Introducing Cardinal and Rooster

Duncan's friend Owen Facetimed me after last week's post to say that he thought Duncan would like a cardinal and a rooster as new toys. So here they are!

Cardinal's the perfect partner for a good wrestling match. He's been getting quite a workout:

Rooster is smaller, so he's not as easy to pin down in a wrestling hold, but he's a very convenient size to carry in the mouth. He's good for an energetic game of Fetch. And since Duncan doesn't like to go outside or greet anyone without something in his mouth, Rooster will be well-loved too. 

Check back in a week or so to see how our new friends are doing. (Hint: Cardinal is already developing a slight bald spot!)

Happy Spring!

We had a wonderful walk on this first day (technically, at least – it's snowing again) of spring. I didn't get a photo, so you need to click on this link:

 >>>>>> THIS <<<<<< 

is almost what Duncan looked like afterward, except with mud instead of chocolate. What made it such a great walk (other than the mud)?

First of all, it's Thursday. And Thursday, of course, is garbage/blue box/green bin day. Duncan is just starting to catch on to Thursdays, and he finds the smells fascinating. It took us a long time to get to the park, because we had to compare and contrast blue boxes all the way there.

Then, when we got to the park, we met FRIENDS. Little Beau, big Bailey (who kept sticking his nose in my pocket looking for treats), Jake the black lab, and Jake's friend (whose name we didn't get). All at the same time. Plus a passing random dog who seemed to disapprove of the whole lot of them. And later on there was Charlie, an exceedingly macho Yorkie. 

AND – the best part – he got to run off leash and play with his friends. They're all older and extremely well trained, and they were a good influence on him. He played very nicely, came when called, and only dodged the leash a little bit when it was time to leave. He burned off a ton of energy, and now he's sleeping it off.

RIP Froggy

I've mentioned before that Duncan is very hard on his toys. And also on many other things.

Still, he has to have needles every other day. And his raccoon toy had to be thrown out. A guy deserves a bit of a treat after all that.

So the other day, Megan was at the dollar store. And, being the thoughtful sister that she is, she picked up a new Froggy toy for Duncan. It lasted about 5 minutes. Maybe less. That's 20¢ per minute. Plus tax! This could get expensive!

We've pretty much concluded that the only stuffed toys that can survive Duncan are the his Kong crocodile and moose, and the little monkey that Erin gave him for his first Christmas. We got a gift card from Ren's when we renewed his dog licence, so maybe we'll treat him to another Kong toy (or two). 

Owen, could you please take a look at these toys and tell us which ones you think Duncan would like best?

Free at Last!

That's how Hedgie is feeling, after a long winter of being solidly frozen into the ice on the patio. As the snow melted earlier this week (before we got hit with more) he thawed his way to the surface. And right beside him we found Duncan's yellow bamboo chewy, which had been missing for ages. (Also in the photo is the Most Excellent Stick, which he has agreed to keep outdoors.)

Hedgie was slightly the worse for his weeks in the great outdoors. He has retired to the sink to thaw and dry off a bit, and then he'll need a bath. But we're glad he's back, because – as you'll see tomorrow – Duncan is running through his toys rather quickly.

Getting Tired of Snow

Even Duncan, who normally loves playing in the snow (check out some of his puppy-snow pictures from last winter here, here, and here) is getting fed up. Yesterday we got about 8 more inches dumped on us. He ploughed one path out – right under the roof overhang, where there's less snow – and sticks to it most of the time.

Not quite all the time, of course. Even under these conditions, he feels responsible for checking on frequent-rabbit-sighting locations. So there are two smaller trails over to the fence line, which he inspects occasionally. Nothing else. Not even a single pawprint on the pool!

Here's a video of him coming in yesterday afternoon, just as the snow finally started to let up. Love the nice sit and the "You called?" expression on his face. Not loving the nearly permanent layer of snow on the carpet!

Raising Duncan

Scotties are the second-cutest terriers, after Wheatens.

Did you know that there was a comic strip about a cute little terrier named Duncan?  I didn't. But according to gocomics:

Created by Chris Browne, Raising Duncan was a partly autobiographical, syndicated comic strip. The story followed the lives of 'Big Daddy' and his wife Adelle. They were both novelists. Adelle, the more successful of the two, was an award winning mystery writer. Big Daddy wrote romantic novels. They had two pets: Duncan, a black Scottie dog, after whom the strip was named, and a cat called Brambley.

And here's one of the strips that pretty much describes the outlook of our own cute little Duncan-terrier.

To Do List

1. Sock shopping. (Again. He will grow out of this chewing thing someday, right?)
   
   
   
2. Kangaroo shopping (Also again. The dehydrated roo has been extremely popular. We're down to crumbs.)
   
   
   
3. Toy shopping (Yup - again! Racoon has pretty much fallen apart.) 

The Ultimate Stick

Duncan picked up a most excellent stick on his walk this evening, and brought it home to enjoy. He picked it up where the bike path meets Belvenia - way over near the high school - and lugged it all the way home, about 1 km. Since it's almost as long as he is and weighs over half a pound, that's pretty impressive lugging!

Now to convince him that it should be an outside stick, not a living room stick.

Duncan Needs Needles

Duncan's needle kit. Impressive, isn't it?

 So Duncan's been taking his magic Little Pink Pills (otherwise known as Vanectyl-P, which include a small dose of Prednisone) for just over a week, and they have really helped - he feels much less itchy. We are starting to taper them off now, giving him one every other day instead of every day. And we're starting his allergy shots.

Keeping still was hard, but not quite as bad as it looks!

He had his first needle last night. I'm afraid he knew something unusual was coming up, and he wasn't at all keen on it! He played a great game of Keep Away, but Daddy finally pinned him on the couch and Megan gave him his shot. It all looked a bit awkward, but the actual needle didn't seem to bother him, and naturally it came with a kangaroo treat. He started with a very small dose of very diluted serum, and will be gradually building up. He'll get a shot every other day for a few weeks, then they get less frequent. Thank goodness we have Megan!