Oct 21, 2011: Swept Away

Today Thurmon went for his first car ride since we brought him home to live with us. Sara's conference was over, so we all took the day off to run some errands and go on some outings in the rental car.

First we showed her our new house, taking a load of fragile items while we were at it. Thurmon didn't much enjoy the ride, sitting on Mark's lap, with stressed half-mast ears the whole way. But he had a nice treat after arriving, meeting a friendly poodle just down the street.

Then we took Thurmon on his first hike, in the Rouge Valley. Initially he was off leash, and did well staying close to us. But then he ran ahead out of sight, and we were worried about where he might have gone. It turns out there was a dog ahead of us on the trail - Thurmon showed up trotting next to him as they approached. So back on the leash he went.

He did get one more off-leash event - a short swim in the creek. Unlike the creek near our house (which is stepped through a series of dammed pools), this one had a current. It actually seemed like it might be too shallow for him to get in a swim, but when he got to the middle he was able to paddle. But almost immediately he started to be swept away. Thurmon had never before experienced a current, and seemed rather shocked. But when I called him over he swam right away to the edge of the bank.

After all this excitement, Thurmon was finally so tired that he actually overcame the stress of the car ride, and fell asleep on the way home.

Below: Sara, Mark and Thurmon

Oct 18, 2011: Girls in the Pen, Saras

Thurmon had new visitors this evening.

The first arrivals were my friends Heather and Dan, and their two little girls, Sara and Emily. We all went on a walk together, during which Sara (the older girl) got comfortable with Thurmon by feeding him treats, and finding different leaves for him to try nibbling. Toddler Emily never got quite comfortable around him, but she did like sitting inside his pen! In fact both girls enjoyed being penned up, safe from incessant buhund licks, but able to enjoy seeing him nearby. Thurmon found it odd to be excluded from the space that's usually all his own, but he took it well. Maybe being fed dinner, kibble by kibble, from Sara's little hand made up for it all.

Then later in the evening Thurmon had his next visitor - my sister-in-law Sara. The two Saras had fun meeting each other, and Thurmon got even more attention and love. What a night!

Below - Thurmon's new best friends: Dan, Sara, Emily and Heather

Oct 16, 2011: Big Boy, Dead Mouse, The P Train

Today Thurmon graduated to his "big boy" collar. We'd bought a medium-sized collar to match his leash before we picked him up, but it was too large for his puppy size. But now he's finally grown into it.

He also had an exciting hydro corridor discovery - a dead mouse! The hydro corridor just got mowed (which only happens every few months), and I suspect that all the little creatures living in the long grass couldn't outrun the large mowing machine, and got chopped down. Ugh - we had to pull the dead mouse out of his mouth - he'd snatched it up before we even realized what was happening, and was definitely not inclined to "drop it". [Note: dead mouse discoveries would continue to happen right up until we moved at the end of the month. The hydro corridor walk was starting to become a dreaded zone.]

We went on another subway outing, with a visit to Cedarvale. On the way home, Thurmon started to let out a yip each time the train stopped, which was unusual, because he had been very quiet on his previous train rides. We finally realized what was happening when a stream of urine started trickling out from under him. Poor guy - he didn't even stand up to do it, and was obviously trying to hold it in. Luckily I'd had an old towel in my backpack (for cleaning off potentially muddy paws), so I looked like a real pro, whipping it out and wiping up the floor. Next time he yips on the subway we'll know it's for a good reason.

Oct 13, 2011: Coyotes!

On this morning's hydro corridor walk, we saw two coyotes! Thurmon was bounding about in the long grass when he flushed two coyotes out. You could tell that he instantly knew they were not dogs - he barked excitedly and didn't budge from my side - whereas with dogs he never barks and runs right up to meet them. The coyotes couldn't have cared less that he was there - they trotted off across the mowed path and on their way, never looking back. Meanwhile I leashed Thurmon up and we left in the other direction - Thurmon kept barking, yet moving quickly along with me - he didn't try to go back to chase them or check them out. What a wild encounter!

Oct 09, 2011: Big Day Out

Today was a beautiful sunny day, essentially summer, even more than the typical autumn Indian summer. Mark took the day off, so there was lots of time for 'dog enrichment'.

Thurmon had a long subway ride, even changing trains, to visit the new house. He explored the house and back yard - we look forward to putting in a fence so he can run around. He settled down inside while we did a bit of work fixing things up.

Then we went for a walk to Cedarvale park, where we found the amazing off-leash dog park. It's fully fenced, huge, with grassy hills and a wood chip covered area. There were lots of dogs, starting off mostly small, so Thumron had more confidence than we'd seen in his previous dog park visits. Eventually a huge Great Dane entered from the far side and only Thurmon had the confidence to trot over to greet him! We were quite proud of him.

Oct 08, 2011: Vet

Thurmon had his first visit to a Toronto vet today. In the middle of last night we woke to Thurmon vomiting up his kibbles - and worms! Live worms, many of them, wriggling and writhing about. It was like that horrendous scene in Alien, where the alien bursts out of the stomach - completely unexpected, like some unreal nightmare.

So, off to the vet. Thurmon actually seemed to enjoy himself quite well - he met lots of friendly people and got to look at a cat inside its carrier. He also got weighed - we now know that Thurmon is 25 pounds. Although perhaps that number will drop a bit after he sheds "the collective".

Hopefully the medication kicks in fast and we never again see such a midnight terror!

Oct 07, 2011: Spa

Today we finally tackled clipping Thurmon's nails. We'd been nervous about it, but we shouldn't have been. He thought it was the best thing ever! He lay on his back between Mark's legs, being fed kibbles by me like a sultan in his harem, while Mark clipped away. I think Thurmon can't wait until his next visit to the spa.

Oct 06, 2011: Bounding & Burrowing

Thurmon has really enjoyed bounding through the long grass on our morning walks in the hydro corridor. His solution to obstacles isn't to barrel through - it's to bounce higher - very perky! When he isn't bounding he's burrowing in, sniffing out creatures hiding in the grass. Sometimes the only way I can spot him is by his curly, upturned tail, bobbing along with a little white flash like a deer's tail.

Oct 04, 2011: Puppy Play

On our evening walk today we ran into a neighbour who has a 7-month-old puppy. We joined him and went for a walk and play together at the school park. Thurmon was not so submissive as he had been at the dog park, maybe because it was just one-on-one, maybe because they were closer in age. It certainly wasn't because they were closer in size - this rottweiler pup outweighed Thurmon by at least two or maybe three times!

Below - the champ towels off after discovering the rain-filled ditch in the hydro corridor. "Put me back in the ring!"

Oct 01, 2011: Dog Park

Today Thurmon went to the Withrow dog park. There were more dogs, of a greater variety, than the last park we visited. Thurmon was by far the most submissive dog there, on his back in the dirt most of the time, particularly because there was one dog that liked nothing better than to jump on him and take him down. And yet Thurmon kept bouncing back, going back for more - he was happy! He was one of the smaller and younger dogs there, so hopefully he'll learn to stick up for himself a little more as he grows. He was, however, impressive with his recall skills - more than once I called his name when he got too close to heading out the open gate, and he always came running right away - you could tell other dog owners were impressed.

After the dog park we visited the farmer's market. Thurmon met an Akita mix - he was very barky and interested in this other shy dog. He must have sensed a Spitz kinship.

The trip to this park was his longest subway ride yet, and he handled it reasonably well. Here's hoping we can start getting him to travel further across town, and then get used to the bus.

Below: Mark's sweater. Sans neckline. My experiment in leaving Thurmon unsupervised while I showered has failed. The need for Mark to put his clothing away more securely has also been demonstrated.