Origami Alan

Hi everyone, I thought you might enjoy seeing something made at school last week. Mrs Cox was teaching in Room 10 and had taken along some origami paper so Room 10 tried out making origami dogs cats and elephants. Well, just the heads....origami isn't always as easy as it looks but it is fun and like most things the more you practise the more skilled you get. 
Most people kept what they made either to take home or to shoe Mr Raj but Christina gave this wonderful model of me to Mrs Cox ....I think my paper twin is just as handsome as me!

- Alan 🐾

Alan's Monday

Hi everyone hope you are all having a good day. I am partly because Mrs Cox is at home today so I expect I'll get lots of pats and an extra walk and if I'm lucky some extra treats. We went for a great walk yesterday to Churchill Park and there were other dogs to play with and a lovely stream to swim in. One of the pools has eels in it but that doesn't bother me at all. We just share the water - it's good to see them there because their type of eel is endangered - long

finned eels.They are protected (so you are not allowed to catch them). Anyway, there had been some rain so the water was muddy. Mrs Cox put me in the shower when we got home and washed me ... at least the water was warm! I look especially handsome now!!
Must go now - I'm helping Mrs Cox make the bed....

- Alan 🐾

Alan Stays Home

Hi everyone I am a bit sad today - Mrs Cox went back to work at school yesterday. She isn't going to take me with her for a while - she says my job is to stay home and keep Mr Cox company while he is still working from home. It's not that I mind that but he's working very hard so he doesn't have much time to play with me so it can be a little bit boring. 

It was so exciting when Mrs Cox came home yesterday - I always take her a toy to show her how pleased I am to see her. Yesterday I chose my fluffy rabbit that I got for my birthday - it's so soft I love it. 

Things perked up when Mrs Cox got home...we went off to the park where I caught up with a couple of friends I hadn't seen for a while and we ran around having a great time. Then we went home and I ate my delicious dinner. 

- Alan 🐾

Alan Learns to Knit

Hi everyone as you know I've been dyeing wool (with Mrs Cox helping just so I don't get the dye on my paws of course because it's hard to get rubber gloves to fit them). Well Mrs Cox has been teaching me about knitting and we've done quite a bit in the last few days. Also we found a little bit more of wool to dye and so Jacqueline got out the food colouring out again and dyed it a very nice green - it looks like grass I think and I like grass - sometimes I eat it although Mrs Cox says I shouldn't because she feeds me plenty of dog biscuits and Mr Herlihy gives me extra treats. I'm really missing those but Mrs Cox says I won't be coming back to school for a while even when it opens ..... poor me...I hope Mr Herlihy sends my treats to my house! ( He won't be doing that Alan - you just have to be patient! - Mrs Cox).

- Alan 🐾

Alan has Morning Coffee

Hi everyone I've been sitting in the sun today in our kitchen which gets the morning sun. Mr Cox has been working hard at his computer but he stopped for a coffee so I stopped my sun-bathing to hang out with him because I love him and he always gives me lots of pats. He says it's nice to have another boy in the house so we aren't outnumbered by the girls! I was hoping we would have biscuits (even dog ones) with our coffee but we didn't. Never mind it's always good to spend time with a friend.

- Alan 🐾 

  

Alan's Wool is Finished

Hi everyone well I promised I'd show you the wool I dyed (Mrs Cox helped) and here it is ! I'm very pleased with it and soon there will be some knitting garments to show you ....I have to admit I didn't do any of the knitting! Only because Mrs Cox wanted to do it herself ....I'm sure I could do it! 

Yesterday was a bit weird because Mrs Cox was out nearly all day and it's not very often I am apart from her. Still she did come back eventually which was nice. Today everyone is working again so I'm just sitting around waiting for them to take me for my walk....

- Alan 🐾 

Alan's Bridge Walk

Hi everyone I went for a lovely walk yesterday - I enjoyed it so much especially the bit where I got to walk over a bridge. Trit trot trit trot - I felt just like one of the Billy Goats Gruff in the story! It was a lovely afternoon and I was out with all my humans so it was wonderful. Plus, as I was walking along I saw quite a few other dogs and one of them was a guide dog puppy called Stanley who is a black labrador like me but younger. We really wanted to stop and have a chat but Stanley was practising walking and not getting distracted which is something all guide dogs need to be good at. Perhaps I'll get to see him another day when he is off duty!

- Alan 🐾

Alan's Mothers' Day

Hi everyone well I've had a great day - it's Mothers' Day so we were quite busy. My mother's name is Wynn and she is a black labrador. I didn't get to see her but of course Mrs Cox is my mother too so I spent a lot of my day letting her pat me and going on a walk with her and sitting with her....she loved it too! Jacqueline got up early to make Mrs Cox breakfast (Mrs Cox is her mother too) and to give her a card. I was supposed to carry it to her in my mouth but just for fun I ran away with it. I thought chasing me would be fun for her ....! Breakfast looked yummy - what do you think?
I hope you had a great day too!

- Alan 🐾

Alan's Swimming Pool

Hi everyone - well the wool we dyed is very nearly dry but still just a touch damp so I can't post photos of it yet. Sorry about that. Tomorrow for sure!
Meanwhile I've had my swimming pool on the deck - Mrs Cox was going to pack it away for the winter but there's been a change of plans. Auckland is getting a bit short of water so we are thinking of ways to save water. During the heavy rain last week my pool filled up so Mrs Cox said we would keep it to water our garden with instead of using the hose. Good idea I thought. However in the meantime - the garden doesn't need watering at the moment - I've discovered it's a really convenient drinking bowl!

- Alan 🐾

Alan Dyes Wool

Hi everyone - sorry my morning post is late this morning but I've been so busy! As you know Mrs Cox likes to knit. So anyway she had bought some wool (beautiful NZ grown wool from a sheep breed called Corriedale) and I have been helping her dye it! Lots of fun and we let Jacqueline help too. We used food colouring to dye the wool - it's not too difficult to do but takes a bit of time and effort. 
I love the colours we dyed the wool and we have been having fun naming them - perhaps you would like to suggest some names? We haven't made a final decision of them yet so if we have some ideas come through you never know we could choose yours! 

Here are some photos of what we have been doing. I will post photos of the final dried wool later today and you can send your ideas to me!

- Alan 🐾

Alan Plays with Nick

Hi everyone as you know one of my favourite things to do (apart from eating and coming to school) is playing with my toys. I have so many....a whole basket full. I stick my head in and choose which toy I want..... all the humans think I'm clever when I do that. One of my favourite toys is my green dinosaur. His name is Greendino and he makes a squeaking noise when I pick him up which I enjoy. He's good to cuddle and good to run around with and my favourite game is running and getting him when someone (usually Nick - that's Mr Cox - or Jacqueline) throws him for me. Sometimes Mr Cox gets a bit silly when we are playing and I have to remind him to be sensible....

- Alan 🐾
 

Alan likes Ice-blocks

Hi everyone , even though it's been cold I still enjoy eating ice-blocks. Mrs Cox and Jacqueline make me special ones that have dog biscuits in the middle - extremely delicious! Still when I saw Jacqueline eating this I was definitely interested. It smelt like strawberries - mmmm - my sister April used to eat strawberries from her human's garden when they were ripe so I'm sure I would enjoy something strawberry flavoured. Unfortunately Jacqueline wouldn't share which didn't please me one little bit. Looks like I'll have to stick to my own ice-blocks .....and I'm not going to share them with Jacqueline!

- Alan 🐾

Alan is Cold

Hi everyone, gosh it's certainly getting colder...last evening I was lying in the lounge as I usually do while the humans watch television and chat ...and of course Mrs Cox is ALWAYS knitting ....and I felt uncomfortably cold. Usually I lay on my bed or on Jacqueline's blanket on the floor - she never picks it up, she's not always very tidy...but it was not warm enough so I lay on her blanket and put my blanket over the top of me. Very cosy! Do you like my blanket? I like the dog paw prints all over it. Mr Cox actually bought it in the Netherlands for me. He was there on a cycling trip with his dad and was sleeping in a tent. It was summer there but the weather turned unseasonably cold. They
 were in a small village and the only shop that had blankets was the pet shop!! He said it made a real difference and how lucky for me - I scored a new blanket. 

If the humans are feeling cold they put on a jumper and Mrs Cox says a hat is always good because you lose most of your heat from your head. I can't wear a hat because my head is the wrong shape and it's nearly impossible not to cover my eyes if the hat has a chance of staying on my head - so I will stick to my blanket!!

- Alan 🐾
 

Alan Thinks About Guide Dogs

Hi everyone, I was looking at the photo of myself in my Guide Dog coat today and remembering what it was like to be a dog in training. One of my favourite parts was going out and visiting lots of shops - except that no one was allowed to pat me when I was wearing my red coat. There's a good reason for it - you have to learn to focus when you are a guide dog! I also loved going on trains and buses - I even got to go on the tram by the zoo - it was so exciting!! Anyway if you are interested in learning more about what it's like to be a guide dog in training AND see some very cute photos check out this link: it's to the Blind and Low Vision website. 

https://blindlowvision.org.nz/guide-dogs/our-puppies/
Remember to ask an adult if it's okay first - and they might like to look at it with you - I'm sure lots of grown-ups would find it very interesting. You might like to share something you find out with your teacher by doing some writing or drawing!

- Alan 🐾
 

Alan Plays Dress-ups

Hi everyone I was searching through my toys for something to do today and I found some of my dress-up costumes. I got them all out and decided which I would like to wear. This was my choice - what do you think? I love dinosaurs and I can easily pretend to be one when I wear this outfit!I have worn it at school one day and I really like it although it's not the easiest costume in the world to get on! I usually have to get Mrs Cox to help me. It has so many holes for my legs and even my ears if I pull the hood up! Lots of buttons as well and they are extremely difficult when you have paws. I would say impossible but I never say anything is impossible for me!
I wonder if you like dressing up? I'd love to see you in your favourite dress up costume!

- Alan 🐾

Alan Gets Up Early

Hi everyone, well I'm feeling extremely energetic today...not sure why as I went for another big walk yesterday. Anyway Mr Cox usually gets up first and feeds me (yummy) so as soon as I had finished that I ran in to see Mrs Cox. She was still asleep...but I didn't let that stop me. I chose a toy and took it in so she could leap out of bed and play chase with me but she didn't and said something about "far too early" and closed her eyes. I knew she was just pretending to be asleep at that point so I hung around in case she changed her mind. Eventually I realised she wasn't going to and sat down and chewed my bone ....yum yum that bone tastes good!

- Alan 🐾
  

Alan's Favourite Television Programme

Hi everyone - of course like lots of people I have been watching quite a bit of television during lockdown and I started to think about which programmes I enjoyed most. You might have already guessed the answer! Dog Squad Puppy School!! I love it because I get to see all the clever dogs - they are amazing. The people that train the dogs are incredible too. I really like it when they show the dogs training to be guide dogs because the Guide Dog Breeding Centre is where I was born and the Training Centre is somewhere I visited a lot. Brings back some great memories. The episodes that have already screened are on TV On Demand. Happy watching - remember to ask a grown-up before you watch anything.  

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/dog-squad-puppy-school

- Alan 🐾

Alan at the Park

Hi everyone I went for a lovely walk yesterday afternoon with Jacqueline. As you know going for walks is one of my favourite things and Jacqueline always takes me as far as she is allowed to at the moment and tries to take me on a different route each day which makes my walks interesting and fun. We were walking through a park yesterday and I did have to throw myself on the grass and roll around - I'm really missing being off lead! Jacqueline actually had to drop my lead but luckily no one else was around and she picked it up as quickly as she could! We saw another guide dog out for a walk which was very cool but of course we just wagged our tails at each other from a distance!

- Alan 🐾

Alan at University

Hi everyone, I've been learning a lot this morning. Jacqueline had an on-line art class so I sat with her and paid attention. It was about drawing monsters....and I saw that Room two have been drawing monsters as well. That's a bit of a strange coincidence isn't it?! Jacqueline enjoyed the class ans I think I might have a go at drawing monsters myself. I was impressed by the ones I saw on Room two's class site that's for sure. I must admit I did fall asleep for a while during Jacqueline's class......I just can't help it sometimes. Dogs need quite a lot of sleep!

- Alan 🐾

Alan Enjoys the Sun

Hi everyone - did you hear all that rain last night?? It was so heavy I could hardly get to sleep...but I dozed off after a while and when I woke up this morning (just in time for breakfast) the rain had stopped and the sun was out. I was so happy because I could run around outside. As you can see Mrs Cox gave me a toy to play with so it was great. The rain on the garden has brought all the smells in the garden out so I have lots of sniffing to do today! 

- Alan 🐾


 

A Lazy Day for Alan

Hi everyone - gosh it seems to have rained all day today! I know it's very good for our garden, especially as it's been so dry lately so that's good but at the same time it's a bit boring because I've had to stay inside nearly all day....really it's been a very lazy day. I think Mrs Cox has been knitting and watching Netflix and Mr Cox has been baking fruit cake and bread. Jacqueline has watched some television and has been doing her exercising downstairs as well. Personally I have spent a lot of time having naps - in between going out to the kitchen to see if food has appeared in my bowl. It never has but sometimes there are some crumbs on the floor to lick up!

-Alan 🐾

  

Alan Plays Bingo

Hi friends I've been playing boards games again after my walk today which was a good choice because it's been raining. I played Bi-jingo which is like bingo but instead of numbers you have to cover up the Disney princesses on your board. It was one of Jacqueline's favourite games when she was younger so we played it together. It was so much fun. I'm still finding it hard to put the counters on the board with my paws but I keep trying and sometimes Jacqueline is kind and helps me. I love spinning the wheel to see which princess I need to get. I won nearly every time we played which was extremely exciting!

- Alan 🐾 

Alan Finishes his Recycling

Hi everyone well I finished my recycling - look at me go! It did take a while to get that box off my head ( I may or may not have had some help me that....) but eventually I did and started squashing the box to put into the recycling bin - you get more in your bin that way apparently. I left it on the deck when I'd finished but Mrs Cox wasn't entirely happy about that...something about putting the pieces into the bin...I don't know what she means! She said she was pleased I'd tried to recycle though. Well done me! 

- Alan 🐾 

Alan Learns to Recycle

Hi everyone - today everyone was tidying up the house after a busy week working so I thought I'd help by recycling a cardboard box I found! I love to help out. Bit of a challenge at the moment though as I seem to have got it stuck on my head.....I'll let you know how I get on!

- Alan 🐾

My Bedtime Story

We're back with another bedtime story! This book is all about team work and helping each other. It has lots of rhyming words in it, so it is really fun to read. We hope you enjoy it.

- Alan 🐾

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Alan's Car Ride

Hi everyone - more excitement today! I've just got back from a ride in the car - the first one in ages...I'd missed them so much. I was starting to think we had actually sold the car! But no, there is was parked in the same place and Mrs Cox let me get in the boot. Off we went speeding (NOT speeding - Mrs Cox does not speed) down to Glen Innes - apparently the car is having something called a service. Then it got even better - we walked all the way home from Glen Innes to our house - that's two walks today so far. I'm having the best day ever - except for the days I get to spend with my friends at Glen Taylor School which are actually my favourite!

Look out for my bedtime story tonight. Now I'll be aiming to post them twice a week instead of everyday. Remember you can listen to your favourites as many times as you like. Tonight it's a great counting book called 'One Duck Stuck'.

- Alan 🐾

Alan Misses his Friend

Hi everyone, went for a big walk this morning - it's one of my favourite things to do - and we walked up the hill near our house. Very exciting because my friend Hank (you've met him on my blog) lives in that direction!! Sadly Mrs Cox reminded me that we aren't allowed to go and see him yet .... I felt sad and disappointed but I stood by his gate and sent him kind thoughts. I guess I could have barked but I'm not really a barking kind of dog - have you ever heard me bark? I cheered up though at the thought that hopefully the time when I get to see him and my other friends is getting closer all the time....now it's time for a nap after my big walk!

- Alan 🐾