Wet dog

Somewhere along the way, someone tossed in a black dog raincoat. It's a bit short and so the elastics pull a little on Spike's hind legs. Other than that, he patiently endures my putting it on and doesn't seem to notice it once we're underway. We did a 1 mile walk about the block and then a bike run (about 2 1/2 miles) in the evening. He got the exposed head and legs thoroughly soaked, so I toweled him off before letting him in the house. He does a hilarious scoot every time we come in from a walk. It's probably a hold-over from his ear infection. He rubs his whole head and body on the entry rug, scootching along every side from top to bottom. We use the word "Scoot", encouraging him to leave any dirt in the entry. He gets a treat when he's done. He also does "Shake" when I wave my hand in front of him. Helps dry him off. Plus, it is amusing to watch!

Spike has finally mastered "do your dooty" (#2). "Go outside" (#1) works everywhere except in our yard. Spike won't even consider "going" along our 100+ foot driveway. We've stood 5 minutes in pouring rain, put him back into the crate, 5 minutes on the driveway, into the crate, etc... for 6 hours one day, and NOTHING. He insists on going to the neighbor across the street or along the walk/run. Luckily the neighbors have an ivy "hedge" near the street that seems unaffected by Spike's hard work.

I emptied and cleaned the entry closet today. Spike claimed his 20+ beanie baby toys (from an $11 Craigslist haul) and had a blast. He put the teddy bear in his crate, and chewed the eyes out of the husky. Mind you, the plastic eyes have to be unscrewed - I don't know how he did it, but I found the eyes beside the toy, in my office. Over a few hours, one by one, Spike hauled the stuffed animals from the entry box to the DR and stacked them on his pile. I had to distract him with "fetch" to reclaim and put them away. He jumped in his crate with the teddy bear and a cod liver oil capsule. He has no hesitation about "go to bed." YAY