Away from Alrewas

Things went largely to plan today; we got up in reasonable time, and I was just setting off to get the paper and some supplies from the Co-op when Elanor arrived with Sally. I got back as Elanor was leaving, and we were soon setting out for Branston.

Sally helped with the first couple of locks, but we discovered later that she quite likes being on the stern with the steerer. It makes it interesting for that person, as we can't quite trust her off the lead yet, so you have to juggle the dog, the tiller, the throttle and the PMR radio. Four hands would be good.

We coped thus with Barton and Tatenhill locks, Sally being reasonably well behaved. Indeed, she was very good with a twit gentleman walking a couple of dogs on the towpath, just as we were approaching Tatenhill. One dog was a well behaved terrier, but the other was a curly coated retriever, with all the intellectual endowment of that group of breeds.

/hmm

It charged up and down the towpath, woofing frantically, working from opposite one end of the boat to the other and back again. Sal stood on the back just looking at it for quite a while, and eventually gave vent to her feelings.

BARK!


Then she was quiet again, obviously having come to the same conclusion as us, that the dog was pretty well off its head. Its owner, meanwhile, just walked on up the towpath, occasionally calling it with no effect whatsoever. At last, just as I was thinking I might have some problems when I had to get off to work the lock, the dog realised that its owner was nearly out of sight and charged off.

It's not the dog's fault, of course. Some people are just amazingly casual about establishing a decent level of control over their mutt. If it's a small or inoffensive beast, this doesn't matter so much (though the poor thing will probably spend a lot of its life worrying about defending its owner) but not everyone realises that that sort of behaviour is just barminess, and would be seriously distressed if they had to confront the animal.

If you keep a dog, a) pick up after it and b) train it at least to be a good citizen.

/please

Rant over.

We found loads of space at Branston, and tied by the Water Park. Elanor came and collected Sally at lunchtime. Elanor gets off early on Friday, so it's a good chance to find out if the arrangements for keeping the hound quiet when alone in the house will work for a longer period. It's another situation where it's actually about reassuring the dog that it doesn't have to defend the property.

If Sal is calm and relaxed in her cave-like den in the back bedroom, then she doesn't feel obliged to go off like a banshee every time she hears something happening outside.

Geoff and Mags turned up on Seyella in the early afternoon; we've had a nice cup of tea and natter with them already.