Just Call Me Houdini...

Abby, the escape artist, has managed to travel over the fence to visit the neighbours one too many times. She is unaware that this new area is not merely an extension to her property because the transition from one yard to another is just a hop, skip and a snowbank away! With the unusually high snowbanks this year, she can walk over the 5' fence like she was skipping over a twig. Needless to say, she is now on a long lead that will allow her lots of freedom to roam in her yard but not the luxury of exploring next door. As you can see from the picture, Abby likes holding the rope in her mouth and now when we let her out we ask "are you taking yourself for a walk?" You can also see the amount of snow by the snowbank at the edge of the deck behind Abby. In the summer, you have to step down off the deck to the lawn so the picture gives a great snap shot of just how much of the white stuff we have had this year. Poor Abby is probably wondering if this is what she has to look forward to all year long!
Abby has most of her adult teeth now, only a couple of baby teeth remain on the top. We have been watching her adult teeth come in beside the baby teeth and the baby teeth getting loose and falling out...sniff...sniff....sniff. We found a little baby tooth in her bed last night so we saved it for her album. Knowing that she has been teething, we have tried to help her out with teething chew toys, which she seems to appreciate.
Unfortunately the cat situation is not going quite as well as we would like.....in fact, Abby's feline siblings are not warming up to her and still spend much of their time upstairs. However, Moses continues to make an effort - apparently his need for affection is greater than his fear. For Abby's part, she just doesn't seem to understand why the cats do not like a giant dog paw across the head and a wet nose jammed into their face!
We have incorporated a 40 minute walk into our morning routine so that Abby will feel more like settling in her kennel when we head to work. Some mornings we go more distance than others, depending on how many times we need to stop and "regroup". This is because Abby likes to think that she is the boss, and consequently the one controlling the pace of the walk....which is sometimes the truth! However, we are working to get this under control before she becomes too big to handle, and we are hoping the daily routine and gentle reminders will soon turn Abby into a great walking companion.
She continues to be full of beans most of the time with lots energy to burn....but we love her just the same!! Until next time....