Posting days: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Saturday

Well, tidings of comfort and joy – not. In the park today Isis strikes the fence with her tail which begins to bleed again. Soon she and the plastic collar are spattered.

At home, I wrap a wad of wet kitchen paper round the end of her tail and very gently squeeze it. She bites me.

After tending my own wound I set to on her’s. Working with one hand on the back of her neck, I bathe the nasty bite on her tail with warm salt water then apply the Sudocrem. She growls warnings but does not attempt to bite me again.

Later, I spread out her towel for grooming and she approaches me, lies down on the towel and leans against me. I brush her back and sides for ten minutes. She sleeps peacefully before we set off on a road walk, practising walking to heel. She does quite well. Back at home, we go through our eating ritual without incident: she eats from her bowl which I hold for her. (She finishes, then sits and waits. Slowly, pausing between each one, I feed her three pieces of meal, moving slowly out of the kitchen into the hall where she sits to receive the fourth.) Since I have been doing this, her post feeding rages have tailed off.

Now she is ‘resting’ but growling intermittently and I have to intervene frequently to stifle rage spins.

I am very concerned about the frequency of her rages. Polymath urges me to take Isis back to the vet. I am reluctant as I can’t think that there is anything the vet can advise other than a muzzle or medication.

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