Posting days: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Saturday

Over the past forty-eight hours Isis has been a little ***, growling, snarling and biting her hair off at the drop of the proverbial hat. I keep fantasising headlines in the Sun: ‘Madwoman bites podengo’; ‘Podengo and owner both bald’ or ‘Pesky podengo posted to Portugal’.

She resumes her after meal rage spins, seems to have a foot in her mouth every time I look at her, and snarls and yips so much at night that I go downstairs and fetch her.

She begins her hissy fits soon after we get up this morning. I contemplate not taking her to Hound Club.

But I do take her and she behaves like a small hairy angel. I can’t believe it. We stay for ninety minutes. Not a growl. Not even the suggestion of a snarl. I can almost imagine that she is smiling. Ma. and Ju. stroke her head very gently. She remains benign.

Later, in the park, I tell Gra, what a little horror she has been. I trudge grumpily on failing to notice when she approaches Gra. and sniffs in the direction of his treats pouch. She sits when asked. When he strokes her, she stands with her tail high and her head tilted up towards him.

“But you’re not noticing the improvements”, chides Gra., pointing out all the positive little things she is doing. “You’re only thinking of the problems.”

He’s right. And he should know. The first time he touched her she bit him – hard.

As I am writing this, I become so irritated by the constant self-attacking that I forget to use the lamp close to the computer instead of the overhead light. (She finds overhead lighting very irritating.) I have just moved the lamp over and switched off the main light and she has immediately settled.

Tomorrow is another day, little dog.

P.S. The first time I experienced Isis’s ‘nightmares’ was only a day or two after she arrived. Such a vicious snarling issued from the kitchen that I shot out of bed as though pursued by a tarantula. Isis was just recurling and clearly still half asleep. The Polymath has read of a syndrome called ‘dog rage’ in which dogs behave exactly like Isis does. Apparently fast asleep, they awake snarling and growling. Some research claims that the syndrome is indicative of brain damage.

I was very interested this morning to learn from another dog owner that her recently rescued elderly dog, Max, does the same thing. We must exchange notes.

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