Epic Notes

Sometimes I make really bad smells. Mommy gags.

Random Owner Interlude

Just Plain Weird

I've always known that Benny doesn't handle cold well. And it gets REALLY cold here. Putting Ben out in the yard generally ends up with someone having to suit up and go outside to retrieve him, as he just 'gives up' when he gets cold. Seriously. Even on the shortest pee break Ben starts holding up feet and eventually sits down or falls over, refusing to go any farther. The safe warmth of the house is mere feet away, but the old boy just.can't.make it. He simply shuts down in the face of extreme cold. So the boots and coat go on, and Ben gets carried inside. Weird guy, huh?

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It hit -40 here today and I made a discovery.

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Epic does the very same thing.

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How is it that my fiesty, ferocious terriers are two of the wimpiest dogs ever? And what's Ben's excuse!? At least he has an undercoat!

Every now and then I stop and reflect on how un-terrier-ish Epic is. He behaves well at the park, he likes to lay around and nap, and he's pretty darn snuggly. In many other ways he's ALL Jack. He gets too wound up when he plays, he gets pushy with the other dogs when it comes to treats, and he gets into EVERYTHING.

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The other day, Epic showed off his terrier prowess, and found himself a hole. I'm not going to tell him that it wasn't an actual hole. In truth, Epic found a clump of foliage that he pretended was a hole and proceeded to dig his way in. I ended up having to grab the fiesty little guy by the tail to drag him out. His face was covered in dirt, and he was very VERY proud of himself.

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I wish there were more Go-to-Ground opportunities around here. It's not a very active sport in this area anymore. I think Epic might be fantastic at it. He's certainly tenacious, and he's certainly brave... although he appears to have trouble seeing in low light conditions. That would certainly hinder things.

Boundin'

Epic and I have considerable amount of trouble with hawks at the offleash park. One of the bushes near the start of our walk had a (I assume) nesting pair. They spent a lot of time following us as we walked, circling above Epic. This concerned Mommy greatly.

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The hawks have left now that the weather is colder, so Epic is free to go into the tall grass and do what he loves best. Jumping.

And I wonder why we get chased by hawks.

*Whys you laughin' so hard Mommy?*

A Beautiful November

I complained a while ago about having snow for Halloween. I was right... it was miserable that day. The freezing rain stopped just in time for trick-or-treating, but it still sucked. So far, November has made up for this. This is Saskatchewan, we expect to see a couple feet of snow by now, and temperatures around -20.

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Today in Saskatoon, it is 9 above. Yesterday, at 11:00pm it was STILL 10 degrees out. We have been having BEAUTIFUL weather. The dogs are enjoying spending time outside, and when I go out and play with them I don't need to put on a sweater, or even shoes! Gah! Gorgeous!

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The beautiful weather means that Saskatoon's offleash parks are ridiculously packed. My roommate and I don't like crowds so we stay away from the more popular 'yuppie' parks. I have a bit of a thing about people who think "Hey, it's so nice out... why don't we take 'Joe-unsocialized' out of the backyard and hit the park?", and then stand around texting while their rammy and rude labs run around bullying everyone. I'd rather have a peaceful walk where our dogs can run around and explore, enjoy their outing, and maybe meet a dog or two.

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All you REALLY need for a good walk is nice weather, a beautiful blue sky, and your 'brothers'.

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*Sure is nice out. Mommy says I shouldn't get used to it.*

All Growed Up

7 MONTHS!

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I wish he were little bittle again.

*Hmmm... could almost reach the cookies from here...*

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The big little man has done a lot this last seven months. We're on our third set of obedience classes (counting puppy class), and he's doing very well. We're also well on our way in flyball, and are working on putting the pieces together now. We have a bit of a resource guarding issue to clean up, otherwise, he's a gem!

Time OUT!

Sometimes Mom needs a break from the busy puppy... so I pop him in his crate with a nice chew and breathe a puppy free sigh. He never sits there for more than a half hour, but sometimes this leads to the ...

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Puppy Pouts:

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More maximum pout-age, one must give your best hang-dog expression and refuse to leave the crate when it is opened. You must also resist any attempts to forcibly remove you from the crate, as this is YOUR space, and hell, you'll pout if you wanna.

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