Lessons Newton Taught Us: Pants

Another valuable piece of information we would never have gained without our pup:

Whenever your human puts on pants, you must go smell them. Thoroughly.

Stampyfeet

Stampyfeet is a canine affliction that I only learned of because of my association with Newton.

stampyfeet, noun. A canine neuromuscular disorder in which, due to the return of a dog's owner to its presence, the dog's forepaws rapidly and alternately strike the ground or floor. Usually accompanied by a submissive grin, excited panting, or nearly uncontrolled running about. Also known as stampyfoot or stampyfeets.

Newton's Duet with the Multimax

Well, we now know of two things that will reliably make Newton howl. One is, of course, emergency vehicle sirens. The other is, weirdly, the Dremel Multimax. This tool has been indispensable in our ongoing home renovation project, but it just got a whole lot cuter. Enjoy!

Lessons Newton Taught Us: Trees

I suppose this one should have been obvious:

You can lead a dog to a tree, but you can't make him pee.

A Few of My Favorites

Alison, Newton, Mia. These are a few of my favorite things.

Girlin' it Up in the Garage

Tonight, I performed some maintenance---manly, according to conventional gender roles---on my track car---double manly---while wearing Alison's slippers---girlie. I can't decide if my transvestite auto maintenance* should count as masculine, feminine, or simply strange.

* The floor in our garage has been quite cold lately, so I needed footwear. Alison's slippers** were conveniently placed, and I only planned to be out there for a few minutes.

** These are the slippers that Newton seems think combine all that's good about socks with all that's good about leather. Mmm.

Lessons Newton Taught Us: Chase-Wrestle

Another valuable lesson we learned from our pup:

Fetch-tug is a pretty good game, but chase-wrestle is the best.

Newton's Day vs. Michael's Day

Newton's Day

Today was the BEST day ever! I thought it was going to be just another everybody-leaves-day 'cause my girl-hooman woke up when the beeping happened and didn't stay in bed to cuddle AT ALL. That means it's a everybody-leaves-day. She put on her leaving fur and then drove off in her sick-box. Then my guy-hooman did the same thing...except he didn't drive off! He came back inside and changed into his staying at home fur and then he took me outside! I got to hang out in the front yard all day. I got to lay in the sunny grass and pee on the tree and some neighbors came over to play with me! Then my girl-hooman came home earlier than usual. It was the best day ever! I'm so tired now that I need a nap.

Michael's Day

I thought today was going to be just another workday, but boy was I wrong! I got dressed and went out to drive to work, but I couldn't shift gears. My clutch wasn't working. I went back inside and did a little research on the internet and realized that I had one of the necessary parts to fix the problem. Unfortunately, I didn't have the other part I needed, so Alison offered to go pick it up at lunchtime and work from home for the afternoon. So, I set to work in the driveway and took Newton out with me since he enjoys being outside. At least the weather was decent. I was hoping I could get the job done in time to go to work for a few hours, but I finished up at 5pm...it took me all day! I think I fixed the problem, but it still doesn't seem quite right so I might have to do some more adjusting. *sigh* What a crappy day. I'm so tired now that I need a nap.

I Suppose it Abbreviates to Pr

I've mentioned that our critter's full name is Newton Aloysius Grondul, but his title is "Puppers." I like to think of it as the canine equivalent of "mister" or "Ms." Note that, like the "san" suffix in Japanese, "puppers" is gender-blind.

Ripe, Old, Aged

Today is Newton's third birthday. I'd like to congratulate him for reaching such a ripe old age and thank him for bringing such joy to our little family.

Lessons Newton Taught Us: Tails

Here's more valuable knowledge I would never have acquired without our critter:

I wish I had a tail.

I mean, I could wag it when happy, hang it low when frightened, move it slowly back and forth when uncertain, and chase it when excited. Wouldn't that be great?

Sn*w D*g

More photos of Newton.  I took these shots when we went out for a walk after the last big snowfall.

Newton!

It's been some time since I posted any photographs of critter, so here are a couple-two-tree:

Weird, Still House

This morning was very strange around here. Michael took Newton to the groomer, so I was home all alone for a few hours. It was weirdly still and quiet. Newton's back, though, and looking very handsome:



Often when he gets home from the groomer he'll burrow in the couch, rubbing his face on the cushions, etc. I think he's trying to replace his lost stink:


Anyway, maybe I can get some work done now that it's not so distraction-free around here!

Running!

After dispatching Fran, I took Newton for a long-ish walk.  As I sometimes, do, I'd occaisionally say, "Want to run for a little?" then break into a run.  Newton loves it.  He often looks over (and up) at me, mouth open in a big doggie grin, as if to say, "Isn't running fun?" It's infectious.

Heroes Comma Canine

For the record, Newton's hero is the RCMP's own Diefenbaker.

Dogs at Dad's

(I seem to be in a Newton-photo mood, so I'll continue the trend here.)

We spent Christmas and Michaelmas in Atlanta last year.  We stayed at my father's house, and Alan* brought his dog Marley over to play with Newton.  Newton enjoyed the interaction, as was expected.  We don't have any photos, videos, orother photos of them playing this time, but we did get take a couple of good canine photographs.  

Here's a pic of Newton sleeping off a play session on my dad's couch.  Compare it with this one from 2 years earlier.  (Note that you can see photos of Alan and me in the frame in the background.  I'm the one in the little-league-football uniform, aged 8 or 10. 

The second image shows how much of a cuddle pup Marley can be.  He's resting his head in my lap.  (Note Newton sleeping in the background.)

* Alan is my half-brother.  He's tall, blue-eyed, and blond-ish.  What's that about?

He Loves His Auntie Ashley

Apropos of nothing, here's a cute photo of Newton wondering why his Auntie Ashley has stopped petting him.

He Thinks He's a Husky

Readers in the area---and those watching pre-inauguration coverage---are aware that it snowed 2.5 or 5 cm today.  Since Newton loves the snow, I was sure to take him for a long walk in it.  Here are a pair of photos documenting our outing.  Nothing makes a "white" dog look dirtier than fresh snow.

Aww.

Awwwww.

The Crate

It's important to train your dog to think of his crate as a safe, comfortable, pleasant place to be.  That way, you can confine him to it when necessary without him feeling imprisoned.  Fortunately, crate training is made easier because dogs have a denning instint.  It's that instint that leads Newton to loiter under our coffee table or Alison's desks.  Unfortunately, as new dog owners, we did a poor job of making Newton's crate his happy place.  We recently met with some success on this front when we noticed how much Newton loves to curl up on one of our blankets.  This blanket is stuffed with goose down, which may be a strong factor in Newton's affinity for it.  After we folded the blanket and placed it in his crate, Newton suddently began going into the crate on his own, even lounging in there for for long periods.

In the above photo, you can see Newton relaxing in the crate.  The down blanket is the blue one.  The green one is actually a baby blanket we bought soon after we first brought our little puppy home.