He's now a full 8 months old and this morning Riddick weighed 28.7kg on the vet's scale. There's no gain on last week so I think he has pretty much finished growing. He's on the smaller side of average when it comes to height and weight for male Labradors, but I am quite happy with his size.
You'd think that with us stopping in at the vet's office every week for weighing and a walk around, he'd be used to the place by now, but he still whines and cries when he gets out the car, and he gets very excited and loud when we head for the office door! The receptionist knows him very well and has commented on how much he has improved since he was very little... LOL
We still have lots of "conditioning" opportunities with Riddick.
Last Monday night Riddick walked into our bedroom after chilling outside on the balcony, and my cowboy hat had fallen, upside down, onto his bed on the floor. This was completely unfamiliar to Riddick, and halfway through the door he started barking- the same bark he uses for an intruder. I got up- without moaning at him because I realised something had upset him- and went to see what was up. I touched the hat (not him) and when he stopped barking I called him over. He came over and sniffed it, then I picked it up and flipped it over to let him sniff it again, and then tossed it lightly across the floor so we could walk up to it again. Then I put it on my head and crouched in front of him and took it off again, and dropped it on the floor, and he was completely over it and uninterested. Fabulous!
I was very proud of our puppy Riddick on Saturday night. We were planning to attend the annual SAGA Carols by Candlelight evening, and decided to take Riddick with us. Many people who attend the SAGA fund raising events take their dogs along, and they are well behaved and well trained, so I was a wee bit worried about Riddick as he hasn't had the same exposure to events that Volt had, and he has a tendency to be very bouncy and vocal in new situations. The evening was cool and rainy, but we took him with us and even though he was pulling me all over the place he was exceptionally well behaved, and he spent the night wrapping people around his little toe! He has the sweetest face and the most approachable nature, and people couldn't resist greeting him when they walked past. I am hoping we can get him accustomed to such crowds without getting overly excited as he could be an asset at our SAGA fundraising events- especially when my hubby and I are "between" puppies!
lying on the grass between my Glugster and I, listening to the performers on stage
And here for your enjoyment, here's a video of Riddick and my son Damien, playing ball! You can see how Riddick brings it back and drops it to be thrown again. When he's had enough he won't bring it back again. The ball is solid rubber so it bounces and rolls across the lawn, and its too big to swallow, but he can't puncture it either!!
And here, for your enjoyment, are some photos of our growing boy!
Riddick found an old "branch" from our palm tree and played with it all week!
I have 3 cats who live indoors, I have 2 dogs who live mostly outside and 1 who lives mostly inside, my son has a bearded dragon in a terrarium in his bedroom and I am a Guide-dog puppy raiser for SAGA!
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