A dog's work is never done

Woofs! Hope all is well with you. :)

Sad news - our friend Steve's much loved dog, Milly, passed away today. RIP Milly. I know you had a great life and that your human family loved you very much!

Since Jude heard about Milly she's been feeling sad - so I've been working extra hard on being cute / annoying / clever to cheer her up. I even let her have the ball to throw for me without a tug of war - that's a world record!

I am blogging today, to keep you up to date with my latest gardening achievements - in the backyard - and I think you're going to like what I've done with the place. You know that beautiful acacia cognata I showed you back in October? (see here on the right >> it used to look like the first photo) ... Well I've fashioned it into my backyard control tower come dog cave. Where the branches used to gently brush the grass I've chomped through many many small branches and fashioned a large doorway - now I can get in here easily to spy on kangaroos, magpies and cockatoos feasting on the common on the other side of our fence. I haven't quite finished yet - you'll see that there are still a few (dying) branches remaining in the doorway that I haven't finished chewing through. I'll get onto them next week.  My dog cave / control tower is now flooded with dappled sunlight, making it easier for me to find and retrieve the treasures I store here.
... One small step for Airedales, one giant leap for landscape design ... 
That reminds me, I must check the RMIT course list and see if there's a horticultural course I could sign up for - I hear they offer lots of TAFE courses!

Phew it was hot last week. It didn't really bother me - I quite liked being given ice cubes and lying near the air conditioner vent. But it really slowed the humans down and they weren't keen to go for long walks. It was a great relief therefore, that the weather has changed and it's much cooler now. I've been for long walks both Saturday and today and have found much to sniff, investigate and in some instances, pee on. Did I mention that I've taught myself to cock my leg when I pee? I'm very proud of my achievement. Being able to lift my leg allows me much more accuracy in securing my scent on desirable targets, plus it means I get much less pee on my own feet! That's a good thing because Jude used to say that I was gross when my paws got messy.

One bad thing about the hot days - I was 'helping' Craig water the outside plants (this involves jumping into the stream of water coming from the hose and biting it) when he decided that it would be a good idea to get me wet all over so I could cool down. I didn't like that one bit - the water was cold, plus it messed up my curls! Don't worry, I thought of a way to train Craig so he wouldn't do it again - as soon as we went inside I ran around the house wiping my wet sides along the walls - he he he! I'll leave you imagining how he reacted. Woof-oh!
Toby