Obi. Which is why I’ve named the cam I’ve set up indoors to keep an eye on him when I’m not around as obi-cam-kenobi
I did consider gixer…. But where I will walk him has plenty of cottaging sites and I wouldn’t want someone getting the wrong idea
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/15/merlin-spaniel-humans-dogs-home When Iggy was only a puppy, 9 months old or so, I went to watch my youngest son play futsal at The Westway, which is a large complex of approx 10 or 12 outdoor multi-use courts (tennis/basketball/futsal) that basically form a giant fenced/semi-walled maze spread over several acres. I parked on the street about half a mile away and because my son hadn’t told me which court he was playing on I foresaw a long and frustrating search. So, just for shits and giggles, not thinking for a minute that he’d be able to do it, I said to Iggy “Go see Owie” and he stopped, looked around to take in his surroundings, sniffing the air in a few different directions, before setting off towards the courts, stopping every 50m or so to do the same thing. Then when we got to the court complex itself, he guided us through the labyrinth using airborne scent until he picked up a scent trail on the ground, which he followed directly to the correct court. It was absolutely astonishing. He’s also performed similar feats when I’ve turned up late to play cricket at big grounds where they have numerous matches going on at the same time and all it takes is me saying “Find friends - go play cricket” and he’s off, nose to the ground, straight to the correct one. Their way of experiencing the world must be so different to ours.
I prefer to think that as Iggy has umpteen field trial champions on both sides of his bloodline, that he has an extremely finely attuned nose
I spend a fair proportion of each day with this fella “helping” me with my work. He even once appeared like this when I was in the middle of a High Court hearing by video, but he escaped from his crate and decided to come and see what I was up to. Luckily it turned out the judge also had a pair of Welsh Springers, so we didn’t get held in contempt
Bit limited yet due to barely having the energy to open my eyes…. Gives you a flavour of how poorly he’s being treated he’s going to be one super spoilt pup!
