This month has been hot in Cambridgeshire. Hot and dry. Hot and dry and sticky (if you are human) and breathless (if you are canine). Hot and dry and sticky and breathless and relentless.

Hot in the daytime and hot at night. Too hot to walk about in the middle of the day unless you are an Englishman or a dog of dubious sanity. Certainly too hot to walk barefoot on hot pavements, whether you are a Greyhound or an Englishman of dubious sanity.

Thankfully for Faye, we live close to local woods and are happy to forego some of the hotter school runs for an evening walk in the shade instead.

We have also been learning the benefits of old clothes soaked in cool water. You can drape a wet top effectively over Faye and she’ll happily walk about with it on, then shake it off when she’s had enough. We’ve noticed she eats less when she’s really warm and we have to ensure there is always lots of water available for her to drink. When she travels in the car we have the air conditioning on and when we have to leave her for a couple of hours at home we have learned that a kong-type toy with peanut butter and ice in is very well received.

It’s not just us learning though. Faye has been learning more about living in a human house. She has learned that there are some doors you have to point at with real fervour if you want to go through. A human will open it; it’s fantastic. Sometimes when you need to go through doors a lot it isn’t obvious why those humans might be complaining. There are also magic doors which let you through without a human if you manage to find the gap, or put your head low enough and walk forward. Wow. Although if you are feeling a bit pathetic you can pace around outside and hope the humans move the magic curtain for you.

Greyhounds are ridiculously nosey dogs, whatever time of the year. Nosey in both senses, of course! Faye likes to put her nose everywhere and she stops frequently on walks, freezing mid-step and pricking up her ears, with her eyes fixed at some little movement somewhere in the bushes or down the street or up the tree or across the field. Rather than getting annoyed at every single stop, I’ve learned to relax and look around to see if I can also spot the squirrel, rabbit, cat or bird and take a moment to notice and enjoy my surroundings. There are always interesting natural things to look at, listen to and smell when Faye stops, and usually it is only for five to ten seconds. It strikes me that this is also a good way of being mindful and savour the natural world; yet another advantage to owning and walking a dog.

An exciting breakthrough this month has been Faye learning to play games. OK, maybe not jigsaws (she was very good and did not attempt to eat the pieces while I made one), but she’s finally tugging her duck (Ducky) and Fox (Tia). See her bendy rubber nose! She has a strong grip, which makes a game of Tug great fun. She has also relaxed enough to roll over for all of us now, anticipating a belly rub.

Although she’s fairly indifferent to having her teeth brushed, Faye hates having her claws clipped. Anyone would think I was attempting to remove a foot! However, she was very good indeed when she got a couple of grass seeds in one eye last week and let me gently remove them. She’s also been brilliant about going to the vet on numerous occasions for her laser treatment for her joints; I’m recording her running every week or two to see if there is any noticeable difference.

I realised that I could include some video footage of Faye running free on this blog actually. She does different speeds, depending on how far she’s walked, how warm it is and whether there is something to chase, but these three short clips give you an idea of what it is like taking her for a run at the orchard. This is not her at full pelt. She does start and stop very quickly though.

Until next month – stay cool and enjoy the natural world around you!