Learning from his Mistakes?

Or possibly not. He hasn't actually fallen in again, but Duncan's leaf obsession makes it only a matter of time. At least once we get the pump working, we can try to vacuum them up before he sees them. Except that it was a vacuum that causes the problem in the first place. Hmm.

Daddy's Little Helper

It was a beautiful Saturday morning, so we decided to take the cover off the pool and put in Duncan's new pool stairs. We bought a set of stairs for the pool, since we figured it's only a matter of time until Duncan falls in, and it would be a good idea for him to have a way to climb out just in case we weren't standing by. Keep that thought in mind...

Chris and Duncan skimmed the leaves off the cover. They were wonderfully smelly after fermenting under the snow all winter, and Duncan had a great time playing in them. He got all muddy and slimy, and we were beginning to think about a bath to follow.

Then he started to get adventurous:

Daddy wants leaves? There's a leaf...

Bet I can reach it all by myself.

Fortunately, the cover supported his weight, and he pulled himself back onto the deck. Several times. Because "no" doesn't necessarily mean "no" if you pretend you've gone deaf, right?

A few laps around the pool to burn off some of the excitement, and then we started pulling the cover off. Duncan was very interested in what was underneath, and seemed to understand that he shouldn't step on the water like he did on the cover.

Chris brought out the shopvac to get the last of the water off the cover before we lifted it off the pool. Duncan doesn't like vacuums, and felt he needed to tell it so – and us, and the rest of the neighbourhood – at the top of his lungs.

Luckily I set the camera down just then, because a minute later Duncan took a big leap backward from the Evil Shopvac...

... and fell into the pool.

The pool that is 41ºF according to the thermometer. Or 5ºC. Single digits above solid ice. That pool.

The steps we bought for exactly this situation are still sitting at the side of the house, waiting to be installed. What's a mommy to do? I had to jump in too and fish him out. To his credit, he was dog-paddling diligently and keeping his head above water by the time I got to him, and didn't seem particularly upset by his predicament.

After a brisk towelling-down for both of us, and a rawhide chewy and a large Tim Horton's respectively, we have recovered. Duncan is back to prowling around the pool peering in. He'll be getting swimming and pool-exiting lessons as soon as it warms up a bit more. Quite a bit more.

And he's a lot cleaner than he was, so we're going to skip the bath.

Duncan and Owen

Duncan was so excited this morning, because his friend Owen came to play with him. They had lots of fun, but it was hard to get pictures. They didn't stay still for very long!

Owen brought Duncan some yummy dog cookies. Thank you, Owen! Duncan was a good boy and sat when Owen told him to, so he got to eat a couple of them, and then Owen had a people cookie.

After Owen left, Duncan was so tired from all the playing that he fell asleep right at the top of the stairs.

Helping in the Garden

I like to leave the tall grasses standing in the garden over the winter, because they look so nice against the snow. But that means that in early spring I have to cut them down, which is a big job – even without Duncan's help!

Duncan loves to help. He sticks his nose into whichever patch I'm cutting, and lies down on the shorter, not-as-prickly grasses so they can't escape. He carefully guards the pile of dead grass I cut down, chewing those bits that needed to be brought under control, and occasionally strewing them around the yard.

And if gardening gets boring, he can always steal Megan's phone. Luckily, he was willing to trade it for a treat.

PS - Duncan is 7 months old today! 

Breakthrough!

I just folded a basketful of clean laundry and put it away. Duncan lay on the bed and watched.

Without stealing a single sock.

Without attacking the basket.

Without stealing a pillow.

And with only a half-hearted attempt to sneak into the closet when I hung things up.

Our little boy is growing up.

Duncan's Phone Call

Duncan was napping behind the couch cushions this morning (his new favourite spot, and allowed as long as he doesn't chew them) when his friend Owen wanted to talk to him on the phone. Of course he woke up for that! 

After he talked to Owen, he decided not to go back to sleep right away, so he chewed his chewy bone for a few minutes. We need to buy him a "big boy" bone, because he's chewing pieces right off his old one. And then he went off to steal a pillow from the bedroom, maybe to continue his nap?

Duncan hopes that Owen's Nan will bring him for a visit soon!

The Shell Game

Duncan and I tried a new game the other day. He won. 

I put a treat under one of his hollow bones to see if he could find it. Ha! This picture was taken while he was waiting out a "Leave It" command^†. But you can probably tell that he knows exactly where the treat is, and exactly how he's going to get it the second I say "OK" (unless, of course, the force of his stare pulls it out of the bone before then). He knocked the bone over and ate the treat faster than I could snap a photo.

So then we tried two bones. Only one had a treat under it.

He knocked both bones over so fast I couldn't tell whether he knew where the treat was or not, but he certainly knew how to find out! 

He seemed to enjoy the game, but he'd like to play by his rules next time. Forget the bones,  just hand him the treats.

^{† - Speaking of "leave it", he's getting really good at it – most of the time. He didn't steal a single hors d'oeuvre off the coffee table at Easter (for which I was very grateful!) But he did come this –><– close to snarfing a clove of garlic I dropped earlier today. Maybe I should have let him steal it; it might have cured him of stealing for life!}

Hide and Seek

Owen's Nan tells me that Owen has been a bit concerned about the lack of Duncan updates. So here, just for Owen, is Duncan playing Hide and Seek. 

As long as he can't see us, he thinks we can't see him.

You found me! How did you know I was here?

Off the couch? Well, if you insist....