Zach, Bender and Grits

2009-06-08T20:54:00.000-07:00

Girl and dog . . . watching a passing ghost from a former life or a drawn by the drone of a single engine aircraft straining an engine.

Bender News!!!!!

2009-06-08T19:43:00.001-07:00

The little knucklehead at left (photo credit B. Gray) took a very important test a week ago. He is now certified as an area search dog by the North American Police Working Dog Association (NAPWDA). He essentially "bounced" his way through the certification test. He was to find a live person in the woods. He, of course, found the human remains sector first, found the scent article and then set about finding the live victim in the woods. Bender never gives less than 100% and appears to be sincerely delighted with the tasks set before him!

New Photos #2

2009-06-08T19:35:00.001-07:00

This is Grits and his brother Silas. We are very lucky that Silas' mom is photographer extraordinaire Becky Gray. She caught this pic of the two boys in a way that really captures each of their personalities (Mr. Dominant Grits and Mr. Submissive Silas). It is very easy to tell which one is the BIG brother and which one is the little brother. It is funny that the little brother is actually physically bigger than the big brother. But Grits is from the litter before Silas and he seems clearly aware that he is, in fact, the big brother!

New Grits' Photos

2009-06-08T19:31:00.001-07:00

This is Grits (photo credit B. Gray). He is just such a handsome dog and has a great, laid-back personality. The German Shepherd Dog is supposed to appear noble and should be clearly identifiable as male or female just from the set of the head.

2009-01-14T15:32:00.000-08:00

Well, here is just about grown up K9 Grits in all his glory. December 31 he celebrated his first birthday. He is still intact per the vet's advice and, in his case, it just makes him skinny but doesn't seem to have an adverse impact on his gentle disposition. The thinking is to neuter large breed male dogs at about 14 months, so we are due for a vet visit soon to assess where we are with musculature, etc. He is such a good natured dog, I would take 10 more just like him! He is laid back and curious about everything. If we can just get him to chill out on the counter surfing it would be great (he is big enough to reach ALL parts of the counter and this is dangerous for just washed dishes and anything else I was foolish enough to leave on the counter).

Grits and Bender do very well together. When I get home from work Bender walks me to Grits' crate to let him out and they just play together all evening. The other night I had a fire in the wood stove and Bender curled up at the other end of the couch. Grits decided to join the fun and found his special bone and jumped up. His back half was on Bender and his front half was in my lap. He is a BIG boy and carves out whatever space he thinks he needs.

2008-08-23T05:07:00.000-07:00

I have to go out of town for work so the boys will stay at Grits' breeder while I'm gone. Her house backs up to a hill. The yard is fenced except for the very back which is a natural rock wall going straight up. They also had to build a fence to keep dogs from getting on the back roof of the house.

Last time I returned from travelling, I went to get the boys and Grits was standing on the peak of the house roof watching me pull in the driveway. He figured out how to get under the fence!

Chinese Television Stations

2008-04-09T19:45:00.000-07:00

These big ears have improved our television reception when I can get Grits to hold still on top of the TV set. He should have "sit" and "stay" mastered by the start of the Olympics in China, so I should be able to get great reception without cable access!

For being this big, you think he would be able to hear me say "No!" much more easily than he does!

Hairy Changes

2008-04-09T19:34:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness my friend Brian told me to expect color changes in Grits. He started out with a huge black saddle that ran down the outside of both legs. Now parts of him are changing to tan. His tail is the funniest part because it looks like I had a good hold around the base of his tail and dipped the rest of it in black paint (Hence the butt shot at left). The line of demarkation is so clear that I can see it when he is in the far reaches of the back yard and I am in the house. Every day the dark black stripe drops lower and lower on the tail.

As for the rest of him, I think he is still under warranty, but I have to check. All the black on the outsides of his legs and moving up into his shoulders is fading away to the tan underneath. I have a hunch he is going to look like a classic German Shepherd Dog (once his head grows into the ears).

Robotic Alien Dog Transformation

2008-03-23T15:06:00.000-07:00

OK, You have watched mild-mannered Bender grow up on this blog (review back a few chapters and see how normal and cute he has looked in pictures).

I caught the transformation that happens when Grits shows his affection--Bender is overtaken by a strange alien robot life-form. If you are brave, you can click on the picture and see up close (look particularly at the eyes and teeth on Bender).

I thought, in his new state, he might be affected by my use of the remote control for the television, but alas . . . he is out of control.

Ears and Hair

2008-03-23T15:01:00.000-07:00

Here is the view of the ears from the back. Notice the moist area where Bender keeps kissing the tender cartilage of Grits' ears. Grits is turning into a handsome boy. In this photo you can almost see the silver guard hairs on his shoulders. (I have noticed that I have also started getting silver guard hairs lately, hmmm, maybe contagious!)

The Easter Bunny Made It!

2008-03-23T05:06:00.001-07:00

After 3 weeks of floppy, beagle ears, we have been working hard to be gentle with the fragile cartilage in Grits' baby ears so that we might have a real "bunny" by Easter. Trying to get Bender (whose favorite game is "Spit Head") to be gentle with the ears of others has been the biggest challenge!

Grits now has two ears that try really hard to stand up most of the time. They flop when he runs and plays, but we are done being half beagle and half German Shepherd Dog. The right ear stood up first and the left lagged by about 5 days.

He went to the vet this week for shots and weighed 22.6 pounds (that is a weight gain of almost 3 pounds in a week). He is getting taller but continues to be lanky. His tail is long enough that it looks like he stole it from a Siamese cat.

I tried to get an earlier picture to show the progress of the ears, but when I told him to sit, I was looking through the camera and neglected to see that I was asking him to sit too close to the water bowl. He dutifully sat and his tail "wagged" the water right out of the bowl. My mopping talents are now almost legendary, so we fixed the problem, but I missed the picture.

2008-03-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of the two boys together. Bender has a habit of getting on the couch with a dangling toy and hanging it over the edge (because he knows Grits is too little to make it onto the couch). They play like this and then Bender gets off the couch and uses Grits to mop the floor. It makes for an interesting game of "crack the whip" with Grits getting most of the crack!

2008-03-16T12:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a more recent photo of Grits (also known as the Gritter Critter). He is absolutely darling and has been a wonderful addition to our household!

2008-03-16T12:40:00.000-07:00

OK, it has been a while. Bender and I have bonded very closely with just the two of us. He has now been certified in both live air scenting and human remains detection.

After a great deal of thought, we decided to add another family member. His name is Grits (actually Sir Galahad's Breakfast of Champions which I am thinking about changing to Sir Galahad's Champion of Breakfasts). Grits is a German Shepherd Dog and he will be 11 weeks old tomorrow. Last Monday (at 10 weeks) he weighed 20 pounds!

Grits and Bender are great buddies. Grits is quickly trying to establish himself as the top dog (over Bender anyway--he is pretty clear about my role in the pecking order). He is a little pig. He knows sit and is working on down. He rings the bell to go outside and housebreaking has proved to be interesting--Bender lets me know when HE thinks Grits should go out. So far, he has been right about 90% of the time.

Obituary

2007-07-22T08:58:00.000-07:00

Zach

October 1, 1999 to July 21, 2007

Zach died in my arms yesterday following a relatively short illness. He was a big proud dog with an endless capacity for unconditional love and was my constant companion through the worst time of my life. Now I imagine that he is running around with strong black angel wings waiting patiently for me.

Working Dog

2007-02-10T20:45:00.000-08:00

This picture was taken right before Christmas. Bender now has a reliable indication when he makes a find (he flies through the air and hits me with both front feet and then he sits). There is no mistaking when he has found the victim! He is just about 14 months old and is going to be starting human remains detection next. I will wait until he is 18 months old before he takes any of his official evaluations, but I hope to have all his certifications completed by mid-summer. We are starting to do more off lead obedience and he really just loves to engage in activities that stimulate his brain.

Beautiful Boy

2006-06-16T11:31:00.000-07:00

Update!!!

2006-06-16T11:18:00.000-07:00

Bender has been doing very well with his search training. He is turning into a very handsome young man. Sorry for the delay in posting but life sometimes gets in the way. Here are some new photos (Becky Gray, June 2006).

Proof

2006-03-29T05:24:00.000-08:00

I know I have been reporting for some time that Bender rings the bell on the back door to let me know that Zach wants to come inside, but now I have the proof. Bender and I were inside and I heard Zach bark at the door. Bender took off like a rocket and I grabbed the camera and followed him. I was able to catch this shot to finally prove that he does this.

Sorry for the paw prints on the window. I clean it and hose it down just about every day. The curious thing is the marks seem to get higher up the window with every inch that Bender grows . . .

Facial Hair

2006-03-26T15:37:00.000-08:00

Here (left) is baby Bender. You can see that the hair on his face has the potential to be quite long.

Above is 5 month old Bender with the beginning of a real mustache and beard. It is also possible to see just the beginning of curl in the hair between his eyes. It will grow forward toward the tip of his increasingly long nose!

Surfing

2006-03-24T10:46:00.000-08:00

Some people surf waves and others surf the web. Bender surfs the top of any horizontal surface! This is a picture of Bender getting into trouble and starting to get down. He decided to stand on the chair to reach the top of the TV stand so he could get to the toy I removed from him and put "out of his reach." I have learned that there is no such thing as out of Bender's reach!

Big Clown

2006-03-17T04:29:00.000-08:00

Here is a brand new photo of Bender clowning around this morning. I love how his pink lips are kind of human looking. He has several distinctive poodle traits including being a clown and his manner of walking (he bounces).

He went to the vet last evening for a well-baby check-up. He now weighs 41 pounds. As a puppy, his whole self was deep, dark bittersweet chocolate and now his face and his knee fuzz have kind of turned to milk chocolate--he is very cute in real life. His beard does need periodic cleaning and his feet are immense in comparision to the rest of his body. They are just about as big as Zach's feet but the rest of him is smaller (he is only 4 1/2 months old, so there is still a lot of room for growing into them).

I saw the hand doc yesterday for my finger and I have to go to physical therapy for my hand now. I have visions of me standing on my bad foot on a trampoline, clutching a squeeze ball in my left hand and catching balls thrown at me in my right hand.

Although NOT good for my physical therapy (he trips me), Bender is wonderful for my emotional health. We spend about 30 minutes every day just cuddling and he too seems to relish our special quiet time together.

Training Update

2006-03-13T05:07:00.000-08:00

Bender DID rediscover the toilet paper, so it now lives somewhere less convenient for the humans in the house!

On Saturday, both dogs went to training and had terrific days:

Bender: We did two master run-aways (where Bender looks for me) and he did very well. Just for fun we tried a "stranger" run (where Bender looks for someone other than me). The stranger, in this case teammate Brian, acted very enthusiastic and "cranked" Bender up before running off. It was all I could do to restrain the pup. When I released him, he made a bee-line for Brian who greeted him with more great enthusiasm and a treat. Bender did well enough we tried a second stranger run and he made it clear that he understood the "game" again heading directly downwind to Brian. We did another, more-complicated master run--the logical visual way for Bender to find me was to run down a grassy path but he caught my sent and ran into the woods in a straight line to my position. We finished with another stranger run. This time Brian ran a "C" shaped pattern so we could see if Bender trailed him (followed the line of the "C") or if he air-scented (made a straight line to Brian's position). Either is acceptable, but we are looking for the straight-line air-scenting and that is what Bender did. These were all short exercises with very strong wind conditions.

Zach: Zach is already certified for air-scenting on live humans and is now working on human remains detection. Toward this end, we use 8 inch pieces of PVC with a cap on either end and holes drilled along the length to allow the scent to leave the tube. As for material, we use rags that have been dipped in blood and placenta as well as teeth (I am always looking for older teens who are doomed to require wisdom teeth extraction!) We also had a sample of soil taken from one of the crime scenes we worked with local police. After the coroner removes the body of the deceased, the soil under the body retains the scent of human remains.

We had 6 stations (each a different tube hidden in different conditions). One was placed in a pile of logs, one in a grassy field, another about 5 feet up in a tree, a fourth shoved into a hole in the ground (not buried), a fifth under some concrete parking stops, and the last along the edge of a woodline.

Zach gets treats when working on live find situations but we are working using a tug toy to motivate him for human remains detection as the victim can not give the enthusiastic response of a live victim and can't offer a treat. When Zach makes the find, he turns to me and then shows me (with his nose) what he found. When he does this, I produce the tug toy and we play for a minute as his reward. As his training progresses, it is likely he will make a find before I get to his position and he will need to return to me and indicate (with a sit or a bark) that he has found something and then he will need to show me where it is.

He did well on all six runs. I was pleased as he has not worked human remains detection for several months (before my ankle surgery last August). He still remembers the intent of the game and did a great job finding each of the scent articles.

Discovery

2006-03-10T05:13:00.000-08:00

Bender discovered the toilet paper roll holder this morning! I was brushing my teeth and could hear him doing something--eventually he fled the bathroom with the remainder of the roll in his mouth. I hope by tonight he forgets about that fun game!

Last night we went to training, but Bender didn't do much work as the training site was very close to a road and Bender's off-lead behavior is just not reliable enough to take the risk. He got to play (on lead) but didn't do any serious training.

He is starting to be a bit more of a handful (in a typical puppy way) and I am still down one hand so the dynamics are becoming interesting. I can't really pick him up anymore (he squirms, is big, and it hurts my broken finger if he wiggles the wrong way). He is doing much better on the lead and he actually went with me to PetSmart the other day. I need leather gloves to hold the other end of the lead, so I think we may try the Gentle Leader or Halti collar to see if that helps with the pulling. All the aisles of fun things to put in his mouth, the other dogs and all the people--I think you call it "over-stim!" We will try again this weekend.

Green-Eyed Monster

2006-02-21T05:05:00.000-08:00

My camera and photographic software both have red-eye reduction features, but I still haven't quite figured out what to do when the green-eyed monster rears its cute little head.

Tired Puppy

2006-02-21T05:01:00.000-08:00

Bender played pretty hard this morning and then crashed on his bed. He is very content to play by himself and is quite good at concocting his own forms of entertainment. For example, he will carry his bed from place to place and then plop down on it.

All Legs

2006-02-17T15:13:00.000-08:00

Bender now resembles a baby lamb (perhaps redundant) with sharp teeth. These two photos are designed to show how much his legs have grown!
On the left is the end of December and above is mid-February

Brown Nose

2006-02-16T05:00:00.000-08:00

Bender has a BIG brown nose and my mom read somewhere that you should not use metal dishes to feed a brown-nosed dog or the brown wears off and the nose turns pink. I don't know if this is true or not (over many years I have learned that my mom is usually right about most things), so I use a plastic dog bowl to feed Bender. As he has taken to carrying it around the house, I think I will look for something made of crockery that is too heavy to cart around.

His latest trick is closing the French door (seen behind him in this picture featuring his rather large brown nose). If I open the door for him to go out and he doesn't WANT to go out, he closes the door.

The Eyes Have It!

2006-02-14T04:25:00.000-08:00

This is Bender's Valentine photo. If you click on the picture, you should be able to see a larger version and you can get a pretty good idea of how unusual his eye color is. In real life, he doesn't hold still long enough for you to really see them!

The Agony of Dog Training

2006-02-13T04:57:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Bender's first time officially attending search dog training and he did very well! On the first run (he is looking for me on these puppy master runs), he came to the edge of the brush where I ducked in and he pointed like a bird dog. He pointed right at me! While cute, the goal of the activity is to actually have the dog come in on the handler. These were initially very short run aways and I was essentially in plain sight, but he struggled a bit on the second one.

For the subsequent runs, we worked him into the wind and he was a natural. It is so fun to watch a dog of this age learn "the game." Bender was trotting in a straight line and when he was precisely down wind of my position, he made a hard right angle turn and came right in on me. We did about 7 runs and he nailed them all.

As for the above photo, last August I had surgery on my foot/ankle that I broke after stepping into a gopher hole (yes, during dog training). The top of my foot now lacks sensation, so I didn't feel the vine reaching out to trip me yesterday. I fell, sending my coffee straight up in the air to come down on me like a warm, brown rain. Most of me landed on my left knee and my left pinky. I broke and dislocated my finger and spent the afternoon in the emergency room. The physician's assistant was a sweetheart and she numbed my finger as soon as I arrived. The doctor was able to reduce the dislocation and I was sent on my way with pain meds and instructions to follow up with an orthopod.

Photo credit: the nice x-ray tech at St. Ann's Hospital

Delicious

2006-02-08T06:26:00.000-08:00

Bender and I just got back from the vet. He has now received his rabies shot. Turns out he still needs bordatella to go to puppy school so, I imagine, we will be going back later this week.

When we got back apparently Bender finally decided to tell Zach how delicious the rat was. Zach was clearly impressed with Bender's culinary exploits.

NO PHOTO!!!

2006-02-08T04:20:00.000-08:00

This is a disgusting story (hence the lack of photo!) Yesterday when I got home from work, I let the dogs outside. They were out playing and then I heard Bender at the door. Mind you, this is a French door with windows all the way down the face of the door--I can SEE Bender at the door. I can also see that he has his stuffed badger/beaver toy in his mouth. As I am pondering how he (or Zach) got the toy outside without me seeing it, I notice that the tail looks funny to me. It dawned on me in superslow motion that Bender had a real critter, not a stuffed critter. I assessed that the critter was deceased and that it was a RAT!

OK, home alone, two dogs outside with one dead (size 7-and-a-half narrow) rat . Puppy doesn't really know the drop it command. So I tell Bender to "drop" because maybe, somewhere in magic-world, he has mysteriously learned this command. Well, it worked. He dropped the rat--thank God. Then I watched (from safely indoors!) to try and assess if he was planning to pick it up prior to re-entry. The other obsessive-compulsive ideas that ran through my head included the following: 1) what if the rat is not dead? 2) what if Bender kicks it into the house as he comes in? 3) what if the tail flips inside as Bender comes in and, after I slam the door, 1/3 of the rat is in the house? and finally, 4) how do I get Zach to come in and ignore the dead rat across the threshold?

OK, now I have the killer puppy in the house and the big-I-need-to-prove-I-am-top-dog, 85 pound Zach still in the yard with a dead rat between us. I crated Bender (actively avoiding his plentiful puppy kisses at this point) and, with treat in hand, I called Zach to the back door. The rat could have been invisible as far as Zach was concerned. He took the treat and came in the house without so much as a passing glance at the vermin at my door.

Now, two dogs are inside with me and dead rat is outside. I gave both dogs more treats so I could sneak out the door without canine assitance. I used a broom and snow shovel to get rat into trash can. (Sounds like just a few quick steps, but it took longer than it sounds). I had to use the broom to "sweep" the rat into the shovel--rats don't just sweep up like sawdust folks. Then I had to carry the rat in the snow shovel (without really looking at it) and open two gates to get to the driveway without dropping the rat. I also walk with a limp, so this was a bit of a challenge.

With the rat safely in trash, I start trying to figure out how to clean Bender's mouth (there is really nothing one can use that is safe, I was just dreaming up ideas). Then I called the vet. I love calling the vet because they get to ask some of the strangest questions. She asked me if Bender actually killed the rat (presumably to see if he may have been injured in the fracas). I told her that I did not establish a time of death for the rat--I did not touch his little hairy body to establish temperature. I was also able to share that his lifeless body was not frozen (possibly indicating a recent death). There was no obvious blood, but how much blood can you really see from a snow shovel's length away?

I asked her about rabies and she said rats are not common carriers in Ohio. I asked if I needed to bring the rat in for assessment (please do NOT make me crawl into that giant trash can and get the rat back out lady). She indicated that I did not need to do anything more with the rat.

I reminded her that Bender hadn't had his rabies shot and she asked me when he had had the last one. I indicated that he had never had one, he is just a puppy. That's when she finally said, oh, I probably better let you talk to one of the doctors (heh, now there is a really good idea!). I told her that I would like to go ahead and schedule Bender for his first rabies shot (he is just old enough this week). So, I am writing this before we go off to the vet.

I have given Bender lots of water and treats and food to cleanse his palate. I am still not quite ready for puppy kisses, but I am sure that will change here in a week or so!

MOPS

2006-02-03T03:48:00.000-08:00

Bender LOVES mops. I had a mop that was nearing the end of its life, so I ordered a new one (remember all the muddy paw prints--a good mop is essential!). I knew it was time for a new mop when the handle on the old one broke. I am just too tall to use a mop that is only 3 feet long! When the new mop arrived, I assembled it (read put 2 pieces of handle together) and I put the peewee broken mop into the box in which the new mop was packaged. I set the old mop in the box next to the back door to be taken to the trash. Bender sat next to the box and just stared at the very few inches of handle that poked out of the top. I told him I knew he was losing a good friend, but asked him to give me a minute as I thought he would enjoy the new mop just as much.

The photo above demonstrates how easily he was able to transfer his loyalties! Muddy dog feet inspire multiple moppings each day and Bender is NOT helpful in this process. One friend suggested obviating the mop altogether and just dunking Bender in the water as he is very mop-like. It isn't a bad idea (just kidding) ...

Housebreaking

2006-02-01T04:35:00.000-08:00

Bender is a really smart puppy, so I was surprised when I was having so many housebreaking challenges. He is pretty consistent about ringing the bell and going outside, but he has had several accidents. In two cases, he would ring the bell and would then pee on the spot. I mentioned this to the vet and said that I thought something else might be going on with him.

When I first brought him home and took him to the vet, he seemed to have a bad case of diarrhea. The vet said she would need a stool sample to see what might be causing it. Bender promptly gave her a sample. So I was not surprised when she said she needed a urine sample this time, that he promptly complied. Although she couldn't check for bacteria (she took the sample from the puddle on the floor), she was able to detect right and white blood cells, so Bender is on antibiotics. I expect housebreaking will become a non-issue once we get his urinary tract infection resolved! Like I said, he is a smart dog!

Last of the Shots

2006-02-01T04:31:00.000-08:00

Bender just got the last of his shots and was plumb tired out when this picture was taken (1/30/2006). On Saturday, January 28, he weighed 21 pounds (on the scale at the vet's office) and on Monday, January 30 (when he went to the vets for his final shot), he weighed 23 pounds. I am not a math genius, but I think that means he is gaining about a pound a day!

Door bells #2

2006-01-20T03:20:00.000-08:00

Well, with some patience, I finally caught Bender in the act. Due to the muddy dog pawprints on the window, the darkness (it is 5:30 am) and the angle of the photo, you can't see that Zach is standing just outside waiting to come in. Bender had just been out 5 minutes earlier, so it was clear that he was not signaling that he wanted to go out. This is further supported by the fact that, when I opened the door to let Zach in, Bender sat and waited patiently for his big brother to come back inside.

He is too cute and waaaay too smart!

Door bells

2006-01-19T04:03:00.000-08:00

I have trained Bender to ring a bell when he wants to go outside. He has become rather proficient at doing so. I had to laugh the first time he rang the bell and I opened the door, only to have Bender sit politely while Zach came back in. Bender has now hit the bells three different times to let me know that Zach was ready to come in. Bender simply sits at the side of the door (on the inside) waiting for Zach to come back inside.

I am continually amazed at how smart this dog is!

Hand Signals

2006-01-16T05:49:00.000-08:00

Bender is remarkably smart. Once he had "sit" and "down" mastered with the clicker, I only had to run through the hand-signals three times with verbal command for him to respond to the hand-signal by itself in a reliable fashion. The boys can do synchronized responses to hand signals without me saying a word!

Here is Bender chewing on what used to be an empty water bottle (he got to do this at a friend's house and now finds this crunchy toy to be the best of the choices). He has real toys, he just seems to prefer the bottle these days . . .

Curly Hair

2006-01-08T16:33:00.000-08:00

Bender's coat is starting to show more and more curl. It is also growing in length. He has very curly hair on his knees and elbows. This (otherwise lousy) picture does do a good job of showing his curly coat.

Boys at Play

2006-01-08T16:27:00.000-08:00

Here are Zach and Bender together on the driveway. The size difference is such that Bender can run beneath Zach (often to the frustration of the latter). This was all very cute until Bender pulled his characteristic move while Zach's leg was lifted--Bender got his head peed on and looked at me like "How did THAT happen?" The other evening in the rain, Bender just stood under Zach so he could stay dry (I couldn't get to the camera fast enough!) Bender now weighs more than 15 pounds.

Shark Teeth

2005-12-30T15:21:00.000-08:00

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

2005-12-30T15:13:00.000-08:00

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

2005-12-26T12:18:00.000-08:00

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

2005-12-23T19:40:00.000-08:00

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

Puppy Update

2005-12-23T17:59:00.000-08:00

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

2005-12-23T12:46:00.000-08:00

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.