If they want me to do all right in my training classes they\u2019ll have to stop having bank holidays that give me a week off. It isn\u2019t that I forget what I\u2019m supposed to do. I remember all of it, I practice at home. It\u2019s just the excitement of seeing all the other dogs. I\u2019m overcome with wanting to show off and bark, and howl, and run madly in circles, and disobey. I\u2019m not really a bad dog, not at heart. It\u2019s just too good an opportunity to waste on obeying.<\/p>\n
I wondered whether I should make it part of the Pet Dogs Democratic Party manifesto that dog\u2019s shouldn\u2019t simply obey commands of human beings. The subservience that it requires simply doesn\u2019t become our species. We have brains. We can think for ourselves. We may think things like \u2018I wonder what his bottom smells like?\u2019 or \u2018where will I find the nearest muck to roll in?\u2019 but we do think for ourselves. I suppose if we didn\u2019t have the brain we wouldn\u2019t be very good at learning all the commands. It would be a bit like trying to train your gerbil or goldfish to sit and stay. Can goldfish sit?<\/p>\n
I heard some tragic news today. The oak trees in Leicestershire have a deadly disease. I am horrified. As a lover of both acorns and Bradgate Park, this has the potential to be a complete tragedy. What about the oak tree at my grandparents\u2019 house? Will that be safe? What if it spreads to other areas? What will the squirrels do? I\u2019ve already found that you can\u2019t buy acorns on the internet, not that many squirrels have access to the internet. I hope someone has contingency plans for a squirrel feeding programme, with emergency aid being flown in from other areas.<\/p>\n
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