Lockdown Diaries: The things that make a dog’s life

While the lockdown has been difficult for my missus and me, it has been equally traumatic for the four-legged members of our brood.

Zoe, Shadow and Deku are Border Collies and by nature they are hyperactive. Deku, the baby of the bunch, is nuts about balls and will find any excuse to drop one at your feet in the hope you will throw it for him to retrieve.

The older two are only slightly more sedate, although Shadow in particular is very fond of her “walkies”, which were a regular occurrence before being outlawed by the imposition of the lockdown restrictions.mprisonment is an understatement. She can really sulk and she spent the better part of those initial lockdown days lying in her dog bed, sighing regularly to remind us of how peeved she was.

To say she had a “hangdog” look during the period of enforced iThe driveway/carport/garage area, which is ordinarily out of bounds to the hounds, was opened up so they had the run of the garden, but all Shadow did was lie at the gate and stare out at the open park opposite our house, occasionally emitting a whine of frustration.

My missus insisted she couldn’t be bothered by the ban on the sale of fags and alcohol (although we both enjoy the odd tipple and puff) and that all she wanted was to once again be able to take the dogs for a walk, so she was beside herself with excitement when the restrictions were lifted to level 4 where this was permitted.

The dogs also underwent a sudden personality change and that first walk with them in many a week was a joy to behold … they ran and ran and ran through the park, barking excitedly and wagging their tails in sheer delight at their newfound freedom.

They are different now, more content and less agitated, and I realised that they had been suffering as much as we had during those early weeks. They also made me realise that it is the simple things in life – like an early morning walk through a park, with the evening dew still thick on the grass – that make a difference.

For as long as we are still allowed to exercise under lockdown regulations, we will take them for their daily walk. And the missus and I will enjoy it as much as they do.

They reminded me of a saying I heard once: properly trained, man can be dog’s best friend.

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