The Dalmatian Diaries Blog

The pups experienced their first ice storm last night. We had freezing rain overnight that left everything coated in a slippery, crunchy layer of ice this morning. When we first went out at 5am (yes, they still get me up at 5am) they were both quite confused and actually a little scared to walk on the crunchy grass (but they did, they are good puppies!).

When we went back out after their morning naps (and mine - nearly 2 hours!!) they were far more confident in their abilities to attack the offending ice. They stood on the patio (which wasn't icy) and chewed all the icy grass they could reach. When I finally made them venture out into the mulched area (which also wasn't icy) they were fully intrigued by the iciness of the world. The stones they normally bound across were slick and they skidded all over. The big log that they like to balance on was also slick and covered with a smooth ice. It must have seemed like a really big wood popsicle because they both licked it for quite some time.

It's still cold out (26F currently) but it's not raining anymore and the sun is melting all the ice quickly so I'm sure that'll mean they'll have plenty of outdoor playtime today. Too cold for me, I'll be watching from the warm house

We had a really pretty fall here this year. Last year we didn't get the colorful leaves like this. Of course, now, everything is brown and sad looking but it's been warming up and we're finally getting some rain so things should start to green up. It'll be nice in the spring to get lots of sunny, flowery pictures of the pups!

Yes, I FINALLY got some pictures uploaded again. It's been hectic here lately. Widget isn't in daycare for a while (I won't EVEN go into that - but Toni is probably snickering right now) so there has been lots of playtime here.

Browser's still on the rice and chicken diet. He's doing great on my home cooking but tonight we start adding some kibble back in. I got a different "flavor" food and also it's adult food, not puppy. Thank you to Pam at Rockstar Dals (she owns his daddy, Slade) for the suggestion to move him off puppy food, I think that might have been his problem.

Browser is doing great in his obedience class. For the 1-minute "sit" competition he did 15 sits! Widget's in-class record was 14 - I'm amazed that he sat faster than she did (actually, I think he got out of the sits faster than she did which is what helped).

Widget was supposed to be in Agility this weekend, but for the same reason she's not in daycare she'll have to miss a couple of classes. We'll probably do some private lessons to make up for it.

I know he's a puppy, but shouldn't there be something instinctually built in that says to stay away from a cactus?

I got most the large quills out, but he still has a bunch of tiny ones. I sat on the floor with him and a tweezers and tried to pull them out. I had to bribe him to be VERY still, but overall he was good and didn't flinch when I pulled them out. He had a large one in his paw that he actually asked me to take out (sad face, paw held up) earlier. The quills that remain don't seem to bother him anyway.

Widget had some quills in her when she was a baby too - she learned I guess because she hasn't had a problem since!

I guess that's one hazard of living in Texas.

p.s. I took a few pics today but they turned out awful. Not sure why (very blurry). Tomorrow is supposed to be a nice day so I'll have the camera outdoors with us all afternoon. We'll see if we can capture the dotted duo doing something cute

Widget currently weighs 44.5 lbs

Browser weighs... OMG 37.5 lbs. He is a BRUTE. I've reduced his food and he's become way more active, but he's a big (little) guy. He's not fat and his body is well defined, but WOW!!!

What's funny is (and you other multi-Dal owners will understand this best) when I went to weigh them I grabbed one of the twirling spots, hoisted the pup up and stepped on the scale. I thought I had Widget. I had a good laugh when I realized I had picked up Browser. You get those spotted bodies moving and it's hard to tell which is which now!

Sorry I haven't had any pictures lately - I will try to remedy that soon!

Browser started obedience class last night. He got to see all his favorite people (the trainers). He wouldn't sit still though in class because he wanted to play so badly with the other dogs. He's one of the youngest in the class (there is one younger puppy who is being trained to be an assistance dog). He did most the exercises well - but of course we've been working ahead since Widget had already taken that class. He knows sit very well and "attention to name" he does about 90%. We've started working ahead on "down", "leave it", and "wait".

Widget starts agility next Saturday. I'm really hoping she has fun with it. It seems right up her alley!

The dogs and I have pretty much been outside all day today. It's absolutely gorgeous out - 60F and sunny. We started playing outside around 9am on and off and we've been out here for 3 hours straight now and the dogs have not quit playing at all. I imagine they are going to be some sleepy pups when we finally go in!

We had some people over last night and Widget did great. She did bark a little but is responding to the "quiet" command more and more each time we use it. She's a smart, smart girl.

Tomorrow is dotted duo daycare day - my favorite day of the week. I actually do miss the spotted devils when they are both gone all day, but it's vital for me to get some good, solid, uninterrupted work time in too!