03/07/2025
It's Bodie's gotcha day - let's make it a Gotcha Day Party! Share your dog's gotcha day photos and tag me in so I can share.
On this day 6 years ago we brought home this fella from . Bodie was 8 months old.
He struggled as a teenager. He had more energy and excitement than he (or we) knew what to do with to start with. It was a testing for all of us as we struggled to get to know each other.
Early on, walks were chaotic. Most of it was spent managing him pulling and pogoing on the lead. Given the chance he'd have run up to any dog or stranger. The long-line was a permanent fixture for 'off-lead' time in parks.
After a while, two walks a day dropped down to one. Bodie easily got over-stimulated and over-excited, and in the evenings he used to be really hard work. Especially barking at Ash and grabbing and mouthing him.
The first 18 months were hard. For all of us. But from that point onwards each year has been more and more enjoyable.
When he reached the age of 2 I felt a bit less stressed on walks.
When he was 3, I felt like we really started to connect.
When he was 4, there seem to be a big step forward. The longline was a thing of the past.
He's now 6.5 and he's pretty relaxing to be on walks with. There is still occasional excitement with a person, so we have to do a little management. But around other dogs he's brilliant.
I love him more with every passing year. I'm so proud of the dog that he has grown in to. He's a central part of our family, my business sidekick. I wouldn't change a thing about him or our journey.
