A most excellent day

The puppy remains to be my favourite stupid thing.  Words cannot describe how much I adore this black furry mess of gormless canine.  She is almost eight months now, costing me a steady fortune in puppy classes and chicken and rice.

Although she spends her days eating shoes, dish cloths and anything else left within snout reach, it would seem her tummy has taken on a delicate feel and only chicken and rice will leave her producing bowel movements that don’t look like mush on my lawn.

Too much information?

Sorry.

Puppy training classes – she is the star of the show, you say drop – and she loses whatever is in her mouth in a flash and smiles sweetly.  When she is at home and has hold of my iPhone, you say drop and she legs it up the garden and starts to dial a Uber to take her to the park.

I love her, the kids love her, and being a typical Labrador – she loves everyone and everything.

Except water….

This may be following an unfortunate incident at a park where she took a tumble into a pond filled with aggressive looking swans.  Whereas I thought she would doggy paddle, she chose the drowning option and had to be rescued, and ever since, water has been her nemesis.  Rather like my eleven year old son and his phobia of flannels.

The Cure: A beach Day

Where else to teach your dog to love the thrill of water than the beach, in February, with three kids who are not a fan of the cold!

Yesterday, we packed up the car with our beach goodies, baseball set, buckets and spades, football, and tennis balls for the dog.  We forgo the picnic idea thinking the temperature may drive us towards fish & chips rather than sand sandwiches by the shore.  Then I wrapped the kids up snuggly in some fantastic new Berghaus coats sent to us to review by Blacks, which did the trick nicely.

Cleethorpes was our destination for the day, a classic northern seaside town, with a beach that is dog friendly throughout the year and has plenty to keep the kids occupied.

Did Rosie the puppy like it?

She adored it.

She darted around the beach, greeting every dog (and donkey) with unbridled enthusiasm.  She dug in the sand, played baseball with gusto, she paddled (hurrah) and smiled like a mad thing all day.  It was an utter delight to see and reminded me of all the reasons I wanted a puppy.

We of course won’t mention about the moment she ate the donkey dung….

The kids in coats?

They weren’t cold – which made the day immeasurably more pleasant.

The twins were tucked up in their parkas, furry hoods kept the wind from their ears, and Libby-Sue dominated in style, showing how a Berghaus can suit any outdoor occasion from beach runs to donkey rides.

The coats for all three are fantastic quality, look amazing and most importantly keep them cosy when out with Rosie.

Plus, from a mothers perspective, my twins finally dressed (accidentally so) in matching coats – don’t tell them, but they looked far too cute for words!

Cleethorpes

In winter, this place has everything you need.

Excellent fish and chips…. (as tested by three expert testers.)

You can play Crazy Golf, pour 2p’s into slot machines and walk for miles in and out of the water.

The Berghaus Three

Water dog.

I imagine in Summer, Cleethorpes maybe a little too booming with people to be as much fun as it was with a chill in the air.  There is something about hitting the beach with fake fur round your head which just makes it seriously fun.  Especially when you are still wearing shorts.

Hood on top, bare legs below.  Check out his parka here.

It took five hours of playing to exhaust the puppy, and six to do the same to the kids, then finally we made our way to a dog friendly, child friendly pub before heading home for the day.

A most excellent day, on a most excellent beach, with a most excellent pup, and kids wearing most excellent coats.

And it is half term – so we get to do it all again tomorrow!