29/9/2025

Meg is in disgrace. We had a couple of workmen in the house and garden, plus her favourite gardener (huge excitement when he arrives) so Meg was super hyper. The birds were loose in the garden, and we discovered that Meg can now open doors unless they are locked. She jumped at the handle, the door flew open. She charged out and leapt on Goose. Horrible moment. I yelled and screamed and shouted all sorts of commands that Meg ignored. Husband hauled her off Goose, and took her inside.

I picked up a terrified Goose, who rubbed her cheek against mine and trembled in my arms. I sat with her on my lap until she stopped trembling, then left her in the hay box for a while to calm down. Poor Goose.

15/11/2025

Meg hardly changes now, so there is much less to write that is new. She’s a lovely companion (mostly) and follows me round the house, sleeping (and farting) in whichever room I am in. Sometimes she dreams and wakes up barking (not at great at night if I am also asleep).

I love how clever she is. One of her annoying habits is barking at dogs that we pass in the car. I try to notice them before her, and I start to talk in a quiet calm voice, hoping to distract her. Yesterday when I did this, Meg listened to my whisper and then barked at the other dog but super-softly, like she knew we needed to whisper so she barked in a whisper! It may have been coincidence, I will let you know if she continues to do this. It would be an improvement.

16/12/2025

Well, to my surprise, Meg seems to have stopped barking at other dogs when we pass them in the car. She does still bark at the occasional one, but perhaps they are particularly dodgy-looking in dog-world. Mostly we pass them without being yelled at from behind.

Meg has been a bit wild this week. I suspect it’s because the wild animals (foxes and deer) are marking/spraying. Even I, with my human nose, can sometimes smell a strong odour de la fox, so I’m sure it’s overpowering for Meg. Not that this is really an excuse for even more disobedience that normal.

We have put up the Christmas decorations, and other than trying to participate when we kneel on the floor to water the tree each day (obviously seen as a time for licking faces) Meg has been very good at ignoring them. She does sometimes carry her chew to a position that is extremely close to the Christmas tree, but as far as I know, she has not touched it. I don’t think I will hang chocolates on it though, that might a too much temptation for her.

We now have use of the field next to the house (the rams are with the ewes). For a few days, this made a very easy walk, as I would walk around the perimeter, and Meg would race the cars on the main road, tearing up and down at great speed. It was definitely racing, not chasing, as she watched and chose which vehicle she was going to race (usually a bus or lorry) and then she gave herself a headstart, beginning to run before they reached the field, charging at full speed along the hedge until the passed her, and then stopping and going back to the ‘start line’ to wait for the next target.

However, the novelty soon wore off. Meg noticed that I did a loop of the field, and she decided this was boring. If we go into the field now, she walks to the middle, and sits, watching me exercise myself, and then she joins me back at the gate to go inside. Not quite the plan. I have to take her to the woods now, otherwise she doesn’t have a walk.

5/1/2026

Meg has become very difficult. Not sure if it’s because she had a lot of restrictions over Christmas due to various visitors, plus the wet weather mean she spent vast amounts of time locked in a room while she dried off after being washed every time she came in from the muddy outside. Or it could be the foxes are still marking ready for mating season. Whatever the reason, Meg has reverted to ‘difficult teenager’ stage. We have lots of stand-offs, and trying to modify her behaviour is just plain hard work.

We walked yesterday across the fields. I am trying to not walk with her on the lead if she pulls, so it took about 15 minutes to cross the farm lane from one field to the other. She is also meant to sit before going through a gate—as a safety feature to give me a few seconds to check for unexpected livestock in the field (plus it’s good manners for her to sit while I unbolt the gates). She absolutely refused to do this. Left her on the wrong side of the gate, and marched across the field away from her, leaving her to frantically try to find a way through the gate. (Actually, she didn’t look frantic at all, more like a bolshy teenager.) Then a man came, and looked very worried that there was a big dog his side of the gate, with the owner halfway across the next field. So had to relent and collect her (the man looked at me like I was mad).

Then when on our own land, I hooked her lead over the post and walked away, returning to tell her to sit before I released her. Took AGES. Eventually she sat, and we continued. I feel frazzled after these stand-offs, and I don’t like her very much. Meg does not appear to be affected even slightly. It feels important, if I have given her a command, that nothing happens until she has obeyed. But it’s not fun, and it makes me want to just give in and have an unruly dog. Hope you have a better week than me. Thanks for reading.
Take care.
Love, Anne x