Saturday 20 October 2012

we survived!

Well, we officially survived our first weekend at my parent's house. You remember, the one with the precious floors?

Lucky Ace got to wear his mut-luks, he's very stoic about it. Honestly, he takes it like a champ. I just have to watch that his dew claws don't get stuck above the boot, since I'm guessing that would be pretty uncomfortable.

Archie acquired a lovely set of black nail caps. He's all dressed up for halloween now! Actually, I think this is the most manly Archie has ever looked. Well, it will be once I take off his collar with the flowers and heart-shaped ID tag :)

And lucky Piper is apparently too small for her nails to scratch the floors, so she got away with bare feet the whole two days we were visiting! I'm guessing she won't be so lucky next time, but maybe the long fur on her feet will help protect the floor? The only catch was that she was not allowed to run. As you can imagine, trying to keep any four-month old puppy from running over a two day period would be a challenge. Let alone an active dog like an Aussie? Wishful thinking!

Wednesday 10 October 2012

they grow so fast

Puppies, that is. Piper is 16 weeks old now, and growing like a weed. When I got her at 9 weeks she weighed about 9 lbs, when she was weighed at 15 weeks she was 22 lbs. Cute as a button still though! She's starting to mature into a beautiful dog - she is good on leash and off.

Piper runs through the forest, with lots of rocks and exposed roots to jump over.
She is still a voracious chewer, but more and more is choosing appropriate chew toys. And accidents in the house are a rare occurrence. Piper will also sleep through the night, up to 10 hours! The lazy person in me is ecstatic. Tug and fetch are always popular games, although I have to separate Ace and Piper during fetch.

The only thing Piper is less than stellar about is respecting the other animals. She pesters Ace to no end, I feel bad for the poor guy and generally have to step in so he can nap in peace. She is a little better with Archie, bugging him less often, but she will on occasion tackle him as well, which I can't imagine he is thrilled about. I believe this is herding instinct run wild. I keep waiting for the day that both Ace and Archie will stand up to her. Hopefully it happens soon!

Piper herds Ace on our hike

Who me? Piper's guilty face.