Cats got the cream?

No, Bliss has, slightly bigger than a cat, helping herself to the frothy morning leftovers from milking Kayleigh.

Its a Berner thing

Nemo next to one of the many soft toy Berners that have mysteriously appeared over the last few years.

Tired?

Tired on the hill?

Pretty tired!

Storm chaser

WooZah on the cliffs behind the cottage watching the gathering storm

Its a long way to the top

We took a new route up the Bonsai Mountaintoday as part of my BBMC training

It was pretty steep

As you can see by the farm bottom right we made a lot of height in a short distance

and after several lung bursting rests we made it there and back again.

Of course theres room!

Rocky making space on the sofa.

Alright now!

The Rockmeister got a bit of an ear chewing from Reuben a few months back, since then Rockstar has been called Pinhead due to his very unflattering haircut as the vet shaved his head and ears poor lad! Well alls well, he is back to normal and I think he senses this as he is back to being leader of the pack after taking a back seat and letting Reba rule the clan.

Queen of the hill

Reba on top of her world

Trail Blazer

Sometimes we make our own paths

Downhill all the way

Poppy and the Rockmeister at the start of The North Face Gulley, not for the feint hearted due to the slope and a very interesting descent on wet ground in wellies. This section wont be included in the First Annual Dolyhir Bernese Mountain Dog Treasure Hunt 10 June 2012.

Bad Boys

We are often told how well behaved our Berners are, which comes as a surprise to us as we often think other peoples Berners are far better behaved than ours. Given there are 7 Bernese at Rock HQ all demanding sofa space we sometimes have to tolerate a bit of Bernese badness.

Like today while we were at the supermarket the Rockmeister was left in the conservatory with Reba and Montana, Spotty was in the kitchen with pathetic triever, Reuben, Bliss and WooZah were watching TV in the annex. All were left with new fresh from the bull marrow bones, a selection of magazines to read, some chewy toys and a mobile phone in case of emergencies. Confident all would be well in our world in our absence we engaged in retail therapy and got lots of jelly and ice cream for little t's birthday party on the weekend.

The Rockmeister got bored without us and opened the front door to the lounge, had a good old root around before letting Spotty out of the kitchen. It appears both ran around the house, undoubtedly cheered on by Reba and Montana, finding our bedroom door open had a right old game on our bed, in our wardrobes, under the bed, you get the idea. They turned their attentions to the spare bedroom where to their delight they found the bed had been made up with a new unlsept in mainly white duvet cover ready for friends staying over on the weekend so they decorated that with Bernese shaped mud prints. The bathroom was a new adventure, there they found the bags of clean clothes and baby toys that were being sent to the charity shop, each item had to be taken out and given the Bernese quality check. Happy with their work they made a pile of whatever soft furnishings that came to paw and made a nest where they happily waited for our return.

They are now all hiding or keeping very quiet aside from Reuben, Bliss and WooZah who are enjoying the feeling of self righteousness.

You gotta roll with it!

When you find fox pooh get a good start on your back.... ..coat both sides evenly....

.......just try not to look too mental.

Its everywhere! Roll on the top.....

higher still....

...and in stereo!!! What do you mean Bath!!?

Bye Bruv

We are down to our normal compliment of 7 Berners at HQ as Chester and Lucy have gone back home. Its quieter and unusually we have some spare sofa space.

Almost there

The Rockmeister had a close shave a few weeks ago, after a bit of a spat with Reuben, so his head was shaved, this sort of spoiled his good looks, but as you can see he is almost as good as new. 100% handsome.

Uncle Chester

Spotty on the right with Uncle Chester on the left, handsome boys the Dolyhir clan.

Charge!!!

Spotty rushing around for a change.

Brotherly love

The Rockmeister and his litter brother Chester

The Budmeister

The Budmeister exploring terrain very similar to that he will encounter at the 1st Annual Bernese Mountain Dog Treasure Hunt, June 10th 2012. Practice makes perfect. Thanks to Nikki for the pics.

Looking back

Reba's in season causing panic and confusion as we have three intact males here, one of which is her son, so the doors open doors closed routines here are stricter than at Porton Down. We cannot let her have a litter as she is too early, so here's a pic of last July and the Fab Four with the Rockmeister.

Grandma we love you...

This is Lucy, Rocky's mum and grandma to Bliss, WooZah and Spotty, having a quiet five minutes while the rest of the clan get muddy outside.

Job done

Lucy went back home yesterday to sunny west Wales. If she and Rocky got it right then there should be some new clan members in 9 weeks!

Pizza Express

Long day. Longer drive. Finally made it back to HQ through ice/snow/fog, cooker still iffy so treated to takeaway Pizza. Not your ordinary takeaway pizza, but a handmade all fresh ingredients pizza made by the local tea room chocolate emporium who specialise in good food and even better chocolate. A few quick bites of a tomato, anchovies, mozzarella, black olive and fresh basil. Leave room to get plates. A worrying noise from now vacated room. Several slices missing. Wonder who the culprit is? Butter wouldn't melt!

One dog too many

We are well used to having an ever increasing number of Berners here at Rock HQ, ten seems to be our maximum unless there is a litter of pups. Today we have the perfect 10, Spotty (above) Rocky, Reuben, Reba, Bliss, WooZah, Aunt Montana have Lucy staying (Rocky's current love interest) plus another Lucy, Rocky's Mum and Chester, Rocky's brother are all making use of the facilities.

Tonight I set out in the dark with 5 Berners but in the foggy gloom there were definitely six black shapes weaving in and out of sight. Roll call failed to establish what was going on, five Berners. We carried on. Six shapes moved with me. Was it the mythical black dog of Hergest? A werewolf? A small horse called Trevor? We all stood still. The sixth shape shuffled forward and grunted. Thor the Bernese Mountain Pig had joined us.

Night Terrors

Training for BBMC 2012 has almost started in earnest, given the time of year and demands on daytime caused by work low level training walks are taking place at night. Usually with a few brave Berners like Spotty close behind. They have better night vision than me, I need help to see this clearly in the dark. I had started out with a few more dogs than this but Bliss disappeared somewhere around the half way mark and was not seen again until I returned to HQ. The security light came on which meant something was moving in the yard. Bliss was hiding behind Vic, venturing out to turn the light on everytime it went out. Not sure what it was that caused the night terror but she was very glad to be "rescued". Probably a Troll in the cauldron, or a Werewolf. Brave dogs these Berners.

280 days

We had a visit from our favourite vet today, amongst other things he enquired about our wayward heifer Hetty who disgraced herself with a local lad. As he is much bigger than her there was much discussion over whether or not to let her go full term. Current expert advice is to keep her as active as possible, well as she is still able to jump fences and run up a 1 in 4 slope I think she is about as active as a cow can be, not to feed her concentrates, we dont, she has a concentrate free diet of hayledge, mountain grass and an occasional apple (we all need treats) and on day 275 watch her like a hawk. She might be early. She might go late. 280 days is the gestation time, that means the 28 March is going to be quite interesting.

Top Dog

The Rockmeister has done his duty, the earth moved for Lucy just after breakfast. No wonder he has a smile on his face!

Its a Berner thing

Oh dear, I found these stamps, not the best scan but the real things are great, thats two sets of Berner stamps now, does that mean I have a new hobby?

Cheesy grin!

The Rockmeister looking pleased with himself

On Guard!

Dont worry about me, I will guard the essential supplies until you can get them to safety!
I'm a big brave Bernese Mountain Dog, nothing's going to bother me.

Erm.... Help! These sheep are getting a bit close for comfort!

Not enough!

Rocky and his hair do out in the snow. Not enough snow for a Mountain Dog!

Guilty!

Who is this Berner guilty of crimes against humanity (keeping me awake from 3.30 am, because of moon light, mice, ceiling pixies, lack of warm milk, too much sofa to choose from, cat looking at me funny, cat purring, missing Bodge and Bonny, missing mum, all probably applied) The lovely Lucy. And what did she do when I finally gave in and sat in the same room as her 4.45 am? That's right she fell asleep. Well I suppose that made sense, theres no need for us all to be awake! Berners, you have to laugh! ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Aunty Montana

The oldest Berner of the Clan

Feed me!

Any though of not sharing your food at Rock HQ is met by a chorus of disapproving looks!