Autumn already, where are the months going to? and its local lockdown in this area due to the Corona Virus pandemic.

Covid: UK at 'critical point' in pandemic, top scientists to warn

Coco is doing well, she has stopped a lot of the barking before we leave for our walk. This was ear piercing at first. The inspector from the RSPCA gave us more advice on how to tackle her problems. First any kind of collar even the mild buzzing ones or vibrating ones are no go. They act as a punishment. The advice from the RSPCA is when she is barking blow the whistle, when she stops then drop a piece of chicken or high value treat onto the ground beside you. We tried this several times in the house and it seems to be working. We had a proper dog whistle which is perfect for the job. It also works when people visit and she gets excited. Mind you need to warn the visitors first, it can give them a fright.

Coco knows when we are about to go out, she sees me getting my coat and shoes on and her excitement starts. So now I get ready out of her sight. Together with the whistle and the treats she is settling down.

Dogs Trust comment: Aversive Training Devices

https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/news-events/news/dogs-trust-comment-aversive-training-devices

I am trying hard to get her to walk on the lead properly and not get noisy with other dogs. This is still taking time but we are seeing improvements. Some dogs she seems to just have a little whimper and others she still has a screaming fit.

She is weighing 6 Kilo now, which is a good weight for her. Her collar fits a lot better, and she seems more energetic, we had a lovely 2.5 mile walk round the village the dene and the beach and she was still on the go when we got home.

Grooming time. I have no idea how to groom Coco, and I wouldn't want to try, she wriggles so much I may hurt her. I have found that she needs to be groomed every day just to stop the tatts under her arms at least. She isn't too bad with this but she only puts up with a few minutes at a time. So this is Coco on her second visit to the groomers.

She puts up with the hair dryer quite well now. And I have found that when she is muddy from her walk and that's at least once a week, I can take her into our shower and wash her down quite easily. We both get a good soaking, and the bathroom needs to be cleaned afterwards, but it makes it much easier than in the kitchen sink.