As requested...an update on the kids

Since I resumed blogging, a few faithful readers from years ago have asked about Sheldon and Duncan. So today, as requested here is a quick update on the kids.

Sheldon and Duncan have grown into fine adult poodles, well mannered, smart as heck and total charmers. Like any self-respecting Standard Poodle, they enjoy their multiple residences, and travel effortlessly between Palm Springs, Burbank and the Los Angeles area. Duncan is as mischievous as ever, but is a very sweet natured boy. Sheldon is an absolute lamb...except when he torments his brother and chases him around the house, running, bobbing and weaving between tables, side chairs and plants like total maniacs.

All joking aside, Sheldon and Duncan are best pals and love being together. They go hiking in the foothills, and also love the bike/pedestrian jogging paths to take in all the sights.

Having standard poodles in your home is  like having a housemate. They are not quite the same as having just any pet. They view humans as their equals (and I'm OK with that). They are thinkers--even listen to conversations and respond/react in their own manner. I joke with some of my human friends that I don't need to watch TV or read because these two keep me plenty amused. One of my famous friends recently remarked to me: "I think Sheldon is listening to our conversation." (As we chatted on the sofa, Sheldon was seated next to us listening and eventually turned his head away). I replied to my famous friend, "Of course Sheldon is listening, but I can tell he is bored by you now." At that exact moment, Duncan who was laying on the floor exhaled deeply and sighed, making a loud groaning noise. My famous friend joked that thankfully Sheldon and Duncan didn't buy movie tickets. 

The kids are quite well, even if the are bored by celebrities, they find plenty of entertainment in their dad everyday.

The Adventures of Sheldon & Duncan: Photos with Santa

Our Photo with Santa at Petco

Today I brought Duncan and Sheldon to the Petco store in Palm Springs to have their photo taken with Santa. From the moment they saw the front door of Petco, they were excited...they know that means good stuff for them! We made our way to the area where Santa was, conveniently in the Natural Balance food section, which is what they eat, of course :-) Duncan was eyeing the Duck and Potato dog food rolls, which he **loves** as a snack in between meals. Fortunately I got them both to sit like good boys, long enough to snap a few photos. 

Sheldon Gryffindor drives to Petco

After the photos, Sheldon used his own Twitter account 'SheldonGryffin' to upload and share his photo with Santa. He has been building a nice base of followers. We also posted the photo on Petco's Facebook page, as they were running a photo contest. As you might imagine, Sheldon is quite the social poodle, and loves to go for rides around Palm Springs. You can tell how much fun he was having by the smile on his face in this photo above. It was a great way to get into the Christmas spirit, so "thanks" Petco, for hosting the "Photos with Santa" event today!

The Adventures of Sheldon & Duncan: Before & After The Groomer

Before the Groomer Visit

The Adventures of Sheldon and Duncan continue once again with a fresh installment. It was a perfect Autumn morning in Palm Springs, bright sunshine, yet cool enough to run around in the yard like total maniacs. Duncan raced out the door to go potty, Sheldon just inches behind. Their usual spot for morning relief was waiting as always. Duncan's favorite lamp post received its daily does of yellow rain. Sheldon was still searching for just the right spot. There was no time to dawdle. I had things to do and places to go, but I know better than to rush Sheldon Gryffindor. All in his own sweet time. Something in the pencil tree caught my eye, so my attention was diverted from the poodles for a few moments. Suddenly both of them came charging around the corner smiling broadly.


I asked them both, in my best pitch if they wanted to go the grooming salon today. Their ears perked up as they cocked their heads in unison. Tails began to wag hurriedly, as they made their way back into the house. Just the jingling of my keys was all that was necessary to rally them to the front door- they were ready to head out. They climbed into the car and waiting impatiently- stomping their front feet in expectation of a day of fun and frolicking at the groomer's with all the other dogs. Take a look at the photo of them above, neither were too shaggy, but both needed a good brush and fluff. When we arrived at the salon, they quickly disappeared behind the counter and quickly forgot all about me, opting instead for their canine buddies.

riding home after the groomer's

After work that day I returned home to pick them up from the salon. I waited to hear a report card from Pat, the salon owner. Pat loves both Duncan and Sheldon, she's a poodle person anyway. She proceeded to inform me that Duncan spent most of the day sitting on her lap or table platform as she groomed other dogs. He likes to be the center of attention, so that was a good place to be I suppose. She told me Duncan even knew to stand up when smaller dogs needed to walk past him, the really tiny dogs were able to walk underneath him as he stood up, then returning to a seated position once he saw the small dogs in place. 

After the Groomers, all clean & fluffy!

They were both thrilled to see me when I walked in, which always makes me feel better than the abandonment when I drop them off. They were supercharged--feeling clean, fresh and fluffed, and they knew it. Sheldon in particular paused to admire himself when he passed by the mirror. That dog has quite a personality. Maybe that's why he has his own Twitter account @SheldonGryffin . 

Back home, they charged into the house, where Owen scattered as he heard his brothers galloping in the foyer. Everything was back to normal at home, once again.

The Future is Here with Skype

I've always considered myself somewhat of an "early adopter" of new technology and such. I like to try things to see how nifty they are, or more important, if they offer more convenience. Skype is one such technology service. I've been using Skype for years. It is an amazing service that allows people to communicate easily for free via the internet. It is sort of like Star Trek or the Jetsons. In my prior career I had a remote employee who lived in another state. I used Skype to "meet" with that person every day, and would even bring my laptop to other meetings so the remote person could be part of meetings in our main office.

But Skype also comes in handy for private use. I use it to talk to my nieces who live 3,000 miles away. Being so young, it is nice to be able to see them as they grow and develop. When I visited the Harry Potter Wizarding World in Orlando, FL recently, I used Skype on my iPhone to call my niece and give them a live, inside tour of the park. It was a real hit with them! 

Since I travel a fair amount I use Skype to stay in touch with the goings-on back in Palm Springs. Namely, the poodles. I log into Skype from either my laptop of iPhone and, and the both Sheldon and Duncan recognize the sound of the Skype "ring". While in Asia recently, I called home to chat, and while Sheldon and Duncan were each on Skype, I took a snapshot of the Skype window. Here are the photos of each one on Skype:

As you can see, they know enough to come to the laptop screen to look at me. The funny thing is watching them sniff the air, in the direction of my face on the screen. Dogs use their sense of smell more than just sight- so despite hearing my voice, and seeing my face, they instinctively want to detect me by my scent as well. Sheldon has been known to look behind the laptop screen, to see if I am there, which if awfully cute, don't you think? It makes me happy to be able to see the kids and talk to them. So for that alone, Skype has become a valuable communication tool in this age. What about you? Do you use Skype much?

The Adventures of Sheldon & Duncan: Time to be Neutered

The time finally arrived. Young Duncan Diggory went to the vet for a procedure. We waited much longer than we did for Sheldon, to see how big he would get. Turns out, Duncan is bit longer and taller than Mr Sheldon but he is skinny as a rail, so in all just five pounds heavier. The Adventures of Sheldon & Duncan continue, as it was Time to be Neutered. Considering the procedure, Duncan handled himself rather well. He came home all groggy and woozy, wearing the e-collar cone on his head, to prevent him from licking the stitches. Oddly enough, Mr Sheldon was initially spooked by his brother's cone. Quite characteristically, Sheldon growled at Duncan when he approached, and would run away. Sometimes Sheldon would stand around the corner and watch nervously to see if Duncan was in the area. To show Sheldon it was still just his brother, I removed the cone for a few hours so he could "see" that it was OK and that Duncan hadn't turned into some kind of scary monster. Fortunately that seemed to do the trick, and soon they were back to their normal playful poodle selves. Before I went to work this morning, the boys sat in the kitchen, politely asking for a treat. They seemed to deserve a Tillman Treat, don't you think? Well, I thought so anyway.

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The Adventures of Sheldon & Duncan: Out for Exercise

It has been awhile since I've written of The Adventures of Sheldon & Duncan, and then yesterday I found inspiration for a new episode. The weather forecast for Southern California was menacing; threats of rains, wind and record cold temperatures. I envisioned a weekend being locked inside with the poodles unable to go out to play. Being young, large and energetic dogs, they need their daily exercise. Normally they go out several times per day to play- and burn off some steam. With the forecast of a long rainy weekend I decided to take them out a few times before the rains arrived. They love going for walks, especially when we get to one particular spot where it is safe to let them off-leash to run. Here is a short video clip of them out for exercise:

As you saw from this video, standard poodles are pretty good athletes. They love to run at high speeds and chase each other, taking turns at who leads in the game. It warms my heart to see them happy like this, enjoying their free time. It also serves as a reminder that some breeds need to run, and if paired with a home lifestyle that cannot offer that outlet, dogs can become unhappy and do naughty things indoors. So there is my PSA to urge folks to do your research on the needs of a breed before bringing one into your home. Meanwhile, both Sheldon and Duncan had another adventure while out for exercise. As it turned out, the rain was short-lived in the desert, and Palm Springs was spared most of the wintry-weather that fell on Southern California. So in the end, the poodles had access to their usual exercise adventure, repeated just like this video above. Indeed, it is good to be a poodle in my home.

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The Adventures of Sheldon and Duncan: The Christmas Portrait

For those of you with pets in your home, no doubt you will appreciate this post. As we're in the final stretch of the Christmas holiday week, I felt it was time to post this holiday photo. It was supposed to be better than it turned out, but the challenge is the subjects of the photo. This brings me to another installment of The Adventures of Sheldon and Duncan: The Christmas Portrait. I am a bit of a traditionalist with things like holiday photos and like everything just so. Both poodles went to the grooming salon for a bath, brush and fluff. Even Owen was clean, fluffy and ready for his close-up. I set the stage with a roaring fire, switched on the Christmas tree lights, and had the lighting just so. I positioned the kids in front of the tree, and on cue, Owen sauntered over to the fireplace and sat on the hearth next to his brothers. 

Sheldon sat up especially straight- he always tries very hard to please- so much so that he had a serious expression on his face. Duncan, on the other hand was smiling non-stop, and looking around. There I stood, giving all sorts of instructions and commands to the three of them, as if they actually understood my direction. They looked left. They looked right. They switched places. I kept clicking away, hoping for the one perfect photo. After a few minutes they became impatient, and just wanted a break. I insisted we try a few more shots. I could see tails wagging excessively, as if they had all they could do to hold back their excitement. 

Then the damn burst. Duncan couldn't hold it in any longer; he darted toward me, tail wagging, smiling broadly. "No-no, Duncan, SIT, SIT" I shouted. He looked at me bewildered. Sheldon remained sitting, but noticeably perturbed by his brothers outburst of emotion. Owen became squirmy and began grooming himself. I fetched some semi-moist dog treats to tempt them into submission. Both dogs were repositioned yet again, and while holding a treat in one hand I began snapping photos. Then the clock chimed- Duncan turned his head. Then an airplane flew overhead- Sheldon looked out the window. It was hopeless. I reviewed the photos captured thus far. Several were blurry. Several were just plain awful. One good one didn't have the kitty in it. One had all three of them, but no one was looking at the camera. ::sigh::

I looked back at my three children and realized they are the best pets for which a guy could ever ask. I smiled at them and called them to me. They were overjoyed with the calling and bounded toward me, licking my face in appreciation. It was then, at that moment I felt the Christmas Spirit. All was well, regardless of who was looking at the camera. We are a family, sharing our own Christmas joy.
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Adventures of Sheldon & Duncan: Going for a Ride

After a long Asian World Tour business trip overseas, it was so good to be back home again in Palm Springs. The poodles were so excited to see me; even the kitty was extra affectionate and had quite a bit to say actually. I listened intently as Owen filled me in on the past few weeks, his big orange eyes glistened, staring knowingly into my own eyes. Early yesterday morning we decided to go out for breakfast. The poodles looked at me as if to say, "And where do you think you're going?". Immediately that changed things. We decided to go to Ruby's Diner, on Palm Canyon Drive downtown. They have patio seating outside, which means the poodles can come along. Thus, a new chapter of The Adventures of Sheldon and Duncan came to life. Both poodles are keen on going for rides in the car, in fact they go to work daily so they know the drill. Yesterday was different, and they knew it. From the moment I said "Do you want to go to Ruby's?" they perked up and ran to the front door, waiting impatiently. I collected their leads, prompting them to sit up straight, lifting their heads high. With noses pointed upward, I had easy access to clip each lead to their collars. With the sound of the "CLICK" they were released from their self-imposed stance, smiling and excited about the impending trip out of the house together. As the front door opened they made mad dash through the front courtyard and stood side by side at the gate, looking back at me, apparently moving much to slow for their preference. As I opened the car door they jumped in the back seat together, ready to go for a ride.

Both Sheldon and Duncan enjoy going for a ride, but they like being in the convertible even more. They sit up straight and look around, enjoying the view; noses sniffing wildly as they encounter all sorts of things whizzing by.

Driving down Palm Canyon Drive, their heads were looking in opposite directions, pedestrians, stores, palm trees, it was all so exciting. As other cars would crawl past, they would see the poodles in the convertible, point and smile, sometimes saying hello to the poodles. Sheldon and Duncan knew they were being watched. In fact they love the attention. It isn't easy being Rock Star Poodles on Parade.

I glanced back, in the side view mirror and saw Sheldon's reflection. His ears and hair were flowing in the gentle breeze as the car was gliding forward. Sheldon was smiling, happy as can be. To them, The Adventures of Sheldon and Duncan: Going for a Ride were about as good as life gets. I couldn't agree more.
-Rick Rockhill

Adventures of Sheldon & Duncan: The Floor Plant Monstrosity

It's been awhile since I've written about the antics of the poodles. Until now. Welcome to The Adventures of Sheldon & Duncan: The Floor Plant Monstrosity. We went out for a few hours and returned home to find two stalks on one of our floor plants had been chewed down to stubs.

We walked over to the sofa and found the following evidence:

and then I looked to the side chair and saw more carnage:

The poor plant had been gnawed off and left for dead...

above: Can you guess who is the guilty party in this monstrosity?
-Rick Rockhill

The Adventures of Sheldon & Duncan: The Cracker Calamity

The past few days I've been quite busy entertaining at home. Nothing huge, but a few nights in a row I hosted wine and cheese type thingies for friends and business associates. Needless to say I went through the house each day cleaned, tidied up and made sure everything was immaculate. After Friday's reception, I wrapped up the remaining cheeses, veggies and placed them back in the refrigerator. The miscellaneous crackers seemed best in a gallon zip lock bag, to keep them fresh for the next night when I was expecting another group of folks for wine and cheese once again. Saturday afternoon I ran a few errands-taking me out of the house for an hour or two at most. When I returned home I discovered what shall henceforth be known as The Cracker Calamity. No doubt you recall other such adventures, such as The Spanish Moss Incident, The Paper Towel Massacre, The Hapless Happenstance, or even The Mud Bath Muddle.

The poodles were trying to greet me, bouncing all over the place- that is until I gazed upon the sofa, which was covered with crumbs of crackers. It seems that I forgot to "poodle proof" the kitchen before I left, and one of them managed to pull the gallon zip lock bag of crackers off the counter and proceeded to shred the bag to get to the crackers. I yelled loudly at Sheldon and Duncan as I stood in front of the sofa. They knew they were in trouble, and sheepishly walked over to the sofa with their heads hung low. I spoke loudly and firmly, addressing them with the rhetorical question: "WHO DID THIS?". Without missing a beat, Duncan stepped forward and sat down in front of the sofa and looked up at me. Sheldon stayed far behind his younger brother. I could almost hear Sheldon thinking "This one is all yours Duncan, don't get me involved". Owen, the kitty sat even further away, and he was thinking: "I told you, I told you not to touch those crackers." As I inspected the shredded plastic bag, I realized most of the crackers were still in the bag. I guess they didn't care for the crackers...of course they must have been dry and flavorless to the poodles!

above: its difficult to see it in this photo, but there were cracker crumbs all over the floor as well..

above: Duncan and Sheldon stared at the evil vacuum cleaner as it whirred and hummed. Owen remained safely under the bar stool where errant machines with suction could do no harm to furry little kitties. In not time at all, The Cracker Calamity of 2010 was but a distant memory.

The Adventures of Sheldon and Duncan: The Mud Bath Muddle

Yesterday all three kids went to the grooming salon for a much needed bath, haircut and mani-pedi. They enjoy going to the day spa, its fun to be with other dogs (and cats), enjoy a soothing massage and generally be pampered. Surprisingly, Owen doesn't mind going at all. His groomer, Ruthie loves to groom cats and he can sense it. He just sits there on her table and doesn't even try to move or run away. She just has a way with cats I suppose. Anyway, by the time they all returned home, they had all sorts of pent up energy. The first order of business was to inspect the house, afterall, they had been away for six hours or so and who knows what may have changed. In fact the house was infinitely cleaner, the floor had all been scrubbed, toys cleaned and laundry washed. Sheldon and Duncan decided to go out and play for awhile. And so with Owen watching from various window vantage points, the boys ran laps around the house, galloping and weaving between the rows of palm trees along the west side of the property. Every so often they would stop by the pool to catch their breath, panting like crazy. At one point I peered out and saw little wet foot prints all over the back patio. This couldn't be a good sign. They had just been back from the groomers and were all nice and clean. What could they have gotten into? Well I had forgotten about the sprinklers. Except one of them had gone awry while we were overseas, and it was just causing a little mud bath in one area of the yard. Naturally, the boys found it and thought it was great fun. And so those little wet foot prints along the patio were actually muddy footprints. All I could think about were my clean floors inside the house! We fetched some towels and corralled them both in the front porch. Time for a serious wipe down. They stood, panting and laughing as we carefully cleaned in between their toes, trying to remove the sand and dirt. They really are like little kids at times. It was just another day in the Adventures of Sheldon and Duncan.
-Rick Rockhill

The Adventures of Sheldon & Duncan: A Zen Moment Together

My blog hasn't had a sense of normalcy for awhile. My regular features like the Sunday Art Review, The Saturday Seven and Philatelic Friday have been on temporary hiatus while I have been majorly busy at work. Those features take a fair amount of planning and work to produce. So I thought it was about time for a fresh installment of The Adventures of Sheldon and Duncan. So here goes. I captured A Zen Moment Together, the two boys relaxing by their favorite Chinese room divider at our beach house. To know Sheldon Gryffindor and Duncan Diggory is to know that they rarely have such a quiet moment together. But last night, these two boys seized the moment to actually sit still and enjoy the cool pleasant breeze. After a long hot weekend in the desert, they recognized the difference in the temperature of San Diego compared to Palm Springs. This past Saturday Duncan had his first groom, turning him into a fine young Poodle. He looks so cute, doesn't he? Anyway I thought I'd capture this Zen Moment with the two boys, as it is indeed a rarity. Other than the 18 hours of sleepy-time, the balance of their days are spent running, jumping, rough-housing, playing fetch and Olympic relay races around the house. Earlier on Sunday, back in Palm Springs they staged their own agility course competition bobbing and weaving in between our long row of palm trees along the west side of our property. I never knew Poodles could run so fast. Anyway it was so nice to see the boys relaxing last night that I just HAD to snap this photo. Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you have a great week.
-Rick Rockhill

It's Duncan's Turn for Swimming Lessons

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about Sheldon's Swimming lessons. It's been hot as blazes here in Palm Springs, so a mid-day dip in the pool is just the trick to keep cool. After watching his big brother Sheldon demonstrate his keen water skills, our Young Duncan took his first real swim lesson this past weekend. Duncan has been interested in the pool from the moment he first saw it. Once I had cooled off and done my laps, Duncan approached the edge, signalling his interest to splash around. Understandably, taking the first step was the most difficult. John held him on the top step, handing Duncan to me as we waded further out into the pool. I held Duncan as he looked around, trying to take it all in.

above: after a bit of coaching and kisses on the forehead, I gradually let go of Duncan, allowing him to swim on his own...

above: For 11 weeks old, Duncan was a little champ in the pool! His little webbed toes paddled gracefully, making his way around the shallow end of the pool. It was a brief swim lesson, maybe 10 minutes or so, but just enough to give him confidence and knowledge on how to make his way out of the pool on his own , if necessary.

above: Duncan dripping wet after swimming in the pool. He spent the next half hour drying off outside on the patio with me.

above: With our desert climate being hot and dry, Duncan dried off in no time at all. We sat together on the glider chair, enjoying the indirect sun under the patio shade structure. Duncan was a happy little puppy, and ready for a treat.

-Rick Rockhill

The Adventures of Sheldon and Duncan

What's better than one poodle going out for an adventure? How about TWO poodles going out for an adventure? Thus begins a new periodic series for the blog, The Adventures of Sheldon and Duncan. Think of it as the dynamic duo, the wonder twins, the double act...well you get the picture. The day started out with Sheldon and Duncan going for a ride. Sheldon of course is an old pro, and makes the journey back and forth between Palm Springs and San Diego twice a week. It was his job to show his new little brother the ropes, as it were. In fact, in this photo, we actually still had a little rope on Duncan, as we were just on our way to the pet store to buy a lead. Duncan did very well in the car, and was fearless as he gazed out the window watching palm trees whizz by as we drove down Palm Canyon Drive...

above: we stopped for a bite to eat at Ruby's Diner and sat on the patio. Duncan and Sheldon sat patiently, and flirted with the waitress. She remembered Sheldon from when he went to Ruby's as a puppy too, just last year.

above: Next up was a trip to Pet Co to buy all sorts of puppy supplies. Duncan got a new collar and lead, organic shampoo, holistic treats and of course, all natural food! Here we are in front of the Quick Tag machine, making new ID tags for both kids. They waited semi-patiently as the giant machine made whirring and grinding noises as it engraved the tags on the spot.

above: Back home, the kids decided it was time to play. Owen joined in the fun and played well with Duncan, who is about the same size! It was a fun time for all. I just love how they all get along so well. Now if only I could train them do chores...

-Rick Rockhill