"Dog Days"

Hi everyone!  I haven't given you an update on Duncan in a while, and he's now seven and a half months old!  I can't believe it; I feel like life is just whizzing by at the speed of light.  Remember how long and slow the days and weeks seemed when we were children?

  I'm almost embarrassed to show you these pictures because Mr. Shaggy here really needs to visit the groomer.  I confess I've been procrastinating because grooming days with MacDuff were such an ordeal.  Trust me when I say that MacDuff needed medication when he went to the groomer, and so did I.  :)  I'm afraid this one will be the same way.  MacDuff almost always got a bad report card from the groomer.

However, Duncan is just looking too shaggy, and we like for our Scotties to look like well-groomed little Scotsmen.  I'm anxious to see what his coloring will look like after his coat is trimmed.  Speaking of trimming, it's obvious our grass needs trimming, too.  The reason we have a shaggy dog and a shaggy yard is that two weeks ago things were really hot and dry around here, and Mr. Forest Manor told our son not to mow that weekend.  Then the following week we had some rain and last weekend, it rained almost all of Saturday and Sunday, so it was too wet to mow.  This is how the grass looked by Saturday. 

This picture is a bit blurred, which is a good illustration of how he often usually looks -- constantly in motion.  Believe me, there's no moss growing on this dog.  ;)

So what has Himself been up to?  Well, at the risk of bragging or jinxing things, he's doing really well with his potty training, which makes life so much easier and more pleasant around here.  Also, at the risk of bragging, I think he's pretty darn smart.  He's already learned lots of words and phrases (Bonnie and MacDuff learned some things so well, that we ended up having to spell, rather than say, certain words).  I bet you do that with your dogs too.  :-D

We've given most of his toys simple names, and when we tell him to bring us "tennis ball," "Kong," or "Blue," he knows what we're talking about and will usually bring us that toy.  Especially if he wants us to throw it to him.  He also knows dinner, walk, potty, brother, Will, porter, cookie, and treat.  There are a few things he hears a lot, and he either doesn't know what they mean yet, or is choosing to ignore them.  :)  "No" is a big one and "Drop it" is another one.  When we walk, he's always picking up things in the grass or street that he doesn't need, and we say "Drop it."  One evening after a walk, my husband said Duncan is going to think his name is Drop It.

  Our little Scottish Terrorist Terrier has been to puppy summer camp twice.  That's what I call it when he stays with Miss Linda, our pet sitter.  He stayed with her when we went to Charleston and to the Blue Waters Mountain Lodge.  He loves to go to Linda's house.  If I didn't like her so well and know that she takes great care of him, I might be a little jealous.  :)  She has a great fenced-in backyard for him to play in and a furnished patio where she sits outside while he plays.  On the last visit, he got to bark at the horses next door -- probably thought they were some seriously big dogs.

Boy, he looks really shaggy here (Yikes).  He's still a little thief; he's fast as lightning and loves to grab things before we have time to react.  Recently, I was printing something out on our computer printer.  The printer tray is down near the floor, and of course he's fascinated with it.  He came right over when I cut it on, so I held him back while my paper was printing.  Then when I reached out to get my finished copy, he snatched the next sheet of blank paper and took off like a flash.  He's so short, the paper was dragging on the floor, and we just heard a lot of rustling and crackling.  Then every so often, he would stop and start tearing the paper into strips and take off again when we tried to catch him.  I finally wound up just sitting in the desk chair, laughing my head off -- it was just too funny.  :)

He also has his own little fan club in the neighborhood, and he loves to see them when we go for walks.  And did I mention he adores his brother?  ;)  He's grown a lot, hasn't he?  It's taken us all awhile to get used to him and him to us, but we're getting there.  He's feisty and energetic (can you say terrier?) but he's also funny and affectionate.

Well, that's the Duncan update for now.  We appreciate your visit and have a great day!

Duncan and Denise