Tag: Rosie

Sunday Column (334)

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I am writing this post with a heavy heart. This is not only a post, it is an article I suppose about coping with change, making decisions and being self critical. I am sad, devastated. Yet the decision we made is final and right. This isn’t easy. But who ever said life was. Whilst last week all looked very well with Rosie and we were hopeful to have new training methods that stopped her from jumping on people and snapping at them, we decided to give her back to her breeder after all. It broke the family’s and my heart. And the questions are asked whether we gave up? Did we fail? We got Rosie despite knowing that C was scared of dogs. He turned out to be her best friend, and to that extend the person that loves dogs more than anything else. His whole attitude changed towards animals in general. He loves any animals and isn’t scared of dogs anymore. Rosie helped us to transform his life. But also she helped transform R’s life. He loved that dog too, and cuddled beyond acceptability, and she let him do it. True companion and friendship. This dog didn’t have a

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Sunday Column (297)

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This week’s highlight was my trip to Germany. Not only did I attend some really great meetings and a fantastic conference for work, but I also stayed over for a night to catch up with my old fraternity friends in Darmstadt, south of Frankfurt. This was for the first time since 2006! To get there I treated myself to a 1st class rail ticket on the German ICE train. I was very excited and it was fantastic. Matter of fact, as many people asked me when I write my posts, I am writing my column on the train just now, to be published on Sunday as usual. I got WIFI, I worked, I chilled out and got a lot of thinking done. I enjoy rail journeys (no, not the daily Southern Railway commute) but overall, I find it quite relaxing. And compared to driving, this is much more chilled out and you get so much more done. Fantastic really. Fraternities, mine is Corps Franconia, sometimes have a bad reputation. Yes, we used to drink a lot, and yes we are very good networkers, high achievers and usually a bit more conservative. But we are a band of brothers for life,

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Sunday Column (296)

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This week I feel like I have been there before. When the baby (puppy) cries, I roll over and wake my wife, or vice versa, and one of us attends to Rosie. Taking her to the loo at 11 pm, 1 am, or 3 am. At 5 am it is my turn. I am getting up and whilst Rosie needs the loo and some entertainment, I have breakfast whilst doing some work. That’s fun, yet I can’t exercise as I cannot let her howl in the corridor waking everyone up. Soon, in a few months, I will be able to take her for a run in the mornings. I cannot wait. In the meantime I go running at night, and did 3x10K this week – that is if I a not watching Twin Peaks. If you are the generation I am from, you were either just old enough or just too young to watch it. I enjoyed watching it as a kid but don’t remember much. It was more for my brother, I was 13 at the time I believe. Just maybe a year or two too young. Now, revisiting it with my wife (who was definitely too young 😉

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Sunday Column (294)

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There are few joys as great as having a baby. You do the poo duties, you don’t sleep and you have to teach them things over and over again. Let me tell you, a puppy is not much different. At night time a puppy cries for its mummy, and you have to let it get on with it. It breaks your heart but after a few days it stops. No sleep, whilst worrying she might pee or poo into her den (cage). That of course happens, accidents are prone to happen. So is poo or pee on the floor, so thanks for putting in laminate earlier this year, carpet would have been a disaster. Getting up at 5 am, my daily routine, had to change. I cannot go running whilst a super hyper puppy, which has yet to get along with our cat, is jumping on and at me. So running moved to the evenings and poo duty to the mornings, sitting in the kitchen catching up on work. We make it happen. A content puppy to your feet, chilling out – after 3 poos (!), and jumping on my freshly washed pink shirt. Nice. We love her to bits

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Sunday Column (293)

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The week began with watching Noah on Sunday evening. I wanted to watch this movie for a while, and whilst my bible reading days are long gone, I wasn’t too sure of the interpretation of the story. Yet it was entertaining and Russell Crowe is one of my favourite actors. Monday saw an early start into the day and a busy start into the week. A trip to Milan, a moderation at a conference and a good catch up with industry friends – a week how it should be, making lots of progress at the end. Flying in and out of Milan is still one of my favourite sceneries, the Alps, the right light and the feeling of coming home. Just nice. When sitting on the 652 train in the morning you realise why you prefer to get up and exercise. I bet everyone on this train will not have the energy to go home tonight after work, commute an hour, and then exercise. I am still convinced that the early morning starts for exercising are the way forward. My main bug bear I had to overcome was to be able to go to bed at 10 pm. For years

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Sunday Column (292)

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I start writing this post enjoying yet again the best bacon sandwich at Gatwick airport, at Apostrophe in the South terminal. Maybe not in line with my healthy eating ambitions, it serves as a treat for the 5 am start, the 4.15 am alarm. I will be back here the coming week. This time it was a bit worse as C was up at night, having nightmares. We have been exposing him to dogs almost on an excessive basis to secure utmost preparation for the arrival of Rosie. I will update on that below. As a parent having to do manipulative work with your five year old is fine yet not if it is forced and needs to be done quickly. Never mind, things will work out at the end. I am actually a bit chuffed that my NLP and personal development work has had such a great impact on my son. A bit of anchoring and positive reinforcement, a role play and his fear of dogs was cured 🙂 After my trip to Turkey last week, I was in Zurich for a day, and will be going to Milan next week. I enjoy it somewhat but it is tiring

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Sunday Column (289)

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There have been a few things that went through my head this week. Starting last weekend with the final decision to get a dog on Monday. So coming mid October we are able to pick up “Rosie“. I am excited, ecstatic yet apprehensive. When you wanted something for 30 years, and when you were always told that you cannot have it, and then had your wife saying that it isn’t feasible for years and then the day comes that her and you agree it is a good thing to add a dog to the family – this is a big day. That is a dream come true. But also a reality come true. I can no longer say “I always wanted a dog”, I now will “have a dog”. To a certain extend, yet with less people talking about how many nappies you have to change and how this will affect your life, it is like having another child. And it is interesting to see how people give you advice. Some are very pragmatic and tell you about their own experience and what they never thought of. That is appreciated. Then there are those people that never had a dog

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Lilly – not another dog, just Rosie’s mum

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We assume Rosie will be looking that stunning one day also! “Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring–it was peace.” ― Milan Kundera

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