Kelly, Rufus, Cooper and I recently visited Norah Ormerod of Glenaholm Kennels to see her litter of 11 pups. FUN! Here is a short video made of the pictures from our visit (I used Animoto)
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
The Long Lost Update
A lot has been happening at our house since my last post months and months ago. One of Rufus's fans finally chided me for not posting in a while, so I decided I'd better get back on it...
First of all, Cooper is growing at an astounding rate. Below is a picture of him at 9 weeks back in May
Here he is in June 24 (around six weeks later), and he is almost as big as Rufus!
We think that in a month or so (i.e. by the time he is six months old), he will be as tall as Rufus, and should weigh as much as Rufus by the time he is nine months old. Yikes!
Given the fact that he has been around Nikita ever since he came home, they have developed a pretty close relationship. Here, he and Niky spoon on the couch. Note those feet - that is NOT an optical illusion.
Bear in mind that he was not that much bigger than Nikita just a few weeks ago (scroll down for a picture of him, Rufus, and Nikita on the bed)...
We also added a new member to the household - Max the Savannah Cat. Unlike Niky (who is only 4% Serval), Max is 50% Serval, and his wild ancestry shows through in his coat and in some aspects of his personality.
We were initially concerned about how Nikita would react to this interloper into her domain, but she immediately took Max under her wing and began treating him like the little brother she'd been waiting for. Among other things, Max has become her favorite toy...
Like Cooper, Max is growing at a crazy rate. In a few short weeks, he has become almost as big as Nikita, who is six months older than him.
A lot has been happening at our house since my last post months and months ago. One of Rufus's fans finally chided me for not posting in a while, so I decided I'd better get back on it...
First of all, Cooper is growing at an astounding rate. Below is a picture of him at 9 weeks back in May
Here he is in June 24 (around six weeks later), and he is almost as big as Rufus!
We think that in a month or so (i.e. by the time he is six months old), he will be as tall as Rufus, and should weigh as much as Rufus by the time he is nine months old. Yikes!
Given the fact that he has been around Nikita ever since he came home, they have developed a pretty close relationship. Here, he and Niky spoon on the couch. Note those feet - that is NOT an optical illusion.
Bear in mind that he was not that much bigger than Nikita just a few weeks ago (scroll down for a picture of him, Rufus, and Nikita on the bed)...
We also added a new member to the household - Max the Savannah Cat. Unlike Niky (who is only 4% Serval), Max is 50% Serval, and his wild ancestry shows through in his coat and in some aspects of his personality.
We were initially concerned about how Nikita would react to this interloper into her domain, but she immediately took Max under her wing and began treating him like the little brother she'd been waiting for. Among other things, Max has become her favorite toy...
Like Cooper, Max is growing at a crazy rate. In a few short weeks, he has become almost as big as Nikita, who is six months older than him.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Cooper and Nikita
It has been highly entertaining to see the relationship between Cooper and Nikita evolve.
Cooper tends to treat Niki as a furry chew toy. Niki responds with ungodly yowling and squirming.
After repeatedly chastising Cooper for gnawing on his little sister, we realized that, as a Great Dane puppy, he is not that hard to get away from. Thus, either Niki is not that bright (yeah, right...), or this was some sort of elaborate interspecies game (and they really love each other).
As if to prove our point, the next time we saw Niki on the couch with Cooper, this is the scene which greeted us:
It has been highly entertaining to see the relationship between Cooper and Nikita evolve.
Cooper tends to treat Niki as a furry chew toy. Niki responds with ungodly yowling and squirming.
After repeatedly chastising Cooper for gnawing on his little sister, we realized that, as a Great Dane puppy, he is not that hard to get away from. Thus, either Niki is not that bright (yeah, right...), or this was some sort of elaborate interspecies game (and they really love each other).
As if to prove our point, the next time we saw Niki on the couch with Cooper, this is the scene which greeted us:
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Monday, May 07, 2007
Monkeys in the Grass
Springtime has finally arrived here in the Pacific Northwest, and Rufus and Cooper took the opportunity to lounge around in the grass in Kelly's back yard last weekend.
However, Cooper quickly grew bored with this and initiated a Mouth Jousting session by trodding on Rufus's head.
Rufus retaliated a bit more quickly than Cooper anticipated, catching him off guard.
However, Cooper recovered quickly and and went on the offensive
Finally, Kelly arrived to distract Cooper and save Rufus's bacon
By this point, Cooper had gotten a bit drowsy anyway
With his nemisis otherwise occupied, Rufus seized the opportunity to crash out again
Springtime has finally arrived here in the Pacific Northwest, and Rufus and Cooper took the opportunity to lounge around in the grass in Kelly's back yard last weekend.
However, Cooper quickly grew bored with this and initiated a Mouth Jousting session by trodding on Rufus's head.
Rufus retaliated a bit more quickly than Cooper anticipated, catching him off guard.
However, Cooper recovered quickly and and went on the offensive
Finally, Kelly arrived to distract Cooper and save Rufus's bacon
By this point, Cooper had gotten a bit drowsy anyway
With his nemisis otherwise occupied, Rufus seized the opportunity to crash out again
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Cooper Comes Home
Kelly has been thinking about bringing another dog into her life since Lucky was killed. She has always wanted a Great Dane, and in fact thought Luck was one when she got him (she was working at a large breed rescue at the time). She has been checking out Dane breeders in our area on the net, and came across one who had a two week old litter. She expressed an interest in paying them a visit, and this seemed like a safe thing to do. After all, it would be 6-8 weeks before they will be ready to go to their new homes, and so she would have plenty of time to think about whether she was ready.
Last Sunday, we drove up to visit the breeder in question. When we arrived and walked around the side of his house to his dog pens, the first thing I noticed was a young Dane in a pen with three females. "Uh oh," I thought, "here we go..." We met the three females (one of which is the mother of the litter we can to see), and checked out the puppies (which were little black and white peanuts whose eyes have not even opened yet). Throughout, this little guy followed Kelly around, gnawing on her ankles and generally let it be known that he thought she was pretty neat. Turns out that he was the last unplaced pup from the breeder's last litter. The breeder was anxious to place him, and offered Kelly a deal if she would take him. I personally think this was not even necessary: Kelly was smitten with him from the moment she saw him. To make a long story short, the little guy, who we eventually named Cooper, came home with us that evening to be part of our family. We have now officially crossed the line from pet owning household to menagerie...
Here is Kelly, obviously VERY happy with her decision just before we loaded up into the car to head home.
As soon as we got home, Nikita and Rufus showed an intense interest in the little guy.
Rufus (ever the gentlemen) offered Cooper his favorite play ball to try out.
Cooper immediately attacked it with great enthusiasm (although, given his present size, without a lot of effectiveness).
The next day, Kelly took Cooper to work with him. He was hugely excited by this, as evidenced by this photo.
However, he soon found all the attention he got from Kelly's co-workers to be exhausting, and curled up for a nap by her desk.
The next morning, we got up to feed all the "monkeys", and Cooper decided that Rufus's bowl looked much better than his own (even though we put the same food in both).
Rufus continues to be a very gentle big brother to Cooper, and looked a bit perplexed as to what to do as Cooper proceeded to snarf down most of Rufus's breakfast.
That evening, Rufus commenced to teach Cooper the fine art of "mouth jousting", a game which Rufus used to play with much gusto with Lucky.
Cooper turned out to be a quick study, and Rufus soon found himself on the receiving end of some adept moves by Cooper.
After having Cooper chew on his head for a while, Rufus decided to redirect Cooper's enthusiasm towards a rope chew toy.
However, Cooper quickly generalized from the rope to Rufus's tail (while is about the same size and consistency). Rufus was not amused.
Rufus finally gave up and went back to mouth jousting with Cooper while Nikita observed from her perch at the end of the bed. Eventually, the little guy ran out of steam, and we were all able to get to sleep (abet only for a few hours - we are on "out to pee every three hours" puppy time for now).
Kelly has been thinking about bringing another dog into her life since Lucky was killed. She has always wanted a Great Dane, and in fact thought Luck was one when she got him (she was working at a large breed rescue at the time). She has been checking out Dane breeders in our area on the net, and came across one who had a two week old litter. She expressed an interest in paying them a visit, and this seemed like a safe thing to do. After all, it would be 6-8 weeks before they will be ready to go to their new homes, and so she would have plenty of time to think about whether she was ready.
Last Sunday, we drove up to visit the breeder in question. When we arrived and walked around the side of his house to his dog pens, the first thing I noticed was a young Dane in a pen with three females. "Uh oh," I thought, "here we go..." We met the three females (one of which is the mother of the litter we can to see), and checked out the puppies (which were little black and white peanuts whose eyes have not even opened yet). Throughout, this little guy followed Kelly around, gnawing on her ankles and generally let it be known that he thought she was pretty neat. Turns out that he was the last unplaced pup from the breeder's last litter. The breeder was anxious to place him, and offered Kelly a deal if she would take him. I personally think this was not even necessary: Kelly was smitten with him from the moment she saw him. To make a long story short, the little guy, who we eventually named Cooper, came home with us that evening to be part of our family. We have now officially crossed the line from pet owning household to menagerie...
Here is Kelly, obviously VERY happy with her decision just before we loaded up into the car to head home.
 |
| From 2007-04-30 Co... |
As soon as we got home, Nikita and Rufus showed an intense interest in the little guy.
 |
| From Rufus and Cooper |
Rufus (ever the gentlemen) offered Cooper his favorite play ball to try out.
 |
| From Rufus and Cooper |
Cooper immediately attacked it with great enthusiasm (although, given his present size, without a lot of effectiveness).
 |
| From Rufus and Cooper |
The next day, Kelly took Cooper to work with him. He was hugely excited by this, as evidenced by this photo.
 |
| From 2007-04-30 Co... |
However, he soon found all the attention he got from Kelly's co-workers to be exhausting, and curled up for a nap by her desk.
 |
| From 2007-04-30 Co... |
The next morning, we got up to feed all the "monkeys", and Cooper decided that Rufus's bowl looked much better than his own (even though we put the same food in both).
 |
| From Rufus and Cooper |
Rufus continues to be a very gentle big brother to Cooper, and looked a bit perplexed as to what to do as Cooper proceeded to snarf down most of Rufus's breakfast.
 |
| From Rufus and Cooper |
That evening, Rufus commenced to teach Cooper the fine art of "mouth jousting", a game which Rufus used to play with much gusto with Lucky.
Cooper turned out to be a quick study, and Rufus soon found himself on the receiving end of some adept moves by Cooper.
 |
| From Rufus and Cooper |
After having Cooper chew on his head for a while, Rufus decided to redirect Cooper's enthusiasm towards a rope chew toy.
 |
| From Rufus and Cooper |
However, Cooper quickly generalized from the rope to Rufus's tail (while is about the same size and consistency). Rufus was not amused.
 |
| From Rufus and Cooper |
Rufus finally gave up and went back to mouth jousting with Cooper while Nikita observed from her perch at the end of the bed. Eventually, the little guy ran out of steam, and we were all able to get to sleep (abet only for a few hours - we are on "out to pee every three hours" puppy time for now).
Monday, April 23, 2007
Rufus makes a friend
Kelly is starting to think about her next canine companion, and has her heart set on a Great Dane. It was therefore an interesting coincidence that Rufus and I met a lovily young lady named Bella on a recent outing to the park.
After getting acquainted, Rufus and Bella checked out the over pooches at the park
They then got down to some serious, physical paytime.
Rufus made one or two attempts to "put a leg over", but Bella quickly shut down this cheeky behavior.
Kelly is starting to think about her next canine companion, and has her heart set on a Great Dane. It was therefore an interesting coincidence that Rufus and I met a lovily young lady named Bella on a recent outing to the park.
 |
| From Rufus Meets B... |
After getting acquainted, Rufus and Bella checked out the over pooches at the park
 |
| From Rufus Meets B... |
They then got down to some serious, physical paytime.
 |
| From Rufus Meets B... |
Rufus made one or two attempts to "put a leg over", but Bella quickly shut down this cheeky behavior.
 |
| From Rufus Meets B... |
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Rufus gets a baby sister
Kelly and I somewhat impulsively decided to make a new addition to our family, a Savannah cat named Nikita. The rational behind choosing this particular flavor of kitty was that she will likely to grow up to be larger than your average domestic feline, and should be able to hold her own against the dogs in our household (we got her just before Lucky's death). After some initial attempts to treat her like a furry chew toy, the boys started acting like she was a (probationary) member of the family.
Since Lucky's passing, Rufus and Nikita have gotten more and more at ease with each other (it helps that Nikky grew up around a Boxer with whom she was best friends). Rufus has shown a great deal of curiousty about her (once he figured out that she was not a ferocious creature out to eat us in our sleep).
He followed her here...
He followed her there (where she took a swipe at him through the door jam)...
He followed her everywhere until she finally consented to be friends with the big red goof...
He even offered his back as a big (somewhat boney) red pillow
While Nikita is still now sure how to react when Rufus comes bounding towards her or drops a play bow in an invitation to romp, we are optimistic about their relationship...
Kelly and I somewhat impulsively decided to make a new addition to our family, a Savannah cat named Nikita. The rational behind choosing this particular flavor of kitty was that she will likely to grow up to be larger than your average domestic feline, and should be able to hold her own against the dogs in our household (we got her just before Lucky's death). After some initial attempts to treat her like a furry chew toy, the boys started acting like she was a (probationary) member of the family.
Since Lucky's passing, Rufus and Nikita have gotten more and more at ease with each other (it helps that Nikky grew up around a Boxer with whom she was best friends). Rufus has shown a great deal of curiousty about her (once he figured out that she was not a ferocious creature out to eat us in our sleep).
He followed her here...
 |
| From Rufus and Nikita |
He followed her there (where she took a swipe at him through the door jam)...
 |
| From Rufus and Nikita |
He followed her everywhere until she finally consented to be friends with the big red goof...
 |
| From Rufus and Nikita |
 |
| From Rufus and Nikita |
He even offered his back as a big (somewhat boney) red pillow
 |
| From Rufus and Nikita |
While Nikita is still now sure how to react when Rufus comes bounding towards her or drops a play bow in an invitation to romp, we are optimistic about their relationship...
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