Maiden Voyage

Despite all the progress he's made, Jonty our rescue dog has continued to be terrified of his lead (we think he might have been beaten with it when he was a puppy) so every time the other dogs go for a walk he has to stay at home. Slowly, slowly has been the principle of his re-education and quickly, quickly he's been learning. Except for the lead.

As I was taking the dogs out today Lizzie called Jonty to see if we could put his harness on. He ran away. And then he came back and peeped round the corner. And then he let us put his harness on. And then his lead. So we thought, "Let's just do it. It's such a beautiful day."

Up in the vineyard the other dogs leapt out of the car and began to bobble around as they do every day. Jonty, on his lead of course, was beside himself with pleasure and frustration. "Wait for me!" you could hear him panting as he strained to catch up with them and we strained to keep him in check and not fall over.

At the moment he's like a salmon on a string - weaving to the left, weaving to the right, circling behind you and slipping through your legs. But it was his very first walk and it will get better. He had the best time, we had the best time and it's one more hurdle jumped. Right now he's lying next door utterly pooped, smelling of wild fennel and dreaming of chasing bunnies. It doesn't take much to make him a happy boy.