Luna, Luna, Pumpkin Eater

I was on my way home from work when I received a frantic phone call from Mike who had just walked in to the house.  "Is pumpkin bad for dogs?!"

Too cute to get in trouble.

"What happened?" I asked.  "She ate those little pumpkins you had on the tv stand.  Do I need to call a vet?"  Thankfully, I knew that pumpkin was not on the "Do Not Eat" list for dogs.  I had done a lot of research on dog digestive remedies when we first adopted Luna.  Canned pumpkin was frequently suggested for dogs with diarrhea and constipation.  I wasn't sure about eating a whole pumpkin (granted they were the small version).  Would the shell, seeds, and stem be ok?

After reassuring Mike that pumpkin is ok for dogs to eat, I suggested he look online to see what we could expect from Luna eating an entire pumpkin.  The results suggested that the pumpkin would either plug her up or keep her going.  In either case, she'd be fine.

We kept a watchful eye on Luna to make sure everything passed without any problems.  While I was frustrated at losing two pumpkins to Luna's silly antics, I was glad that this was a situation of no harm, no foul.  Usually we spend the evenings asking Luna "Who's a good girl?" to which we reply "You are!" as we pet her.  After the pumpkin incident we would ask her "Who's a good girl?" out of habit, but we had to change the answer to "Not you!"

Just three left.

Toys!

Luna has really started to enjoy toys.  It's taken awhile for her to grasp the concept of how to play with toys since she hasn't had other dogs around to show her how.  For awhile, she only liked stuffed animal toys with squeakers.  Now, her toy chest has expanded to tennis balls, puzzle balls, and sticks.

Sticks? Yep.  She's figured out that tug is a great new game.  The other day we took Luna to Mike's family's house to run around the backyard.  Over the last few play sessions she has become a little more mouthy than usual.  I don't want to yell at her since it has taken so long for her to feel comfortable enough to play enthusiastically, but I don't want her to develop bad habits.  I picked up a stick to direct her biting to a more appropriate item.  Within a few minutes she and I were playing tug!  Despite the taste of bark in her mouth, Luna loved the new game.  I'm definitely going to need to get a few rope for us to play tug in the house.

Luna with her collection.

I've been taking some videos of Luna playing, but they never come out quite right.  I hope to capture a good video soon so I can show you all how much fun she's having.

Hanging with the puppy

What a view.

On Monday I had the day off from work (yay!), I had one of my graduate classes that night so it wasn't a complete day off. Luna and I decided to enjoy the sun and cold by going for a walk around the lake. We saw fishermen, squirrels, other dogs, and a lot of beautiful fall foliage. It was nice to spend some time hanging with Luna.

Checking out the fishermen

Is that a squirrel?

Bath Time

"Why are you trying to get me into the bathroom?  You're not trying to give me a bath are you?"

Are there any dogs out there that actually enjoy bath time?  If so, I haven't met them.  At best, I've been lucky to have dogs that tolerate bath time.  Eris used to take on the Eeyore personality of just looking pathetic throughout the whole experience.  Luna has really mastered that look in combination with her Bambi eyes.  The good news is, Luna has stopped trying to escape (all the time) and now just stands (mostly) still while I move as quickly as possible.

Come for the treats, stay for the bath.

"Can I please come out?"

Towel drying.