This week, Friday is the new Tuesday because we swapped days as tomorrow Mum has a hospital appointment with the very bamboozling doctor with all the long words and lots of diagnosis’s.  I’m hoping we don’t come away with any more this time (epilepsy and a heart condition are more than enough to add to her ever growing medical notes), and that maybe if I really concentrate I’ll understand more of what he tells me…  I’ll let you know, but please cross your fingers and send me brain cells at 5pm on Friday. 🫰🏼

So, instead, on Tuesday I got ahead with work, did my usual evening training class and…then took an online dog behaviour / training class.

Because the vet suggested at our last visit that as well as being a little tubby, Percy may have a few ‘issues’ and might do well to see a behaviouralist.  And like many, many parents being given feedback that the apple of their eye is not in fact perfect, I got a bit grumpy inside.  Then decided I absolutely should do what I needed to help him.  So looked up the vet recommended people and wondered if a second mortgage was an option.  Then looked at other local referrals and discovered that – like therapists – dog trainers and behaviouralists are not a regulated role and anyone can set themselves up as one.  And every one I found, there seemed to be some issue with.

And I guess because big brother knows everything and could see that I was looking up these things, facebook threw up an invite to a free online seminar with a dog person I’ve been following in instagram who does seem to talk a bit of sense.  I signed up and he talked more sense – some of which I knew and some of which I didn’t.

So now I am attempting more stimulation, less arousal and more outlets.  I think.  And to do that we’ve been doing lessons.  We have a fair way to go with the kisses:

And I need to find some pots Percy can pick up to do this one properly:

And so far the only difference has been the fact that for the first time Percy decided to start humping a lady dog while we were out yesterday, resulting in my running at (my) full speed across a field shouting, “GET OFF HER NOW’.  But it’s only been two days and hopefully he’ll become more chilled out rather than some sort of canine Romeo…

…And it’s made a change from trying to re-teach Mum to knit or make a cup of coffee 🙂

And in Norman news, he is now also referred to as ‘The Furry Locust’ on account of his sudden need to eat ALL the food.  Not only is he demanding two breakfasts these days, but he’s started breaking into Percy’s defrosting dinner as a midnight snack if we forget to hide it. And now he’s taken to watching me eat, ready to pounce the second my guard is down …

Animals and Mummy W’s…life would be very boring without them 🙂