Dylan's World is Shrinking

Today Dee Dee is 14 weeks old. So since we've adopted her she has doubled her age, more than doubled her weight, lost almost half her baby teeth, and has gotten noticeably taller. We don't know exactly how much taller as we failed to measure her when we first got her but just look at these two pictures taken about 5 weeks apart.

There's no question our little girl is growing up. But this past week a life changing event happened, well, at least for Dylan.

Dee Dee mastered jumping on and off the sofa in the salon. So now Dylan is down one safe haven from his most irritating crew mate.

 

Fortunately, she is still unable to master the 4 steep steps going between the salon and pilothouse which allows him to still escape up or down when she becomes too much.

And when we are underway, the pilothouse settee is too high so she must be content with the step below. But let's be honest. At this rate she'll be mastering both of those in no time. Sorry, Dylan.

You might wonder why this matters to our sweet boy Dylan. Well, trust us there's a devil in that little girl. Oh, we know she looks sweet. She's a huge draw on the docks as other boaters coo and she puts on quite a cute puppy show. But we have proof. Tell me you don't see the devil in those eyes.

 

Poor Dylan...

Finally Underway!

The Erie Canal finally opened on Wednesday morning. We decided to wait until Friday to leave Shady Harbor Marina to let the logjam of boats move on ahead. We are planning on lingering in the canal for almost a month so didn't feel any need to hurry.

On Friday morning Dee Dee prepared for her first real cruising day. She'd been "underway" only between our slip and the fuel dock. On Thursday evening we moved to the fuel dock to be pumped out and ready to leave early the next morning before the marina opened. Friday would be a 20 mile cruise with one major locking taking about 4 hours.

I tried and failed to mimic Dylan's award winning photo from 2007 (see Dylan's photo here). It was the fault of the light and the photographer rather than the puppy. But I still think she looks pretty nautical.

Dylan settled in like the old pro that he is with over 8,000 nautical miles under his harness.

Dee Dee took it all in stride. The day was bloody hot, so Dee Dee sought out the cool spot. First she tried the settee.

Then she tried the step just just below the settee. What's that cardboard enclosure, you ask? It's a Dee Dee barrier around her daddy's computer cords which are very appealing to a puppy.

Dylan showed her how to schmooze daddy while he ate his breakfast underway.

Then she took up Dylan's favorite spot at the helm under her daddy's feet.

She did a terrific job helping daddy do the first engine room check. If you look closely you can see the engine room hatch opened along the right side.

As the day grew hotter she moved outside choosing one of Dyna's favorite spots, legs out, belly on the cool deck.

But of course there was much going on in the pilothouse requiring occasional inspection.

We pulled into Waterford, NY before noon, found 50 amp power, and turned on the AC for our hardworking crew. Dee Dee took a well deserved nap, after all, being a crew member is hard work.

Following an additional day at Waterford, we'll leave on Sunday starting across the Erie Canal through the Flight of Locks, a series of 5 locks that will bring us up 170 feet, plus an additional 4 locks to bring us to Amsterdam, NY. It will be a long day. Thankfully, the heatwave has finally broken.

We look forward to new places, new people, and new experiences. With a crew like this, we're ready for some adventure.

Let the Games Begin

Years ago I learned a trick from my sister-in-law about how to keep small children occupied. She would rotate their toys. She'd take some, put them away, bring out others for a time, and then go back to ones from before. It was interesting to see how bringing out an "old" toy they hadn't seen in a bit made it new and interesting. I've found the same trick works very well with puppies.

We have a small hassock onboard that long ago became a storage place for dog toys. These past few weeks I have been digging into the hassock to rotate around a toy or two every few days. It's helped to keep Dee Dee's very short attention span occupied.

One of the toys she particularly likes is an old Nylabone left from Dylan's younger years. He lost interest years ago and it fell to the bottom of the hassock. At least, until now.

It seems that Dee Dee's new found interest in this toy has made it Dylan's favorite. You see, he can be a brat sometimes too.

So he sneaks into her crate and grabs it jumping up on the settee where she cannot yet reach him. Then the games begin.

First, she notices.

 Then she wants it.

She makes her move.

Dylan counters.

She goes in again.

Another dodge by Dylan.

She plays it coy.

Ultimately, the puppy always wins.

Hey, We Have a Puppy...

Many of you have been asking for more pictures of "the puppy." It's not that we haven't been taking dozens (hundreds?). It's just that she's been keeping us busy!

The aCappella crew is still "stuck" at Shady Harbor Marina waiting for the Erie Canal to open. It was scheduled to do just that early last week when Mother Nature threw another storm at the canal pouring down inches of rain on the already soaked towns. We've seen pictures of the destruction at some of the towns along the Erie Canal. So we're certainly not complaining about being stuck at a lovely marina with a nice restaurant and bar, swimming pool, Adirondack chairs under shady trees, and lots of other boaters to share docktails, potlucks, and boating stories. If we get bored, we can always watch the debris float by on the river.

It has allowed us to develop a routine for our latest crew addition, who slept until 6:30 the past two mornings! Training her is proving to be fairly easy as she is "food motivated." Seriously! She makes Dylan look like a picky toddler. She literally tries to climb the galley cabinets when her food is being prepared. Have a treat in your hand? You don't even have to say "sit."

When the food is gone she climbs into the dish forcing us to take up the water dish. Yes, she stands in the water dish and scratches at the food dish or stands in the food dish and splashes in the water dish. She's even taken to sleeping beside her food dish. I guess in case we sneak food in while she's asleep...

She's already added 50% (6 pounds) to her weight and is well on her way to becoming a full fledged member of the crew. She's still working things out with Dylan who is finally showing a bit of teeth when she goes too far. But then he comes back for more, as does she.

In another few weeks she will start losing those sharp baby teeth as well as gain more weight and height. She's already bonding with the Frisbee.

Dylan will have a new playmate in no time. We think maybe we'll keep her. What do you say, Dylan?