Shark Teeth

This is Bender playing with his I-Qube, an ingenious toy wherein soft balls and treats can be shoved inside this fabric cube allowing puppy to figure out how to get to the goods. He loves this toy. He looks like such a thug in this picture until you see how little his teeth are (sharp, but little).

Big Feet

It has been raining here and two muddy dogs are a real handful! I have mopped the floor more times in the last week than in the entire last two months all put together. Zach's feet are enormous and Bender looks like he is already trying to catch up (disregard muddy floor--this was taken between moppings). This is a close up of Bender's front feet

Growth

On Friday, 12-23-2005, Bender weighed 11 lbs. 7 oz. On Monday, 12-26-2005, he weighed 12 lbs. 2 oz. So, apparently, the predisposition to "pack on a few" over the holidays is not limited to humans! Actually he is a very healthy, growing puppy who didn't eat anything he shouldn't have. This is Bender and his teething ring . . .

Dog Blog

Bender sat with me while I worked on the blog. He actually helped with this posting.

Puppy Update

Went to pick Bender up yesterday. He crashed at one point (power nap!) and I was able to get this picture.

He went to the vet this morning and then spent a little bit of time with me at work this morning. Several of my friends puppy-sat him the rest of the day. He seems to be very smart and has just about got "sit" figured out.

INTRODUCTIONS

This is Zach. I originally named him Jack, to honor my maternal grandfather. The first time he got up on the counter and I heard myself say "Jack, Off!" That's when I realized I couldn't give my dog commands in public without blushing. At the time (he was about 3 months old), he already responded to the name, so I ran through every name that rhymed with Jack and eventually landed on "Z," hence Zach.

Zach is a trained search dog. He is certified in live-find air-scenting. Zach was born October 1, 1999 and just had his 6th birthday. Unfortunately, a search dog's career can't last forever and Zach will be retiring in a year or two. (Zach Photo by Becky Gray)






In order for me to keep doing this work, I recently acquired Bender. "Bender" was the name of my grandfather Jack's first and favorite dog. My Bender was born October 31, 2005 and will be 8 weeks old on the Monday after Christmas. Bender went to the vet this morning and he weighs 11 pounds, 7 ounces. Both of Bender's parents weigh about 45 lbs., so I was surprised to hear of an 85 lb. ofspring from the same parents. The vet did comment on the size of Bender's feet.