CadiWaterDog

Hi friends
I've just discovered that my friend Skye is writing a dogblog! She gets an exciting life - take a look on
http://skyesdogblog.blogspot.com/

Flash and me went to do a talk for the Llanfairfechan double-ewe-eye this week. It was good fun - i found myself a friendly lady who tickled my ears all night, and Flash and me both had a biscuit before the pager went off for a SARDA job in Ogwen Valley. We went off very quickly, and sat in the car in the howling wind until after midnight. Flash thought he was going to have to go out in the mountains, but I think a bit of thinking and working things out meant that he didn't have to!

Sian and Phil are back at work now, and Hannah back in college, so we're having boring days at home. Having a laugh playing with Hannah's green frog slipper though - Flash is getting a bit playful in his old age!!

Can't remember if i told you that we went boating ... I'll take a look back and come back to you if I didn't.

Cadz xx

yo guys!
Boring day today, Sian was in college and Phil went to explore the south side of Grib Goch, because lots of people seem to get lost down there - getting scared off the ridge, and getting into manky ground on the way down to the PyG track. We got a quick walk in the woods this morning, then had to wait until Sian got home - I got very excited indeed!

This evening we've had a walk on the beach, and saw Jack, who's still a bit on the nervous side, and we saw Ellie and Holly - Jack barked and barked at Ellie, and you could see he was really anxious, but he was fine until she started showing her teeth to him - Ellie's scary anyway - she hates me! Lovely sunset tonight!

I think the plan is to do more Pigs in Boats tomorrow ( to the tune of Pigs in space!!! remember that? where does it come from, can you remember?

Cadi x

We did it, at last, after months and months of waiting, we did it ... friends, I found the pig from the boat!!! You wouldn't believe how strange that it! Well, obviously, I know the smell I'm looking for - or at least, telling them about, but I never expected to find it from the boat! I've been out in the boat before, a few times really, and never smelt it before from a boat, even when we were in the river Conwy, where you'd expect to find a body or two, but there we were today, in the lagoons at Llyn Padarn, and qhat a surprise!

I think I've been ready to start training in the boat for a while but Sian and Phil weren't really sure how to do it, and they were waiting because Neil said he wanted to supervise the transition, because it's hard, and you can make lots of mistakes. Anyway, they met up with him a while back, in July, and he explained how, but then there was some poisonous algae in Llyn Padarn, and we didn't have anywhere else to train that was as ideal as that lake.

Anyway, lots of people had said that the algae was better, so we went for a look at the weekend, and I found lots of smells there. I think Sian was impressed because we haven't been able to train for a while - Sian's been really busy at work, and the Llanberis team and SARDA have been really busy with rescues - all a bit silly season really!

Sian spoke to Paul and Ken this morning, and they explained where the algae was, so we decided to go ahead.

We had a run around first, then they started playing about with the boat, blowing it up and stuff, and me and Flash had a run around. Then Sian got into her balloon suit - don't ask, but I must get a photo on here - she looks a sight!! Bless! anyway, I got to run out and find the smell first, then we got a ride on the boat. I couldn't believe it when I got the smell from the side of the boat ... I looked at Sian, and gave her a lick just to check she was awake, and leaned over the side to show her what I could smell. She said speak, so I did, and got the ball! So I thought, I wonder if this is the game again, and it clearly was!!! I did it again and again, and got the ball every time. It was easier when we got into the clean lagoon, with no other smell. It's a strange thing, but so easy when you know what you're meant to be doing!

Can't wait to go again! I hope we go soon!I can't decide if it's easier from the boat or when I have to run around!! Mind you, running around today, I got a cut lip from someone's barbecue - you know those disposable ones that have the mesh thing inside - the mesh cut me!! Blood everywhere!

I'll let you know how things go!!!

Cadster xxxxxxx

Yet another busy week, with Monday night spent travelling around north Wales, initally lookng for something to eat and some petrol at 11.00 at night - nothing to be had in Caernarfon, so ended up going back to Bangor to Tesco where we had to have the last couple of sandwiches of the day - no such thing as a big Mac or KFC at that time of night!

We then went down to Dolgellau police Station where Sian was search manager and phil and Flash got to go out looking for someone who had probably just decided to go away to the seaside! We all got home about 6 in morning, so we all slept late, even Flash! Usually he's so institutionalised that when someone flushes the loo in the morning, he thinks it's breakfast time!

Sian's been on nights this week, and phil's been at work, so things have beena bit boring - just the usual beach walk every day. Today though, Sian and i went to the police station in Llanrwst to tell them about our adventures, and to tell them that I keep finding a sniff in a lake. After the last smell I smelled, and didn't do anything about, and the person turned up where I sniffed it a few weeks later, Sian felt that she couldn't ignore me telling her about a smell if it happened again. Anyway, when I found a smell in a lake a few weeks ago, she got all hot and bothered, and eventually, this week, told the police. The policeman was excited and is going to try to organise divers to work with us! All exciting stuff - tell you more this week!

Woooooow it's been such a long time since I had time to write! I hope you've all been missing me!

Ben busy training since I last blogged - lots going on, all going really well, with some interesting stuff, which I'll tell you about in due course. We're about ready to make the transition into the boat now, and we have all the gear we need ... boat, drysuit -for me, that is, Sian's still waiting for hers, and Phil of course isn't going to fall in! No, I'm kidding, I don't need one, but I have my lifeacket from Ruffwear, and Sian has her extremely flattering - and non-claustrophobic one - from Aqua-tek in Denbigh, just waiting for SARDA badges on it, and Phil of course isn't going to fall in! We spoke to Uncle Yoda on Saturday, and he explained to us how to do it - well, he gave us various options as to how to do it, and true to form, we've chosed the KISS method - keep it simple, stupid!!!

Biggest problem we've had recently - other than the fact that Sian and Phil need to retire from paid work and do this full time - is that Llyn Padarn has had too much toxic algae for us to work there - something called something like anaboerida spirodes - blue green algae which is flowering Nice! It's too dodgy for me to go in the water, as it would make me ill, and maybe die, and as they've invested such a lot of time in my training, they don't want to lose me ... nothing to do with me being a precious pet of course!!!

Anyway, I'll write again to let you know how the boating is going! Maybe now that it's started raining again the flowering algae will go away! Hope so!

See ya peeps x

Hiya folkses, how's it going ...
Wewent looking for Druids yesterday ... Jude and Terry came to stay, on Sunday, so on Monday we had a wet day - superb run and play on the beach at dinas Dinlle in the morning - that was SOOOO windy! I came home and Sian said I'd had Dermabrasion, whatever that is! My face was sore anyway! In the evening, we went on the beach again, and I did lots of running and jumping in the sea - it's warmer now than it has been, although it was cold when you came out - not sure why the humans don't come in with me though!

Yesterday, we went to Anglesey to look for Druids - well at leastI think that's what we were doing. We went to a strange place with some dead smells in the morning - bit of a walk to it, where we saw some of those strange animals in fields - I know they're not sheep, cos they're bigger, and Iknow they're not horses, cos i know horses. They run up to me, and then stop, and run along the fence with me, and they're really a bit scary! I barked at them, but that just makes them stand and stare at me. When we got to the dead place, there was a sheep running around, so I just lay on the ground and let it calm down, and eventually it went back out to it's lamb. After this place, we went to another place, where Flash and I had to stay in the car, then we got a run near a beach. I don't think we found any Druids, but I wouldn't know what one was anyway. We stopped by some lakes, so I think Sian might have been looking for somewhere new to go pigging.

Talking of pigging, we had a good training session last week, at the top end of Llyn Padarn, where I had to search for ages and ages - must be the longest one I've done! The week before, we did some work at Llyn Lockwood, and Sian and Phil were both really pleased with me - some really good find, and they were really pleased with the way I was working! All going well now really, and we're ready to move into the boat - just waiting to hear from Neil about when we can go and do that bit! Yay - I can't wait!

Cadi xx

I've had a lovely few days - Iwan brought Anna and Billy home with him from Cornwall, and they've both been soooooo cuddly! I've just been sitting on the sofa with them having lots of strokes and cuddlZ! Anna's gone home now, and Billy's still here, but he and Iwan are staying up at Iwan's dad's, because Hannah's home again - she came home from the racehorse place for the weekend, and then got ill again. She's still having problems with her ribs which got hurt by Bex last December, so they've been to the doctor again, and she's had a photo taken of her insides, and has to go for more inside pictures before she sees a people vet! Poor Hanzie!

We went for an awesome HUGE walk last Saturday - up a mountain called Cnicht. It was a hot day, and there were loads of people there. My feet were hot by the end of it, but on the way back, there was a lovely mountain stream for me to walk in! Poor Anna had sore knees.

Today, Sian and me met up with Lesley from Cantech, and her dog Bentley. Lesley wanted to see what I do, so I showed off a bit for her! She wants Bentley to have a go at water searching, but Neil explained to her why Bentley can't do it - he's already a live person search dog, and it just gets very confusing for a hound if you find live and dead people! We did some good training on Llyn Padarn, finding piglets in deeper water than usual.
The water's much warmer now too - I like swimming in it now! Even though there was ice at Llyn Lockwood last time!

Oops, just realised - I've already blogged about Cnicht! Never mind!

Hi
I said I'd try and get round to writing a bit about last training weekend - we stayed at Caeathro because it was an assessment weekend. On the Saturday, me and Sian got to do some training - Phil came and helped on that day, and we went to Llyn Padarn to the Quarry hospital side. It was very very windy and I had to work really hard, but I think I got them all in the end. I watched children playing on Ropes and Ladders in Llanberis - that looked fun - I fancy that, but I'm not sure how a dog could manage it!

On the Sunday, it was a much better day, and Elinor came and helped. We went up to Llyn Lockwood to see hows the wind was. It was a lovely day, sunny, nice wind, but there was ice on the lake! Good day's searching thought - managed a good few of them, and Sian was very pleased ... I jumped in the water a few times, so got a bit cold, but Uncle Harold had given Sian a sort of furry bag for me, and that kept me warm. I found some pigs that I just had no idea where they ended up!

Last Tuesday we went to Glynllifon to do some training - there's a river there, so Sian hid the pig in the river and I managed to find it - complicated, because you have to look way up the river to find it! Good fun on a really windy evening - and it went dark while we were still there!

Cadster zzzzzzzzzz

Hi gang
Had a superb walk up Cnicht today with Sian, Iwan, Anna and Billy. Iwan you know - he's my big brother who lives in Cornwall, Anna and Billy are on the same course as him, and they came up with Iwan to do some mountain days to count towards their Mountain Leader Log book thing - they have to do 20 quality hill days for the training, and another 40 for the assessment - it's a bit like I have to do a training log for the pigging.

The weather was fantastic - so warm that Flashers and me had to spend lots of time in water to cool our feet down. We slept all the way home, and after tea, I've slept on the sofa.

Phil went to the football, and came back with smiley face, and now he's doing a Llanberis job - I think he's going to a barbecue after that!

I just realised I haven't written my log from last training ... I'll have a look what I did and write shortly!

Tarrrraaa
Cadders xxxxxxxxxx