Pan's Press Clippings

When the New York Times called for dog photos, I of course started trying to choose the best one of Pan. I was hoping for a top ten placement in a cutest puppy contest, but the Times seemed to feel the need to be more democratic. Still, Pan's photo is there among lots of other (also cute) four-legged friends from around the world.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/07/27/garden/20090727-reader-dog-photos.html#/13041

Things That Go BUMP in the Night

Mama was very silly and forgot her camera this weekend, so there aren't any more pictures of how brave I was when Daddy made me go in the water. I told him to stop throwing the stick there, but he kept at it, so I went in to get it back for him over and over and over again. It's very tiring work.

I had a pretty a fun weekend at Mondsee and Altausee, but it seems the grass in the lakes isn't the same as other grass. It made my tummy hurt a lot, and I guess this made Mama hurt as well because she wasn't very happy when I threw up on Saturday night. I think she's just a little clumsy, but she has turned some funny blue and green colors (obviously not as nice colors as RED) where she hit her head, arm, leg, and pinky finger on the bedside table trying to turn on a light when I got sick.

I told Mama maybe we should take it easy this weekend, plus it's very hot and that makes me sleepy. Hopefully there will be another photo shoot soon so I can show off how very handsome I am.

Lots of slobbery dog kisses,

PAN

Swimming Lessons

Last weekend we visited the Salzkammergut, a lake region just east of Salzburg. It's a beautiful area with dramatic hillsides sloping steeply down to fresh (and cold!) mountain lakes. Supposedly some of them are quite warm, with microclimates protected by the hills, but we didn't find one of those quite yet. The weather was a bit cool and overcast, but the scenery was still spectacular (here, Pan and Mike admire it).



While Pan had been playing a bit in water before this, it mainly consisted of splashing his paws. I could never get him to go in any deeper than about his elbows. So, we thought this would be a great opportunity to try to encourage him a bit. Mike rowed us out onto Wolfgangsee (see=lake) in an old little rowboat at the hotel. Pan reached out to investigate the strange substance over the edge of the boat, but his curiosity led him a bit too far and there a big SPLASH. Turns out he can swim, though! (For all those concerned about the welfare of their grandpup, Mike did have his swimsuit on in case a rescue was needed.) After letting him swim a couple of paces, we pulled up a wet and somewhat shocked puppy.

The next day was a bit warmer, so we thought we'd try a more conventional approach to introducing the water. Pan was too distracted by the hotel cat (she was quite the tease, and kept sneaking up behind Pan and getting him to chase her) to fetch sticks from the water, so we tried another method. Mike bravely got in the rather chilly lake and lifted Pan from the dock. Just like you would a little baby, he held him in the water, lowering him in slowly, then held on to him while Pan tried another few strokes. Pan definitely has the instinct to swim, but he pretty much looked like we were torturing him all the while. On top of Mike's head seemed like the safest place to be.




This last week in Vienna has been extremely hot, so I think the water has started to sound better and better. As usual, Pan and I played a bit of fetch in the edge of the pond at the park, and the past few days he's gone far enough in to actually swim a tiny bit. Yesterday he even convinced another young puppy, who had previously been scared of the water, to take a swim with him. This afternoon we go out to the lakes again, so we'll see if he's finally ready for a full-on swim.

(For those who are interested, a few more pics from around the Salzkammergut ... )

Pan So Far

Many of you have seen these photos, but here's a quick recap of how fast a puppy grows ...

March 29 The chosen one

Of a litter of nine, we chose Pan from five boys. Here he is curled up when we had just made our final decision.










April 18 Homecoming

A few weeks later we went back to Hungary to bring home the still-nameless pup. He did a great job in the car and mostly slept for the three hour ride from quiet countryside to bustling city.









April 24 Living it up in the new house

It only took a few days for Pan to realize he had a pretty great new home. We like to think it was more than just the champagne.







May 17 Exploring the wilds of Austria

With Vienna becoming old hat, we took some trips out to the countryside, where Pan felt right at home. Grass and sticks are fine delicacies, and hunting bees is also an excellent past-time.






May 23 The discovery of water

Though he should be able to retrieve (in theory) game from the water, Pan had been a bit shy of the wet stuff. A rushing stream of water on a street in the countryside finally proved too tempting, and he was off and running. Really running.








May 24 (Acting) Angelic

Seemingly exhausted from his romps in the water over the weekend, Pan exhibits his talent for making himself comfortable and appearing to be the most placid of pups.






June 6 The world's biggest stick!

Pan loves grass. And leaves. And especially sticks. It was his big day in early June when we came across this "giant stick" in one of Vienna's largest parks, the Prater.







June 19 Wine tasting is tiring

Visiting a wine producer in Burgenland (the region featured in the photo at the top of the blog), Pan played with the vitner's son while we enjoyed the tasting. The vineyard is part of a group of growers called Pannobile, another reference to the Pannonia region, and one that pointed us to Pan's name.


June 19 Learning our manners

Despite being tired out from the wine tasting, Pan decided to act up while out at dinner. Here his dad tries to calm him down and teach some table manners.









June 23 One sneaky puppy

Having earned slightly more free run in the apartment (we're nearly there on the house breaking), Pan has found that jumping on forbidden objects is a great way to get his mama's attention. Here he strikes his "who? me?" face yet again after leaping on to our bed. A firm "no" followed, but only after snapping a photo because, really, he's just too cute!

Welcome to Pannonia!

A Red Dog in Pannonia is a new experiment in sharing my super-cute pup with all those who like to see photos of him (and those who just sort of humor me). It's also a chance to talk about life in a new place, share the neat things I get to see living in central Europe, and maybe occasionally complain about the more challenging aspects of living among the Austrians. But, as always, everything is made better by a little red dog named Pan.

For those who haven't heard my annoying explanation of the name "Pan", the roots are three-fold. Pan is our young Vizsla puppy who came from Hungary, where his kennel name was Petike, or Little Peter. As he seems unlikely to ever grow up and stop stealing shoes and doorstops, Peter Pan seemed very fitting. (He also looks great in green.) The little guy also shares an affinity with the Greek Pan, being rather full of mischief and fond of a good time. Lastly, and by way of explaining the name of this blog, Pannonia is the ancient Roman name for the region encompassing our current home of Vienna and extending into Pan's home country of Hungary.

(Yes, I over-think many things.)

Thus, without further ado, and because I want to see how this blogging thing works, my first post, featuring an out-of-date but nevertheless adorable photo of the blog's namesake.