Baby Duke

I was contacted by Duke's breeder the other day because we had mentioned we wanted to get a second puppy. We really wanted to get another puppy from the same mother (River Run Tape, AKA Brownie) and father (There's Basil in My Coffee <-- I love his call name!). Unfortunately the litter would be born and ready to be picked up right before our wedding. We decided it would be unfair for a new puppy to throw him/her into a wedding mess, so we're going to wait until next year when they breed again.

So it got me thinking about when we first got Duke and decided to put our deposit down, etc etc, so I went back and found his "baby" photos that the breeder sent us.

First photo EVER of the Dukemister. Not a very good picture, we were uncertain so we asked her to send us some more.

Oh Dukey, clearly camera shy. His poor tail down turned.

He looks like a clown! This is when I fell in love with him. He's a charmer.

If you look closely, he's sticking his tongue out.

Here's one I took with my cell phone. He was so tiny! Only seven weeks old. What a babe.

Here is him in my lap in the car. He just wanted to cuddle.

Pshh, what a LONG day. He mostly slept in the car, right in my lap.

Oaks Dog Park

Took Mr. Duke to the dog park over the weekend to tire him out. Fiance and I decided we wanted to go dancing Saturday night, and the only way to do that is to make sure we have one tired pup so he doesn't bark at night in the apartment. Success!

Anyway, we took him to the Oaks Dog Park. We figured it would end up somewhat messy and dirty because the weather went from the 20's up to the mid 50's in two days. We arrived to find a giant fenced in mud pit. Since we already drove there, and we had towels in the trunk, we decided to let Duke play.

Fiance says that Duke is the first dog he's ever owned that plays fetch! And Duke does, he really runs after it and brings it back, no questions asked.

Here he is fetching. Notice the shinny ground and his wet chest. This was only the beginning of the mess.

We met a JUG at the dog park. His name was Jack and he was about 6 months old. His legs were SO much shorter than Dukes so when they'd chase after the tennis ball, Jack couldn't even begin to keep up.

I think this is the only picture where Duke paid any attention to Jack. Poor little Jack, all he wanted to do was play and Duke acted like he wasn't even there.

Here is a somewhat close up of Duke COVERED in mud. See it flying off his butt?

This is my favorite photo from the dog park. Not sure why, but I think it's because Duke looks so happy... or the fact he completely missed the ball. Or his tail is so curled and sticking out. Or he only has like, one foot on the ground....

Duke Meets the Toddler

Duke met his first toddler today.

This is Vincent. He is 16 months. It was really cute because he could say "Duke," but he said it more like, "Dooooooke." It was really cute.

Duke investigates Vincent. He was quite uncertain about a very small person at first, but got used to him quickly and followed him around.

Vincent put himself in the dog cage. I swear he was smiling in this photo and reaching for the camera even if you can't really see his face. I swear.

Duke was concerned the Vincent was in Dinoco's house. He kept running circles around the cage. Vincent wouldn't let anyone in the cage with him.

And since Duke didn't really know what to think so he came to see me! He was super concerned.

He ended up being really really really good even when Vincent took his purple ball. He played fetch with Vincent and was super gentle. it was cute.