Stop, Drop & Roll

Darcy's signature move when she's playing is to throw herself to the ground and roll over without missing a beat. This tends to leave her covered in grass, leaves, mud, sand, mulch and other interesting substances (most of which are later deposited on our bed). It's also the main reason for her rather unfeminine but accurate nickname: Pigpen!

This morning she put on an impressive series of rolls, even for her, while playing with Duncan. And for once, I actually had my phone handy to record it for posterity. Be sure to crank up the volume to hear her ferocious growls!

Playing at Pinery

Yes, I admit it - I have been negligent in updating the D&D Fan Club about their stars. I blame summer. We spent months with Darcy napping on the living room AC vent, while Duncan napped on the dining room one. Occasionally they'd trade. Not exciting to watch.

But recently things have picked up. This week, for example, we spent a day picnicking and playing at Pinery, mostly to avoid the guys who were climbing all over the house installing news eaves troughs. It was a great way to spend a day!

We had the park almost completely to ourselves; as far as we could see in both directions, there was nobody else on the beach. Duncan and Darcy had a lot of fun running and playing on the sand (that's Duncan in his spiffy blue harness, and Darcy in Kerry's old green one, because she chewed the buckle off her spiffy purple harness):

This was the first time Darcy had really been able to play in the lake. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it at first, but Duncan showed her how to wade in the shallow water:

It wasn't long before she decided that the water was great fun.  She ran and played for the longest time. Duncan, being older and wiser, realized the water was cold, so he played for a while then stood on the beach with the grownups, watching the silly pup:

And then she got daring. She ran as far away as she was allowed, then charged back at full speed. Over. And over. Again!

Eventually, we decided to leave the beach and go for a hike in the woods. Darcy loves hiking, unless Duncan gets ahead of her:

Duncan loves hiking, as long as Darcy is behind him:

The trail was one dog wide, so we traded places a lot! But there were interesting smells:

And a river to pose beside:

We ran into traffic problems on the way home, so the trip took 4 hours, compared to the usual 2+. But both dogs were so tired they slept the whole way.

Why Cats Shouldn't Nap on Windowsills...

... at least not when Darcy is around!

Baby Bunnies

Wheatens may look cute and cuddly. But they've actually been bred for centuries to hunt down vermin. Admittedly, the unfortunate incident where Kerry met a mouse in the house and wagged her tail at it may not have been the ideal example of their ferocity. But in theory at least, they are mighty hunters.

So it must have been a not-too-bright mother rabbit who decided to make a nest and raise her babies in a yard that contains, not one, but TWO wheatens. Yup. We have tiny newborn baby bunnies in a cozy little hole in the garden right under the bedroom window. Just a few feet away from Duncan's favourite pooping area. You'd think that would have tipped her off...

Still, despite the fact that rabbits ate almost all the veggies I planted last year, it didn't seem right to leave them exposed to Duncan and Darcy just because their mother didn't think things through. So we have sacrificed a laundry basket to protect the nest, while still allowing Mom in to feed them. Darcy is quite intrigued, and keeps sticking her nose into the holes, but since the rest of her doesn't fit we hope the babies will be be safe.

For now, at least. But once they reach veggie stealing size, they're on their own!

S is for Surgery

Life Chez D&D is a bit chaotic this morning. 

Darcy was spayed yesterday. She is doing very well, and seems to be feeling almost her usual self already. Which means she wants to run and jump, doesn't want to pee on leash, can't understand why she's stuck in a penned-off end of the family room, and hates her "cone of shame" with a passion!

Here's a photo of her waking up from her surgery, in a nice cozy nest of blankies:

And here she is last evening, still feeling a bit sorry for herself:

But what of Duncan, you ask? Well, yesterday he was torn between enjoying the peace and quiet while she was gone - he slept most of the day - and worrying about her disappearance. After all, who knew who might disappear next? He kept a close eye on me all day, and even napped in front of the garage door for a while:

He has been very stressed since she got home - part worried about her, and part jealous of the attention she's getting - but, after a roughish sort of night, he's beginning to adjust, I think. By the way, three years ago, almost to the day, was Duncan's surgery.

Darcy's Leg Game

Darcy has a new game, and I'm wondering if I should schedule a preemptive vet appointment – for when she breaks her leg!

We've never been sure exactly what Duncan was doing when he broke his leg, but it was some kind of twisting or spinning movement. Possibly tail-chasing, which he quite enjoyed. Well, Darcy feels that if she's going to equal or surpass him (which seems to be her goal in most things), she might as well be a bit more direct about it: skip the tail (hers is longer than his anyway, so not really a challenge to catch) and chase the leg itself:

I'm trying to convince her that this game is not a great idea.

O Frabjous Day!

Remember Bumble, from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? (You should; Wikipedia tells me it's the longest-running Christmas TV special, having been broadcast every year since 1964.) Remember how he went from this:

to this?:

It's all about the teeth. Hermey pulled Bumble's teeth, and he turned into a kinder, gentler monster.

Our own little fanged monster has – FINALLY! – lost all four of those sharp little puppy canine teeth in the last few days. The pain and bloodshed have come to an end.

As Lewis Carroll so aptly put it, "Callooh! Callay! "

Two of them just disappeared, probably swallowed. Two were found on the floor. They're such tiny things to cause so much pain:

Our next Darcy-problem is also tooth-related. Her lower jaw is a bit narrow compared to her upper jaw, so the canines tend to poke into the roof of her mouth, which must hurt! Our vet consulted a doggy-dentist (aka a board-certified specialist in veterinary dentistry) who recommended a "removable orthodontic device" - aka braces. Much simpler and less expensive than the braces the kids needed, fortunately:

She's supposed to hold a ball as much as possible while the adult canines come in, to try to push them into position. (For the vet-ishly inclined, here is a summary of the journal article.) So a lot of her toys have been disappearing over the last couple of weeks, and being replaced by road hockey balls, Kong squeaky-tennis balls, and other spherical toys. We'll be playing a lot of Fetch in the next few weeks – Darcy will chase and retrieve anything that is thrown (and sometimes she even brings it back). We really hope it works, because if not it'll likely cost a whole lot more than $1.99 for a road hockey ball at Canadian Tire!