Sep 07, 2011: Stairmaster!

Tonight Thurmon finally went down the stairs all by himself! We've been having to carry him out to the backyard because he didn't have the coordination to use the stairs - and then seemed to develop a great fear of the stairs himself (if we held a treat over the first step he'd bark, jump back, and run around the house madly in protest).

But tonight when I went to put the recycling out, I left the door to the outside open. And what did I find when I came back through the fence gate? Thurmon - just standing there waiting for me! Obviously he'd come down the stairs all on his own - I think he just didn't want anyone watching and making a big production of it.

To confirm that this wasn't just a freak event I got him to come back up the stairs, brought out a favourite treat, showed him that I was putting it on the ground outside, and then stepped out of view. Sure enough a few seconds later he appeared on the ground. He's since gone out a few more times sans treat, so it seems to be the new regular thing.

Below: Thurmon discovers a great new toy - Mark's gardening glove. Thurmon found it and put his head inside to take a good sniff, and then found himself stuck. He was shaking it so fast to get it off that I was barely able to take this photo.