A New Start...

I've done it. I've moved.

I am tired of fighting with Blogger's layout bugs and so on so I have moved to Wordpress.
You can now find me at...

CONRADIE ZOO!

I will continue to blog as I always have here, all about Thelma and Louise, and puppy raising, and my feline masters.

How Many Dogs Does It Take To Change A Lightbulb?

Golden Retriever: The sun is shining, the day is young, we’ve got our whole lives ahead of us, and you’re inside worrying about a stupid burned out bulb?
Border Collie: Just one. And then I’ll replace any wiring that’s not up to code.
Dachshund: You know I can’t reach that stupid lamp!
Rottweiler: Make me.
Boxer: Who cares? I can still play with my squeaky toys in the dark.
Lab: Oh, me, me!!!!! Pleeeeeeeeeze let me change the light bulb! Can I? Can I? Huh? Huh? Huh? Can I? Pleeeeeeeeeze, please, please, please!
German Shepherd: I’ll change it as soon as I’ve led these people from the dark, checked to make sure I haven’t missed any, and make just one more perimeter patrol to see that no-one has tried to take advantage of the situation.
Jack Russell Terrier: I’ll just pop it in while I’m bouncing off the walls and furniture.
Old English Sheep Dog: Light bulb? I’m sorry, but I don’t  see a light bulb.
Cocker Spaniel: Why change it? I can still pee on the carpet in the dark.
Chihuahua: Yo quiero Taco Bulb. Or “We don’t need no stinking light bulb.”
Greyhound: It isn’t moving. Who cares?
Australian Shepherd: First, I’ll put all the light bulbs in a little circle...
Poodle: I'll just blow in the Border Collie’s ear and he’ll do it. By the time he finishes rewiring the house, my nails will be dry.
How many cats does it take to change a light bulb?
Cats do not change light bulbs. People change light bulbs. The real question is: How long will it be before I can expect some light, some dinner, and a massage?

All of which proves, once again, that while dogs have masters… cats have staff!

Our #RiddickPup Is One Year Old!!

Thats right, today is Riddick's first birthday!

Just a few short months ago he was a little tiny pickle pup and now he's a beautiful big boy!

Very shortly, Riddick's "A" litter siblings- Aristotle, Anushka, Askii, Abby and Apollo- will be returning to SA Guide-dogs to commence their formal training, and I can't believe how quickly time has passed! Our boy, of course, won't be going back to SAGA, and I know how hard it is to part with a dog you have come to love.

Riddick had an eventful birthday weekend, and by Sunday night he was exhausted!

The long Easter weekend was spent at home and at my parents house - Saturday was my nephew's birthday party and Sunday was Easter, so we visited there with the family, taking Riddick and Kenzo along.

Kenzo is a guide-dog-in-training who was donated to SAGA as an adult dog, so he didn't get a puppy upbringing like SAGA's own pups do. This meant of course that Riddick had a playmate his own size for a whole four days!

They had a ball!

 

#RiddickPup Is Fifty One Weeks Old

According to my measurements on the kitchen wall, Riddick is a couple of millimetres short of 60cm tall, and he weighs 30.5kg.
We had a fairly quiet week as I was very busy, and this week coming will be the same although Easter weekend will be a nice break for us all.
Unfortunately we didn't get to the dog park on Sunday afternoon as I didn't have the petrol to ride around. :(

Riddick enjoying the sunshine on the stoep

Magic and Riddick, juuuust barely sharing the couch...

#RiddickPup Is Fifty Weeks Old

Here are some purely gratuitous photos of my beautiful puppy snuggled on the couch with me!

On Saturday afternoon we took Riddick with us to a puppy walker social at SAGA, and there were probably 20 dogs there! It was a really cool get together, but none of Riddicks' siblings were in attendance. I realised that his siblings will be going back to SAGA for their formal guide-dog training in the next couple of weeks! Its amazing how time flies and we are really lucky to be able to keep our sweet boy with us.

Riddick was very good at the social, where all the dogs stay on-lead and aren't allowed free play, with so many dogs its simply chaos to let them run free.

After the social, we went back to the off-lead park we've been going to so he could have a bit of a run around. The park was quite empty when we arrived and Riddick had fun chasing his ball and sniffing around. It got busy quite fast but as we have done a lot of socialisation with Riddick he greets other dogs politely, and he is happy to avoid dogs who come across as aggressive. He is also happy to just play with his ball and watch the other dogs go by.
:D
Unlike a lot of the dogs in the park, he doesn't "swim" in the big water trough - he's more than a little leery of water - but he LOVED the cold sloppy mud around the trough!

By Saturday evening he was good and worn out!

On Sunday we visited my parents for my mom's birthday, and Riddick went along. He and my mom's dog Toppy play quite well together and I love taking "my baby" with me if I can.