attentive

are we gonna do this hat thing every year?

happy holidays!

13 weeks

little alex isn't so little anymore.

i can still carry her, but each time i pick her up i 

think about putting her back down and asking her to 

walk. we have several dog beds in the house. 

this one is her favorite for sleeping on her back with 

feet in the air.

strike a pose

puppy party!

alex got to play with her brothers and sisters today.

everyone had a lot of fun and slept soundly

when it was over.

admiration

depth

baloo's compassionate side

dog people

it's a good life...

drag reduction

big floppy ears can slow a dog down.

when alex wants to really take off, she

knows just enough about physics 

to convert them to an aerodynamic

position. ridgebacks are intelligent.

play time!

since getting alex, i've had the opportunity to watch

an adult dog play with a puppy up close and 

with frequency. one observation i've made is the way 

baloo curls her lips over her molars when she

plays (you can see her black lips curled over behind 

her lower canines here) - presumably to soften her

mouth and not hurt the puppy. 

reluctant santa

jazz doesn't usually like to 

wear hats. but she humors me.

everything tastes good

alex pretends to lick the coffee table, moments 

before she tries to get a little corner nibble in.

she's currently about 70 percent sweet, 30 percent

rotten. she's busy and always looking for something 

to get into. i'm very fortunate to have taken 

"puppy leave" from work. alex has caught on to our 

daily routine and is fully housebroken. 

now i hope we can get through this chewing stage

relatively unscathed...

after the first week...

today was overcast and rainy, so tug o' war with

 a sock was the game of choice. after one week of 

vigilance, alex is housebroken (when a ridgeback 

goes outside in the rain to pee, it's confirmed); and she

slept through the last couple nights - yea! she's 

 a little busy body during the day though - that's 

going to keep us busy for a while! 

the best things in life are free...

all these expensive toys in the yard, 

and alex and baloo would rather play with a stick

fun and games

baloo's favorite game is keep away. today

she spent the morning teaching alex 

the essentials: first you get a stick, then show it to

your friend, and run!

friendly warning

jazz is 14.5 years old; she does well and is pretty

active. since alex arrived, jazz has taken several 

opportunities to sound warning barks - always 

with a wagging tail and not overly vicious. alex is 

pretty bold and takes the bark as an invitation to 

romp. lucky for jazz, alex would rather play with

baloo.

dog tired

on her 4th day with us, alex continues to do well. 

today's challenges and experiences included: 

a ride in the car with big sister baloo; a short visit to

aunt aggie's house - alex watches baloo for cues - they 

explored aggie's yard and were very good; alex was 

brave enough to meet tyson, the next door dog, through

the fence today; there was play time with baloo; and two

short sit practice sessions. 

alex and baloo

baloo has taken little alex under her wing

sort of like a new hobby