My Mistress is under the delusion that she is going to train Aristotle to the point where he can go absolutely anywhere with her. She should know by now that whilst Aristotle adores her and most of the time wants nothing more than to please her, he\u2019s also a thinking dog with very determined ideas of his own. It\u2019s not that he won\u2019t go along with the training but it\u2019s on his terms. The settee has been earmarked as his equivalent of the \u2018naughty step\u2019 it\u2019s not really that he is being told off, he wouldn\u2019t be allowed on the settee if that were the case, it\u2019s that he\u2019s being given a time out to calm down when he gets excited. Frankly what dog wouldn\u2019t agree to take time out in that degree of comfort? When he\u2019s sent there, unless he knows he\u2019s in the wrong he does refuse to lie down until he\u2019s good and ready. He doesn\u2019t incur our Mistress\u2019s wrath by moving from the spot altogether he just stands on the settee until she gives up trying to make him lie down and goes back to her chair. Then he lies down. I have to say, in her favour, that the system seems to be working quite well so far.<\/p>\n
There is also a major dog bed repairing operation going on. I\u2019m not naming names, but Aristotle\u2019s bed came back from kennels a little the worse for wear. In fact there seems to be a pile of five dog beds that have seen better days. My Mistress is quite convinced that she can make three perfectly good beds out of the remnants together with some bits of old sheet. As long as they are comfortable I don\u2019t much mind. My bed that I have had since puppy hood is still in one piece so except for additional comfort in the kitchen and office the process doesn\u2019t really affect me.<\/p>\n
Alfie\u2019s Diary \u2013 the Book is available at Amazon UK –https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B00583ZGSA<\/a><\/p>\n You can find short stories to read at www.alfiedog.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"