When you're in love with a beautiful woman, it's hard

Sorry about the suggestiveness of the title, but it’s a little fraught at Genie Towers tonight. We have one of Harry and Piglet’s sisters staying the night. Her owner’s going on holiday at the end of the month and last time Millie was in kennels she hated it badly, so we’re seeing how she fits in back here to find out if it would be feasible to have her here for the week. I’d had it all worked out in my mind how each of ours was likely to react to a stranger in our midst – and I was wrong on a couple of counts. Beattie doesn’t appear to be as jealous as I thought she’d be, and Harry’s being a complete gentleman. He invites her to play by bowing and spinning, but she’s not sure so he goes and lies down. Clover (their mum) who has the sweetest nature of any dog in the whole wide world, went to say hello and was very confused at being seen off, and is now pretending Millie isn’t here. It’s Piglet who’s really surprised us. He’s not really a ‘dog’s dog’, and tends to be standoffish when out. He’s also very territorial about his house and garden, and we thought if anyone was going to be aggressive to a stranger it’d be him.

Piglet has fallen in LURVE bigtime. Or at least as near lurve as a dog with a very small brain can manage. He’s having to be kept on a lead, and his serenading her to the best of his ability. Unless he pulls himself together overnight I can see that having her to stay for a whole week might be too much for us all. Pity – she’s very sweet – although very overweight! I’d love to have her to stay for a while to get her back in shape and get her nails right, because they’re too long too. But that’s because when she was a youngster she badly broke her leg, resulting in the loss of a toe and some pad, so she can’t do a lot of roadwork without getting a very sore foot. She’s not overfed (well, obviously she is overfed because she's fat, but she doesn't actually eat a lot) – she eats less than ours (she brought her lunchbox with her); she just doesn’t get the exercise she needs. Not only do ours get long walks they also play together a lot and use up energy that way.


Millie 

I must admit though it’s reassuring to see that the dogs I’ve produced have got pretty good temperaments. A lot of research went into planning the litters, travelling a couple of hundred miles to the right stud dog each time (the nearest is never the most suitable – it’s the law). Good show specimens and great, healthy pets, combined in the same animals. I must be doing something right.