out and wet!

Bonny and I have been out and about since last Friday but haven’t got very far! We are currently moored outside Shugborough Hall at Great Haywood – a most beautiful spot right by the River Trent.

The weather is the main reason for our lack of progress – wet doesn’t even begin to describe it! Then yesterday, when we actually had a dry day, Bonny decided to utterly lose her head and ran off at the beginning of our morning walk. I then spent an ‘entertaining’ 8 hours chasing her around the formal gardens of Shugborough Hall! The gate keeper was very understanding and let me in for free. Other visitors tried their hand at catching her but Bonny wasn’t having any of it. She found the largest ground spreading Yew Tree in Europe to hide in amongst and that was that!

I did manage to persuade her to follow me all the way to the gate at lunch time and I thought she would then follow me over the bridge and back to the boat. However being a bank holiday there were loads of people on the bridge (narrow and pedestrian only) so she freaked out and ran back into the estate. I was utterly exhausted and stressed and so returned to the boat for a quick sandwich and sit down before returning to the fray. An hour after returning and 8 hours after she ran off and even more exhausted Bonny allowed herself to be caught. Apart from a graze on one heel she was in one piece.

I feel such a failure as a dog owner. When she does this, she isn’t just being naughty, she acts as if she is terrified of me – even though I have never harmed her. She would rather go to a total stranger than come back to me and I don’t understand why. I was also really hoping that this would be an exercise in freedom for both of us, but I can’t risk this happening again, so it looks like it’s going to be lead walks only for the foreseeable future – so sad.

It is lovely to have finally started, but so far I’m not really feeling the joy. I think it’s a combination of tiredness, wet weather and adrenalin come down, but I’m not concerned – I shall just be how I am and see what happens!

I had thought about moving on today before the rain starts again but we are both too tired, so having a lazy day instead.

Here is our first cruise picture… Bonny disappearing into the park!