Bachelor and the new deck

Ravin is fine once more. It actually took 24 hours for her to recover completely... she would stand with her head at the same level as her back and her neck turned to the right. But she's happy as a lark again.

Recently, I had an email about Butler, the Whoodle pup that is available, expressing concern that he is unable to go up and down stairs. The problem is I live in a single story house and don't have stairs. There are a couple steps from the side porch (ie: deck... my age is showing) but pups aren't usually out in that yard. The "deck" was starting to deteriorate... it is getting up there in years (ahem)... so for Easter, Mothers' Day, my birthday and probably Christmas, the kids gave me a new deck. Of course, they're pretty sure old-timers has set in since I requested it be off the ground enough for stairs. Well, it's got a flight of 5 (AND eventually, I'm going to get a ramp.) The deck isn't finished, but I'm back to letting the dogs go out that door to the yard rather than constricting everyone to using the puppy yard. No-one has had a problem with it except the Goldendoodle "puppy" (he'll be 2 at the end of the month.) First, he stuck his head out the door and saw the new wood and said "No way I'm going out there." The other dogs made a bee-line out the door and up the stairs to investigate their elevated perch. Not Bachelor. I had to put a lead on him and force him to leave the house. Then, I went up and stood on the porch with the other 3 dogs. Bach (rhymes with Batch, without the "t") took 10 minutes to make up his mind that the steps were safe enough for him. Now I'm up there with 4 dogs. Three of them spy a rabbit outside the fence on the other side of the yard and off they go in hot pursuit. Bach goes to the edge of the stairs, quivers and backs away. He watches the others for a couple seconds then rushes the stairs again... but only to the edge. He backs off, looks up to me shouting HELP! with his eyes and is offended that I am laughing at him. I just walked off and left him there... where he remained for most of the time the dogs were outside. Finally, just as I was about to herd everyone indoors, he stepped down ONE step and then jumped the rest of the way... which remains his way of getting off the deck even 4 days later.

This is Bach in his winter coat and clipped short last Spring. He's about to get shaved again since it looks like the really cold weather is over.





By the way, Bachelor is up for adoption, intact or otherwise.

And this is a shot I got of Sage, a neutered Standard Poodle, who also is looking for a home. (And no, he is not living on the moon... a family of moles or something moved into the yard last year and the dogs are still trying to find it.)


Need I say that Sage has no trouble whatsoever with the deck?