Isn’t is amazing how dogs pick up on your routine and respond to it? Ralphie gets DESPERATELY excited when I open the door to the cupboard under the stairs – it’s where the dog biscuits are kept, it’s where his lead lives and it’s also where our shoes are. And he gets even more excited when we put our shoes on, because shoes usually means WALKIES!.

He gets excited when we get ready for work because he knows he’ll get a kong full of dog treats to occupy him when we leave, and if we don’t go quickly enough he’ll bark to tell us to get a move on.

If the kong is filled with chicken or cheese, he won’t look back when I close the kitchen door on him and say goodbye. If it’s filled with gravy bones he looks at me disapproving as if to say “What is this!? Where’s the flippin’ good stuff mum?”

His tail wags like mad if we go to the car – because that usually means we’re going somewhere nice, either a good walkies or to visit people he loves.

When I go to the kitchen, either to get a drink, put the kettle on or check what’s in the fridge, Ralphie positions himself right under my feet so a) I trip over him and b) he won’t fail to miss any scraps of food which might just fall to the floor while I’m in the kitchen. I can see him mentally willing them to drop into his mouth. The kitchen, to Ralphie, means food.

There’s one walk he loves the most, Bury Field Common in Newport Pagnell, where he gets to run around off the lead, chase birds, fetch balls and mingle with other dogs. He knows the minute the car pulls up in the car park and as soon as the engine goes off he’s at the door, desperate to get out. He then yanks me or my husband to the gate of the field, crying – literally crying – in excitement to get in. It’s a tad embarrassing.

And when we have Sunday lunch, Ralphie knows not to beg but sit patiently under the table because when we’ve finished ours he’ll get his own bowl of gravy and goodness. And if we’re slow to serve him after we’ve left the table, he’ll bark to let us know.

He also knows that when the alarm goes off in the morning it’s time to get up. He helps with this by jumping on our heads and licking our faces, beating us with his waggy tail at the same time. A double-ended attack! He knows that 10 minutes after the alarm goes off he gets a walkies so has an incentive to get us up and out the door.

Ralphie loves routine, what about your dog?