight between myself and paralympian Sam through the second and third miles I managed a win and a PB of 36.36. This led to a promotion from division 9 to 7. Two weeks later and I made the journey to Southampton Hasler to try and put down a mark in div7. Expecting tough conditions and nearly 2 mins slower than the previous race, i pushed through a painful shoulder and held off for 3rd place. Although not fast enough to get promoted, I was happy with my performance and really enjoyed the nitty gritty of the competition. I've been traning hard with c1 paddler Sam Rippington and Paralympian Sam on sprint work to build my speed in preparation for the national champs in the coming weeks. I was hit with a major setback though as I slipped whilst coaching on a katakanu and have disturbed an old injury n my wrist. I'm hoping a week at home of cardio and resistance work will keep me fit enough to carry a strong form into the competition. In my personal #life, I've been not entirely surprised at how easily an old flame has been rekindled. I am just so at ease in her presence and she provides me with an ear to ear grin just sitting together in silence. With new jobs on the horizon for both of us, I'm unsure what if anything at all will develop between us despite an obvious chemistry. I got away from it all a few weekends ago with an extra long weekend break down to Cornwall. Despite poor surf, I had a great time catching up with some close friends, fooling around on the beach and the campsite. Many great memories were made and a tradition setting its foundations for future reunions of this trip. Tonight is my last night sleeping in a tent as for the next week at least I will be returning home to look after my dogs while the parents are on holiday. It should be a good break to get some last things organised prior to starting my job back there and getting some valuable rest. After a k1 coaching session tomorrow evening, I'm hopeful of a trouble free trip through London on the trains. So until next time, Indulge in happiness Dazz