What Do You Want?

Over the course of the last year Silke and Vader have attended training courses organised by The Gundog Club. During these courses Silke taught Vader a lot of useful skills like retrieving, coming back when called by a whistle or staying put on command. The latter is particularly useful when you want him to pose for a photo. After each course Silke and Vader had to pass an assessment.

Last Sunday Silke and Vader passed their final assessment (grade 4) with Merit. Vader is now a Proficient Hunting Retriever. Here is a photo of him with all his ribbons.

It feels like it was only a few weeks ago when I blogged about Vader’s first birthday. And now he is already two years old and a fully grown dog. But fortunately he is still as playful as a puppy.

Here is the traditional photo in the corner of our kitchen to commemorate his second birthday:

Silke and I have already been to the southern part of Cornwall last year. Because we liked the beautiful landscape we decided to go back and visit the northern part as well. Silke booked us a nice holiday home on a former Dairy Farm near Widemouth Bay  for the beginning of November. As it was only about 1.5 miles inland you could actually hear the surf from the garden.

The weather was really good for this late in the year. It mostly rained during the night and the sun was shining during the day. Silke and I seized the opportunity and went on extensive walks with our dog Vader. This was an excellent way to enjoy the stunning scenery. As I probably couldn’t find adequate words to describe it I’ll simply let the pictures do the talking.