Thanks to the awesome folks at NSDTC where we train, I got to try nose work this afternoon. Our Education Committee organise regular talks on different topics. This afternoon they had some people from K9 NoseTime. I think they sniffed out a great idea (pun intended… Couldn’t help myself).
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Looking after a 1st World Dog
1st World Dog Holiday Review
Those of you following the blog may have read that the family and I went on holidays recently. Despite some initial concerns about being left at home, I had an awesome holiday! I have promised some of the folks that with train with that I would share the details of where we stayed. The place was also great so figure it was worth sharing with the 1st World Dog readers as other dogs deserve a holiday like this.
So where were we? Culburra Beach. It is about 2.5hrs south of Sydney (Australia for any of our international readers). A bit longer to get there if your humans insist on stopping at Berry, a cute little town full of nice stores and a toy shop called Goldfish Toys that the toddler LOVES.
Culburra Beach itself is a pretty small town. There is a major supermarket (Woolworths) and a line of shops with a couple of cafes, a bakery, takeaway shops and a post office. See this as a positive that mum didn’t leave me at home to go on long shopping trips (except for the morning she went back into Berry but dad stayed with me to watch the cricket). Nah the reason we went to Culburra Beach was for the beach and an awesome beach it was. Like a lot of beaches on the South Coast / Shoalhaven area it has a dog friendly / off leash policy which means I had plenty of time to enjoy the beach. It’s a really long beach so great for really long walks. The waves are fun for running in and out of. I met lots of other fun dogs, including a cool Kelpie who did herding trials and had some fun herding me, but it isn’t too crowded.
So where did we stay? The place was called Crescent View and we found it through Stayz. The layout was great for our family with heaps of space, even when Nana & Poppy came down for a couple of days. Importantly there was also heaps of room for me. I was allowed indoors, that was a mandatory for mum choosing a place, but like most places down there I wasn’t allowed on the furniture. To ensure I didn’t make myself comfy on the lounge of a night mum bought my crate down so we had a bit of crate training while we were there. There was heaps of room for my crate in the lounge room without it being in the way. From the families perspective the house was well decked out with everything they needed. They really just had to bring the stuff for me like my bowls and towels to dry me of after my swims in the surfs.
There were just a couple of things worth being aware of. The first is space if the family goes out. While the yard is fully fenced (and I’m not much a a fence jumper but it isn’t a particularly high fence for someone who was) there is a lack of shade in the yard. For that reason the family only ever went out briefly for dinner down at the Bowling Club. When they did go out they left me in the house. The other thing to be aware of is ticks. These nasty little things exist along a lot of the Australian East Coast and unfortunately this area is renown for them. The nasty fella found on me not long after we came home may very well have hitched a ride from here.
Some other things that the family enjoyed that mum asked me to share was places to eat….
Orient Point Bakehouse is a short drive away. It isn’t the flashest place but the menu is pretty good. On a Friday night they do Fish & Chips. Really yummy. And I got to go along as there is seating outside (ps BYO alcohol).
Pelican Rocks Cafe at nearby Greenwell Point has the most amazing seafood platter. I didn’t go with the family that day as they were taking the toddler to the local swimming pool too but just for the cafe I could have come along and sat guard by the door or there are some tables outside.
Lastly is the take home option of oysters. There are a heap of oyster places at Greenwell Point but of particular note is Jim Wild’s.
We had a great time and would go back again. Hope this gives you a place if you are looking for a dog friendly holiday.
N.B. Nothing in this post was sponsered or paid for advertising. These are all just places we came across on our holiday, enjoyed and wanted to share. While we hope you have a great time if you do take on any of the recommendations we take no responsibility if your experiences differ from ours.
1st World Dog Blog Turns 1.
Time flies when you are having fun and it turns out it was 1 year ago today that I first put paws to keyboard with 1st World Dog. If you have never scrolled back that far then click here to check out my 1st ever blog where I Introduced Myself.
Things started off sporadically with the odd post here and there when something funny happened and mum & I had time to write it up… but I have to say we have got into a bit of a rhythm now.
Tuesday became Training Tip Tuesday with Training Tips 1st World Dog Style.
Donna from We Live In A Flat, who has been a wonderful help in the world of photography (note our early posts didn’t even have photos let alone funky ones with all sorts of stuff done too them) set us our My Best Photo Of The Week Challenge on a Wednesday.
And my favourite is that Friday became Foodie Friday… which I obviously have to taste test. A whole range of yummy treats are being discovered by mum and kept in 1st World Dog Recipe Book. And a big thanks to Roy & Molly’s Mum who kicked this off with the yummy pup cakes she made for the RSPCA Cupcake Fundraiser we did at training one day.
Definitely have to give a big Paws Up to the Friends of 1st World Dog who give us plenty of help and inspiration, especially with training tips. We are lucky to have some fantastic dogs and their owners who we get to train with regularly.
And thanks to all that training I write this post being Bohdi RA ET (yeah another story but mum spelt my name wrong with Dogs NSW… silly mum!) Across the last 12 months we started in the world of dog trialing and have gained our Rally Novice title (at the Sydney Royal), our Endurance Title (that was a lot of running) and most recently our Rally Advanced title. We have also started Agility trialing with some passes now in most Novice Classes but I have given mum plenty of grief with dropping bars and been nick named “One Bar Bodhi”. You can check out one of my agility runs here and there are plenty of other agility stories scattered within the blog.
Importantly 1st World Dog has given me the chance to share the fun of growing up with Toddler. At times toddler can be trying.. the thing with frogs really gets me. But all in all she is a good kid and is learning how to look after 1st World Dog through getting the food out of the containers and more recently pats and ball throwing.
And lastly we have also had fun finding all the other Dog Blogs out there… although our fav post has to go to Ruby and her City2Surf “adventure”. Ruby we love reading the mischief you get into!
A paws up to everyone who has pop by and read 1st World Dog over the past year. We hope it has made your tail wag. If you haven’t already and you enjoy reading our stories than subscribe over on the side there so you get an email when we post new stories. Or do the “like” on Facebook or “follow” on Pinterest or Instagram.
And we thought we should round off by sharing some baby photos…. ahhhh…. wasn’t I a cutie (this was also the stage I was a very good gardener).
There is something that makes us dogs and our owners special
Since the story of missing Masie went out into cyber world mum and I have been following via the Facebook page. Unfortunately with other commitments we weren’t able to get out on our feet/paws to help but got the word out as much as we could.
Well mum had tears today and gave me a big cuddle when she read me the story that Masie had been returned to her owner.
https://www.facebook.com/PleaseHelpFindMasie
What an amazing story of how people, complete strangers, came together to help reunite a dog and her owner. And of an owner who was so dedicated to finding his beautiful Masie.
I hope Masie is enjoying lots of wonderful pats, tummy rubs, scratches, games of fetch and all those other things that her and her owner enjoy.
From the comfort of the bed beside mum it is a moment of appreciation of being a 1st World Dog. So happy to hear that Masie is home. Paws up everyone!
Anything for me?
Quite like when mum and I pop into our local cafe on route to go get toddler from kindy.
That time of day the other school kids are about. Particularly partial to the pats and “ahh isn’t he cute” from the girls from the local girl’s school. They give good pats.
And the food there is pretty good. I know mum thinks so and have to say when I do my best “please” face I usually get a little something.
On a note about a dog not so lucky at the moment and an owner who clearly loves his dog. Local Facebook and now local media are trying to help find Masie. She is a cute looking Kelpie X who has been missing after she took off from Sydney Domestic Airport over a week ago. Here is the link to what she looks like and the owners details. We have been sharing via our Facebook pages (both mine and mum’s) but if you live in Sydney or know people who do, especially if they live in the Eastern suburbs or near the airport than please share. A 1st World Dog likes to see other dogs enjoying their creature comforts with their owners.
High 5
It’s a raining and winding day here so not much fun outside.
Mum decided to have me practice a new trick “High 5”. Similar to shake that she taught me ages ago but mum holds her hand a bit higher.
Kept me busy and thinking for a few minutes, got some yummy treats and got told what a clever boy I am…. not bad for a rainy day stuck inside.
My big digging project
After a great agility training session this morning we headed off to Bayview, the local dog beach. Even better my mates from agility came too.
After a bit of generally crazy running around we settled in for a game of fetch out in the water (good distance training… Shoreline works as an effective exclusion line). We did loose a cool blue plastic stick thing (sorry Roy) and tennis ball (sorry Darcy & Billy) out to see. If you happen to find them please leave them there for us next time.
Then it was time for some digging…
Check left…
Check right…
Head down and dig…
And finished with a stop at the coffee shop with my other mate Hawks joining us…
Don’t wake me for Kindy pick-up zzzzzz
Clean bill of health
Not my favourite way to spend my morning, no fav way to spend morning is running on the beach. But benefit of my vet being a good friend of mum is that she really does look after me.
Sweet talked into coming in the door with a treat from my lovely vet, I was given a check up of heart rate, muscle tone, paws condition and temperature (don’t go there on that last one). All in the name of this Endurance Test coming . A clean bill of health!
And mum is very happy… She has been trying to manage how much I eat. I know her intent is good as she wants to look after me but I do LOVE food. Good news is I have come in just (like 0.1kg) under our goal. Mum did a funny happy dance… Clearly way more excited about that than I am… Can I have a treat please?
A day for lying around in the sun
It is a gorgeous day here in Sydney so I have taken to finding spots to lay down and enjoy some warm sunshine on my coat.
My ball rolled away…. I thought about going after it…. Thought about it for about 5 minutes before I got up and went and got it.
So lying on a flat surface with ball was easier.
It got a little warm during the middle of the day so I moved to the table on the deck.
And the sun is finally at a point where it comes through the window and onto the lounge…. ahhhhh.
(ps Mum has decided that Instagram is a bit of fun…. just have patience as she figures it out and she is welcoming any hints).
My new fav
Mum pulled my toy box down from the shelf in the laundry. Reacquainted myself with some old toys. Funky chicken my current fav…
It’s not like it is cuddly or anything. It does squeak but that’s not that important either. I just like it.
1st World Dog 
