Duncan Helps in the Garden

It's finally beginning to feel like spring (as long as you ignore the snow in the forecast for tomorrow) so Duncan and I have started cleaning up the garden. Mostly this involves cutting down the dead grasses that we leave standing over the winter.

Not, of course, Duncan's hideaway. I wouldn't dare cut that down! In fact, I'm not sure what to do about that clump...

But there are other clumps of the same grass that he's less interested in. He sat firmly in front of them as I worked, but obligingly shifted over slightly whenever I needed to cut where he was sitting:

I wonder what he's got in his beard this time?

First Hike of the Season

Yesterday we attempted the first hike of the season, at the Hilton Falls conservation area. The main trails were too muddy and too crowded, so we hiked along the road past the reservoir and a little way along one of the side trails. Most of the road was clear, but Duncan preferred to hike through the snow whenever possible. Or mud, where there was no snow.

 

It's not spring yet – the reservoir was still frozen over, and in the background of this photo there's still snow on the ski hills at Kelso. 

The sign said "Trail Washout Ahead", but Duncan saw no reason to let a bit of mud and water stop him:

Turn back? What for? It's just a bit of mud!

They've been doing cleanup from the ice storm tree damage, and we found a big woodpile where there seemed to be quite a few interesting smells. 

By the end of the afternoon, we had a very grubby but happy little boy. (Much happier than the embarrassed-looking boxer whose parents carried her to keep her clean!) 

Duncan's Medical Report

Yesterday we had Cardinal's medical report. Today it's Duncan's turn. How's he doing with his allergy shots?

We've finished the induction phase, where we were increasing doses and serum concentrations, and are starting weekly injections of the maintenance serum. And we have just 3 more doses of his Little Pink Pills (aka Vanectyl-P) left. Duncan will be sorry when they're done; he loves his pills (and their accompanying meatballs) – to the point where I use them as temptations for him to resist while practicing Stay! He picked up this drug habit as a tiny puppy with a broken leg, when we used Pill Pockets stuffed with Tramadol as training treats.

It's still too early to tell how he's going to respond to the shots – they say it takes at least 6 weeks, and often 4-6 months, to see the full response – but early indications seem promising. We have to track his drugs and scratching on a calendar, and it's been interesting to see the trends.

His itchiness went down dramatically when he started the Vanectyl-P – from 7 to 2 out of 10. Then it went way up again when he first started the shots, back to 7-8. His dermatologist said this is a good sign, because he's reacting to the allergens in the serum. Since then, he's gradually been getting slightly less itchy; we're down to 4 or 5 most days. And the itchiness seems less intense. He hasn't scratched until he bled since we started, and he no longer scratches for 10-15 minutes straight in the morning. So we're quite hopeful that the shots will have good results, and he'll continue to feel better.

Cardinal's Medical Report

Duncan loves being able to play outside again! Joining him above are
Moose, Raccoon, and a very nice birch log he brought home from a walk. 

A couple of weeks ago, we met Cardinal, Duncan's new toy. Cardinal has been very popular ever since: 

We've played tug. A lot. Duncan usually wins, but sometimes he'll let me win. The rules say that if I win, I have to throw the toy it so he can chase it. Like in that top photo.

It's been stashed in the Private Toy Corner – along with Mouse(?) and the Ultimate Stick. 

But popularity has a price, and Cardinal's health has been suffering. First we noticed a lot of red fluff on the floor and a bald spot on his head. But then it got worse:

His face has gone missing. That's what happens when you grab him by the beak for Tug purposes.

He's been disembowelled. I had to perform a ropectomy after I took the photo. There are still enough intact parts of Cardinal to play with safely for a little while longer, but I'm afraid his life expectancy isn't high. 

Aunt Marnie's Wonderful Toy

Every dog should have an Aunt Marnie. Seriously. She stopped by this morning while I was at work with another toy for Duncan!

This one needs some thinking, though. Because it's not just a ball. It's a ball inside a ball. Duncan is very intrigued. I may have mentioned (once or twice or seventeen times!) that he's smart, and he's applying his spatial skills to this problem, instead of just killing it outright. 

So far, at least.

Toys from Owen

 

Duncan's friend Owen gave him some toys that used to be Shelby's. There's a purple frisbee, a lamb, and a squeaky mouse(?). Duncan was delighted!

He sniffed the lamb politely – as one does, in dog circles – but it's the little mouse that seems to be his new favourite toy. 

He took it to the corner where he keeps his precious Ultimate Stick, and every time I tried to come close to take a photo, he jumped up and ran off with it. No way he was going to let me steal his mouse!

After a while, he decided that he wanted a bit more privacy, so he took it into his secret hideout.

Thank you, Owen, for giving Duncan such fun toys! It sounds like Owen's Nan might be getting a new puppy soon, so Duncan will need to go shopping for some puppy toys to give him/her, because he's not going to want to share these ones.

Duncan's Secret Hideout

I love the big clump of porcupine grass in winter. It has gorgeous feathery seed heads that look wonderful against the snow. But this winter, it's been looking a bit bedraggled. The weight of all that snow, I thought. 

Wrong!

You might remember that Duncan hung out in this clump last spring, when all that fresh green grass made a comfy little seating area. Well, apparently the stiff dead stalks make a perfect little hideaway.

He made a front door, conveniently out of our winter line of sight.

He's carved out a space just big enough for him to fit into, and nobody knows he's there...

... unless he wants to stretch out!

By the way – a sign of spring: that hose you see in the first couple of photos is siphoning water (liquid water - haven't seen that in a while!) off the tarp. It seemed like a good idea, since Duncan came in soaked almost to the knees last night.