Supermarket day

Yesterday was supermarket day. You may wonder why this is so significant, but if all you did in one day was go to the supermarket you'd understand.

After 'chickengate' I made the decision that no matter how Odi was, we would have to go. I chose Sainsbury's in Kelso because it's big enough to have chicken, isn't huge and is only 9 miles away.

And so with trepidation and armed with: poop bags, kitchen towel, badges to say she was a Guide Dog and I was a Puppy Walker, lead, shopping bags and my list of things I needed in my head, we made our journey.

Odi was great. When we got there she got out of the car and had a pee. I had to carry her around as she's not lead trained yet and negotiating a trolley and a puppy on a lead would've been too much. Sainsbury's staff were unbelievably welcoming and everyone we met was entranced with her. She seemed a little overawed by the whole experience and came over all quiet. She didn't seem particularly scared, but just sat in my arms watching it all. As we left she had another pee.

It took us far longer to do the shop with all the patting and chatting, my arms feeling the stress of carrying a 4.4 kg puppy for what felt like hours, but worst of all I shouldn't have trusted that usually trusty shopping list in my head. We came away with half of what we needed. Still I suppose having done the supermarket once, I'll know what to expect when I do it next.

Meanwhile, I'm getting a whole lot better with the pee timing and she didn't pee once inside yesterday, which is a major step forward for me. Her insides seem to be returning to normal, but time will tell on that one.

The (only) problem I am having is that I realise how ill she's been since she arrived, because a completely different puppy emerged this morning after a dreadful night of my having to get up every 2 hours. This morning I got the manic Odi, the one that races around right after her meal, which is something she shouldn't do as it can affect a dog's stomach in a very negative way if they jump around after eating, but what can I do? I sat quietly while she raced around with her toys, jumping in the air and rolling over and over. Then she wouldn't settle at all. She barked and growled and a whole lot more.

I've decided that I'll discount the last couple of days as sick days and today will be counted as day 1 and that way I'll have no expectations at all. This, I feel, is the only way I'll manage as I was rather getting to like the quiet puppy that did 10 minutes of play and then crashed, this version is far harder work especially after very little sleep, but cute button eyes and a very waggy tail can still work wonders!