In the middle, the metal gate into the meadow by our house. It’s for tractors, cattle and horses; to the left is the wooden V-shaped passage for people and dogs. It’s too narrow for cattle to escape through, that’s why it was built, but it’s a bit of a squeeze and I’d prefer a proper stile with steps. So anyway, the farmer who rents the meadow for the summer took the gate away when the cows went home last week and now we can simply walk straight in. But Topsy, who is as absent-minded as I am, ignored the new opening and continues to use the narrow V-shaped wooden thing to get through.
A Bad Guide 
Topsy does well to stick to the straight and narrow, especially when habituated to absentmindedness. It prevents being run over by a tractor.
Yes, that’s a good point, although it’s hard to miss a tractor.
The important thing is keeping not too hard to miss with a tractor.
He drives it tremendously fast for a tractor. It must be a lot of fun. Hasn’t hit me yet.
We all have our habits, even when we are a dog.
I find that dogs are tremendously fond of doing the same thing at the same time every day. They only like to vary where I take them for walks.
Sparky has that disposition. However, at home there’s not much doing of the same thing at the same time every day, so he is unlikely to be fond of it. He’s a serial monoroutier – for a week or two he always wants the same route, then suddenly he wants another one.
Food at roughly the same time. That’s what Topsy cares about. On walks, it’s the smells. They aren’t there for the view, they get messages from other dogs. And then after a couple of weeks in Sparky’s case or a couple of days in Topsy’s, they’re bored with the same old ‘How’s the weather down your way?’ They want a hint of fresh, interesting dog pee. It’s similar to Facebook.