Grieving now both for Oka’s death in April and Darcy’s recent re-homing, I am also more keenly recognizing the gifts my dogs have given me—all of them, not just the last two, although Oka and Darcy were the catalysts for … Continue reading
Tag Archives: The Darcy Chronicles
In December of 2000 I brought home an 8-week-old German Shepherd Dog (GSD) whom his breeder had named “Tank” because of his size. Oka, as I named him, was the result of an “accidental” breeding between the German National Champion … Continue reading
In his 16th week of life, Mr. Darcy’s life changed irrevocably and, with the intuition of Dog, he knows it. Tomorrow Deborah leaves for Portland to see her best friend Bonnie through death from ovarian cancer (she’s been fighting it … Continue reading
In his 14th week of life, Darcy began his transition to adolescence. By contrast with a human toddler, everything will happen at once. The next two months may be quite interesting; the next week may be determinative: he’s wearing us … Continue reading
Darcy’s 13th week of life saw another milestone and his first puppy class. He finished the week at 43.5 pounds, a little more than half his expected adult weight of just under 88 pounds. (That being the upper limit of … Continue reading
Mr. Darcy spent his twelfth week of life demonstrating increasing maturity and assurance, which is both good news and bad news. First the good news. His bladder is both more capacious and under better control; the frequency of accidents has … Continue reading
In which we talk about willfulness, intelligence, and covenant loyalty in dogs while Arthur Schopenhauer and Micah the Prophet glare at the impudent dog trainer who has stolen their ideas for his own purposes. I’m firm, you’re stubborn, and he’s … Continue reading
This is Mr. Darcy’s 10th week of life; he’s halfway through the most critical period in a dog’s life. Puppies, like all young predators, are wired for almost frantic, try-everything exploration of their world. (Prey animals have a similar … Continue reading
Our third week with Darcy was the week from hell. It started with a near-death experience; peaked with a brief pyroclastic flow from one of the writers in the household whose work schedule is being eaten by the dog; and … Continue reading
This week’s edition of The Darcy Chronicles is a public service announcement about a distressingly common plant that can kill your dog (or cat), or at least drain your bank account. It is the also reason why we are teaching … Continue reading