Secondborn and I walk the dogs every morning. for about an hour. That's Mount Bruce, Fluffy, Oscar and Abbey the Psychotic German Shepherd, my cousin’s dog, who lives 3 doors down the road.

I have to say, I am enjoying having Abbey the Psychotic German Shepherd along for the walks. I have never, ever been loved by anybody, the way that dog loves me. When she sees me through the fence heading for her house every morning, she is just beside herself . She's so taken with me that she just sits there and ignores my cousin and her hubby now (her owners) when they come home from work. They are beneath her notice. The only person in Abbey the Psychotic German Shepherd’s world that matters to her these days is that chick from No 15 who, for no apparent reason, takes her for a walk each day.

Mind you, whenever we pass by a small dog or a small child, one is forced to say things like "remember Abbey, we talked about this. Toddlers are friends not food", or "now, now, Abbey, you should have eaten something before you left home this morning". Hehehe. Truth is, I have her well and truly under control, but I say things like that to freak out the irresponsible idiots who walk their dogs off the leash in a public park around Psychotic German Shepherds who think all things small and moving are food. Some people only ever learn these things the hard way.

Anyway, as a rule, our dogs are very well behaved on their walk (Abbey's penchant for toddlers and small fluffy dogs notwithstanding). In fact, Mount Bruce is getting so good that you can drape his lead over his neck now, and he’ll just stay there at your side, devotedly walking at heel as if he was still on the leash.

Secondborn was remarking on this amazing behaviour this morning. “You know,” sighs my besotted daughter. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt about anybody, the way I feel about my dog. It must be true love.”

"One day, darling,” I assure her — being the wise and thoughtful mother that I am, “you’ll meet a nice fellow. And if you have the same warm fuzzy feelings for him when he’s walking beside you on a leash, you’ll know he’s the one for you.”

Pass this sage advice on to your own daughters. Particularly the bit about the leash:)

*wipes tears of laughter from eyes* I must remember to ask eldest daughter the future-son-in-law behaves well when walking on the leash *g*

Mum has a white german shepherd, Zari. She's grown up around cats who rule the house. Cats are for washing. We frequently find Jasmin & Sophie with a soggy head or back. Then there's Neesha, the oldest cat (we have 4), who still hisses and spits at Zari whenever she comes too close. You'd think after a year of this she would have accepted her, but no.

A little off topic but Zari isn't psychotic, hyperactive perhaps.

Sk.

ROFLMAO!