Posts tagged ‘chewing’
Toothsome.
A Mingus in the grass is worth two in the hedge.
Like most dogs Mingus has always enjoyed a good old chew, but now, as his final adult teeth come through, he’s become possessed with the need to fill 95% of his waking time with chewing.
So, much like Phoenix before him, Mingus has now got into the habit of bringing a bone along with him for his walks, but is never too busy with that to pass up the chance to chew, and preferably run around with, something more interesting… leading to some ambitious projects:
Now that's what I call a log.
Antarctica.
Last night, or so we’re reliably informed, was the equal coldest night ever recorded in the UK, with temps dipping to minus 22C or thereabouts, the same as at the South Pole. Here in “balmy” Devon we dropped to minus 14C, easily cold enough to have potentially devastating consequences for some of the rare trees, shrubs and bamboos that inhabit our garden….we won’t know what damage has occurred until Spring, but in the meantime our bore-hole fed water supply has frozen and pipes burst, flooding the kitchen. The river has also frozen over (for only the third time in the last 25 years), we’ve had no post delivery for days and none of our cars can make it out of our entrance drive….so clearly the only thing left to do right now is go and play in the snow:
Our Valley.
Gotta Have A Stick.
Then Have a Stick Wrestle.
At the bottom of the garden.
Snow hoover.
Helping Adam to make a Snow bunny.
Finished!
1 flattened Giant Bamboo (foreground) & 12 snowy Redwoods (background)
Hock-deep in the snow.
The Life Aquatic.
Bubble-licious.
Phoenix’s fascination with all things watery continues apace… Tim has recently been doing some work at the river in the garden and this has afforded Phoenix an unparalleled opportunity to indulge and expand her favourite aquatic pastimes. A recent development is shoving her entire face underwater and blowing bubbles through her nose, with satisfying gurgley results. She has also taken to “harvesting” flowers of Water Hawthorn. To reach these Phoenix often dives headlong into the pond (which is a good six feet deep and 150 feet long) grabs a stem with flower attached and swims back to shore where she can eat her prize with a satisfying crunch.
A Tooth for a Tooth.
The Fateful Dental Exam....
At this weeks ringcraft class, one of the judges took a look at Phoenix’s teeth and informed us that she has two infant teeth growing alongside her adult ones. If they aren’t removed they could alter the shape of her mouth, cause all sorts of dental problems and most importantly, a lot of pain. There’s no way around it, Ms Phoenix is gonna have to go see the dentist…
…She’s going in to the vets for her operation on Tuesday. She should only be in for a few hours though, not overnight… 😦
Nipping, Mania and Buffy.
Side Profile.
We were warned by Tracey that things get worse before they get better. Phoenix has been quite “nippy” over the past few days so we’ve stepped up the rewarding all good behaviour routine. She now knows “Sit” and “Stand” and is learning “Off” (to get off the furniture).
She has to be monitored and offered things to do all the time she’s awake, otherwise she gets bored. So we keep trying new things with her and make sure the plastic bottles keep a-coming. Luckily, Phoenix is sleeping a lot and is also easy to calm down. The manic episodes after the evening meal have begun, but we’ve found getting her to sit and then rewarding her, brings her back down to earth again. It must be frustrating having all that puppy energy but not being allowed to romp around outside for longer the ten minutes at a time, as otherwise your legs go wonky and your hips fall off. It’s the Uber-Suck as Buffy would put it.
Belatarr Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla. 