Digga Dig Dig!

Digging up Bruce Pit, one day at a time...

Going in Circles

I took the dogs out for another photo shoot in the college gardens, and couldn't resist hoisting Bruin into one of the neat architectual designs on the way...

Pppppbbbbbt!

Oh Hai!

All Updates, All the Time!

Sorry about the week long absence, both computers decided to go kaput at the same time, and all my pictures were tied up between them. One computer is still blown, and we had to drag my dusty old laptop out of the closet so we both have something to work on. Funny how life seems to grind to a halt once the computers are out of commission!

Anyhow, dog life goes on at our place. Mom was supposed to come into town tonight for the weekend (my first time seeing her in a year!), but her flight was cancelled, so she won't be meeting her new grandpup after all. I'm bummed about that, but Nik and I (and hopefully Gryphon) will be flying to Thunder Bay next week to attend a wedding, so I'll get some family time in after all.

Bruin has had two weeks of agility class out at Dreamfields, and we love it! I'll try to get some pictures next time. Meanwhile, we keep practicing our clicker training and new tricks. Bruin can now "Stand Up" and "Roll Over".

Here is a video from today of Gryphon and Bruin "kind of" playing (more like Bruin playing and Gryphon tolerating, per usual)

Isn't it amazing how BIG Bruin is now?

From Bitty to Beastly

Bruin at 6 months resembles a small horse. He is nearly unrecognizable as the tiny pup we brought home 3 months ago. From a wee brown bundle of fuzz to a gangly, pointy-faced, long-legged black beastie. I love him!

Here is his second night home, too tired to go down the stairs!

Here are the obligatory engagement gift shots. Nik, um, "slipped" a bit when making his proposal, so he got me a puppy to make up for it :)

He was so tiny next to Gryph

Getting bigger...
(and darker!)


A little more grown up

And here he is as of the Walkathon, all caught up to Gryphon in height and starting to fill out.

He's adorable right now, stumbling around on his over-long legs and trying to fit into places he's hopelessly too big for. I think that once we get past the adolescent stage, Bruin is going to be QUITE the handsome dog (of course I might be a bit biased) :)

Much Ado About Marley

Poor Marley-O. Everyone makes such a fuss over the dogs, she often gets overlooked. My poor kitty had a misadventure yesterday, and my heart is still skipping beats thinking about it. I left the apartment to take the pups out, got talking with a friend, and forgot I'd left the balcony door wide open.

Marley loves to go out there and sun herself on the deck chairs, and we always keep an eye on her. She has always been mindful of the edge, but the ONE time I forget and leave her unsupervised, she falls off the balcony (we live on the third floor). I got back into the apartment, said hello to Nik who had arrived home in my absence, and SOMETHING made me go right out to the balcony and look over. My heart dropped when I saw her little blue collar lying in the grass with no cat inside it. Nik ran outside, and I got our friend down the hall who works for a vet. We found her sitting in the window sill of the bottom apartment, crying and shaky. The people in the apartment thought she was a stray, and had put out food for her (they had no idea she'd come from above!), as Marley had frantically tried to get IN their apartment window. She has never been outside, and was probably scared to death!

We felt her all over and besides being scared, she seemed fine. She spent the evening on my lap, purring and snuggling on her favorite pillow. We've watched her closely since then, and she's back to her normal self. Rest assured, she will never get out again! How a cat can walk away from a three story fall is beyond me, but I'm so glad my Marley girl is all right.

A Birthday Tale...

A couple of months ago, two of my friends in the building were celebrating their birthdays in the same week. For birthday gifts, I decided to kidnap (dognap?) their dogs for the afternoon, take them to the horticultural gardens at the college, and get some good pictures to blow up and frame. Sounds easy, eh? Aided by one of the roomates, I leashed up their pups and off we went with high hopes, a camera, and a pocket full of treats.

What a nightmare, I don't know how pet photographers do it.

To start with, Nikita and Kira, free from parental supervision, were TREMENDOUSLY boisterous and excited about our adventure. We found the perfect setting; a cozy bench tucked amongst the foliage, but the pups were too bouncy to sit still. There was a LOT of rearranging and yelling and yelping and leaping for freedom. Even with Kevin the Roomate helping, it was a mess. We did Nikita first, and I had Kira tied around my waist so I could have hands free for the camera. Kevin was in charge of treats and positioning, Nikita thought she was in charge of eating and rolling in the flowers. She did not want to look at the tantalizing treat Kevin was holding, she wanted to watch Kira struggling at the end of the leash tied to my hip. However, Nikita is a true princess, and knows the value of a good picture! After only a couple goofs, we got THE SHOT!

Note the flipped ear!

Rowf!!

Cut and print! That's a wrap!

Miss Kira's turn did not go so smoothly! Hahaha, she was so excited by the bench and the TREATS and the attention, she kept ducking the camera (on purpose, I know it!!) To make matters worse, I only got a few blurry shots before my camera died! Defeated, Kevin the Roomate and I packed up and took the pups home. One friends gift was all done, but the other was not. After a quick walk to pick up new batteries, I grabbed Kira again for another go. And (foolishly), I said to myself "what a nice spot, I'd love pictures of MY pups on the bench too. I'll bring all three. I'll be by myself this time, but how hard can it be??"

Oh. My. Lord.

It was a clusterfuck. Truly and utterly.

First, all three nearly pulled me out of my sandals in their joyous hurry to get there. Kira, as an old hand, led the way and encouraged her buddies to join her in self strangulation to get there FASTER! When we puffed into the gardens, I was dismayed to find that a very demure looking student had chosen the bench as a place to study. I asked her if I could borrow the bench for a few minutes. She looked up and saw a ragged girl being dragged around by three slavering hounds and gathered up her books in a hurry. I suspect I must have looked slightly insane. I tied Gryphon and Bruin to a nearby No Parking sign and got back to work with Kira. Bringing the other dogs was such a mistake, all she wanted to do was play with them. She fled the bench, ran to the boys, then turned tail and ran to the little river running alongside the gardens...SPLASH! Oh no! KIRA! She hopped back up on the bench, thoroughly soaking it and ensuring that no one else would be able to sit there for several hours. Sorry Homework Girl! The following is the result of our soggy photosession...

Bye! (see all the WATER?)

The evil eye, she was up to no good

Baroo?

Oh Hai!

Here is the picture I eventually blew up and framed. She's got a noble "looking off into the distance" expression, but she's really looking at Bruin (shhhh)

I've never met such a joyful and frustrating photo subject! Other than my own boys, that is. They were next...

Here they are running amok instead of getting on the bench. Note the wonderful girl in the background, still doing homework after I stole her seat and utterly destroyed the peace. And here's Bruin escaping into the river; if Kira could do it, HE could too!


So here we are finally on the bench. Whoops, wait! Maybe not...

A little closer maybe?

Boys! Over here!

Cookie?

COOKIE!!!!
Good boy, Gryphon

Keep in mind that while I'm photographing the boys, KiraBear is tied to a nearby No Parking sign. Now, Kira is a talker. A singer. In this case, a SCREAMER. Her outraged woowoowoo's could be heard all over the college at the indignity of being tied to a POLE while her friends were free. After a couple minutes, I kind of tuned her out, but other people must have thought she was having her throat cut. In FACT, I saw a woman with a leash coming down the path, and I thought she must have a loose dog. I went to Kira in case the woman's dog ran up to her. The woman saw me and turned around and walked away. There was no loose dog. The woman had been coming to take KIRA away. Dear Lord. I hustled after that.

My three models decided that since pulling all the way TO the gardens was so much fun, they would pull all the way home too. Shellshocked and dirty, I deposited Kira in her crate and took my own monsters home, vowing to never touch a camera again.

The pictures looked wonderful in their floating frames though. Happy Birthday girls :)

Good News All Around!

It's official! BruBear is starting agility next week, on September 18th. We're going to Dream Fields Dog Agility Training Centre for the next 7 weeks, and can't wait to start!

http://www.dreamfields.com/

We watched a bit of a class, and all I can say is WOW! The dogs were fantastic. Somehow I can't picture poor gangly Bruin doing all those jumps on command, let alone NOT wrestling with every pup he can get his paws on. It should be interesting.

On another note, my job search is over! I'm going to be starting at the Ottawa Humane Society next week, and I'm over the moon about it! Hurray!

www.ottawahumane.ca

Wiggle Waggle...

...Walkathon 2008!

Gryphon, Bruin, Kira, and 1500 other dogs were out in fine form to support the Ottawa Humane Society and take part in the days festivities. The Walkathon took place in the Central Experimental Farm Arboretum and raised $141,000! We browsed around the tents for awhile, then took the dogs off to the side so they could swim (where they earned some spectators and fellow dog bathers!) It was Bruin's first time in the water, and he did rather well, despite a lot of flailing and the loss of his Walkathon bandana.

We opted for the 2km walk instead of the 5km (c'mon, what am I, Wonder Woman?!) and discovered that the Experimental Farm Arboretum is a beautiful place to wander through. We'll definitely have to come back! Don't tell the Humane Society, but we DID sneak off the path for a little off leash playtime and some pictures, shhh!

Finally, Lesley and I tried the puppies on an agility course for $2. Nik is signing Bruin and I up for Agility Lessons for my birthday, so I thought we should at least see if he liked it. He wasn't too sure about the collapsable tunnel, but the ramps and jumps were a hit :)

See you all at the next one!