Fan of Snow, NOT of Ice

Yeah! At last... Maryland get some snow!

We got about 2 inches of snow in Ellicott City on Tuesday, followed without hesitation by about a quarter inch of ice on Wednesday.

Now, to be fair, Avi is quickly becoming a big fan of snow. Other Berner breeders warned us that Berners really "come to life" in the snow and they weren't kidding! He's absolutely hilarious! He jumps around, pouncing the flakes. He races back and forth with little care about being caked in the flaky snow. He tries to eat the snow before it lands on the ground (see picture above).

However, Wednesday was his first experience with ice and Avi was NOT a fan. He was perplexed by the way ice cracks under your feet only after your full weight is on it (this made finding a sure footing very strange for him). By Thursday morning, when the ice has had a chance to really harden, I was able to walk across the surface without it breaking. ...again, not such a good thing for a pup with no traction.

We managed just fine though and, in true Avi-spirit, his head darted down to lick at the ice whenever a new piece cracked at our feet.

Now all of the snow and ice is melting, but there's rumor we'll get more next week. I'm hoping to get some video of Avi's alter-ego, Crazy-Snow-Fan boy.

Until then...

-Matthew

Outgrowing His Toys

We've got a very big dog (at least that's what visitors think... we don't think he's quite big enough yet, hence the cheering every time he weighs in a little heavier than before).

In any case, with a big dog comes powerful teeth, and Avi the Destroyer has torn up his share of toys (sorry Marley... he's also torn up his share of your toys!). It's funny that he's still got his favorites, though. For example, he's had the squeaky tire form the picture above since he was a puppy. It no longer squeaks... and now he can crunch the entire toy tall-ways in his jaws. I'm sure if the rubber shows a single crack, a single sign of weakness Avi can exploit, it will be destroyed. For now, thank goodness for its elasticity!

It's just funny that the simplest toys keep him entertained.

By the way...

Fun Fact: The tire toy has a 4" diameter. Avi is approximately 8 tires tall and 11 tires long (from nose to tail).

Isn't it fun to measure in non-standard units?

-Matthew