puppies2018 | Dangerous Common Sense

Day 75 – Variable Speed

By Galen|2018-12-08T19:16:44-08:00December 7, 2018|dachshunds|

We are still dealing with yesterday's mastery of the up-staircase by Aurora. It's cute, but it's also a pain. She is enjoying being able to cut short the sessions outside where she is told to do her doggy things. Well, she'd like to cut these sessions short by running up the stairs and going inside. We've started closing the backdoor when we go out. Sigh! The fun part for the humans is watching Aurora's different approaches to the recently conquered stairs. Sometimes she struggle to pull herself up one step at a time. Other time she bounds all the way [...]

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Day 74 – Morning Accomplishments

By Galen|2018-12-08T18:59:41-08:00December 6, 2018|dachshunds|

Well, it happened. About 5:45 this morning, I had taken Aurora out for her housetraining. She told me several times that she was fine and didn't need to go out. A couple times she turned away from the backyard and went up the four stairs she'd just mastered yesterday evening just to show me how done she was with the backyard. She'd try to reach the pack members just inside who were taunting her with how comfortable they were inside. Each time I went up to the landing and brought her back into a spot where previous biological activities had [...]

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Day 73 — Four Steps at a Time

By Galen|2018-12-08T18:34:15-08:00December 5, 2018|dachshunds|

The big development of the day occurred late, out of the range of any camera. Aurora made it up four steps from the backyard to the landing tonight! True, she made her way up the steps to end the tedious patrol of the backyard I was insisting on because I wanted her to "Go do doggie things." She insisted that she had no biological needs, and I had been insisting that she needed get in touch with her own body. Instead, she turned toward the stairs and slowly, with great effort, climbed all of them to the top of the [...]

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Day 72 — Late Play is Better than No Play

By Galen|2018-12-08T18:19:45-08:00December 4, 2018|dachshunds|

Aurora was kept from her mid-day play routine today because I had to go to a 12:30 meeting. She made do, though. When I got home the sun had already gone past her backyard, but the far outback was still warm and fragrant. Day 72 -- Afternoon Exploration in the Way Back Aurora must chew everything, while Apex is very happy tackling just one of her balls. Because Aurora had a good lunch, we weren't worried about a late dog dinner due to the humans having a date night. When we got home, the adults chowed down quickly [...]

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Day 71 — Turning Off the Irrigation

By Galen|2018-12-08T17:06:08-08:00December 3, 2018|dachshunds|

Today Aurora reminded us of another home feature we used to have but which proved incompatible with puppies: a sprinkler system. Day 71 -- Examining the Roots Aurora has consistently (so far) focused on chewing plants and their roots. She's left the plastic bits of sprinklers alone. However, this picture reminds us that previous puppies chewed enough parts to make the system leaking and unreliable. For a while -- a few years, actually -- we dutifully replaced the tubes and connectors gnawed by our beasts. But, we've stopped. I'd like to say we stopped because we became more [...]

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Day 70 — Continuing Traditional Gardening

By Galen|2018-12-08T16:52:55-08:00December 2, 2018|dachshunds|

Our backyard planter boxes arrived when our first pack was getting elderly. We were able to grow some flowers and tomatoes without fighting over them with the canines. However, in 2008 SeQueL arrived, and the planters quickly became a favorite playtime destination. Aurora has continued the puppy tradition of wallowing, digging, and generally enjoying the now-falling-apart planters. Day 70 -- Morning Play in the Planter Aurora has also decided that the planter box is also a litter box, at least the center part of it is. Very confusing to us humans, but the whole box is being enjoyed [...]

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Day 69 — Five Pounds of Adorableness

By Galen|2018-12-08T16:22:39-08:00December 1, 2018|dachshunds|

Day 69 -- A Weighty Matter It's been a few days since we last reported on the puppy's weight. We actually weighted her on the the 29th (4 pounds, 15 ounces), but didn't want to get anyone excited about an upcoming milestone. We skipped the scales yesterday. Today she weighed in at an even 5 pounds! That's only 1/2 ounce the last two days, but we are not worried. Not only is our measuring impercise (because the item on the scale bounces around a lot!), but it's clear that she's happy and healthy. We are fortunate. And, yes. [...]

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Day 68 — Breaking Down Barriers

By Galen|2018-12-08T15:42:40-08:00November 30, 2018|dachshunds|

Our little girl acquired new skills today. Ones that show great development, but ones which mean more vigilance is needed by the humans! This morning she got up the first step on the stairs! Good girl!! Then later when I was at the gym and had locked her into the kitchen, she appeared at Geoff's bedside. She figured out how to push open the gate in the kitchen so she could escape into the bedroom. Oh boy! The clearest photo of the day, though, doesn't show Aurora's new skills. If anything, I think we should have a caption contest to [...]

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Day 67 — Sharing is Caring!

By Galen|2018-12-06T19:13:03-08:00November 29, 2018|dachshunds|

Jury duty ended for me yesterday. I never got called into the box to affirm that I could leave common sense behind and judge the facts just on what the court told us was the law! I could have done it, of course, but I am glad that I don't have two more weeks during the holiday of showing up to court and then doing work when I got home! For Aurora, the end of jury duty means more play time... and more photos. I can be a bit pickier on what I publish, I guess. Today's play was centered [...]

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Day 66 — Aurora on Snake Patrol

By Galen|2018-12-06T18:21:44-08:00November 28, 2018|dachshunds|

We have been able to convince Aurora that Mr. Snake is deserving of her teeth at least as much as our fingers, canine ears, and the baseboard are. She gets very focused. Day 66 -- Taming a Snake Often, out of the frame of most of these photos, there is Apex. Apex will pull, chew, and play tug-of-war with Aurora. But, butch Apex will not steal the toy and has to be constantly reassured that it's okay for her to play with what the puppy is interested in. Apex is truly the Omega Bitch! Day 66 -- [...]

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