I worked up all my courage and asked my mistress about the holiday thing. I told her I had overheard them talking about going on holiday and I was wondering if that included me. I held my breath a little bit after asking, not really knowing whether I wanted to hear the answer or not. \u201cYes\u201d she said \u201cwe have chosen somewhere especially so that you can come.\u201d I was so relieved I just ran round in circles chasing my tail. After a while, when my initial excitement had worn off and I had remembered that that was not my only concern, I went to find her again and asked if it was going to be like the Switzerland trip. \u201cWell there will be hills and trees and we are going to drive and we will be travelling in the same direction.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I got a bit frustrated and explained that I was worried they were thinking of moving and needed to know if it was really a holiday. It was lovely. She sat down with me and gave me a cuddle and told me there was nothing to worry about and that we were all going and it really was just a holiday. Of course telling me there was nothing to worry about would have been more believable if I hadn\u2019t found there are eight of us going, including me. That is an awful lot of people to be saying \u201cSit Alfie\u201d \u201cFetch Alfie\u201d \u201cDrop\u201d, you know how it goes. I just want a quiet life. I suppose I should look on the bright side, my mistress is going to have to cook for them all!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n When I moved forward in time this post from two years ago fitted quite well with how cautious Alfie is. Mum is about to go on the same conference so I wonder what she\u2019s going to be thinking about this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the conference that our Mistress is on, one of the courses she has been doing is \u2018Character Psychology\u2019. Now, it\u2019s really about her writing but as they have discussed the different personality types she has been musing on which boxes the four of us fall into. I suggested to her that maybe it was different for dogs and we could write a whole book on the subject. The thing is, that for pure-bred dogs, one of the defining things is our character and a breed does, across its gene pool, have quite a lot in common. However, you only have to look at the four of us to see some crucial differences.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Wilma is a natural born leader. Our Mistress says she could get a whole book out of just analysing Wilma. Wherever she goes, other dogs defer to her. She has higher emotional intelligence than any dog our Mistress has ever met before and is the only dog that our Mistress has ever seen apologise to a dog that didn\u2019t appreciate her approach. In the last nine months our Mistress has only ever once seen Wilma put out and that was when Grandpa\u2019s hearing aid gave out a very high pitched noise. I think Wilma had found that very distressing and was not about to put herself in a position where it was repeated.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Me, I\u2019m an introvert. I\u2019m non-confrontational and would definitely avoid an argument if I possibly could. I know life is a bit different now, but when you\u2019re ill that doesn\u2019t really show your natural doganality.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Shadow, well I\u2019m not sure how you would describe Shadow. I think we\u2019re seeing more of her natural doganality now that Wilma is in the house and Shadow doesn\u2019t feel the need to be in charge anymore. She\u2019s a much nicer dog for having Wilma here. Before, I think having to be pack leader was quite hard work for her and she could only do it by being quite tough on us, which means she didn\u2019t relax so much. When she\u2019s her own dog she\u2019s the happiest Entlebucher I know and spends half the time away with the fairies, chasing butterflies and specs of dust, but always with a broad smile on her face and with a zest for life which is infectious.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Aristotle, well he is a much more expressive character. He gestures widely with his paws and throws himself into everything. In some ways, I think he is most like our Mistress. He\u2019s into everything and really can\u2019t sit still. Or more to the point, if he is sitting still it\u2019s because he\u2019s coming up with a plan for his next load of mischief. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Well that\u2019s all from me today. Have an absolutely fabulous Friday<\/p>\n\n\n\n Love Wilma<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alfie\u2019s Diary \u2013 the Book as well as our other books are available HERE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a9 2018 Rosemary J. Kind<\/p>\n\n\n\n All site content is subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without written permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Wilma’s thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n
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<\/a>2016<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Wilma<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Alfie<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Shadow<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Aristotle<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n