Taken earlier this evening on our walk... He really loved the fields, much more than being in the village.
On the way back as we walked through the village we saw a 10yr old boy riding around on a scooter at a distance of about 15m. Vincent became very anxious, with his hackles raised and dancing around on the lead, giving short, breathy, low woofs. I took charge and gave him some more space (about 10 more metres) and he relaxed a little but found it very hard to relax while the child was around. Need to watch this. It was still light at this point so I don't put it down to night anxiety. This surprised me a little because he lived the first few years of his life with small children. I can only summise that this wasn't a positive experience for him.
Another note tonight is his drinking pattern. Once he starts drinking he seems to find it difficult to stop unless distracted. This needs watching as GDV (bloat) is a real risk with this breed but in this hot weather he needs to keep hydrated. I don't think this is true behavioural polydipsia because he CAN be distracted and it isn't necessary to remove the water from his presence.
A neighbour came around today and we saw the guarding, gobby side of the breed! Not aggressive at all, just raising the alarm when he heard a knock on the door and he was easily restrained and controlled.
