Cur-tailed

So-- there were many sleepless nights. Much soul searching. An awful lot of trying to guess a dog's psyche. Would he or wouldn't he. Miss it? Forgive me? Be traumatised? Ever be himself again.

Be able to communicate without it? Be able to work with it?

In the end though he was so miserable with it - pottered about with it stuck out at right angles most of the time - and it showed no sign of healing no matter how much rest he had from the field.... bloody and sore all the time..

So in the end the decision made itself. Off with the damned thing and let the poor dog get on with doing what he loves best.

Now he sports the latest fashion in short tails. And looks like a real, grown up dog. Yes. He was in pain and miserable for the first two days and 3 nights after the op. Nobody got much rest. Him wingeing and whining - clearly in some pain (Nb: to do-gooders - a tail docked soon after birth is so small as to be almost non-existent so feels no pain). But by day 4 he was 'up and at it' again and, if anything, since then has been far more ebullient than I can remember. And he can still wag for England. So no problem there. Only problem we do have is keeping him on lead exercise for 10 days - or more - and strictly no running around loose for 2-3 weeks. His compensation? Being allowed to sleep upstairs for the first time in his life (just so's I can keep an eye on him at night - naturally). Downside? When he's not being kept an eye on, he has to wear a nasty big plastic hood thing to disable him from chewing the new tail - as if he would!

Boy, is he going to have some energy when we finally get him back to work! Meanwhile, with little else to occupy his ever-active mind he has turned his attention to the gadgetry again. The latest victim - one of my computer flash-drives. He said he was only trying to put it back on the desk when it fell on the floor, but then it sort of fell to bits.........

Sooner he's back to work the better.....