Friday

Often, taking time to reflect on an Isis ‘event’ gives me insight into what triggered it. But I am still puzzled about Wednesday.

A cold, bright frosty morning. Good walking weather. But not for dogs who can only see light and dark. Isis wants to go out and is keen to hop from the car. But she is disturbed by the brightness and very anxious. After less than ten minutes we return home.

An unexercised Isis is not a good idea so I let her out into the garden. She enjoys thirty minutes sniffing and prancing. Mostly prancing, skittering around a large mud patch snapping at sun-flies.

When she comes in I wipe her feet with a wet cloth. Then I groom her. She is very good and I’ve almost finished when she flies into one of her rages and bites at her back feet. I hold her until she subsides. But I am too late. There are bloody pawprints all over the tiles. Isis smells them and begins to lick them off.

While I clean the floor she goes upstairs to sleep.

She has bitten both feet and made them bleed.

Generally frustration appears to be the trigger for this behaviour. But this time I have no idea why she did it. When I groom her I steady her with one hand but never pin her down, box her in or hold her tightly.

Fortunately, the bites appear to be quite superficial and have not bled again since Wednesday.

I bathe her back feet twice a day in warm salt water. She is not grateful.

Isis came from the Aeza cat and dog rescue and adoption centre in Aljezur, Portugal. For information about adopting an animal from the centre, contact kerry@aeza.org or  www.dogwatchuk.com