Happy Howl-o-ween!

DuPont would like to wish everybody a safe and happy Howl-o-ween!!!

The Pont and I had not run in a couple of days so by last night, it was time to go pound some pavement together.  Unfortunately, it was dark and misty and cloudy all day and it didn't really look all that appealing, but if I was going to get any snuggle time on the couch with DuPont then we would have to brave it.

So in the spirit of Halloween, and for the function of running in the rain, I present to you...




What an adorable monster he can be.

Be safe if you are hitting the streets tonight!  And remember to keep your pets out of harm's way!

The Nose Knows

And this nose knows there is bacon...

Helpin Me Out

When I picked DuPont up after returning from my honeymoon a couple of weeks ago, the rescue peeps pointed out a bump behind his ear that had developed recently.  I was asked to keep an eye on it.  Over the next week and a half, it got subtly larger and he was scratching at it more and making it bleed. 

A vet appt was made for the 26th and the bump was diagnosed as a histiocytoma, also known as a skin tumor.  It's a benign thing, and we were instructed to treat it for a month and either it would go away on it's own, or it would need to eventually be removed.

So, keep your paws crossed that it will go away by itself, as I'd rather not have the guy put under for surgery if we don't need to!

DuPont returned yesterday, hyper as ever, which is normal after he returns from the rescue.  I took him for a brief walk to get his yaya's out, then we settled down to work on the blog.

He's a good supervisor when it comes to computer work.

Makin' sure I cross my t's and dot my i's!

Squinty Cooking Partner

One of the basic household manners/obedience things I've been working on with DuPont is threshold awareness.  I, like many other dog owners, do not appreciate dogs coming into certain areas of the house when I don't want them there, like the kitchen or my bedroom.  Other times it might apply to putting them behind a threshold briefly so that I can vacuum or adjust a rug or something like that. 

Gates or barriers are not always available to me.  When I put my dogs behind a threshold, invisible or not, I expect them to stay there until I release them.  It's an important basic outside world behavior to have.  A great example?  I'm out for a walk with the dog on the sidewalk and my shoe lace has come undone.  I need to tie it.  There are other walkers, maybe bikes and rollerblades going by.  The safest place for my dog to sit is in the grass, off the sidewalk.  Where the grass meets the concrete is my threshold. 

You understanding what I'm saying?

With DuPont this is easier said than done.  He's not used to making the decision, he's more accustomed to physical barriers such as gates or crates that make the decision for him.  Asking him to sit behind a threshold and it's 'invisible gate' is difficult for him.  He will acknowledge what has been asked of him, but doesn't see why he can't put a paw or two over that line just to inch a little closer.  He's a very curious dog and as mentioned before, he always has to be all up in my biz.  What better way to do so than to get closer?

The other night I was cooking dinner.  When I am in the kitchen, furry beings should not be in the kitchen.  It was a great opportunity to also work on threshold awareness with DuPont.  We went through the usual paces, putting him back behind it when he crossed it, telling him 'out', etc.

I'd turned to work at the sink for a few minutes.  When I looked back to check DuPont's progress, he'd inched over the line and was standing there just watching me.  He really is a great cooking partner.  He would rather sit and watch me cook than play with the other dogs most days. 

As I was about to snap my fingers, point and tell him to get out, he plopped down and gave a big sigh and continued to watch me.

*shoulder slump* 
I can't scold a dog when they puppy-eye me. I can't do it. So grabbed my camera off the counter and snapped a quick pic instead.   How am I supposed to be the trainer if he keeps squinting at me?

This isn't really fair.  Not fair at all. 

The Odd Barker

I love the holidays.  October/November/December are some of my favorite months.  I love the smells and the weather and the leaves turning and the snow, and I love the decorating.  So naturally, like any decorator person, I have this scarecrow thing that I put out front. It's been up for several weeks now.

I've talked about DuPont's bark before.  It's odd.  He's not much of a window watcher, so I guess that would explain why he hadn't noticed it before now.  But it was windy yesterday and boy did that blowing scarecrow give The Pont a complex!

Legs

I've been sick much of the week.  A fun cold/sinus type of thing that makes it difficult to sleep or breathe or function, really.  Just booting up the laptop to do today's blog post is making my head ache.  I'll make it quick.

DuPont is the kind of dog who you would think would just be a real PIA for a person who is under the weather.  Like I told some folks yesterday: Just brushing my teeth exhausts me!  I'm home from work today so as not to continue passing my disease unto others.  I was only mildly dreading a day at home with the wild child that is DuPont.  But when I sat down with my coffee and my blankie and the boring morning news to try and rest, DuPont jumped up next to me and has remained there since.  I haven't gotten up and neither has he!

This has been my view.

He's so pretty.

Anyways, DuPont shifts his sleeping position every twenty minutes or so.  He's been sleeping in some interesting positions, and ever the photographer, my trusty camera is always on hand to capture them.

Some are adorable, some make my back hurt. Some are just down right odd.

Like this one.

His legs are, like, woven.  Like a basket.

He's such a good dog.  Maybe he can sense how I am feeling or something.  He's being very sweet today and just hanging out nearby.  That's fine, because I need another nap.  Ugh.  Sick sucks.

But if this is going to be my view all day, I think I'll get through it.

My Bud is Back

It's good to have my bud back.

Frankie is happy to have her boyfriend back.

The older two of my pack like to go to higher ground when they have had enough of DuPont. Which took appx ten minutes. But then again, these two spend most of their time exactly like this whether DuPont is here or not.

As I was uploading that last photo, little Maggie chased DuPont up onto the couch next to me and now she is sitting right in front of the couch staring at him so he can't move. DuPont may be strong enough to bully his way around, but Maggie is still the ruler of the pack, and Red knows it!

Kirby's response to DuPont's return was 'Oh. Good.' In those exact words. (yes, my Aussie talks)
The cat's was to puke on my rug.

 Ahh. My world is once again as it should be.

 Welcome back, DuPont.

Couch Play

Just playing on the couch with The Pont. 

Patience

Patience is a Virtue

DuPont sits and waits patiently for me to get my butt into gear so we can put some miles on.

What a good man he can be.

Be Right Back!

I have been on my honeymoon for the past week so DuPont has been hanging with the rescue while I am gone.  Dynamic DuPont will resume posts within 48 hours, so be sure to check back for more red dog adventures!!!

Emily & DuPont

Blow

DuPont was irritating me the other night.  I wasn't really in a training mood, and I didn't take him for his run because I'm lazy.

He's really turned into a great snuggling buddy on the couch.  He leans his hulking body against my leg and just hangs out while I watch TV, read my book or work on the laptop.  But he's like one of those children who can sit still for a while and be all angelic, then suddenly he's had enough of behaving and begins nibbling on your bracelet or pant leg.  Then when you nudge him away, he goes into full on 'I'm Booooooored!' tantrum mode and starts the mouthing game. 

I've tried a number of tactics to put a halt to his mouthing. 
1) Putting my hand over his snout and pushing his droopy lips over his teeth so he bites himself instead.
2) Holding his muzzle closed and telling him 'No Bite'.
3) Yelling
4) Standing up abruptly and crossing my arms
5) Slapping at his nose

All of these methods have only egged him on to chew on me harder.  That shit hurts, and I want it to stop.  So I did what any mature adult would do.  I scowled and I pouted and I started blowing on his face.

OH!  It worked!  Not only does he stop chewing on my hands, he vacates the couch entirely. 

So if you end up adopting The Pont and he's pissing you off, just do what I do.  Blow.

Stop It

On a completely separate note:  Did any of you ever see 'Never Ending Story'? 

Doesn't he kind of remind you of Falkor?

Mister Sensitivity

He made it loud and clear last night.  He's a sensitive creature, is our DuPont.

DuPont enjoys rough horseplay with other dogs.  This includes, but is not limited to, grabbing the nearest dog's scruff in his mouth and playing tug with it.  Some dogs enjoy it, some do not. 

Since DuPont's arrival, I've been less than attentive to my own dogs, so for the past few days I've been putting some extra time into one on one play with them, games of Frisbee, tug, ball, etc.  Once the sun sets though, it's difficult to continue outdoors, so we have to bring it into the living room.  Well, I threw the Frisbee and when DuPont saw my Aussie move, he dove and grabbed her by the scruff in his usual fashion.  I hollared my usual 'DuPont! No!' to no avail. My mood was less than stellar last night, (capped by arriving home from work with two arms full of groceries and discovering that I had to beat the hubby's new sprinkler in flip flops that turn wet concrete into an ice skating rink), so I freaked out a bit watching my poor little Aussie get DuPont induced whip lash... Again.

I stood up, stomped my foot, balled my fists, clenched my teeth and YELLED at DuPont.  (Think of the Acme cartoon characters when somebody gets their sandwich stolen for the eighth time...steam starts rolling out from their ears, faces turn bright red, glowing eyes burning into their opponent)

Normally when I yell, nobody listens to me. Especially DuPont.   Oh, I yell a lot by the way... I'm a yeller. I am always raising my voice at my dogs. I swear they don't hear me otherwise.
I think the lack of reaction maybe comes from the fact that even though I'm yelling, they can tell I'm barely half serious because I continue doing whatever it is I'm doing. But this time, my body language must have sent a more serious message than my voice did, because everybody froze, and DuPont hit the deck. 

I shook my head and huffed out a breath, and walked to the kitchen to calm myself.  As I moved by him, DuPont averted his eyes and stayed on the floor.

Shit.  I broke DuPont.

So now on top of everything else, the guilt begins to swarm through me.  I get on the floor and start baby talking at DuPont.  His tail wags a little and he gets up to come say hi.  I walked back to the couch and invited him up with me, and for the next hour, DuPont is a mooshy body of wrinkles who refuses to allow me to stop petting him.

DuPont does not like people being mad at him. He'll blow off the half assed stuff, but is incredibly sensitive to real, true scolding.

The moral of the story? Don't yell at DuPont. Unless you have time to spend the next hour apologizing to him for it. He milked that for all it was worth.





























I knew he was better when he decided to go face to face with our house-dragon.