Icing

This is part of the reason the pool's coming out in spring.

And wasn't that kid who's taking the video instead of dealing with the critter the one who didn't want to take it out??

PS - If you have trouble seeing the video here, it's also on Megan's Facebook page.

Duncan Does Daycare

Sleeping off a busy day

Today was a big day for Duncan – he passed the entrance exam for doggy daycare!

This morning I took him to Country Haven Kennel. It's a bit of a drive, but it was highly recommended by his teachers at school. Before they accept a new dog, they do a 5-hour assessment, to make sure that he'll fit in. I wasn't actually sure Duncan would even make it to the door, let alone manage to get through 5 hours, he was so excited about all the wonderful country smells. They even have horses! But he loved playing and running with his new friends. His only complaint was that the dogs all go into crates for a quiet time at lunch time. Apparently he explained quite loudly that he wasn't tired and didn't want to rest, but he had to anyway.

He's a tired little boy now, and he's curled up sleeping it off. He's going to go back again next Friday for more fun with his friends.

Duncan's Diet

This is how he stares at me while I eat. I hate food trials 

Since Megan posted this picture on Facebook, I should probably explain that we're not actually starving Duncan. He gets plenty of food to eat. The problem is that he's on a special diet, to see if a food allergy is making him so itchy. He's only allowed one special kibble, with only two ingredients – kangaroo and oatmeal. 

Think about it. No cheese. No carrots. No rawhides or bullwrinkles. Not even a chicken-flavoured chewy toy. Life is rough. Even making Megan feel guilty doesn't work.

Luckily, he thinks his kibble is wonderful. And that makes life easier for us, because it's the only thing  he's allowed as a training treat. (This morning we started working on Sound Effects 101: How Not to Bark at YouTube Doorbells. He caught on after only two tries, despite my attempts to fool him with a different doorbell sound effect. Have I mentioned that he's smart? Hopefully he will apply this new skill to real life quickly.)

We're just over halfway through the 10-week diet, and the 30-pound bag isn't going to make it. So far, he's eaten his way through 20 pounds of kibble. That's 2/3 of Duncan's weight!

Happy Halloween!

Megan carved an artistic masterpiece of a pumpkin this year, and Duncan met it in the garage before we lit it for the festivities. He found it a bit puzzling, but quite interesting:

Since Duncan worries about strange-looking people ringing his doorbell (and since he gets very loud when he's worried) we set up a candy station in the garage while he spent a peaceful evening watching TV.

By the way, here's what it looked like lit. For the uninitiated, it's a Minion, which is ironic because that's what a certain sibling wanted to name Duncan.