Kika is earning a few of them based on her entertaining behaviours.
One of her first nicknames is Kika-Roo. She has earned this as she bounces up and down, and jumps - just like a kangaroo. She bounces when on leash for a walk. She bounces especially in her yard at the back fence when she spies one of her many friends coming up the pathway. She bounces when she plays. She bounces when she greets people. Boing, boing, boing ....
And unlike our previous Ridgebacks, she has now perfected the art of counter surfing by bouncing. We have been stepping into her when she has jumped up on counters to discourage her and get her down. But with her practice bounces; instead of getting off the counters, she just bounces over and out of the way. She bounced around the whole kitchen island one day!
So many of our bouncy pictures are just that, bouncy, blurry or she's out of frame. So here's some cute instead. We are now looking at the camera to see if it has a high speed frame setting that might keep up with the Kika-Roo!!!
Today, for the first time, Kika wanted to sit in a certain blue chair in our house, she has not paid it any attention previously. I've put her in the chair for pictures but today she got up there all on her own. Her interest in this chair today of all days is quite remarkable. This chair was Tionas favourite and today, September 17, one year ago was the day we said good bye to our little angel.
These days Jim and I think we were so lucky to get Kika, but we were also very blessed to have had Tiona in our lives as well. Our first Ridgeback, Amra was two years old and we had been toying with the idea of getting him a buddy. We tried the local Humane Society, had even picked out a cute little Belgian Shepard cross girl but Amra wasn't really interested in her. I returned the pup to the kennel and when I came back out to the reception area, I couldn't find Jim or Amra, just a large crowd of people. There was Amra the centre of attention, a crowd of people hopeful that they could adopt him! (Our first exposure to the Allure of the Ridgeback). We then called Elizabeth and asked her to keep us in mind the next time she had a litter. Imagine our surprise when she told us to come out that weekend. She had two litters of puppies ready to go to their new homes and not all of them were spoken for. Her upper nursery had the eight week olds, Jim told me I could pick so I sat on the floor with them. Everyone should be swarmed by a mob of puppies a few times in their life - it's just awesome. One little pup would not leave me alone, crawling in my lap, licking, nibbling everything she could to to get my attention and ensure I noticed her. I took note of her markings as she had white toes and nails on all of her paws, a large white patch on her chest and dark "Cleopatra" eye make-up. We then went to the downstairs kennel to see the other litter of puppies, but there was just something special about that first little girl, so back up we went. As we passed the landing for the front door, there was a family ready to leave with their puppy. Yup, white toes and nails, chest patch and dark eyes. I was crushed, they had our puppy! Jim ushered me back to the nursery room saying there were lots of puppies, we'd just pick another one. All the remaining puppies were back rambunctiously playing with each other, I scanned the crowd several times, confirming my worst fears ... I didn't see the one I liked. With increasing disappointment I said; "She's not there". Jim gave me one of those looks, the one where I'm doing something stupid and told me to look down. Amazingly there was a puppy not interested in playing with the littermates, just sitting against the barricade looking up at me with big brown Cleopatra eyes and a happy smiling face! It was that special girl waiting for us ..... Elizabeth later told us that she had a twin, and oddly the puppy we were interested in showed no interest in the other couple - yet her twin had. And her twin had shown no interest in us but fawned over the other couple. It seems these two girls had decided independently whom they were supposed to go home with. It was fate...turns out she was just a good judge of character and knew a soft touch when she saw one.
Introducing a new puppy to a large male dog is something all the "experts" advised us to do in slow careful introductions to ensure the puppies safety .... somehow the experts haven't studied the unwritten Ridgeback handbook .... Amra and T were buddies from the first moment, he was happy to have a new friend. He was very careful and attentive to this tiny puppy. The afternoon Tiona came home, she was having a nap in the kitchen. She made one little squeak in her sleep and Amra was in there like a shot. Concerned (because of the "experts") we raced after him, he was so large we were afraid to leave them together. We need not to have worried as we found 120 lb Amra, soothing the puppy and arranging the blankets to tuck her back in. From moment one she was just as determined to be with him. It didn't matter what room she was in, locked in a kennel or not, "Houndini" would find a way out and we would come home to find her in the kitchen with him. He too was limited to a portion of the house by a barricade. So tiny 8 week puppy Tiona would have escaped her kennel, which was blocking a bathroom doorway in case she did escape and had an accident, climbed over a full size (Amra's) hard body kennel, navigated the third floor of our four level split house, climbed eight stairs, then scaled a vertical 32 inch plywood barricade that always successfully kept Amra in the kitchen when we were at work, and drop to the kitchen floor .... just to be with the big guy. Pure Determination, and many big obstacles for such a tiny girl. We started calling Amra the "Nanny" because he took such good care of her. She could do anything she wanted with and to him; With her sharp puppy teeth she would literally hang from his lips and neck and he would carry her around. Never lashing out although it had to hurt from those needles plus having a 15 pound puppy dangling like a goiter. Some of these early pictures of them together is well before the puppy tenderized her big buddy .... she hung off him so much the Nanny earned a new nickname out of sympathy Amra blended into "Amburger" as he had so many raw bites that he gladly endured from the new love of his life.
Tiona was partial to all forms of furniture, indoors or out. It's a true Ridgeback trait to find the most comfortable place to lie down no matter where you find yourself. Tiona was a study in many personalities; escape artist, sweet girl, rangy puppy, and yet a princess too. With her high energy and acrobatic ways she had one little trick that was unique to her; T (her short name) would race around the house at full tilt aiming for the bed or the couch or a big comfy chair, leap in the air at full speed, in mid air start folding her legs in repose so that when she landed on the targeted furniture (and she always stuck the landing perfectly) she was folded exactly in the position she wanted without the usual fuss of twirling around of plumping the cushions like most dogs do. And she would stare at you once landed with a satisfied expression that screamed "Ta-DAHHHH!!!" She slowed down on the aerialgymnastics in old age, but always knew how to be most comfortable when resting.
Fun, lively, sweet and smart, that was our Tiona. Very, very smart. She knew what you were saying at all times and if you asked her to do something you needed to say please as she was a stickler for manners. I'm also fairly certain she was far more clever than me, she would make up her mind what she wanted and never failed to get me to do or get something for her. I used to joke to Jim I was going to write a book, I already had the title "Being your dogs bitch"... She was also a firm believer in let sleeping dogs lie. If she was lying down and didn't want to be disturbed even though you wanted to give her a cuddle she would start with very deep breathing and work up to full blown fake snoring until you left her alone. The only flaw in her approach was that she never fully shut her eyes while fake snoring in case you might have a treat. One of her favourite things to do to me was getting me up in the middle of the night on the pretence of needing to go outside. I would be downstairs holding the door open - no Tiona. She would only come part way downstairs and race back up just to claim my side of the bed. She would actually have her head on the pillow and have tucked herself in. Here she as an older girl after one of her "spa" treatments - massaging shower head and warm water for her spinal arthritis.
Tiona may have been small in stature but not in heart or spirit. She never complained about anything. Even when she was diagnosed with a cancerous lung tumour and we had to leave her at the Care Centre for a couple of days. I knew she was depressed but she was making the best of her situation. On one visit, a technician explained her concern about how upset T seemed to be there, and asked me to help feed T to make her feel better. The technician said she had been hand feeding Tiona tinned food for every meal (it looked like pate). The tech couldn't understand why we started to laugh, we both knew right then she was fine because she had conned someone into doing her bidding! Smart and Manipulative ... she was doing much better, and got to come home. Tiona preferred to take her medication in pate on a cracker, that and pepperoni pizza, extra cheese...
When we brought her home, Tiona knew she had a second chance and was determined to enjoy everything, and she did. We had eleven months of "extra innings" after receiving a very grim prognosis. On her check-ups at the CARE center it got to the point that her oncologist started referring to her as "her rock star" patient as she was doing so well despite her situation. Tiona had great quality of life for so much of this extra time and when she was ready to go she let us know. Remaining too smart and calling all the shots as she always had.
I know Tiona has re-united with her boys and is keeping them in line, from a big comfy chair...
There was some "discussion" over the song choice for this story. But how could you go wrong with a power ballad from a hair band? Tiona was quite partial to them...really...
Visitors! My sister Maggie and her guy Kelly are stopping by for a visit on their way home from camping. They are bringing Jax, their 3yr old Boxer so the girls can meet. It should be interesting, Jax is quite the character! As we suspected, the meeting was a total success. Jax learned some Ridgeback moves and in turn taught Kika the art of tugging and of course, boxing!
I love this picture because it has three of my favourite ladies in it. Notice Kika admiring the length of Jaxies tongue!
Taking a breather and trying to prove that she is no slouch in the tongue department herself. Has a little way to go yet to be in Jaxies league though.
Let's Play!
Nice Ears...
Here Jim is fending off Jax and her incredible tongue. She likes nothing better than to greet you with lots of kisses. The first time I met her she licked my face so hard I actually thought she was going to drown me.
Playing Pin the Puppy
Teaching the kid a few tricks. Tugs is one of Jaxies favourite games. It's now one of Kikas as well.
One of Kikas first nicknames was the fanged flying squirrel. She was uncanny, the moment she suspected you weren't looking, out of nowhere she would come flying through the air at you. If you were lucky she would just brush past you, unlucky - a four point landing. She then added stalking to her aerial assault routine, just added to the challenge of catching you unaware. One day I noticed her in her crouch, eyes intent. How cute I thought, so I stood very still and pretended not to notice her stealthy approach. I'm keeping track of her out of the corner of my eye. When she was about five feet away she launched and connected. I like to think that she didn't bite me on the crotch on purpose....
The ad campaign is in! Here is one of Kikas professional shots. I like this one, she still gives the head tilt and full on "thinking wrinkles" (thanks Tamzin) when she is spoken to. Pretty good for only 10 weeks old!
Rory the adolescent is 7 months old here. Rory is a real sweetheart.
Raimi, 17 months old. A super handsome, nice boy. A real gentle giant.
And Seth, 10 years old and Kikas new BFF! He was very good with her, even let her play with his tail. I'm told he was especially happy that she didn't come home with him, one puppy in his house is quite enough.
He reminds me of Tiona with how he deals with young pups... Age and treachery will always overcome youth and exuberance...
And the finished ad for Bayer Advantix - Growing up Multi. Should be available now as pamphlets in veterinarian offices and also in magazine ads. Many thanks to Glenn Campbell Photo Studio in Calgary for doing such a wonderful job with both the dogs and the photos.
Kikas first Ridgeback Run was early September. Tamzin organizes these periodically. Anyone with a Ridgeback (or wanting one) can come. There are also honourary Ridgebacks such as Deuce the pug. We all meet at a local park, the dogs play and you get to meet people who love Ridgebacks as much as you do. Kika will be meeting Emmie there so they will each have someone to play with when the big guys get to be too much for them. It was a beautiful day. I know Kika wore herself out racing with Emmie and chasing the big guys. She was so tired she was asleep the moment she got into the truck.
Emmie and Kika are always happy to see each other!
The girls saying hello to Levi. Kim captured this moment.
Hey you're not a Ridgeback!Ridgebacks are breed snobs, they won't even look at other dogs if another Ridgeback is there. This little guy was cute and fun so Kika played with him anyway.
The incomparable Raimi with Halo. The wonderful scenery is River Park in Calgary.
Deuce keeps everyone in line. He shares a home and a blog with Ramsay - Ramsay and Pug Friends Unite!
The big guys playing. There was quite a group this day. Besides Emmie and Kika - Raimi, Halo, Ramsay, Levi, Lucy, Zuli, Shane and Ryder...
Emmie and Kika attend classes at the same puppy school. Not in the same class though, could you just imagine that chaos! Here they are at their first puppy playtime session, I wonder what they are plotting!
Today puppy class, tomorrow the world!!!
It's really evident in this picture the differences in the two girls. Emmie is still the tall, leggy blonde sister, who, by the way takes after her Mum ...
Errr .... Girl and Boys on Film may be more accurate, but there's no 80's song of that title that I know of .... So sorry Boys, you'll have to grant some artistic license here.
Ridgebacks Rule!!! Tamzin heard back from the advertising group ..... Ridgebacks have been selected over all the other breeds for an advertising photoshoot. We get to take Kika to downtown Calgary to a professional studio for the photographs. Tamzin will be there with Raimi and Kathryn (Rory's Ramblings Blog) will be there with Seth and Rory. Seth is the senior of the group. Rory is from Tamzins most recent litter and will represent the adolescent of the bunch. Raimi will be stretching his acting chops and playing the role of adult!
I was really anxious about the whole thing, I didn't know what to expect and was worried Kika would piddle in an inappropriate spot. Thank goodness Grandma offered to help out. But just for good measure Kika has practiced her sits and lie-downs for days and looks like a pro at it now.
As it turned out, needn't have worried at all, we all had a wonderful time. Aside from the exploring, all the cuddles and attention she got, I think Kika's favourite part was hanging out with Seth. Seth may have a different opinion of his favorite part of the day - but Kika wanted to be his friend "big time". Then it was a whirlwind of getting her to sit or lie down and ducking out of the shot. They needed her to be in specific positions as all the other dogs are boys, so there was some strategic posing going on. She finally got tired and fell asleep under the lights, in exactly the position they wanted, only backwards. So with some quick spinning she was perfect and ended the shoot on a high note.
Exploring with Tamzin
Kathryn got a shot of Kika working it for the camera.
We left the studio when Kika was finished, she was really tired. So we missed all the boys in action, but from all reports they did really well although it seemed their favourite part was lunch.
We had just left the studio when a man passing on the sidewalk stopped and exclaimed - "That's a Ridgeback puppy!" We stopped to talk to him. Turns out he and his family had recently lost their Ridgeback and were in the process of adopting a rescue. I was really proud of Kika as she played with him and gave him kisses and cuddles. He took some photos of her with his phone and was off, a large smile on his face and already e-mailing the photos to his family. I remembered how much the kindness of a stranger meant to us when we were missing our Ridgeback so it was really nice to be able to return the favour.
Recipe for A Good Day; start with an adventure, add some good behavior, mix in some nice people, make a few friends, stir in one good deed. And Voila - now it's a Great Day.
Abig day for Kika, her sister Emmie is coming for a visit. Emmie lives with Kim and Derrick and their 2 boys in Calgary. They had a great time. Recognizing one another right away, they took up playing where they had left off days earlier. When we picked Kika up at Jeff and Danielles, we noticed these two girls playing with each other quite a bit. Racing and wrestling, they sure wore each other out.
Sharing stories in the shade. I have a silk pillow, whispers Emmie, I'm learning all about thread count, and the boys are a lot of fun. Fantastic! replies Kika, I've been focusing on people training myself, it's going so well here I've started working on the neighbours.
Emmie is the tall, leggy blonde sister, she's beautiful and elegant. Kika, well, more of a red headed tomboy, a little feisty to make up for her smaller size.
Let's do something cute so they say Ahhhhh again. They're putty in our paws!
The amateur arborists at work
Apples are supposed to taste good right?
Rough and tumble girls
This photo is courtesy of Kim. Poor Emmie, we know what it's like to be on the receiving end of an aerial assault. I know my face has had that expression of oh &*&% a time or two.
Just like old times, ending the day sharing a toy but this time with their new best buddies, Kims boys!
Actually, this is how Kika ended the day as did Emmie I'm sure...
As Kika sees things . . . Her royal highness, Kika has two servants in her castle; The Female servant is most helpful for regular feedings, early day access to her yard, and organizing fun events with similarly blessed fur beings. The Male servant is useful for chauffeur services, lifting and toting essential belongings and cuddling....
So many of our bouncy pictures are just that, bouncy, blurry or she's out of frame. So here's some cute instead. We are now looking at the camera to see if it has a high speed frame setting that might keep up with the Kika-Roo!!!
