Snow! Or at least, after-snow fun

After the slushy mess cleared up, we were left with a few piles of snow, especially in the parking lot across the road. Apollo discovered just how much fun could be had by racing up and down one pile in particular.

Posing briefly

Contemplating the descent…

…a quick glance back…

…and off we go!

Taking a moment to look handsome in the sun

Letting me know it's time to visit that snow pile again

No really!

Puppy eyes please?

 Needless to say, we did visit it quite frequently.

First visit to the groomer's!

A little further into November, Apollo was smelling rather doggy. As much as I had been intending to bathe him at home, it's just not a great place for it. The showerhead is fixed high up on the wall, the tap isn't the kind you can fix a hose to, and the shower doors don't give the right access. So I decided I would take him to Bark & Fitz, where they also offer grooming services. As my luck would have it, the day before his appointment Halifax became covered with wet grey slush, but it still had to be done.

Sleeping soundly, not knowing his bath was only a night's sleep away

Along with Apollo I gave the groomer my camera, asking for a few pictures to document puppy's adventure. She kindly took several lovely pictures, some of which follow below.

One delighted, bat-eared puppy

Not quite so big and fuzzy anymore

The towel wasn't so bad…

…whilst the blow dryer was a little less fun (though not scary!)

After his bath, Apollo was extremely fuzzy for a few days. The fur on his back stood in all directions, but there was no more doggy smell. We went back a few days later so that the other groomer could trim the fur in his ears a little, and he certainly knew that he looked good as he pranced around even before that.

Quiet days inside

Early November in Halifax involved a good bit of time studying inside. That is, I sat studying, whilst Apollo lay quite contentedly taking naps. And growing.

Even in November spots of sun can be found by the puppy who tries hard enough

It was also around this time we brought out the vacuum cleaner for the first time. Apollo was not impressed. He stayed downstairs for a short while, trying to figure out what this noisemaker was, whilst keeping a healthy distance and then some. When the vacuum cleaner moved too fast for his liking, he ran upstairs. When I followed him a little while later, I found that he had taken refuge in a pile of things I'd not quite gotten unpacked and sorted (they have been since, honestly).

When there are no sunny spots or piles of not-yet-unpacked
things, the bed makes an acceptable substitute

The windowsill is still an excellent vantage point

Looking less like a puppy and more like an adolescent

Keeping a close eye on progress at the construction site across the road

First meeting with the Atlantic

Less than a week after our previous visit to Point Pleasant Park we went again, this time accompanying Jess on a geology mission. For the first time we took a path down to the water, as we needed to find a specific outcrop on the beach. There, Apollo had his first close encounter with the Atlantic.

At first calmly exploring the beach

Soon even venturing into the sea

Distracted by a noise on the far side of the harbour...

...and suddenly it got a little deep

A short trip on land to show off those huge fluffy ears...

...before gracefully re-entering the water...

...before racing up and down the beach to get dry

Apollo is also kind enough to stop and pose every so often

Biggest surprise came when importing pictures. The colours have been
tweaked a little, but that's all. Sometimes dumb luck works out best.

Oops!

 Well, I certainly wasn't planning for it to take this long to write again. I kept telling myself I just had to import and process pictures, and that I would have time for that during the weekend… then it got put off… then I had more pictures, but I had to post the older ones first… and in the end, nothing happened, and now it's February. So, to catch up on the last 3-4 months. Apollo has grown a great deal, is looking ever less like a puppy and more like a young dog, and a good lot has happened in the last few months. Although the dates naturally won't be accurate, I'll try to separate into different posts in chronological order. So apparently it's possible to set the published date to one in the past. Eureka! All will be well!

Here's a puppy in the window to go some way towards making up for it.

The Pumpkin Project begins…

I am about to become one of those people who gives far more information than anyone has asked for. Be warned.

Briefly put, Apollo's output has not been very, ah, scoopable since he came here. Advice to pour some water on his food before giving it to him has helped somewhat, but there's still room for improvement.

So, yesterday at Sobey's I picked up a tin of puréed pumpkin, after hearing that a tablespoon or two in each meal helps many dogs. Apollo had his first taste with supper last night, and seemed extremely enthusiastic about it. Likewise for his two meals so far today.

Even with being extra eager due to the new smell, his table manners are excellent. He'll get very excited the moment I get the bag and scales out, but settles down almost immediately. He then waits while I prepare the food, put the dish down, and give him the ok. If I ask him to wait whilst I put everything away, fill water in his other bowl, that's no problem. This wonderful pup seems to have some patience and focus — most of the time (though we'll see how long that lasts when he hits puberty…).

Of course, it's too early to say for sure, but today's answers to nature's call have been promising.


In other news, we had our second visit to Point Pleasant Park a couple of days ago. More on that, with pictures, soon.

First visit to Point Pleasant Park

After the miserable weather we had last week, this weekend's summer heat was quite welcome. Apollo and I went on our first walk to Point Pleasant Park, and what was originally intended to be a medium-long walk ended up filling our afternoon for over two and a half hours. Below is the route we took in the park. According to my sophisticated guesstimate (technically according to Google Maps, but they don't have a setting for "sniffing puppy" speed), our walk to the park and back was about half an hour each way.

Once in the park, Apollo found a delightful little pond.

What do you mean, I can't stay here forever?

We also met lots of other dogs and owners, including one adorable 12-week old chocolate lab mix. I didn't get a picture, so you'll just have to take my word for it. This pup was seriously cute, as was the 4-month-old golden retriever we also met.

Watching a dog up on the hill

Hopefully we'll see some more warm-ish non-rainy days soon, so we can head back there. Apparently there are dog meets at 9:00 on Saturdays, but I feel like I need to be able to let Apollo off leash before going there. Haven't been working quite enough on recall yet for that.

A long-awaited update

Well, Apollo's been with me a little over a month, and my planned regular posting has so far been non-existent. Buuut allow me to distract you with puppy pictures and make you forget that.

I mean, try to resist that

Apollo is every bit as wonderful as I was hoping. He surprisingly calm, with few of the hyper puppy moments I was expecting. He's now mostly housetrained, and when anything does happen it's usually my fault for not noticing the time or his signals. When he first arrived he was very uncertain around other dogs, basically ready to flee when he spotted a dog at the end of the street. With patience and a fair bit of work, he's now showing none of those tendencies — he's even been playing with some of the dogs and pups he's met recently!

I do think he's missed the part of the breed standard that says he's supposed to be reserved with strangers. Because he's so used to getting lots of attention, he'll even stop and stare at people who walk past us without giving him adoring looks. The upside is socialising him is an absolute breeze, since all I have to do is go out the door. He's a little over-excited with children, but we're working on that. I just need to find some willing victims volunteers.

It's taken me a while to get pictures imported, organised, and edited. The above is from the first couple of days after Apollo arrived. It's remarkable how much he's grown and changed this last month. He's no longer all puppy fur, his legs grew long overnight, and then his chest and shoulders suddenly got wider. His tail has gotten all bushy in just the last week and a half, I'm sure!

Now that I've sorted out hard drive space, picture organising, and uploading (I think, still testing a few things), I promise not to wait another month before the next update.

Presenting, at last...

Vet checks have been carried out, and my breeder Angie has been closely watching the quickly growing boys. When I last updated with pictures, she was especially impressed with the boy on the right, the one with the little patch of white on his chest. That has not changed, and it's now been decided that he will indeed be coming my way in just under a month!

All looked well healthwise at the vet's, and Angie has nothing but praise for him - even if his limitless energy apparently makes it a little tricky to get pictures that aren't just one red blur.

So, without further ado, let me present Sterlingden Airpor's Apollo:

Other pictures will be along in not too long, but for now this is more than enough to fall in love with.

Shopping for puppy stuff

As my friend Mel can attest, having been dragged around and endlessly informed, I actually did most of my puppy shopping earlier this spring (mostly before my pup was born). One of the main things remaining is a dog bed - although I did pick out the one I wanted some time ago. My pup's bed will be from Dog Gone Smart. Their fabrics use nanotechnology - copied from those lily leaves you sometimes see pictures of. They grow in muddy water, and yet the leaves are always clean. Probably the following images and description from their site will do better than I could to explain it...

The contact surface of a water drop or a particle of dirt with the textile, and therefore the level of adhesion is very large.  As a result, water or dirt adheres to the textile. 

 

Water drops or particles of dirt lie only on the peaks of the nano particles, and therefore have a lower contact area.  Adhesion is significantly reduced, water runs off, dirt is repelled or can be simply rinsed off.

I'm partial to the donut bed, and my impression is that most/many dogs (hopefully mine included) prefer this kind, with an edge. This one below certainly looks content!

Picture from thenaturaldogandcat.com

I'm leaning towards either the brown, pictured above, or the navy, below. Thoughts?

Picture from Dog Gone Smart

I'm also planning to place an order with the Danish site 4hotdogs. I had the pleasure of dealing with their customer service when I had a handful of questions, and I have to say there are few who can match these guys for awesomeness. They have some very nice tracking leads, other leashes, and collars (obviously a lot of other things as well, but 'm mainly tempted by these sections). I'm just trying so somewhat restrict the size of my shopping basket there, because there's too much that's tempting.

Picture from 4hotdogs.com

Picture from 4hotdogs.com

Time for choices!

Well, time to confess that I have slacked a little. I received pictures a little over a week ago, but hardly had a chance to look at them myself, never mind upload them here. When I finally got back to the computer and was able to have a closer look, I ended up lightening them just a little. Below is Porsha with her puppies aged three and a half weeks.

 

And now, for the even more exciting news. My breeder, Angie, has picked out the two most promising males from Porsha's litter. So now I've got to make a pretty tough choice. Both puppies are absolutely adorable, as I'm sure you'll quickly agree!

Biiiig stretch for a little puppy!

How am I supposed to pick just one?

Surely no words are needed...