Nice Sunny Day

This morning Rusty was in the bathroom with me while I was brushing my hair. I couldn't figure out why he was in there with me (most people's closets are larger than this bathroom so having a person and a dog in there is tight) when suddenly he started barking at the ground and pouncing and stamping his feet.

Once the fly was dead (I have no doubt it was a very evil fly), Rusty picked it up in his mouth, did a death shake, and spit it back on the floor. If Rusty can kill spiders like that I will forgive all the offenses against my home and my car.
I got him a new Nylabone for the yard to see if it will help him settle a bit while I do my yard work and it seems to be helping to encourage him to take some breaks - eventually I kennel him in the house so he will rest that body.

Every once in awhile I would hear some galloping and there would go Rusty; chasing some bug. When he runs it is sort of like watching a pig run - very stiff and ungraceful and very entertaining.

The 3 barks of Rusty

Today when I let Rusty out of his kennel I was getting stuff in the kitchen so I let him go on his own and he continued to head to the door. I heard the familiar sounds of him clipping the broom and dropping it (he isn't a straight walker), complete silence, and then a bark.

I rushed to the door (I can't see the door from the kitchen) thinking today is the day...he is going to bark to go out! Then I came around the door. The broom had fallen across the path and Rusty was on the other side of it (generally when he drops the broom I am with him so I just prop it back up) ; ears flat, eyes squinting and tail rapidly wagging - the doberman standard "I hate this - you fix it." He had called me.

It was then I realized that he has at least three barks I can identify as different: one for me/uncertainty about where I am, one for things like the cats and chinchilla and one for the start of a car ride. It was a great realization for me because I have so little tolerance for dog barking I just tune it out and ignore it - rather than trying to understand it.
Rusty's eye contact and responsiveness is really coming along. He actually sat in front of the gate and turned to look at me on his own - I see his future in posing with my quilts is shaping up nicely. He is a little more wobbly today because we spent too much time in the yard Sunday. In the top photo he is next to the tulips he destructed. Similar to in the house, when he finally gets bored (takes much longer in the yard) he starts seeking out something to move or destroy.

And now, in completely unrelated Rusty news:
The visiting Shepherd went home on Sunday. I never did mix her and Rusty again, but it worked out fine keeping them separate. I am glad it wasn't a permanent thing.
Notice the cows; living the calm life without their bossy bull.

Winter in April

We experienced a hard weather day today. Knowing what the day was bringing, I tried to get up early and head out to Stan's Overlook get us into some snow before the really hard wind and later showers came in.

Unfortunately we did end up hiking a fair amount of it in strong wind; but we also got our snow hiking in - which might be her favorite thing.

Fuller Mountain

I believe North Bend had about 3 hours of "sun" (or not rain) today so quickly I headed out the North Fork to hike Fuller Mountain.

Once we made it to the top it did start to hail a bit but the heavy rain didn't come back in until we were almost back out. So unfortunately I decided not to explore any lakes afterwards...we just ran for the car.
You may recognize the Visiting Shepherd from previous posts.

Unfortunately for me, Rusty has not taken to her well (he was a complete jerk); despite a previous introduction outside of the home. So I will be doing some crate rotation and separation for the duration of her visit. As long as one of them is crated, their observation and interaction to each other is absolutely fine, no fence-fighting, growling, snarling...nothing.

I did get lots of insight from my vet and a dog trainer (I was REALLY upset with Rusty's assertive behavior - many calls were made) and this has motivated me to really start hitting Rusty's training harder (all my focus has been on helping him live in a house and not pee on my floor) and get some outside help.

In the meantime, they don't hate each other, they can be in the same room together in harmony as long as one is contained, and for about 12 full days I have a loving hiking partner. :)

The Owl Box

This link is going around right now and it really is amazing. Someone in CA set up an owl box with a camera which is documenting a barn owl couple. Their eggs have recently hatched.

I am a huge fan of wildlife cameras like this and I know there is a ton out there. It took me forever to finish this post because of all the cute noises and arranging going on.

Enjoy. It is addictive.

The Owl Box (live camera)

Molly (the barn owl) blog

Happy Birthday Rusty

Rusty has been with me exactly one month today and after a lot of thought I decided to formally adopt him. He hasn't made this decision an easy one. He is a very easy dog to love, but a constant challenge. I am painful aware how unfair this is to the cats. He still isn't housebroken. He doesn't know how to settle on his own in the house yet so when he is too tired he goes straight to destruction. And did I mention I wasn't looking for senior dog? :)

However, things definitely couldn't get any worse and I hope that in another month it will be even smoother. Despite getting a good chase in on both Leela and Emile today; he was out a lot this morning and self-entertained reasonably well.
When I take in an animal that doesn't have a known birthday their adoption day also becomes their birthday. So this evening Rusty got a birthday burger. It stopped raining long enough for us to walk a bit on the Iron Horse to eat it.

Once he realized the pieces of burger weren't coming out of the ground he was 100% attention.

Squirrel in a tree

On Tuesday, March 16th Rusty went to the vet again for some follow-up and shots. Because of his weekend of social life and grooming he didn't want to stand at the vet which was hard to see. I was talking to the vet about what a shame it was that I couldn't physically wear this dog out without major repercussions so we discussed maybe some more puzzle style toys. Right after the visit I got him a treat toy that he likes and takes him some time and ordered a fluffy-style puzzle toy from KVVet...

Introducing Squirrel in a Tree (I think technically it is called Hide-A-Toy). At first I thought the toy was a failure since he doesn't actually hunt the squirrels out and extract them - in theory wearing out his brain in the process. Instead he just shakes the tree repeatedly, sending them all flying and then rolls the log around. As it turns out, shaking the tree followed by the rolling and chasing of the squirrels keeps him pretty entertained for a lot longer than his other fluffy.

He likes the darn log so much that he carried it outside with him to pee, holding the log the entire time, and back into the house.