Sunday, December 31, 2006

9 1/2 Months


Baloo is definitely entering adolescence. She is strong and beginning to assert her will. Yesterday, we hiked around South Mountain park but stopped frequently to adjust her collar. Unless it's situated high up on her head (as opposed to low on her neck where it naturally slides) I have trouble controlling her. She easily pulls me from this side to that as she sniffs at the creosote and brittlebush lining the trail. We hiked for a bit and then went off to the dog park so she could get thoroughly drained. It worked. Baloo played with a year old labrador retriever named daisy. They chased and wrestled and wore each other out.
This morning as I left for my Sunday routine outing to the Wildflower Bread Company for breakfast, I saw Baloo's back end sticking out of the compost bin. I had cleaned my kitchen cabinets of old flour and pasta - dumping it all in the compost bin, figuring the dogs wouldn't be interested. But there she was nosing through the mess. I called out to get her attention, and Baloo spun around not recognizing me at first. Then she rushed toward the fence barking, but quickly stopped when she saw it was me. There she stood looking puzzled, cocking her head to the side with her big nosed covered in flour. Got cha!

Sunday, December 03, 2006

December 3, 2006


Baloo is turning into an awesome dog. She's 8 months old and well behaved. If she gets out of line, a quick "Dog Whisperer" move is sure to get her back on track. Best of all, Jazz and Baloo are getting along. After all these months of supervised only interactions, they are finally at a place where they can be allowed to be left for hours at a time together, unsupervised. In the last couple weeks I have observed a new morning routine that they share. Jazz eats her food in the morning while Baloo waits. Once Jazz is done, Baloo moves in to finish the last few pieces (never mind that it is Nutro for Seniors). Before starting on her puppy food (Nutro for Large Breed Puppies), Baloo gallops off to the backyard to walk with Jazz. They walk around the backyard together every morning, Jazz seems to be showing Baloo the essentials of the morning patrol. Baloo walks along beside or just behind Jazz. Whatever Jazz does, Baloo does also. They have become a little pack. They still have occasional squabbles, but certainly they are beginning to enjoy each other's company and have figured out how to coexist.