The Autumn Heart

Here we are on a nice fall day with a pack of Ridgebacks at River Park - it was a lovely day - the perfect temperature for the dogs to run and run and run and .... well you get the idea. There was Raimi, Halo, Ramsay, Kika, Emmie, Levi, Lucy, Zuri, Shane, Ryder and of course little Deuce the Pug who always manages to steal the scene. Everyone got along great after some posturing and a few rumbles - you can tell these guys are accustomed to working in packs because we rarely have trouble with a large number in a group.

The New World

Today another Ridgeback litter made its way into the world. Lots of little ridged girls to choose from so hopefully in about 8 or 9 weeks we will see a little friend for Raimi.

I tell him Leeloo is coming and he makes this face. Of course the same thing happens when I tell him he’s going out to pee so who knows what sort of a connection he’ll make between the two things. Chances are he will pee on her because no one is safe … Zero, Halo, Rory …

Here is a newly born ridge – nice and long with a gorgeous fan and two crowns. This is what every ridgeback breeder holds their breath for when the sac is removed and the puppy is turned over. You want to see this every single time. Fortunately I have not had the experience of an absent ridge but for every breeder this possibility exists.

In the coming weeks we’ll know for sure if a Leeloo will emigrate from the USA to Canada and start a new life here. I’ll try to keep updated with pictures and once my own camera arrives – which I finally bought - internet blog-dom will be flooded with pictures of her. And don't forget the all important puppy shower ... we'll have to arrange a walk to introduce her to the Ridgebacks of Calgary.

Hide and Seek

I was reminded recently about something that Petal used to do. We all have particular habits that make us individuals but this trait was not something I thought odd until I moved out of my parent's house.


Petal almost never ate anything immediately (unless it was pork or chicken); she'd hide it somewhere. Usually this involved burying it in the couch or finding a secluded corner to secret it. It was such an endearing habit that I'd deliberately give her treats as a kind of party trick when people were over or if I was at someone's house with her.



A lot of my parent's dogs hid treats or would take a mouthful of food and eat it somewhere in 'private' so it is an inherited trait from her extended family. I can't recall ever seeing a Puli stand at the dish and eat until they were done.



So how do you hide food when there is no dirt with which to bury it? What else but air? You'd think that burying a treat in the couch would mean pushing it into the cushions but no ... Petal was always satisfied with the air camouflage. She'd take the treat, spend a few minutes deciding the best hiding spot ( sometimes with three or four changes of location) and then push air over it with her nose. She'd lie down and stare at it until she was quite sure no one else could find it ... and then leave it exposed for anyone to pick up.



The best part was if you picked it up after it was 'hidden' and say "What's this Petal?". Poor Petal, she'd spent all that time carefully hiding it and she'd look at you like "How on EARTH did you see that???" She'd take the treat again and repeat the process but with more intense searching for a better spot.

I recall a camping trip once when we gave Petal her dinner and she took a few pieces of food, scratched a hole in the dirt, nosed the dirt back over the food and - I'm anthropomorphizing here - looked aghast "Where's the food????" I have a witness to this and he can vouch for her reaction. She stopped, stared, and started looking for the food again like she couldn't imagine where it had gone. It was priceless. Some squirrel in the middle of winter would have hit the jackpot.



Petal would also only eat part of her dinner and bury the rest with air. This actually involved her scooping air from the floor with her nose and lifting it over the side of the dish onto the food. If there was another dog around the burying was very intense and went on for some time. Sometimes if she was lucky there would be something to bury the food with like a blanket or a rug but often air would have to suffice. At night she'd get her bedtime treat and if she didn't want to eat it right away it ended up somewhere buried in the comforter, if she forgot about it til the next night I'd re-treat her with the same one til she eventually ate it. She had a pretty good memory though and would sometimes take the 'new' treat and try to find the old treat she knew was stored away somewhere.

Halo quickly learned the habit of Petal 'hiding' food and would just wait til Petal left the treat and snap it up. Now of course the Ridgebacks don't save anything for later, every single treat is gone practically before you knew you had it. Petal was a rainy day girl and I guess it doesn't hurt to have a snack stored away, hidden by air, covered in lint behind the couch ... just in case.

Ridgeback Romp Sept 6th

Just a reminder about our next fun day romp mad house type run with the dogs on September 6th at 1pm. I'd put noon on the initial email but changed it to one ... by accident of course. Anyway, leave it at 1pm and I hope to see everyone there.

Halo may leave for the US in September so it could be her last hurrah before she goes. I'm sure she will be putting on airs and being bossy but after 19 puppies safely raised she has some call to throw her weight around.

In case you don't remember what sort of fun we've had in the past here's some reminders ...

Fingers crossed for no snow. This was for Halo's first litter's birthday bash. It was a bit chilly but the dogs didn't seem to notice.

Can you believe this was already almost 3 months ago? This was June 15th and the grass was long and the water was high. The dogs had such a good time boinging their way through the tall green ocean and wearing themselves out.

This is from last year - one of the first fun days we had and Raimi was just 3 months old. He is SO tiny next to Tumbles ...

And even tho she won't be there in person who can forget Petal's presence at the fun days for Ridgebacks? She was so patient and long suffering ... her shadow is still close at my side.

See everyone next Saturday September 6th at 1pm!

The Fifth Element

So it's my turn to be excited! In a few short weeks I might be adding a baby girl to the house. There is a litter due in the US and I'm hoping to get a little show bitch puppy from it. The dam is due early in September, is as big as a house and will probably have 13 boys ... just because I want a girl.

The dam comes from similar lines as Raimi's sire and the sire to these puppies is Halo's half-cousin. I'm quite confident that if there is a show ridged girl or two to choose from I'll end up with a really nice structurally sound bitch with a great temperament.

Raimi is so excited to get a girlfriend. Well, maybe not since he'll have to share me but he'll have a little friend to play with and possible future love interest. Or rather a passing lust interest.

Her name will be Leeloo and she's still cozied up in her mom right now ... assuming there is a girl or two. Sometime next week we'll know if we should start planning for a new addition.

Teenage Mutant Ninja ... Ridgebacks

I've been hearing lately about the last litter and how they are getting on just before their 8 month birthday. It seems they are now officially in teenage angst stage where you have a 65 to 80 pound puppy who is behaving like a 8 week old puppy.

This is the point at which they realize how big they are and how smart they think they are. This involves them testing the limits of the rules they have spent the last 6 months learning. It's almost as though in a matter of days they unlearn everything they know and thus unlearned, start to apply their own rules to life.

Remember everything you can about teenagers, apply that to dogs and voila! You have a very good idea what the next few months will involve. Yes ... I said months. You may have to replace things like shoes, dog beds, and couches but think of it this way ... at least you don't have to pay for college.

Also, Isis in Edmonton just came into heat, far far earlier than any of her sisters have previously done, their mother didn't come into heat until after she turned a year old so this is a bit of a surprise. Bella, Mya, Karma, Lulu and Rifka's families should be on the look out for signs of imminent heat. Those four being spayed will have to wait til their vet agrees it's safe should any of them come into heat prior to that event.

There you have it. Teenage Ridgeback life has officially begun ... enjoy it while you can (if you can?) because soon they will be all grown up!

How to Get Ahead in Advertising

Phew! Just got back from our big photoshoot. Kathryn took lots of pictures but we'll have to wait for her to send them on. Raimi is now curled up with eyes pressed closed and sighing with exhaustion. You wouldn't think standing around would take up so much energy!

We arrived to find Kika already preparing for her close up. She is so adorable! She was in Barb's arms looking wide-eyed and puppy like. I missed her photoshoot because I was upstairs babysitting the two morons but I did see the end of her session. She was running around on the floor because they were trying to tire her out so she'd lie down! And boy did she ever, she was so tuckered she lay down on the table and went to sleep. They got some great shots of that and then it was Seth's turn.

Seth was not sure about this at ALL. He'd been hanging around awhile was bored with the whole proceeding. He decided to look bored, wouldn't prick his ears and kept panting. The more difficult and delicate aspect was that the boys er ... manhood ... was hidden behind one of their legs. The table was stressing him out a little bit and he didn't really seem to know what we were asking him to do. We decided to give him a break and do Rory instead.

It was like going from the eye of the storm into the hurricane. Rory was very confused by the 'stay' concept and didn't understand that when we backed away we were intending him to stay put. He kept sliding on the fabric and was generally confused. Frustration levels rose and ding ...

It was lunch time. Everyone needed a break and some food so we let the Raimi and Rory out to play. Aha! That took the edge off! There was a nice stretch of grass outside the back door of the studio and they had a marvelous time! They beat each other up with abandon and I had visions of a grass stained Raimi and Rory on the front of brochures.

Finally they burned off enough steam and we headed back in. Rory still didn't understand what was wanted until I suggested we use the show collar I'd brought, they could photoshop it out. Once that collar was on he stood still and shot after shot of him sitting and standing were perfect. He was a little teenage star! Hope it doesn't go to his head.

Then it was Raimi's turn. Well, he's not this good looking for nothing. It was a fairly consistent barrage of exclamations on how great he looked. He was quite good, better standing than sitting because of course he's mostly been show trained. He is also used to being asked for expression so it was very easy to get him to give wrinkles and ears and bright eyes. It will be hard to choose his 'perfect' shot. Although, looking at him with a critical breeder's eye ... I hope they don't use one of him kneeing out!

We then brought Seth back in with the show collar and that corrected his slouching problem! They got some absolutely fabulous shots of him and I'm really pleased with the results. Every dog looks just as it should and in hindsight everyone was so good. We definitely impressed them with the dogs and the ad agency was very pleased with the result.

This is an ad campaign for Bayer Animal Sciences for magazines and vet clinics with print ads and brochures. After some market research they decided to use a breed that was a 'neutral' dog as in no cropping, docking or controversial issues and was an average looking breed. They also wanted a large breed because it's more impressive and the age differences are more acute. Look for these guys in the new year on your vet clinic's brochure shelf!