I finally figured out what the problem was - I am sure it was old pigs ears. They smelled a bit funny but seeing I am a vegetarian this sort of thing smells 'funny' anyway, but in the end it is the only thing it could have been because when 'the runs' stopped running I gave him the last pig's ear and 'the runs' started again. But the tables I had fixed it very quickly. He has been fine since.
For some bizarre reason there is this big spacing at the moment. My whiz husband is going to have to find out why and fix it for me otherwise these blogs will be even longer.
We stayed in Basel with Jutta and her Winja, one of the teams in the deployment equipe recently. Jutta also stayed with us two years ago whilst she was in Melbourne doing an intensive English course. Jutta clearly knows and loves Basel and she was an excellent guide for the three days we had together. The old part of Basel is beautiful and more extensive than usual in a city. Unfortunately I was so busy gazing that I forgot to take many photos and the picture of the lane is the only one I took.
We stopped for a coffee and cake in Jutta's favourite square, small and trendy old where of course dogs are allowed. You can see that Jochen was still not quite well, looking very sad and sorry for himself.
The new monkey house was hilarious as Jochen nearly couldn't cope with all these monkeys doing what monkeys do best - leap, 'fly' jump, play. He started to whistle and yodel and his ears were so far forward that they nearly fell off. But that was only the start. One monkey suddenly appeared at the top of the window and knocked on the glass!!!! This nearly fried Jochen's brain. It got worse because another monkey thought that this was the best lark he (or she) had had all morning and also knocked on the window. Poor Jochen. He completely bent himself out of shape whilst these two monkeys laughed themselves into stitches. I kid you not - I am sure one of them had a grin from ear to ear.
Nanda is a remarkable Dutch lady who has lived in Switzerland for over 30 years. She breeds and successfully shows goats and very fancy chooks. She also keeps rabbits, ducks and birds and at first glance it all looks a bit chaotic. However, Nanda is an incredibly knowledgeable, practical elder-type woman who loves and cares for her animals.
We spent the afternoon at Nanda's place at the edge of the forest. Winja and Jochen were able to move around most of the little house/shed. The sights and sounds and smells for a dog must be wonderful in a place like that. Jochen watched the finches and budgies, he was fascinated by a rabbit in a cage and generally behaved himself well.
The calm and peace of the place and the people was great. It was one of the most pleasant, lazy, stress-free few hours Jochen and I have spent in quite a while. I can understand why Nanda is a special friend of Jutta's.