Happy New Year to all my readers. I hope you had a good Christmas and New Year. We certainly did. A quiet Christmas day, friends for Boxing day (and 8 bottles of wine between 4 of us!), a reasonably quiet period between Christmas and New Year and then a feast with friends for New Year.

But that’s not really the news.

Dogs are, in some ways, a little like children. But they grow so quickly.

Piero is no exception. Their first journey outside; their first journey in the car; their first time at the seaside, etc., etc.

And, of course, the signs that they are starting to grow into a dog (rather than remain a puppy).

So, on Christmas Eve, Piero, who had started to do little pees (rather than just one long one when we went out), did the usual squat but slightly raised one leg. It was one of “those moments”, which you can only understand if you have dogs (a little like the first word or first walk for a child). And, then, yesterday, he did his first real cocked leg, squirting a little pee up a tree!

I know, not exactly what you want to read about on New Year’s Day but, still, it’s one of those transition events that show he’s starting to be a real dog rather than a puppy.

Bless him.