All about River!!

So our new puppy River has been with us for 3 whole weeks!! She is happily adjusted to her new home and life. She and Loki get along great; they do play fight- like siblings. They may nip at each other but never anything serious. River got her stitches (from her spaying) out last Monday (Sept.12), we were finally able to give the little girl a bath. Which she needed. She visited the vet and got a clean bill of health, well minus the parasite but that is totally treatable and is almost gone. She goes back to the vet next Monday for another well puppy visit. River likes to follow Loki all over the place. We don't worry when she goes outside as she tends to stay close to Loki. She is still getting used to the leash. However, she can already sit on command and understands "go outside" and "bedtime". She likes her crate. Occasionally she will cry, really howl, but that's only if a) she can see people or b) she is really wound up. Most of the time we can put her in her crate and she is good.

The Vacuum Cleaner = Evil! Yes, puppy is scared to death of the vacuum cleaner. She runs out of the room and trembles. Something must have happened to her before she came to us, but she is young enough we can get her over this fear. Loki isn't afraid of it, she just doesn't like it and therefore barks at it.

River loves to play with toys, especially Loki's. Suprisingly Loki is okay with this. Often she brings a toy to River. This way River is distracted and Loki can get TLC. Loki is still spoiled rotten, we are making sure that we spend time alone with her too. Loki and I still have Loki/Jenny time- where she sits by me and I put my arm around her and rub her chest. Eventually she lays down and rolls over so I can rub her belly.

River is a lap dog...or so she thinks. She loves to run towards us and dive into our laps. Sound famliar? That's b/c Loki used to do that. Loki still thinks she is a lap dog.

Having two dogs is quite the adventure. I have to keep constant eyes on River. Two weekends ago I had to take her and Loki (b/c Loki likes to follow me too) to the bathroom with me as I was the only one home. I am constantly saying "No River!" I so did not miss those rose thorn puppy teeth. Generally where ever Loki is, River is nearby, and vice versa. Whatever River does/gets, so does Loki. We treat them equally. Although Loki doesn't get as many treats as we don't want her getting fat. River, on the other hand, we want to gain weight. Little girl is still pretty skinny. She is gaining though. She is getting bigger too. Pretty soon she will need a pinch collar (or as we call it 'power steering') and we will be able to really start training her. Loki will go through training as well. So far the Monkey See, Monkey Do theory is working quite nicely. Let's hope it continues!

Loki vs. River

Since we now have two dogs I thought I would blog about both of them and do a little Since we Photnowcomparison on the two.

Loki

Breed: Labrador Retriever (pure)

Age when adopted: 7 weeks Age now: 5 years

Weight then: 8.2 lbs Weight now: 62 lbs (solid muscle)

Color: Yellow

D.O.B.- February 8, 2006

Literal Meaning of Name: Loki is the Norse God of Mischief

Story behind the name: We were searching for the perfect name for her when I suggested Loki, my parents asked "What does that mean" I explained and we all decided it was perfect for our mischievous puppy

Nickname (s): Lokilu, Little Rodent (dad's nickname),

Fave toy (s): Frankenmoo and Squeaky the squirrel

Song: I like to Move it (this is her theme song), Brown Eyed Girl (this is what I sing to her), and the Nudzzle song (silly song mom sings to her in the morning

Photo on top left is Loki when we first got her Photo top right is Loki today

River

Breed: Labrador Retriever mix (dad was pure Golden Retriever, mom was Lab mix)

Color: Black w/ white splash on chest

Age at adoption: 9 weeks Age now: 11 weeks

Weight then: 8 lbs (skinny little girl) Weight now: 16 lbs (starting to gain weight)

D.O.B- June 23, 2011

Literal Meaning of Name: a natural stream of water of fairly large size flowing in a definate course or channel or series of divering and converging channels (ty dictionary.com)

Story behind name: Again, coming up with a name was hard. I was really pushing for Sahara (as she was getting really big drinks of water), Dad came up with River b/c she was constantly peeing. River suits her perfectly as she is constantly taking in large amounts of water and then getting rid of it.

Fave Toy (s): Draco the Dragon, whatever Loki has

Nickname: Little girl, River Rat (dad's), River Pup (mine...interestingly enough that was the name of my univerisitys former mascot),

Song: None as of yet.

River

This blog was written two weeks ago and I forgot to publish it. More details about the new puppy. Enjoy!

Last week we adopted a 9 week old black labrador retriever mix. Her name at the time was Tina Turner. We named her River. River likes to drink mass amounts of water and she also pees a lot. This is how she got her name. She is 10 weeks old and gets her stitches out on Monday, which means then she can get a bath! Yay! Puppy is smelling a bit funky. Loki was groomed on Friday so she is all sweet smelling and fluffy. River and Loki are getting along better. They are playing and chasing each other a lot. It is a bit of a mad house here. River thinks everyone is a living chew toy, so we have to have something nearby to offer her as an alternative. I haven't had an opportunity to upload photos of her yet as whenever I get home from work, River takes up all of my time. Today I honestly felt like a stay at home mom to two kids. I can trust Loki, but I can't let River out of my site. I have only gone to the bathroom alone when River is a) being watched by Mark or is b) in her crate. Wherever Loki goes, River goes and vice versa. Last night, toys littered the living room and I had two crazy dogs nipping, chasing, "talking" at each other. River is doing a lot better in her crate. She only cries in it when she can see us, or when she knows you are in another room and could therefore potentially let her out. Right now I am hiding out in my room. River is sleeping in her crate, and Loki is out cold in front of my tv. I wanted to watch the baseball game and play on facebook in peace. Not possible with a 10 week old puppy who is into everything and peeing every 15 minutes (so it seems). I will post more pics of her soon. Now it is time to wake the baby up to go outside and play a bit. Then bed time for both of us. I love having 2 dogs, but at times they drive me crazy. I love my Lokilu and River tho.