The dog is getting a pampering at the moment. All his life he's been an active collie who loved the water and did a lot of fetching and running. He's been very low maintenance apart from the occasional brush when he was shedding. Now in his older years he doesn't go in the water much, doesn't walk anywhere near as far and doesn't have the mobility to scratch properly. I have to brush him regularly now or his undercoat builds up and gets matted. This morning he's had to have a bath and have his nails done. I took the Dremel to his nails but he was very good about it all. Hopefully he'll get used to it.
What surprised me though was the cost and range of dog pampering stuff. Dog cologne, more hair products than humans get, all kinds of brushes and bows, moisturisers and stuff to rub into wrinkly dogs (I'm not sure if this makes them more or less wrinkly?).
They used to say 'it's a dog's life' but I think you're better off being a dog than a human these days.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Collies are very bright and quickly learn to adapt, and take advantage of their owners. My cousin adopted one which had been a working dog all his life and was told the dog might have problems adapting. Clearly nobody told the dog it would be difficult as he loved the idea of a nice warm fire to lay down in front of, and lots of people to spoil him.
@wild edges - when we adopted Rasta doggy she had a coat like an unshorn sheep. Impossible to brush, comb, wash so we took her to be groomed and they had to shave her. It came off like a sheep's fleece. Since then we've taken her to the hairdresser every 2 to 3 months with no fuss or bother.
The first time we took her here in France they painted her toes nails sparkly red and blitzed her with perfume!! Quel horreur! She went straight outside and rolled when we got home.
She's 16 and a half now and still loves the grooming but not the smelly spray.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
He seemed much happier on his walk tonight with his new trimmed nails. I can't hear them tapping much now but we did a good bit of tarmac walking to help smooth any rough bits. I can take a bit more off in a week's time and they'll be back to a normal length then. I'll probably skip the nail polish though. 💅
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
We had a dog which went blind and didn't like going out any more. He got plenty of exercise in the garden but that didn't keep his nails short. We had a pair of clippers which were kept in the cutlery drawer, so the drawer was opened and closed many times every day. The dog would apparently be asleep and I would go and get the clippers. By the time I was back in the room, he was behind the settee. I have no idea how he knew the clippers were on the way. The daft thing is that he would sit perfectly still and let us clip his claws anyway.
This is not really curmudgeonly, just sad. Or bitter sweet to be exact.
Tonight was the annual carol singing round the village and, as they always do, came to our house - the last on their round. The singing was joyous but best of all were the heartfelt Christmas greetings from all to my wife who has not attended any village events for about three months. She could not hold back the tears, aware this might well be the last village carol event she witnesses.
I find that the merriness that we are all expected to exhibit can make it a nostalgic time of year.
I find Christmas to be the most difficult time of the year. I have none of my own family left and my wife doesn't seem to understand that, much as I love her family, it's not the same as having your own around.
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The first time we took her here in France they painted her toes nails sparkly red and blitzed her with perfume!! Quel horreur! She went straight outside and rolled when we got home.
She's 16 and a half now and still loves the grooming but not the smelly spray.
Tonight was the annual carol singing round the village and, as they always do, came to our house - the last on their round. The singing was joyous but best of all were the heartfelt Christmas greetings from all to my wife who has not attended any village events for about three months. She could not hold back the tears, aware this might well be the last village carol event she witnesses.