jr ring

Last weekend our Aunty and Uncle from Thousand Oaks, CA stopped by on their way to Lodi and brought our mini Aussie puppy a present - the JR Ring.  Of course, Dash had a "toygasm".

At first Papa and I said, "Uh oh.  Dash will chew through this toy overnight!"  Thankfully, we were wrong.  We've had it for almost five days now and it is still surviving.  My favorite thing about it is the disc shape.  Dash and I have spent the last few nights playing catch with it, and I think it's really helping him to master the concept of catching the disc in mid air (rather than letting it roll along the ground first).  I'm guessing it's because the toy is soft and he can catch it in his mouth without knocking his teeth against it.

Once in a while he catches the toy flipped upwards so it covers his eyes, which is so adorable when he walks around blinded!  For some reason he prefers to catch it using the hole in the middle, not the outer edge.  Shrug.  At least he's entertained.

Thanks Aunty and Uncle!

toygasms

I have invented a new word for the sounds our mini Aussie makes when he gets a new toy: toygasm.  We keep a basket full of toys on the counter out of his reach, and we regularly switch out the two or three toys he has access to in order to keep things interesting for him.  That is, unless Dash destroys it before it has a chance to go back into the basket and into rotation.

Tonight I started teaching Dash a new trick (beg) so I put all his toys away to prevent any distractions.  When we were done training I decided to bring some different toys out, including this blue teething toy a friend bought for us a long time ago.  Dash was so thrilled that he started rolling around with it in bed and making little whining/crying sounds with it.  He insisted on showing me the "new" toy over and over again because he was so happy and excited to play with it.  Now he is completely exhausted and napping at my feet.

Since our mini Aussie rarely barks, this is one of the only times he makes any noise.  It's not a quite howl, whine, or cry, so I have dubbed it the toygasm.  LOL.

destroyed

This is after one week with Dash...  Our mini Aussie puppy is seriously a chewing machine!!!

rag rope ball

Pet Smart has provided us yet again with another great find: the Petstages rag rope ball!  This is the image from the Petstages website.  It was intended to give Dash something to chew on besides toilet paper and the furniture legs...

 

Mission accomplished!  Our mini Aussie puppy attacked the non-rope pieces first and ripped off the knots at the ends.  He then proceeded to pull out all the stuffing from each piece.  I had to cut one piece off and there are two more hanging on for dear life.  After less then a day, this is what our rag rope ball looks like now:

Like all new toys, Dash is infatuated with this thing.  He carries it with him everywhere!  The best part is that he tosses it around and keeps himself entertained.  This means a few less repetitions of fetch for us.  Whew.

introducing julio

The Biggest Loser is one of our favorite reality shows on television and last season one of the most significant transformations was Julio, on the black team.  So naturally when our roommate gave Dash a new stuffed animal friend that was skinny and black, we named him Julio in honor of the show...

Hi Julio!  You look amazing!

huck and hurley

One of the rules to not getting stoned to death when living in San Francisco is to be environmentally friendly.  I believe our great city still holds the top spot for highest percentage of recycled waste in the nation, which last I heard was close to 50%.  There are also laws forbidding restaurants from using Styrofoam or any stores distributing plastic bags.  I even get looked at funny for not drinking my Starbucks in a personal mug.  (Or it could be because I'm supporting a chain store instead of a local, independent shop owner, but that's another story entirely.)

When deciding what first toys to buy for Dash before his arrival, of course I tried to find the environmentally friendly options.  That's when I came across West Paw Design, a Montana company who believes in having the best for your pet while making as minimal an environmental impact as possible.

Papa Dash and I chose the Huck (the ball) and Hurley (the stick) for Dash.  He couldn't have been happier!  Every toy he received was given a name, so we could tell Dash to bring a specific toy to play with.  Being the out-of-the-box thinkers we are, these toys were named Huck and Hurley.  Hehe.  The other toys in this picture are named Bear, Giraffey, and Knotty.  Can you guess which is which?

Hurley, poor fellow, didn't last long.  He went missing not long after Dash came home.  I still have no idea where he went.

Huck, on the other hand, had a pretty long run as far as puppy toys go.  We had him up until a couple of weeks ago.  He survived many camping trips and park sessions over the past few months, but his ultimate demise was at Baker Beach.  We tossed the ball just too deep into the surf and Dash was too intimidated by the freezing cold waves to run after it.  Papa Dash and I watched it slowly get sucked into wave after wave, then finally drifted out past the shore break into the open water.

Another couple with their dog even stopped to wish us their condolences.  They said they watched the whole thing happen from a distance and couldn't take their eyes off the escaping ball, like how people can't help but look at a car accident.  Then we all stood silent and helpless in a line along the beach, just watching Huck float away...