I was up rather early this morning which left Clare distinctly unimpressed. She was very impressed with the new and improved Tim (his efforts at the gym have not gone unnoticed), but was rather unhappy when I started whining at 5.30 am.

Monty went out last night at bedtime, and returned when we went out into the garden. We then returned to bed and I settled until 8 ish (or perhaps I should say that Clare ignored me). She’s now being optimistic and hoping that she can add on around half an hour each morning.

We went to the forest for a walk just after getting up, Clare saving her breakfast until our return, just like me. I was very well behaved on our walk. We met a few humans and their dogs, and although I spotted them first on a couple of occasions I did return when Clare called me. I also carried on walking with her after playing with the other dogs which was very obedient.

The reason for this good behaviour is that in addition to annoying Clare by getting up early, I also got a bit playful last night at bedtime, and insisted in jumping around on top of her bed and refusing to leave the room. She was not at all happy with me, and in the end got my lead to entice me to leave. It was then my turn to be unhappy as I realised that I wasn’t going anywhere other than the landing! Maybe tonight she’ll relent.