{11oct2010: Oktoberfest}

A few weeks ago we went to the annual Fremont Oktoberfest.  Sunday was Dogtoberfest, the one day dogs are allowed at the festivities, so we made sure to be there.  I had talked to Remi's mom a few weeks early and they were running the brew-ha-ha 5k so we knew we'd see each other down there.


We were bad dog owners and didn't take Darwin to a park first to wear her down, and so when we got there she was a nut!  She was good walking on her leash, but very hyped up especially when we saw other dogs.  It was embarrassing (note to self, always tire Darwin out before going some place social) to be "those" dog owners with the seemingly out of control barky dog.  
Remi didn't mention it in his blog post, but when we saw Remi, Darwin went crazy!  It was quite a scene, and so we quickly parted ways with Remi and his parents, and went to find a table we could sit at to let Darwin take in all the activities from a distance.



Darwin did get a lot of attention from people walking by.

And even got some funny glances.

After hanging out for a couple hours, she finally calmed down and was able to greet other dogs without barking at them.


She even managed to ignore this cute Australian Shepherd puppy hanging out at the other end of the table from us.

Darwin even eventually LAID DOWN OUTSIDE on the grass.  She never does that!

Since she was behaving herself we thought we'd let her taste some beer and clean up any spills.



What started as a rough outing (sorry Remi!) ended up being pretty fun and we learned a valuable lesson... a tired dog is a good dog.


**just found the official Oktoberfest image gallery and there are a couple shots of Remi and Darwin!  Go to the Dogtoberfest page and you can browse the fun pups that were there.

{07oct2010: amazing}

Vinny is an amazing dog!  


ps. still keeping an eye on Darwin and it's been a full day of her standing around waiting to be picked up.  She would sit/lay down for a couple minutes, and then get up and stand around the middle of the floor staring at the gate.  Poor girl.  At one point I thought I saw her playing with another dog, but I think I may have been mistaken and it may not have been playing...

{07oct2010: adventures in daycare continue}

It's been a while since we've talked about Darwin and daycare.  Well, we continued to take her every so often, and every time we picked her up she was always very anxious.  I recently decided to try and switch daycares to see if it was the facility or if it's just daycare in general she doesn't like.  
Today is her first day at the new daycare.  They have a webcam on their website so you can see the action on the floor.  So of course as soon as I get into work I bring up the webcam to see how Dar is doing and I see a blue Dane on the floor!  Woo! And she's playing with a Boxer!  Double woo!  

I'm so proud of her and start telling my coworkers and friends on Facebook, "Hey, look at Darwin at daycare!"  I was wondering where her collar was, but then thought, maybe they took it off because we forgot to put on her quick release collar before we left the house and they didn't want her buckle one on the floor.  
I keep watching and after a while I notice a blue Dane with a pink collar, so I think oh they must be okay with her wearing her collar now.  That's cool.  And then I realize, I was watching the WRONG DOG!  There are actually two blue Danes at daycare, and Darwin was not the one I first was watching and so proud and boastful of.  As I'm watching the right dog, I realize Darwin isn't having much fun.  Most of the times I check out the camera, she's in the middle of the floor, just standing there.  The other blue Dane is playing and having fun, and Darwin just stands there watching all the other dogs run around her.  

When a staff member comes on the floor, Darwin will go over to the person for pets and lean time, but doesn't seem interested in playing.  She'll occasionally sniff another dog, but so far no playing.  

When I realized there was a second Dane there, I was hoping Darwin would play with him, but so far no luck.  He's having a blast, and Darwin... not so much.
I know it's her first day at a new place, but is it possible she's just not a daycare doggy?  Is it possible that because we fostered her from such a young age (5days old) and she spent so much time in the office around people that she's more of a people dog than a dog dog?  Am I just being a crazy over-thinking dog mom and just need to take a chill pill?  
It's only lunch time, so I'll keep an eye on her and maybe by the end of the day she'll loosen up a bit.  We're approaching fall, and the nights get darker a lot quicker, so dog parks after work are going to be out of the question soon, so she'll have to suck it up and just learn to tolerate day care.  

{05oct2010: day with the big dogs}

Day one of the sleepover went over well.  After all the excitement of the day, Darwin curled up on the couch and Friday curled up on Darwin's bed (at least someone knows what a doggy bed is for) and we all hit the hay.  
On Sunday, Jason woke up early to go in to work for a bit and so I hung out with the dogs catching up on Project Runway (man what an emotional episode that last one was) before we all headed out to the park.  As I was trying to watch, the girls got restless so I called Jason and told him to hurry back because the pooches were ready for park time.  Somehow it always seems that Darwin knows when it's Sunday (Marymoor Dane day) and is super hyped up to go.  
{Fridaaaayyyy, play with meeeeee}

{Okay Fri, how about this one?!}

{what's wrong with this chick?  can't she take a hint?!}

{okay fine... one game of tug}

While they were having fun, they were also getting a bit loud, so I stopped the game and made them rest till Jason got back and we could head out to the park where they could be as loud as they want.

In the fall, Marymoor park gets these wood chip hills delivered to be scattered for the pathways.  Darwin loves these wood chips hills (as do a lot of the dogs) and is always quick to run up to the top.

{I'm the queen of the hill!  Friday you're missing out!}

Friday used the bathroom, and as some dogs do, kicked up the ground around it to cover it (is that why dogs do that?) and in the process kicked up bark all over me.  

{sorry aunty brooke}

The girls had a blast at the park the rest of the time, making new friends and playing with old friends.

WINSTON!!! Winston is the husky who thinks he's a Dane.  He always manages to find the group (at least a minute or two before his parents do) and loves to play with the big dogs.

{Friday and Parker}

{bffs}

After the park time, we gave Friday a bath so she would go home nice and clean and then headed home for nap time til it was time for Friday to go home.

Darwin was sad after Friday left, but was happy to have all our attention for herself again.

{04oct2010: it's my party and I'll cry if I want to}

So Darwin hosted her first slumber party this weekend with her bff, Friday.  Friday got dropped off early Saturday morning, and surprisingly Darwin was pretty calm about it.  I thought she would've been barking trying to play with Friday but they were both quiet and Friday quickly found a bone to entertain herself with.  After feeding the dogs breakfast we headed out for a morning walk.





Our first stop on our walk was to the hardware store to drop off lightbulbs for recycling.  While Jason ran inside, Darwin and Friday got a drink of water.

Next stop was Macrina Bakery for breakfast goodies for Jason and I.  There wasn't a good spot to tie the pooches up outside, so I sat out on a table with them while Jason ran inside.  

They were both really well behaved while we waited, so on our next stop they got a special treat!

We stopped at the butchers for steaks for dinner and apple wood smoked femur bones for the dogs.

While I was buying our meat the guy behind the counter saw Darwin staring intently inside at me and asked "how's Tiny?".  I said she was a big baby, and he said he could tell.
We also stopped at the grocery store to get veggies to go with our steak and headed home.  After that 3+ mile walk, both girls were pooped!  It was perfect because we had a 1st birthday party to attend and we knew they would sleep through the time we were gone and we didn't have to worry about any incidents.
When we got back we geared up for game time (Jason's a huge ND college football fan) and Darwin let Friday borrow her bandana so everyone could be dressed appropriately for the game.

Because game time is a serious event, I gave the girls their bones so they could keep busy.

Friday, like a normal dog, devoured her bone.  Darwin, like the princess she is took her sweet little time eating hers.  When Friday was done with hers, she went over to see how Darwin was doing.  Darwin was finished and got up and came in, but as soon as Friday walked over to see how Darwin did on her bone, Darwin started whining because Friday had her bone.  I tried to give Darwin Friday's bone, but she was not interested.  She wanted her bone back.  Finally Darwin found an old bone and settled down with it, while Friday finished off Darwin's original bone.

The highlight of the night was when Friday was done gnawing on her bones and got up with the bandana flipped up over her head.

Day two of slumber party weekend coming up!

{01oct2010: flashback Friday}

Can you believe it's already October?!  This year is flying by!
Darwin is hosting her first slumber party this weekend.  Her bff Friday is staying with us a couple of days.  
Friday was not a fan of tiny puppy Darwin.  We tried to hold an introductory meeting when Darwin was a month old to no avail.

Now that Darwin's older (and bigger) Friday doesn't reel away from her, but still is unsure of Darwin's crazy puppy antics.  It's understandable because really, could you see Hilary Clinton and Paris Hilton partying together?