The Christmas market dog

This gorgeous little dog sits outside the shop you see below. The shop is part of Menton's Christmas market that runs from the sea to the market area. It opens every day at 10 a.m. and every day this dog sits there. When I took the photograph above no one was in the shop but it seems our hero is resigned to the several weeks he must sit here each year.

'For fidelity, devotion, love, many a two-legged animal is below the dog...' Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887)

Conan

The Cane Corso is an Italian Mastiff and massive he is too. This boy was standing just in front of the market building in Menton. You can read about the Cano Corso Italiano by clicking on the link.

'The best part about owning a dog is the way he doesn't care about bad hair days or overdue bills.' Author Unknown.

Avoiding the paragliders

This lovely golden is taking a walk, with his stick, on the Plage du Golfe Bleu at Roquebrune-cap-Martin. This is the beach where the paragliders land after their flight from Mont Agel, way up up up in the mountains. You'll see in the third photograph the dog's owner is gently holding him as a paraglider lands so he is not scared. I'd imagine any dog would be terrified if a man suddenly arrived out of the sky. Click here to see the paragliders and click here to see the landing.

'You know you're a dog lover when you think the paw prints on the hall floor make an interesting mural.' - Mae Somers

Church walk

Really I'm not sure what breed this is. He looks a bit like a Pyrenean Mountain Dog but the tail carriage is wrong and so is the gait. Colour appears wrong for a Maremma sheepdog - could be an Anatolian Shepherd dog? If anyone knows, I'll happily delete these worlds and list him under his rightful breed.

He was having an early morning trot in Fontvieille, which is the area of Monaco reclaimed from the sea. Here he is walking past St. Nicholas church. Click on the link to see this relatively new church in Monaco.

'This honest sheep-dog's countenance I read:
With him can talk; nor blush to waste a word
On creatures less intelligent and shrewd.

William Wordsorth (1770-1850), from "The Pastor"

Energy!

This bundle of energy lives in Belgium. His owner explained that his daughter lives in Roquebrune village - this photo was taken on the way to the 1000 year old olive tree. I'm not quite sure why he is wearing a coat as the sun was shining - perhaps because there was a little bit of wind.

'The one absolute, unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world...is his dog.'
George Graham Vest (1830-1904. from "Eulogy on the Dog."

Yuky

There are cross breeds and cross breeds but how cute is this! Only two months old and much travelled already. This little bundle of cuteness lives in Majorca, Spain but is here on holiday with his young owners, and visiting the medieval village of Roquebrune. These photographs were taken fairly near to the entrance to the Xth century Chateau.

Celia

This little angel was being carried around the Christmas fair in Menton. Her owner happily posed her for me, with the rest of the family calling to her to get her attention for the camera. She's a baby, of course - 11 months old and heaven in a little bundle.

Peggy and Dotty

Peggy is just twelve weeks and Dotty, of course, is older. I don't normally publish photographs of dogs I look after in my home but couldn't resist this. And anyway they are indeed Riviera Dogs. These two live in Monte Carlo but you see them here on my step. Pugs often sit in the position that Dotty is in. Too funny. Do you like pugs?

Milly and Biba

I bumped into these two labs in the walking street of Menton. Milly, at the back is 11 and Biba, at the front is 2. They live near to Cuneo (not so far from Turin) in Italy. As you can see, they like to flop down when their owners are in conversation.

Holly

This is Holly, a beautiful Japanese Chin, the first of this breed to appear on Riviera Dogs. Pretty Holly may have Japanese origins but she lives in Denmark with her very nice owner, who kindly allowed me to photograph her here sitting near to the beach, in Menton.

Lody

Lody's most helpful owner posed him for me several times but the sun was bright and the shadows were difficult. I hope, tho, you can see what a very smart Labrit he is. Yes, that's what they call a Berger de Pyrénées in France and Monaco. You see him here crossing Boulevard Albert 1 in Monaco below.

Honey

I met this Shiba Inu at Cap 3000, the big shopping centre just outside Nice - beyond the airport. They are originally from Japan, although her owner told me that Honey was bred in the United States. Inu is Japanese for dog. The Shiba Inu is the smallest of the Japanese native breeds of dog and was originally developed for hunting by sight and scent in dense undergrowth. There are more Shiba Inus in Japan than any other breed and it was in 7000 BC that the ancestors of today's Shiba may have accompanied the earliest immigrants to Japan.

Bichon or bichon?

We at the Saturday market in Menton today. This market is held outside the main covered market. This little dog is a Bichon Maltais, I believe - what is called in other countries, a Maltese Terrier. It's hard to tell - perhaps it's a Bichon Frisé but with rather a straight coat. Anyway she's cute.

Market dog - 2

This black cocker spaniel is often sitting here outside the main market in Menton and near one of the outside stalls whilst his owner works. He looks resigned - 'Okay, I'm here for the morning and I'd better make the best of it.' Dogs are great, aren't they? So long as they are with us, they are happy.

Jumbo

I nearly called this dog The Metropole Dog because I met him in the Metropole shopping centre in Monaco, asked his owner his name and then promptly forgot it. Fortunately I bumped into her again at the cash desk in FNAC, asked her again and then wrote it down! When I first met Jumbo he was being made a great fuss of - and thoroughly enjoying it too. Isn't he a handsome chap?

Benny

This old Spitz-type dog suffers badly from arthritis so his Italian owners have made this trolley for him - and look how happy he is being pushed along the seafront in Menton. Sometimes the extremes to which people will go for their dogs astounds me - but that's love of a dog, of course and provided the dog is not in pain, why not?

Street dogs

These dogs are tied up, waiting for their owner, outside a supermarket in Menton. You can see another photo and read more about these street dogs at THIS LINK.

Décontracté

This Hungarian Vizla didn't move a muscle when I photographed him. He was tied up to a bench in the shopping centre of Fontvieille, Monaco - outside the Carrefour supermarket - patiently waiting for his owner to finish shopping. And as I inched closed to take the shot below, this laid-back dog simply closed his eyes!

Buddha the Boxer

Meet Buddha, the 4 month old Boxer puppy, playing here with a piece of string. He was attached to one of the market stalls in Menton (not the main market, but the one under the bridge on the way to the autoroute). His young owners proudly told me his father is a French champion and his grandfather is a World champion. I chopped the top of his head off in the photo below but I love it anyway. So forgive me. Scroll down and you'll see Buddha's French bulldog friend - 'don't take my bone' you can hear him say! Isn't he too adorable?!

Charlie at the Coffeur

This lovely cocker spaniel, Charlie, is waiting with her owner at the hairdressers. No, not for herself but Mum needs a hairdo. It's quite normal for dogs to go to restaurants, hotels, hairdressers, shops in France. They are not supposed to be in supermarkets but you often see a little one in the trolley. Everyone turns a blind eye. C'est la france!