Grace O arrived near the end of August. She has been the life of our party, and like Parker and others before her, she is always in the mood for a party!
She has enjoyed her “kiddie pool”, her agility tunnel, her water bucket (upside down on her nose is best), her walks in town and her two-legged companions. She would love to enjoy the cats, but they quickly learned that Grace is not yet cat-cultured. Most Newfs learn their cat obligations in time. We will see.
Grace is an avid digger. Once when I left a hose running in the yard, she tried to build her own swimming pool. She also frequently works on an area of her yard space. She is also a jumper! Humans must stay on their toes keeping her ambitions closer to reality. Then she discovered a running launch move, landing squarely on her feet on top of the bed, with me in it.
She enjoys her toys and knows most by name. She has “Lammie”, an after-show toy for her first show. It had a jute tail that quickly became a separate toy, and that didn’t last long. She plays with the noisy ball that squeaks when it rolls. She enjoys the front half of the green reindeer with peppermint striped feet. This was one of Jade’s favorites. Jade loved dangly toys and parts of toys that were dangly. Sometimes hand-me-down toys are like welcoming presents left by previous generations. She loves the alligator, which has two loud noise-makers, and the green dragon, and some that Banner left: the two wool dryer balls that she had confiscated, the nubby turkey toy that makes good noises and has rope feet, and the Wubba fish. Banner loved the alligator, and I had bought extra, so the one Grace has is the last of the stash. The turkey has been replaced once and will soon be in need of another replacement. Banner wasn’t as engaged with the Wubba fish, but Grace is fascinated with its eyes and lips, and by handling it with hand-art, it can swim around your body, legs and arms, and appear like a fish in water would, with those big eyes engaging her interest. It has a good noise-maker and the extra heavy duty, well-stitched fabric fins make it a good tug toy. Clearly, she keeps us and her entertained.
One of her favorite toys is a piece of unbleached cotton rope, about 6-8′ long. This is a soft toy, and she plays with it softly. She will pull it gently, but is mesmerized when you loop it around her head and nose like a boa. She will wear it comfortably, and it stays on. The frayed end of the knots is a gentle brush for sweeping across her nose.
Another of her favorites is a new bottle. This was a good way to keep giving her “new” things, and at first she would wear all of the fun out of her toys and look for something else. While it was hot, we put ice in a bottle and played with it in the yard. Then she discovered the large, nearly empty bottle of vinegar sitting on the laundry floor. Those are good yard toys too, better than bottles because they bounce without being too excitable and they make a lot of noise. (Yes, there is a theme here. She prefers noise-makers.)
Today we played with the rope, and then in a Flash! her head went up, her tail went up and a smile covered her face, showing those still new pearly whites: she swiped one of the mini-hedgehogs from behind the chair, squeaked it and offered it for play.
Play doesn’t have to involve a toy. Squirming around on her back and making garbled pirate growl-noises is fun too, followed by a sudden race in one direction or another, or into your lap if you aren’t paying enough attention. And if you get in the mood to snuggle, and she gets bored, or she just wants to play rowdy, she will unleash some pirate on you!
She is not short on toy imagination, and she is beginning to learn some gentler ways of interacting. At now 6 months old, I don’t think there is any risk that the Mighty Pirate is growing up too fast, and we aren’t in any hurry. She keeps developing and learning. She has learned that some of the metal drain covers on sidewalks rock, and those must be jumped with ample clearance. Others that don’t rock are no big deal. She is getting a lot of experience with loud noises from cars, motorcycles and fire trucks and ambulances. She likes to walk at the park or around the square, and she loves being greeted by strangers. She is always on the lookout for the next hug opportunity. In class, she is finally beginning to watch the judge after a down and back. Originally, she wanted to do a friendly mugging. And showing her bite is less of a battle
I’ve been talking with her about Christmas and the naughty list. Maybe she’s been factoring that into her thoughts. And speaking of Christmas, we are only two toys into the shopping season. One is the large hedgehog, and one is a Zhu-zhu fish. The Zhu-zhu hamsters were a big hit with Parker and Jade. The fish is colorful and will hopefully give her some good entertainment.
Hoping that Santa is good to all Newfs this year and their companions and owners, and that Christmas will bring treasured memories for all.