My other occasional dog sitting client is Sherbet, a year-old Wheaten terrier who lives nearby.  He arrived as a ten week old puppy so I have been able to watch him grow to his current stage of almost full growth.  The first time I looked after him we had a lot of fun – apart from his attempted ‘escape’ as I was loading him into the car.  Once I got him back the day went well, and he settled down well while I was working.  This time his owner warned me that Sherbet has recently discovered female dogs!  A friend’s dog was on heat and this caused Sherbet to get very excited.  So I was prepared for a lot of interest in every other passing dog, and that is what happened. We had an energetic hour-long walk, no need for weight loss pills.

When we got back home Sherbet was still full of energy, and he would not settle down.  He sat at the back door, gazing through the window and howling.  I’ve never seen a lovesick dog until now!  I could not let the dog stay in the garden in case he found a way out, so reluctantly I took him home and he went back into his crate.  He always relaxes in the crate so that is where he stayed until the family returned two hours later.