#RiddickPup Is Thirty Nine Weeks Old

We went for our weigh in this morning and Riddick weighed 29kg on the vet's scale this morning and he is just over 57cm tall at the shoulder.

And this week, Riddick's new Doggles arrived! We ordered his "grown up" Doggles from iWarehouse.co.za for an absolute bargain, compared to other places we've found them for sale! Since he outgrew the baby Doggles he had so very quickly, he hasn't worn these in a while so the process of getting him accustomed to them has started again. Doggles offer some tips on their site for training your dog to wear them, one of which is not putting them on inside the house. LOL! We've started with short periods of him wearing them and giving him treats at the same time.

As usual, this is my view when I am sitting on my bed with my laptop. Where I go, he goes, so working on my bed means he's on the bed too.

And he sleeps on our bed (I have mentioned this before), and after his 11pm busies he comes running up the stairs and jumps onto my husband's spot on the bed!

When Riddick sleeps on the floor at my feet he has to lie on at least one of my feet!

And Riddick does love the couch...

#SAGApupVolt is Sixty Weeks Old

The Voltinator goes back to SAGA to continue his training this coming Wednesday, so his holiday with us is almost over. Its been so nice to have him here for a little while to love and cuddle and treat.

And you know what, knowing SAGA will find the perfect partner with the perfect home for him is such a big thing for us, never having to worry about whether he is happy or safe or well treated makes it a little bit easier to let him go.

Today at the vet Volt weighed in at 33.5kg, which is a little lighter than when we sent him back to SAGA for training - but he does work hard every day. And he is still just shy of 60cm tall at the shoulder.
He is still energetic and excitable and very lovable, but we can see a huge difference in his behaviour in terms of how his training has kicked in.
He is still very excited when he sees other dogs and will happily take off to go and play if given the opportunity!
I bought all four of the dogs a big juicy meat bone as a Christmas treat, and all four of them have been taught that their treats belong to me. I don't leave them in the garden with these bones, I will give them each one- in order of seniority, Thelma and Louise getting theirs first- and then I make sure they stay on opposite ends of the garden as such a delicious treat can cause trouble if they are unsupervised. After about 20 minutes on the first day, I took the bones away and stuck them in seperate bags in the fridge so they could have them again another day.

This is Volt with a little plastic drinking cup! Does he look guilty or what!? I don't know where he found it and I took it from him before he did any damage to it, but his face was so comical I had to take a picture.

And here is Volt, blowing bubbles in the pool! He doesn't get into the pool, but he does love to lie on the side and stick his face in the water.

#SAGApupVolt And #RiddickPup Together For Christmas

Aren't our boys just too beautiful!

This Saturday past, friends of ours came to braai with us and brought their 8 week old Labrador pup, Bella, along with them.

Bella and the boys played until late into the night, and Bella was fast asleep in the car when they drove home, with both Riddick and Volt sleeping away most of Sunday!
Bella is just the sweetest little girl with a typically friendly Labrador nature, and Volt and Riddick being well socialised meant they played well together from the moment dainty little Bella arrived.

#SAGApupVolt And #RiddickPup Together Again

#SAGApupVolt is Fifty Nine Weeks Old

We fetched Volt from SAGA's kennels on Friday afternoon, and he was very happy to see us indeed, it was so sweet! Initially we couldn't find him in the outside runs of the kennels so we went inside to look for him, and as luck would have it he was right at the end. I was almost afraid I wouldn't recognise him but I spotted him immediately!
He's home for a two week holiday over Christmas, as his trainer is taking a break and didn't want to leave the dogs in kennels whilst she's away.
All the SAGA trainers go on holiday over Christmas so the dogs in training either go home to their puppy-walker families or they spend a couple of weeks boarding with volunteer families.
We didn't get to the vet for a weigh-in, but is still 57cm tall at the shoulder, so I think he has stopped growing for sure.
When he arrived home I immediately let him off-lead and he and Riddick took off into the back garden to get re-acquainted and then they played until they were both exhausted! Its so sweet how well they get on and how well they play together.
Then I had to pop out to the shops and when we got home about an hour later Volt had dug a big hole in the corner of the back garden!

On Saturday we spent the day at my parents house and the dogs always come with us when we go there. Volt was super excited to see all the people he knew again and he and Riddick had a ball with the hose pipe and the children and the toys. They were quite exhausted when they got home.

Volt will be going back to SAGA to continue his training a day or two after New Year.