A chance to play is vitally important for any dog, but especially for one who otherwise works all day. Tess loves to swim and to retrieve sticks and balls and she’s never more happy than when she’s doing either (or both) no matter how far she’s walked or for how long.The week we spent working in the Crackington Haven area of North Cornwall from Widemouth Bay down to Boscastle in mid-September was very productive from a work perspective and we enjoyed fantastic weather as well, but it wasn’t entirely without unpleasant incident for Tess and I shall be writing about it in my diary on the .com site. I know such things upset her considerably and so any chance to take her mind off things becomes a priority.

….at least it was with Tess, it being a place where she loved to make a splash at the end of a tough day….

….This was usually followed by a quick game of fetch-the-stick while off the lead in an adjacent field free of livestock.