Of course, Bassets are fun to photograph, because there’s just so many ways in which you can make them look ridiculous… Like this:

And this:

I wonder if they ever grow into all that skin?

Maggie doesn’t mind though…  As long as she is adored, Mommy will get a kiss!

We’re now done with Puppy School and our Maggie did very well – her certificate is proudly displayed on the fridge.  She sits on command, knows her place in the pack (family) and often comes when called (we’re still working on that one!).  In August we’re starting a six-week obedience training course.

I don’t know how obedient she can be, since I don’t know how well she can hear with these ears!  And yes, she steps on them a lot!

Since Bassets are considered large breed dogs, we have to be careful with her bone-development.  Her daily walks should be kept short (about 15-20 minutes) until she’s about a year old, after which we can increase them and even run with her if we (and by “we” I really mean Craig) want to.  She’s quite fine with a 15 minute walk every afternoon or evening and will usually  go to bed afterward for a nice long sleep.

Note the vegetation she brought in…  My garden is not what it used to be!  But it’s all good, because I’m completely in love!

I GOT THE JOB!

Thank you for all the good wishes.  You can uncross your bits now.  They should get nicely un-kinked with the happy dance.

I have so much to say about this, but for now I’m just celebrating.

It was all very exhausting, so instead of a soul-searching post today, we get to do something fun.  Krissie from Questions for Dessert resurrected the old iPod-shuffle post yesterday and I’m jumping on the bandwagon.

It’s easy.  Hit shuffle on your iPod and write down the first ten songs that come up.  Share with your friends and wait for the ridicule.

So, here goes:

1. Searching my soul – Vonda Shepherd (This song always makes me happy)
2. Setting forth – Eddie Vedder (He’s my #2 favorite artist – and I love this album)
3. Mary’s in India – Dido
   
4. Dance Sum More – Mango Groove (South African band from the early 90′s)
5. Let’s be friends – Bruce Springsteen (My favorite artist of all time.  I love this man!)
6. Many rivers to cross – Toni Childs
7. I would do anything for love – Meatloaf (I may follow a plant-based diet, but I loves me some Meatloaf!)
8. Life is a highway – Rascal Flatts
9. Electrolite – REM
10. For Nancy (Cause it already is) – Pete Yorn
    

So, nothing really embarrassing.  I’d say this is fairly representative of my musical taste.  I love songs that I can sing along with…

Now you!  Let me know what comes up for you.

Enjoy!

I love this little dog!  Yes, she’s a lot of work, but she’s such a joy to have around.

Last time I wrote about her I said she was mostly toilet trained.  That proved to be a bit optimistic and I became a little frazzled.  Fortunately we had to take her to the vet on Wednesday for her shots and saw the puppy school right next to the animal hospital.  So I signed us up and we attended our first lesson on Thursday.

Puppy school changed my life!  Where previously I’d been tentative and uncertain, I now know how to teach her in a loving, yet firm, way.  She’s a changed dog…  She’s always been a good dog, but now she’s much easier to handle.

I was surprised to see that Maggie loves soft toys, so I bought her this pink and blue squeaky toy this morning.  She’s totally worn herself out playing with it – she runs at full speed when you throw it and then comes to a tumbling stop when she reaches it.  Too funny!  She doesn’t “get” balls yet, but this she can enjoy.

I also bought a collar and leash this morning and she took to it like a duck to water.  We went for our first walk this afternoon and she was totally fine.  I am so proud of her!  I was far more tired than she was, so our daily walk will benefit both of us…

Maggie also loves bathing.  She’s such an easy dog.  The hardest thing at the moment is teaching her that the couch is off-limits.  We are standing firm on that one!

I have to clean inside her ears every day or two and she tolerates it like a champion.

She’s growing so quickly… She gained over a kilogram in the first ten days we had her and I definitely haven’t been over-feeding her.

I’ll put some more pictures on Facebook.