I’ve been putting a lot of work into improving things for my puppy Zoe. The other day I visited a butcher and now my freezer is full of split marrow bones, chicken frames, meaty lamb bones, and little cubes of fritz for treats. She’s getting a 15 minute walk every day, and we’ve started serious ‘not pulling on the lead’ training, which is painfully slow but not stressful. It currently takes about 15 minutes to get to the end of the drive way and back as I have to stop and wait every time she pulls on the lead. We’re using a system of positive reinforcement, which I’m really happy with.

I’ve discovered that Zoe is not actually eating roughly a whole giant bag of food a fortnight – it turns out that by leaving food out for her I’ve actually been feeling a lot of the pigeon population locally! So the money I’m saving by feeding her indoors only twice a day I’m spending on treats and toys to keep her occupied when I’m not home. She has a new tough toy she loves to play fetch with, and I’ve been freezing beef broth in containers, with dog treats in it, for her to lick and chew through when I’m out during the day. I’m also giving her some calming mineral drops, and she has a half clam shell ‘pool’ to cool off in on hot days, and an extra lovely dog house to lie in.

She’s certainly improving with this set up. She’s quite happy to sleep on the lounge while I work when I’m home, and she’s not as manic when I get home if I’ve been out. I think we’re going in the right direction. Basic training starts in a week and I’m looking forward to it.