Welcome, Maybe

Who's visiting?

We were preparing the guest room, and Tilde knows what that means. The anticipation of guests arriving thrilled her. Or was it skepticism, as she wasn't involved in the invitation?

A Hovawart Was Born After All

The three of us reached a clearing in the forest we were hiking. Tilde, Dok-dek, and me. Dok-dek was our guest on the West-coast for the week, to escape the noise of the New Year's celebratory fireworks of the city. It was freezing cold, -5 C with a sturdy breeze. The clearing we entered offered no refuge for the sudden drop in temperature caused by the wind chill. I put my hat back on, looked down in an attempt to keep the wind out of my face and stepped up the pace to reach the other side of the clearing.

The Wild Thing And The Distinguished Gentleman

When Tilde and me were driving on our way to meet Baxter the Hovawart I was filled with anticipation. Baxter would be one of the few 13½ year aged Hovawarts I would have the privilege of meeting face to face.

You Get The Hovawart You Want

"Tilde!" A handful of sand hit me on the back of my head, and I felt it seeping down my neck where it changed the inside of my jacket's color into a piece of sandpaper. I reached out for Tilde, who was digging a sandpit behind me, when the next salvo hit my outreached hand and the sand continued its path up my sleeve.

The Head Of The Snake

Leave it !!!

My heart skipped a beat when I realized what Tilde was sniffing. We just got out the door for a walk and hadn't even reached the end of the driveway when she noticed something and rushed over for a sniff. It was a viper - the common European viper, or adder - the only venomous snake living in Denmark.

The Victory Parade Of A Lovewart

For a Hovawart, Tilde is ridiculously happy for people. When we meet new people, you would expect at least some reservation while her Hovawart mind is balancing the "friend or foe" scale. Alright, I admit, she does bark a little at people she sees on the road, but as soon as they enter our driveway her tail starts to wag. I am not sure if she actually thinks the barking helps to invite people inside.

Wet Feet

Walking with Tilde on the beach is a wonderful thing.

I'm Right Here

There he was. I had dozed off for a second and quickly looked around me for Kenzo. He had dozed off too, but my sudden movement alerted him, and his face came up from beneath the tall grass to check on what I was doing.

The Comforting Tiger

When we arrived at our cottage on the West-coast during Christmas Day, Tilde jumped out of the car full of anticipation. She rushed inside and quickly examined all the rooms while she was barking with a high pitched voice, "I'm here, I'm here!". She returned to the hallway when she found out the house was empty, and I let her outside again so she could scout the surroundings, which didn't took her very long either.

Little Miss Rocket and Her Co-pilot

I never told you Tilde earned herself a new nickname during last Summer. It was during a get-together with Hovawart friends in Northern-Germany. We met with the Hovawarts Emil, Cooper, and Doeschka, and their respective families.

The first introductions went good - of course Tilde knew Emil from before - and when the dogs started to play a little in the large garden of the house we rented, I went for a stroll along the perimeter with Kenzo - it was during the days he wasn't allowed to run - and I think we only made five steps when Tilde already joined us. She rather stayed with us.

Laughter Therapy

"OMG! This is so much fun!" I shout at the top of my lungs.

"Hey Kenz! We are getting wet big guy! Woohoo!" and I burst out in laughter.

The Bumpy Road To The Beach

We drive through the town's main street with the windows half open. It is just a 5 minute ride to the beach and the shortest road is through the small town of "Henne strand". Actually, the town is not a lot more than that single main street.

My Dogs Are My Gurus

"They changed your life" my old friend said the other day. With "they" he meant the dogs. Kenzo, Viva, and Tilde.

He called me up to hear how I was doing. I hadn't spoken with him for a decade. I can imagine his surprise to find me on the other end of the phone, not doing business or developing a new tech gadget or application, storming through board-rooms with new ideas. Instead, he found me in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, self-employed, which allowed me to work from home, and I talked about the dogs a lot.

What Nature Has To Offer

The underwater treadmill has been switched for the North Sea's surf. Muscle tone exercises on a wobble board are exchanged by slowly walking through sand on the beach and the dunes. Cavaletti's are done on the heath fields.

We are doing Kenzo's physical therapy with what nature has to offer.

Waiting on a Friend

Was it them? Kenzo sat down in the shallow sea water, as if he was in thrilled anticipation of the imminent reunion with his friend. His gaze was locked at something on the horizon. He was waiting on a friend, but I knew he would never come.

The Wolf and The Hovawart, Old Foes Or a New Beginning?

Wolf in Ovstrup Hede, Denmark. Photo: Carl Skovbjerg Johnsen

The wolf has returned to Denmark. I am delighted, thrilled and excited all at once. Not only for the wolf, but also for what could follow in its path. What may lie ahead is a new understanding. A new definition of the Danish relationship not only with nature and wolfs, but also between the Danes and dogs in general.

Let me explain. Due warning though, this will be a long essay.

Fire In The Hole

"A dogwalker found ..." Did you ever notice how many local news stories contain this sentence? We do come out and about, us dog people, and somewhere down the line we tend to bump into something out of the ordinary. Yesterday, on our after-diner-walk, it was our turn to make such a discovery.

Return To The Valley

It would be just the boys. A male bonding trip. A boy's day out. Just Kenzo and me.

Excited we left for the valley. The valley lies in the middle of a dune landscape at the West-coast. It holds a couple of small lakes, hidden out of sight by the sand dunes towering out above it. The highest of the surrounding dunes offer a fantastic view over the valley and the rest of the landscape.

Window Of Opportunity

Next month it will be one year ago we adopted Tilde. In many ways she hasn't changed a bit. In many ways she has. She is no longer trying to fit in. No longer Kenzo's protégé. Less dependent on me and Kenzo to find her brave self.

New Memories

I kneel down next to Viva's tree with a view over the heath fields. The ground is cold from the night's frost. The fields are blueish with frozen dew, and hide the brown color they carry at this time of year. I hope we can witness a sunrise together, Viva's tree and me.