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They’re gorgeous !
A very unusual day.
On the way back from the shops I called in to water Fran’s flowers. As I left the cemetary there was a young couple waiting to speak to me about a lost dog in the area. After discussing it and getting their phone number I called in at Eddie and Marian’s because she had mentioned it last night. We made sure we had the right number and I continued on my way to the river field to walk the dogs. As I left the village, this is what I saw.
And this is how I described the following 2 hours to Eddie afterwards:
Well, what a carry on after I left you this morning. As I passed through St. Front towards the river field I saw Masha the missing dog on the road. I stopped and tried to entice her to me but she turned and trotted off to Le Sablon, with 4 ways flashing, Jules howling, I was struggling to find the bit of paper for the number the kids gave me to alert the owner to come. Several times I stopped the traffic but she would never let me closer than about 3 metres before trotting on, then back again towards St. Front, then into John Reid’s old garden where I thought I had her trapped and rang the woman again. But that garden has 2 entrances and I couldn’t cover both so out of one she trotted towards you with me following all the way. I tried to ring you to get you to open your gates in the hope that she might go in and be trapped until the owner arrived. But no answer and so she then went up the lane towards JoJo’s. Nearly got her there but she took off to behind his house when a man and the 2 kids arrived to look for her.
There is a chemin from just beyond JoJo’s house so I said I would go to the other end where it comes out below my house. Nothing, so continued up the loop road towards Milhac and caught her up trotting in that direction. I followed her at her pace all the way to the farm but before that I let a woman in a car past me and she overtook the dog and parked across the road to block it. So we had it between us be she dodged past the woman’s grasp and continued up and then into the farm.
At that point, Franck, the man who had appeared with the kids, arrived after my several attempts to describe to him where we were, hampered by Jules’ howling which prevented me from hearing him. He stopped by the farm and went round the back where the dog had gone, but soon came back empty handed. We both, along with another driver who turned out to be the woman whose number we both had, continued on for a km or or so to a place where there are 2 derelict buildings with a magnificent view of the countryside on that side of the road. No luck, so we eventually gave up. What a shame. a real downer, and of course my 2 never got their walk before we all arrived home about 2 hours later.
I’ll ring this bloke in a couple of days to see if there is any news but at the moment she is still at large.
Exhausted, David.
A few stills along the way:
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Blimey, @David_Spardo , he’s a unit!
I had a welcome text a short while ago, no details of how or where, but Macha is back home with her family. 
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There is a goat (and some humans) as well.
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Wonderful and Brilliant Sue, just like my 2…would be if they had brain transplants.
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WARNING!
This dog photo also contains a cat.
New Year’s Day 2025 - peace apparently breaks out in the battle of les panniers.
Each thinks they have won: our cat Tigre because he has got the original pannier and Gigi because she got the pannier nearest the stove (tho’ subsequently found it too warm).
Clever cat…
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And a fox (lightly chewed) 
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Inherited from Isabella, Gigi’s predecessor - gets shaken furiously in a pre-bedtime ritual.
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I have had the misfortune to witness this action on a live (and then not) pheasant. It’s instinct but I just sigh now and am glad it’s only a sock with a ball inside.
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I think a pheasant might be too much for little Gigi, though she did try to chase a sanglier last year (fortunately was on her leash).
I suspect the prey instinct is strong in poodles. Were they not originally French hunting dogs? 
Mine are half poodle, half retriever. The retriever half will bring a catch but the poodle half will not let it go. 
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They certainly were, a noble breed, which is why I only use the French, Caniche, when speaking of them. The Anglo-Saxon word has become such a derogatory one.
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Sadly.
Every poodle I meet seems sweet and lovely.
People in France see our 22kg Agnes, and assume Lagotto. Then they look at our doodle Maud more quizically and ask “Caniche royale?” My husband says we should have cards to hand out considering the many times we are required to illuminate the darkness of poodle cross world.
I do make a special effort that everyone knows my dogs are not Lagotto because two in our area have been stolen and I hate to think where they may be now.
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Stunning Rhodesian ridgeback 
Indeed, and the origins of some of the toilettage classique de caniche are in hunting. I’ve read differing accounts of the reason for the head and tail pompoms, one of which was that in the undergrowth, they made the dog more visible to the hunters.
Ours hunts and retrieves round objects. The other day she shot off into a field, bug furiouslybelow an apple tree and came back with a crab apple that then had to be thrown so that she could retrieve it. I marvel at her sense of smell.
The site below has some interesting explanations for the sources of the cuts; Gigi has a more elegant French version of the US Kennel style, which is known locally as a ‘pantalon’.
Hi Mark,
if she has a good nose, have you ever thought of training her for truffle hunting? There must be plenty where you live.
All you need is truffle oil and a few fresh truffles and some special treats for the dog when they find the truffles you’ve hidden.
Thanks, that’s an interesting suggestion, unfortunately we’re surrounded by chestnut forest, not oak.
I recently posted on another SF thread my regrets about not planting some truffle oaks over ten years ago, as I’d now be harvsting tthem. Maybe you can benefit from my mistake and buy a few…
However on this morning’s market, I did treat myself to one of our butcher’s boudin blanc maison aux truffes for tomorrow’s lunch. I asked for one but he asked me if I also wanted one for Madame (who wasn’t present), but I told him it was too good and rich for le petit estomac de madame.
He cracked up.
In truth Madame wouldn’t touch any boudin, even with truffes.
No need I live in the Morvan more oaks than people. Many have dogs trained to hunt truffles and they are very generous with their finds.
Have you any hazel, hornbeam or willow growing along the river valleys?
Ask your butcher if the truffles in the boudin are sourced locally 
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