Heute erzählt Gastblogger Robert Tansley

Today was the start of our holiday. We were off to Sunny England to visit my family and friends and to show Chilli her roots! Well, that was the plan, both to visit a sunny England and also hope to see other Bulldogs as well as my friends and family.

We had been planning the trip for months. Firstly, it is never easy to organise holidays with our employees and secondly and most importantly, if any of you have ever tried to take an animal into England you will know that this is a lengthy, costly and annoying process. There is no such thing as a spontaneous idea - "let's go to England", the process takes roughly 8 months - injections, blood tests, waiting for results etc etc

Anyway, we were up, all blurry eyed but ready to go. We hurriedly packed the car and got on our way. We had everything in place, all the documents, passports, gps for the journey, food and drinks, so nothing could stop us now. The journey to Calais and the Eurotunnel should take around 10 hours according to my reports, we allowed time for dog stops and traffic too.

Chilli was asleep (again) within minutes, we hit the motorways and thankfully no traffic - the journey itself was seemly uneventful - because of very strange laws, we were not allowed to travel through Holland - thanks for that, but had to bypass it, and go through Belgium - Chilli is supposedly a dangerous dog in Holland, unless you have FCI papers that is! Have never heard Chilli referred to as dangerous, so guess I should file this as 'unexpected!'

We made great time, paused for food, walks and petrol and made it to the tunnel in a record 8 ½ hours. After all the preparation and policies I was concerned - would we have made it this far only to realise we had forgotten something vital and wouldn't be allowed in the country!! Thankfully this wasn't the case - a very simple check in process, quick scan of the chip and check of her passport and we were on our way - 4 hours early but we managed to get the next available train. AT LAST - ENGLISH SOIL!!!!

Out of the tunnel, remember to drive on the left side of the road and let's get to my parents asap. By this time we had been travelling for almost 10 hours and had another 3 to go.. By this time the journey was getting boring - I was so excited to see my family again, the last hours felt much worse than the initial 10!!! Not that it bothered Chilli - after a little walk, she resumed her favourite position, sleeping in the back of the car!!!

My parents love animals - we have always had dogs, and that is why we were quite happy to make the trip with Chilli. My parents currently have a 13 year old black Labrador called Buddy. I love Buddy to bits, I picked him and he is fantastic - a wonderful character, not a harmful bone in his body, never was and never will be - Buddy is, as we say in England - not the sharpest tool in the box. He has this vacant look in his eyes and although I constantly tried, he has never managed in all these years to understand - "give me your paw" I will never give up on him and the love he gives all of us, and we were simply convinced that all would be great between Chilli and Buddy.

Chilli can be a bit funny with other dogs - I personally would say that is her only negative trait. She can be funny to other bitches, not all, but most, normally male dogs are fine, and this combined with Buddy's docile temperament would, we thought, be a match made in heaven.

We arrived and excitedly greeted my parents, we agreed it would be better for the dogs to meet on neutral ground. Luckily my parents have a garden, but also a lovely park a few hundred metres from the house. Chilli immediately laid down submissively to meet Buddy - a good start!!! We all walked to the park and that is when disaster struck….. Buddy ran loose, Chilli too, Buddy did his normal routine, picked up the nearest stick and started wandering around. Chilli has not yet realised in life, that not all sticks and toys belong to her, and she immediately launched herself at buddy, tried to steal it, he didn't want to give it up and then the growling and snarling started…… I couldn't believe it. I was devastated - we had driven 13 hours for this!!! We grabbed Chilli and pushed her to the floor to show her who is boss. We let her go, and again she did the same - this time Ina jumped in and again showed Chilli that this is not acceptable…… I think she realised she had done wrong and I felt so sorry for Buddy but also for my mum. She loves animals but is also scared and hates dogs fighting and even growling - what a start to the holiday…..

We walked them home and reported to my dad what had happened. I was really concerned at this stage and all kinds of thoughts about leaving the house and staying in a Bed & Breakfast were in my head…..

We kept Chilli on the lead and tried to let them settle in. She tried to be interested and nice, Buddy was of course upset and growled a couple of times, for which he received a telling off from my parents too……. I think maybe, we could have partly to blame too. After the initial row, I think we were all too concerned that it would get worse and I am sure both Chilli and Buddy sensed this, well Chilli anyway, not too sure if Buddy is clever enough for that! All in all though they started to settle and basically ignored each other. We said we would wait and see what happens over the next few days before deciding what to do and where to stay!!!

The next couple of days proved okay. The dogs basically ignored each other and all was fine in the house. We kept all toys out of reach and when walking them, kept them on the lead so potential stress could be avoided.

My parents really took to Chilli - they had met her once before and were happy to have her in the house. My mum was a little worried I think after the initial problem, but soon all was forgotten and they gave her love and spoilt her, just as we expected. My parents have a strict "no couch" rule for dogs which we of course accepted, chilli too - well most of the time. We had to go out for an hour and left Chilli with my mum, she in turn left her in the lounge whilst preparing something in the kitchen - 5 minutes later she returned to the lounge to find the Chilli Monster stretched out on the couch as if it was her task in life to explore every centimetre of the lovely leather couch!

The plan was to spend the first 3 days at home and they travel on to my parent's caravan, on the Norfolk coast at a lovely quaint village called Heacham. I have been there before and loved it, and I knew Chilli would love it too. 200 metres from the beach and then miles of lovely sand and water to explore.

We arrived at the caravan, all of us, my parents, Chilli and Buddy and soon settled in. We took Chilli straight to the beach where she flipped out and simply could not get enough of the sand and the water. She is unfortunately a typical Bulldog and not the greatest swimmer, as my Youtube video from a lake in Berlin proves, but she wanted to swim so badly…… Seeing as we had just arrived, we decided to postpone to another time and went back to the caravan to unpack and enjoy this lovely place.

That evening we met friends and they fell in love with Chilli instantly. Trevor threw himself on the floor to be cuddled, kissed, slobbered over - not what I expected, the manly Trevor with his 1,90m frame smothered by little Chilli on the floor!! We were so happy and she was, and is our pride and joy!

It is amazing the amount of people you meet, also people that don't particularly like dogs that instantly fall in love with Chilli or Bulldogs in general. You hear within minutes comments including: "she is so funny, so gentle, beautiful, so full of expression, so quiet" and that is something we are very happy about. You can take her anywhere, she fits in regardless of the situation, can play and run as if her life depended on it, without stopping for anything or anybody, or she can simply lay on the floor, allow herself to be stroked, fall asleep and generally watch the world go by, and I think this is what converts people immediately. If they don't know Bulldogs, and even though it was my dream breed, I wasn't aware of it exactly either, it is simply not expected - I guess they expect a dog that wants to be entertained, needs space to run, is aggressive - who knows what they expect but she exceeds everybody's expectations and is loved by all and welcome everywhere…….

The following days were filled with walks on the beach, lunches in Pub Gardens, hours on the terrace reading, trips in the car to other spots along the coast and general relaxing. Chilli lapped it up, regardless of what we were doing and where we were - as long as we were there all was ok. She fell in love with the beach and water - as soon as we turned left from the caravan she couldn't be stopped - she is normally very good on the lead, but I struggled to hold her, she wanted to run, to get over the hill and make a beeline towards the waters edge - regardless of high and low tide, she simply loved it, and although the weather was not as hoped for, we made the most of every day and moment on the beach. There were some potentially scary moments though….. We had held Chilli back from swimming - well most of the time anyway, she was always allowed to get her paws wet, but seeing how much she enjoyed it, we let her go in and swim. She had a flexible lead on so nothing could happen, but as I mentioned before, she hasn't mastered the art of swimming yet - she would rush out, all would look fine but then it was "now you see her, now you don't!!" She would simply go under the water, then come back up, running to get out, water smothering her face!! She didn't seem to mind though, as soon as she was out, she was back in!!! We were laughing so much, the sight of this dog, struggling to stay afloat but with so much energy and excitement on her face was just too much for us!!!!

Another occasion was at low tide. We haven't mastered the art of getting Chilli to listen to our every word yet - normally she is good, but there are times when regardless of how loud or often we shout, we are totally ignored - I guess ALL bulldog owners know what I am talking about! I let her off the lead (yes Ina, I know, you told me not to…) and wanted to see her enjoy herself - this had worked before and everybody told us "she wont run off, as long as you are here!" But off she ran, and even though I said I could catch her, there was no chance - she made a dash for it, out as far as she could, to the waters edge that was probably 100m away from us!! We shouted for her to come back, used all tried and tested methods of distraction and although she briefly came back in our direction, we couldn't seem to attract her attention for long enough!! I could see no real harm as I was no longer that far away, and was apprehensive but also happy to let her have her 5 minutes of madness, but Ina was really really worried and came out to the waters edge and was clearly panicking!!

Shows the traits and independence of Bulldogs - we are so important to them, for 95% of the time anyway!!!

We saw lots of beautiful places and regardless of where we went it was the Chilli Monster show. People could believe her beautiful markings, and if we weren't directly spoken to, you could hear the remarks - she looks like a tiger, how beautiful, oh and English Bulldog, WOW….. Children would sometimes laugh and unlike Berlin Neukölln children loved her and wanted to stroke her - Chilli's favourite pastime - Children :

One elderly Gentleman approached us and wanted his suspicions confirming - "I see, an English Bulldog, and what a lovely example - where did you find her, she is lovely, as I remember them, wish we had them running this country!!!" Very nice of him and he was fascinated. Made us all very proud and realise what a treasure we have found in Chilli - she exudes happiness to everyone and I love having her - regardless of what a day you are having, there is always at least one moment per day where she makes you laugh!!

Relaxing nights and times followed with my parents in the caravan. It was so good to see them and spend quality time with them. Buddy and Chilli pretty much pleased themselves, walked past each other without any stress, Buddy constantly laid on Chilli's bed at every possible occasion and although they never had any real fun playing together, peace had been made and all was well in the Tansley household. My dad made a fuss of Chilli all the time, she would sit in front of him and he would stroke her breast and she would either fall asleep sitting, or throw herself on the floor wanting more. Unprovoked, Chilli even got the invitation to get on the couch - I couldn't believe my ears, but there you have it, more converts to the breed - Chilli didn't wait for a second invitation and jumped up without thinking - she loved it and all the fuss she received……

A few days before the end of the holiday, she received the treat of a lifetime. My brother, his wife and 2 kids came over. The boys are 7 and 6 and love animals too. They have two dogs, a Westie and a Golden Labrador - they stayed at home - think that was for the best!

The boys came in and Chilli didn't know where to look!!! She did her usual trick of laying on the floor and then slowly making her way towards them - body twitching, ears back just waiting to receive love and affection!! The boys didn't disappoint! Daniel in particular spent a lot of time just sitting with Chilli on the floor - a dream come true!! Jenny, my brother's wife, loved Chilli too, saying how she wants one now too! She had never seen one before, expected her to be much bigger and more lively, but Chilli was quiet happy to lap up the attention she received from all hands!!!

Chilli showed us on numerous occasions how low maintenance she is. She would take herself into the garden for a walk and to make sure all was as she had left it, I often wondered where she was, but a quick look out of the window confirmed my suspicions, basking in the sun (who says Bulldogs don't like the sun) or if it got too hot (very rare) she would be laying in the shade, stretched out sleeping! We left her for two nights with my parents whilst we were at friends and my brothers. This had been a worry and we almost cancelled the nights out but we went through with it,. Chilli always stayed with us in the bedroom, and she did again when we weren't there. I think she was probably happier for that - a double bed for herself - doesn't get much better than that! My mum had to wake her up each morning - she said Chilli was always nestled into the pillows enjoying every second of it!! Chilli had won over my parents - there was never any doubt about that anyway. My mum would talk to her and fuss her and smile constantly….

Before we knew it, it was time to come back to Germany. The trip had been great, far too short, but very worthwhile. I loved having so much time to see my family and friends and I would make the journey with Chilli anytime. It took a lot of preparation to make sure we had all the necessary documents and tests, but it had been worth every second to see her with the people I love. Pictures of Chilli running along the beach enjoying herself, or laying on the terrace against the caravan wall sleeping or simply sitting there being stroked by my dad will remain with me forever!

The journey home was fine too. We broke up the journey by staying at another friends house. We had some delays on the journey that bothered us but not Chilli. She did her usual sleeping routine in the car, but this changed as soon as we pulled up outside the house - she was very very excited, maybe a bit confused though. We were anxious about returning. Would she fit back in with the other three dogs after being away for three weeks - things had changed, would it cause stress and problems?? Thankfully no. Chilli behaved herself straight away, ran around the large garden as if she had never seen such a big green space and was very careful and respectful to the other dogs! Maybe the trip had been good for all of them.

Three weeks on, back to work and back to the daily routine. My quality time with Chilli is now back to weekends only - but the memory of the holiday is still there and the smiling face and wriggling monster is always waiting for me on Friday afternoon when I return from work.

Copyright ^© Robert Tansley am 8ten Juli 2008; Email Adresse

Heute ein älterer Text von Gastblogger Stu Savory

Wesen des English Bulldog

Der Englische Bulldog (eigentlich und offiziell nur "Bulldog") ist ein ruhiger, zurückhaltender, aber durchaus spielerischer Hund, der an der Leine zieht wie eine Dampfmaschine.

Der Bulldog ist kein Hund für jedermann - manche sagen, er sei gar kein "richtiger" Hund.

Der Bulldog besticht durch seinen unkomplizierten, freundlichen (meist :-) und festen Charakter. Der Bulldog ist sehr intelligent, lernwillig und traut sich (fast) alles zu ;-). Diese imposanten Vierbeiner sind sehr kinderlieb, familienfreundlich, sehr tierlieb und daher ein idealer Begleiter für Sie und ihre Familie. Allerdings haben sie öfter Adelsallüren, bis hin zum Tragen von Juwelen. Sie sind reisefest aber lieben besonders kühlere Regionen (Alaska). Kennenlernen anderer Hunde ist problemlos; sie haben (meist) gute Tischmanieren :-), sie wissen auch, daß ihr Futter im Kühlschrank aufbewahrt ist, und zeigen auch im hohen Alter von 11 Jahren noch ungebremsten Appetit, ungeachtet des Standard-Gewichts ;-) Und netter als Katzen (siehe Beitrag 30. Juni 08) sind sie allemal ! Die meisten sind sehr freundlich, aber manch andere sind echte, tatowierte, 'Hell`s Angels', eben 'Bad to the Bone' , oder mögen mal ein Bier! Insofern werden sie Herrchen immer ähnlicher :-)
Es gelten, wie immer, einige Sicherheitsregeln für den Umgang mit Hunden, auch mit (bewaffneten) Bulldoggen!

Copyright ^© Stu Savory am 6ten Juli 2008; Email Adresse

Freitag, Juli 4, 2008

Die Dame am Tisch :-)

Zur folgenden Geschichte über unsere Wilma (1994-2005) inspirierte mich vor Jahren der Bericht "Der Herrn am Tich", siehe letzter Beitrag :-)

Madame kennt unsere morgendlichen Rituale sehr gut. Sie weiß, alles strebt diesem wundervollen Höhepunkt "Frühstück" zu.

Wenn wir uns nur etwas länger, als ihrer Meinung nach unbedingt notwendig, zunächst zu diesen absurden Wasser- und Naßmachquälereien im Badezimmer aufhalten, dann beschleunigt sie das Geschehen zielstrebig:

Sie schließt sich selbst (per Schnappschloß) in der Gästetoilette ein - damit wir sie unverzüglich befreien müssen, oder sie rennt bellend und grollend zur Terrassentür - damit wir sie eiligst im Abwehrkampf gegen Räuber unterstützen müssen, oder, genügen diese Maßnahmen immer noch nicht, dann schleppt sie ihren Kauknochen an und plaziert ihn inmitten unserer Hosen und Hemden, legt sich darauf und beginnt an diesem Kauknochen in für unsere Sachen bestandsbedrohender Art und Weise herumzureißen. Wir beeilen uns dann.....

Jetzt gehen wir in die Küche - und Wilma legt sich geduldig wartend auf ihre Decke am Eßzimmertisch, die zwischen unseren Stühlen (als ihre "Serviette") ausgebreitet ist. Jetzt treibt sie nicht mehr. Vielmehr scheint sie diese Küchengeschehnisse als Vorspiel, als Vorfreude durchaus zu genießen. Soviel plötzliche Geduld ist einfach nicht anders zu erklären.

Am Tisch. Ein drittes Brettchen liegt zwischen Stu und mir auf dem Tisch. Wilmas Augen werden naß. Sie kann weinen vor Lust in diesen Momenten. Sabbern tut sie nicht, aber weinen, das liegt wohl daran, daß ihre Tränenkanäle zu eng sind, um alles Wasser über die Nase abfließen zu lassen. Diese in Wasser schwimmenden Augen, groß und dunkel und intensiv, rühren uns an.

Zuerst, sogar vor dem ersten Schluck Kaffee, mache ich ihr ein "Bütterchen", wie wir im Rheinland sagen. Kleingeschnittene Stückchen Brot mit Wurst, manchmal auch mit Roastbeef oder anderen Schleckereien darauf. Sie soll doch nicht "leben wie ein Hund", unser Herzensliebling, nicht wahr? Solange sie das Messer in meiner Hand in Bewegung sieht, solange wartet sie selbst bewegungslos, ruhig, voller Vertrauen alles zu bekommen, was sie sich so sehr wünscht. Sie springt nicht hoch, sie nervt nicht, sie grapscht nicht, gesittet und sattsam nimmt sie jedes Stückchen aus meiner Hand. Dann darf ich essen. Eine halbes Brötchen läßt sie mich nun ungestört genießen, denn nun ist Stu an der Reihe, ihr Liebe und Nahrung zu erweisen.....

Ist der Tisch leer von allem Essen, dann ist sie zufrieden. Sie räkelt sich ein bißchen, wackelt mit dem Schwänzchen als sei es ein Propeller und schläft leicht und entspannt ein. Das Ritual ist vorbei. Jetzt können wir Zeitung lesen oder sonstwie unsere eigenen Wege gehen, ohne weiter angetrieben oder "angeweint" zu werden. Wir lieben dieses morgentliche Ritual mit Wilma. Nie haben wir so gerne gefrühstückt wie seit der Zeit, daß sie daran teilnimmt.......

Wird im Sommer der Tisch auf der Terrasse gedeckt, dann springt Wilma auf die Sitzbank und wartet geduldig, bis alles aufgetragen ist. Sie geht an keine Fleischplatte, an garnichts geht sie ran, während wir immer mal wieder in der Küche sind. Sie wartet brav bis wir sitzen und ihr ihre Portion nach und nach in kleinen Stückchen reichen.

Doris meinte bei einem Ihrer Besuche bei uns : "So etwas gab es nie und wird es nie wieder geben: ein Bulldog, der völlig brav und still auf seinem Sitz bei gedecktem Tisch wartet, bis alle anderen auch sitzen!" Wir haben ihr das nicht etwa beigebracht - es ist ihre Art mit allem auf uns zu warten.

Gehen wir ins Restaurant, dann benimmt sich Wilma wie eine Lady. Sie bettelt nicht und weint nicht. Andere Hunde, die dann auch noch meistens bellen, wenn sie sie sehen, werden souverain ignoriert. Viele Kellner lieben sie ob ihres wunderbar wohlerzogenen Verhaltens. Wir staunen dann immer - denn wir haben sie nicht erzogen - sie ist einfach von sich aus so anständig in der Öffentlichkeit. Insgeheim - mehr oder weniger insgeheim - halten wir sie für außerordentlich klug: gelegentlich reicht ihr nämlich ein Kellner, weil sie so schön und sanft und unaufdringlich ist, einen ganzen Teller mit Fleischresten herunter auf den Boden. Haben diese Kellner sie also vielleicht „erzogen"??? Denn schließlich: der Erfolg zählt, mit Essen verwöhnt zu werden, und das heißt: geliebt zu werden ;-)

Copyright ^© Cornelia Savory-Deermann am 4ten Juli 2008; Email Adresse

Mittwoch, Juli 2, 2008

Der Herr am Tisch :-)

Im kleinem Büchlein "Der englische Bulldog" (2. Ausgabe 1976) veröffentlichte die Herausgeberin Kari Wolfsjäger diese zauberhaft geschriebene Geschichte "Der Herr am Tisch". Der Autor selbst ist unbekannt. Der Bulldog vom Titelbild dieses alten Büchleins ist "Chincinatti Bel Ami", der in die USA exportiert wurde und dort Ausstellungs-Karriere machte. Die Bilder unten sind die Orginal-Illustrationen zu dieser Geschichte.

Wir hatten ihn nie eingeladen. Es war gerade, als ob der Wind es ihm zutrüge.

Wenn wir uns an den Tisch setzten und tatkräftig Messer und Gabel heben wollten, bewegte sich der Türvorhang, und er kam. Ungerufen, uneingeladen. Mit wichtiger Miene schob er sich in seine kraftvollen Schultern und nahm etwas schwerfällig Platz. Natürlich im Sessel.

Wir saßen auf Stühlen. Gewiß gönnte man ihm das Essen, aber uneingeladene Gäste - na, man wollte ein Auge zudrücken, schließlich hat jeder mal Hunger; wir reichten ihm Essen. Fragen, ob er dieses oder jenes lieber möchte erübrigten sich, er war ein sogenannter Allesesser.

Irgendein Verständnis für Ungeschicklichkeit schien er nicht zu haben - trotz seines adeligen Namens - denn sein Benehmen bei Tisch überstieg alles je Dagewesene.

Wenn er den einen Bissen noch in der Backe hatte und Kauen und Schlucken sich zu eigennützigen Bestrebungen zusammen abspielten, schmatzte er schon nach dem nächsten. Das ihm gereichte genügte ihm nie. Wenn wir uns gestatteten, von einer Speise zu nehmen - wir taten es wirklich mit Anstand und Bescheidenheit - sahen wir den Flackerschein der Hölle über seine Züge ziehen und seine Zähne, eigentümlich grausam die fettigen Lippen zerteilend, bedeutungsvoll zum Vorschein kommen.

Er war eine Herrennatur. Warten konnte er nicht. Er befahl uns mit dem schmatzenden Geräusch seiner Zunge und Zuhilfenahme des Überflusses der Absonderungen seiner zu Überproduktion neigenden Speicheldrüsen, weitere Nahrung zu reichen.

In uns verhärtete sich immer mehr der Gedanke, daß das ästhetische Gefühl es verbiete, noch weitere Mahlzeiten mit ihm einzunehmen. Wir faßten Entschlüsse, die alle zu dem Endergebnis führten, daß wir von nun an alleine speisen wollten. Ja, bestimmt, das wollten wir tun, und wir sagten es ihm; ganz energisch sagten wir es!

Er schaute uns aufmerksam an, vielleicht schon wissend, daß wir uns für eine sinnlose Sache ereiferten und ahnungsvoll wahrnehmend, daß er doch der unsÜberlegene war. Seine Augen gingen suchend über den Tisch, auf dem jetzt nichts Eßbares mehr zu sehen war. Langsam verließ er seinen Sessel, wir polterten ihn an, daß es bestimmt das letzte Mal gewesen wäre, und daß er morgen nur ja nicht wieder erscheinen solle.

Als er hinausgegangen war, kämpften wir mit einem kleinen Reuegefühl und überlegten nochmals unsere Handlungs-weise. Gewiß, vielleicht hatten wir ihn eben beleidigt, wir liebten ihn, er war ja doch ein netter Kerl, auch anständig, bis auf sein Benehmen bei Tisch. Schließlich hatte jeder seine Fehler und Schwächen. Wir auch.

Ich ging hinaus, zurückrufen wollte ich ihn ja nicht, aber mal sehen, ob er beleidigt war, vielleicht traurig - ja, er stand noch in der Diele. Seine schönen braunen Bulldogaugen fragten mich - ich weiß nicht was - ich fühlte mich bedrückt, ich bedauerte jede Härte, gewiß, das ästhetische Gefühl war auch noch da und wollte berücksichtigt werden, ja, gewiß - aber schließlich hatte man ihn doch sehr lieb - und das war die Brücke.

Ich verhieß ihm dann die Möglichkeit des Wiederkommendürfens - nach einer gewissen Zeitspanne natürlich - ja, und dann war am nächsten Mittag wieder pünktlich zur Stelle am gewohnten Platz.

Copyright ^© Cornelia Savory-Deermann am 2ten Juli 2008; Email Adresse

Die Bulldog-Blog-Beiträge werden monatlich archiviert. Die Vormonate erreichen Sie vom Blog-Index oder von den Inhaltsverzeichnissen aus - alles in der grauen Spalte rechts.
Hier die Bulldog-Blog Beiträge vom Juni 2008.