When I am an old woman I shall wear purple ....

We visited mum today. Maisie was her usual lovely self - visiting various residents and enjoying being fussed by her friend Alan.

I decided I'd like a photo of Maisie and mum, so I got Maisie to sit by mum's feet and raised my camera. Mum decided she was going to stand up .. so she rocked forward to get to her feet. As she went forward, Maisie lunged at her and mum screamed and covered her face. As I was trying to persuade my now crying mother to take her hands from her face I was silently praying she'd over reacted and there would be no sign of damage.

But there was damage - punctured skin at the top of her nose and blood dripping from it. I was horrified, mum was sobbing and Maisie was oblivious.

I am meeting a trainer on Thursday and really hope we can sort this out - Maisie just seems to get more and more possessive of me and is becoming more of a pain by the day. I was comparing notes with the person who's adopted her sister and she is having similar trouble.

I'd hoped to have a dog as a little friend and not a total liability.