Betel is 11 weeks, Orion is 9 weeks

News from this week:
Betel is 21.5 pounds
Orion is 19 pounds
Betel is clinging to his slim lead in the weight race.

Betel and Odin are playing the run-around game a lot more than the wrestle-on-the-ground game. Betel and Orion are playing well too.

I switched to mornings in the room with the door propped open to the cat cage, and afternoons in the backyard with Odin. So far it is going well. I can't tell how much they're barking during the day. I hope not much, though it would be hard to hear them over the neighbor boy's bb gun and skateboarding on his deck.

Mercury's leg is finally looking better. The swelling went down this morning. It is still sore and there is some gross proud flesh, but he is moving better. One of the mini Italian donkeys got out in his pasture tonight, and Alice's mom and I had to herd him back in. Our secret? Oats and Mercury's carrot.

Sam came down Saturday night and helped me with Mercury and had an interview. While she was here, Odin did one of his funniest things ever. (Used human toothpaste - just kidding!) He saw Kevin inside, from the back yard, and went running to see him, and slammed right into the screen door. He left an imprint from his nose, looked dazed, and then was very, very embarassed. It didn't help that I was falling over laughing, and Kevin and Sam were laughing a whole lot too.

We went on a pet-food shopping bonanza this weekend. Costco was a bag of dog food, cat food, and a box of dog biscuits. PetCo was the expensive puppy food, "solid gold" dog food, halters, a split leash, bigger bowls, and some other miscellaneous stuff (a cat brush, a finger toothbrush, little dog nail clippers). I had a 10% coupon at PetCo, which was cool.

Betel is better about sitting for his food, but he gets too excited about a dog biscuit. Orion I still have to push on his butt. They are a teeny bit better about eating out of their own bowls, but they still try to run back and forth. Orion peed on his dog bed last night, after he had been outside 6 hours or so.

It's been hot, and I have to repeat: having a fenced backyard and a trained big dog brother is making this a LOT easier. And I think it is definitely good to have the two of them. In some ways, it is more work, but they tire each other out, and they compete to be on my lap, so they are not so bonded to each other they don't care about humans.

And the photos: Orion looking handsome; Betel's ears are funny; Kevin cleared the rest of the ivy around these trees this weekend, and the closer tree is the dead one that is going to be removed someday in the not too distant future.