{12july2010: delayed}

Ahhh I'm backed up with posts!  
First off, thanks to Moose's mom Dana for emailing us last night and alerting us to the recall of Merrick products for Salmonella risk!  Darwin LOVES her Merrick Lamb treats, and while it's their beef that has been recalled, Moose did get sick after eating a good amount of lamb fillets and the timing of it is worrying.
 


Second, the Thundershirt. 

As mentioned in the part 2 of the weekend review the Tundershirt seemed to work instantly at calming Darwin down at the houseboat.  She barked less than the last time we were there and was quicker to settle down.  That morning we took her to Marymoor for a long play session so she was pretty pooped for the remainder of the day.  We were going back to the houseboat to bbq and watch the fireworks so we dragged Darwin off the couch (literally had to drag her off, she was so tired from the park) to get her shirt on.  She quickly settled back onto the couch and we turned on the tv to a channel that was playing Grease on a loop.  There were already some small fireworks going off by then and she seemed completely unphased by it.

We headed over to our friends place and had a great time.  Their houseboat had a perfect view of the fireworks over Lake Union.  I was nervous about Darwin and we tried to call our neighbors to check on her, but they didn't answer (after I thought about it, duh, they were probably enjoying the fireworks from our roof deck). 
 
  
 
   
After the festivities we headed home.  When I opened the door, Darwin peeled herself off the couch to greet us.  Seemed like she didn't move an inch since we left.  I don't know if she barked at the fireworks, but she definitely wasn't stressed when we got home.  I can't say it was just the Thundershirt that did it, because a couple hours at the park probably helped, but I will say it did seem to help the first day when we were at the house boat.  
I had ordered Darwin an XXL, based off her measurements and their website, but it was a little big (it barely fit the deepest part of her chest and was too loose along her ribs) so I contacted them on the 5th and we are exchanging it for a smaller size.  I'll keep using it, and let you all know how it goes!

**more pictures of the fireworks can be seen on my Flickr page.

{7july2010: Weekend Review part 2}

Saturday Darwin got us up early to watch the Argentina vs Germany game (she literally woke us up at 700).  After watching the game and lounging around for a while we headed out to pick up a mini keg for our friends 4th of July BBQ on Sunday and took Darwin to the dog park.  She seemed pretty disinterested in playing with any of the pups there (she did get jealous of me making friends with this cute little fawn Frenchie) so we didn't stay long. 
We planned to make a quick stop at our friends to drop off the keg and do more errands (gardening for me - home owners stuff for Jason), but what was planned for a quick stop ended up being a pre-4th bbq.  
Georgetown Brewery made a mistake with our order and instead of a mini keg (21 pints) we got a 1/6th barrel (42 pints) so we thought we should get a head start to make sure we could finish it all for the 4th. 
Since we left early from work on Friday for SIB, Robin was staying the full day and managed to receive our Thundershirts from FedEx.  We decided to test them out on the dogs.


Friday does have her's on... she's just so relaxed in it she melted into the dock.  :)
The last time we were at the houseboat Darwin was pretty anxious, and kept barking at the neighbors who walked by or the little dog on the houseboat across the channel.  Once we put the Thundershirt on her though she quickly settled down and got comfortable.
{super DAR!}

There were a few fireworks that went off while we were hanging out and both dogs were totally fine with it.  No barking, and for Friday, no panicking.
After testing out the coats Jason, Robin, Bb and I decided to enjoy the nice summer afternoon by doing some stand up paddle boarding and kayaking (in our street clothes as we were there just to drop off the keg).

Jason brought Darwin out to the end of the dock to get some photos of us and Darwin came with him. Darwin was pacing around the end of the dock trying to figure out how to get to me.

It was my first time SUP'ing and it was totally fun!  We ended the day with a couple more glasses of beer and BBQing lamb burger.  Such a nice Saturday in Seattle!

{14june2010: weekend review}

Finally!  A beautiful Seattle weekend!  After weeks of rain the sun (and warmth) finally returned to Seattle.  The timing couldn't have been better because we had a lunch date planned with some friends and their 16month old little girl.  Because of the beautiful weather we planned on a picnic so Darwin could join.

It was Darwin's second time hanging out with Olivia... the first time was back when they were both about six months old.

Here's Darwin sneaking in a kiss.


This time Olivia is walking and Darwin is a lot calmer.

She still managed to sneak in a kiss... which caught Olivia off guard.

Olivia found Darwin's tennis ball and Darwin took notice.

So she went over to get it back... 



Olivia kept trying to share the ball with Darwin.

She even shared the plastic bottle with Dar.






It was Darwin's first time hanging out with a little kid and she did great!  Even when Olivia would step on Darwin's feet or bop Dar on the head with the plastic bottles, Darwin would just shift over a little and chew her bone or lay there and watch Olivia.  Darwin's occasional barks would make Olivia jump, but she was totally comfortable with Darwin and they were just so cute together!

{10may2010: Weekend review}

The weather last week (and today) has been like winter in Seattle.... booo.  But this weekend was great Seattle spring weather!  We even got out the shorts on Sunday!
It's been a while since Darwin has been to Marymoor, and though she's not fully healed (from what, we're not quite sure, but hopefully will get more answers tomorrow after her x-rays) we thought she could use some social time.  
I think being somewhere "new" was so exciting for her.  She had to smell EVERYTHING.

We headed over to the water and ran into some of our Dane friends!
{Frankie, Lucy and Darwin getting some water}

{Georgia, Darwin and Autumn checking things out}

Darwin even chased and played with Frankie!

I was worried about her overdoing it, so I took her away from the group and made her rest for a bit in the shade.

We then met up with the group again and did a lap around the park before heading home.  It was great to see all our doggie friends again after months of not going to the park.  
Our visit to the park seemed to give her a boost of energy we haven't seen in a while which was nice.  Hopefully we can pinpoint her problems and get her back out there on a regular basis.


Oh, and one last picture for our friend Ammy with the best smile who's celebrating her AMMY-VERSARY!

{26apr2010: weekend review}

I've got a case of the Monday's as usual.  It was another beautiful weekend in Seattle.  Friday night we went over to visit our friends and Darwin got to visit her bff Friday.  She spent the whole day at the office with us and was pretty pooped out when we were at home, but as soon as she saw Friday she was a nut!   
Saturday I was hanging out with Darwin, and noticed something new on her collar.

Turns out her favorite Aunty Kristie (brother Boo's mom) slipped on a new i.d. tag the other week for her birthday!  I never even noticed it til Saturday!
On Sunday Darwin and I headed out for a walk at Golden Gardens.  There's a dog park near the beach area, but I'm not sure if she's ready for dog park action yet, so we opted for a walk on the beach.  Of course I'm never without a camera, be it my point and shoot or dslr, but for some reason I left the house with only my iphone (I must've been feeling ill or something).  I rarely see Danes at Golden Garden but we did meet a 6.5 year old Merle Dane, Nikki.  She was a beautiful girl,just slightly taller and fuller than Darwin, but very sweet.  Darwin got a ton of attention as we walked along... eventually we stopped at a big grassy area and sat around enjoying the sun.

This one's for Ammy:
{I love the sun!}

Eventually I joined Darwin on the grass and she got nice and comfy.

Then someone walked by and she got excited and stood up and proceeded to lean on me... while I was still sitting.  Her 115lbs leaning into me sitting on the ground pushed me over and soon this is what I was seeing:

Yes, after pushing me over she thought the best place to stand was over me.... sometimes on top of me.

Thank goodness she didn't try to put all her weight on her back legs or I would have a Great Dane sized hole through my stomach.
After a little more sun time we decided to head home.