Pupdate: Part 2- Summer 2024

Cont'd- Pupdates

 Ziva. Ziva. Ziva.

I love this girl so much. She is so freaking sweet & cuddly - just not all the time.  Yes, she's sweet all the time, but her giving or allowing cuddles is the part that isn't all the time.  She is a bit of a loner here at home.   She often goes off by herself to relax. We saw a bit of this when we visited as a puppy, but when Volos was around-so was she. She was never far from him. She sleeps either in the closet on the dog bed in there or in the front of the house.

These days she's either in the basement by herself, in the bathroom, in the guest room, or in my office.  She only comes around when she's in the mood to be playful or wants cuddles.  For cuddles she'll come up to us and either lean into us to get scritches or climbs in our laps for some full body cuddles.  I love those moments.  Her affection is so sweet & she's so soft and just a wonderful girl to love. 

She loved Jen too. She would jump up & down when Jen walked in the door. 

When she wants to play, she wants to play. It's either wrestling with Khors, playing tug with him, wrestling with Lada as well, engaging with Peryn or wanting to play with us.  She still is all about food.  It feels like all this dog ever does is beg for food or treats.  

She does love her baby brother.  A completely different relationship than how it was with Volos.  If you saw her with V, then you would definitely see the difference.   She enjoys going to daycare with him.   

She loves going for walks with Daddy & Peryn (Peryn optional).  She loves her Daddy. She loves everyone, but her devotion to her Daddy is subtle, but very obvious when you see it.  Daddy's devotion to his girl is quite obvious as well. 

Where I once wrote about her laying outside all the time==the whole reason we got the insulated curtains in fact-- she does not do it at all. She is outside to go to the bathroom, check on people outside, & that is it.  We really think it has something to do with Volos being gone. Up until then, we could be outside & the both of them would be on the stairs chilling.  If he went inside, she would still lie out there.   Since then--nope.   She won't even hang out on the patio if we're out there.    Guessing it was a Ziva & Volos thing.  She's gotten very nervous over shots & thunder. Lightening does her in more than any of it, but the once chill as all get out girl is not so chill.   She really is a nervous nelly.  

Small changes in her personality since V left us.  

Tug is still her favorite game to play. Khors plays differently, so she is forced to play differently-but tug is still her game of choice. If one of the dogs has a favorite stuffed toy, keep it away from Ziva. She LIVES to play tug with those and loves seeing them explode!  One day after destroying the first, she immediately retrieved a second.  Guts everywhere.

Lada is still her favorite sibling, but Khors is her buddy.  Ziva & Peryn are still S L O W L Y  coming to the point where they may actually full-on play one day. One of her favorite things to do lately is annoy the beejeebus out of Khors. We got them this rubber tug that has a big "bulb" in the middle that squeaks.  She loves it. She will sit there and squeak. squeak. squeak. squeak.  The sound irritates Khors, or hurts his ears or something. He is not a fan of the continuous squeaking she has done.   He runs from it.   

Khors. 

Khors-man.  King of Chaos (King Kaos).   He's something else.  Seriously this dog is just a lot.  A lot of energy. A lot of fur. A lot of sass. A lot of dog.  

He loves-daycare, car rides, walks, water (swimming, sprinkler, the hose), chasing, running, tug, Hugs, food, patrolling, & so much more.   He loves life.  He tires me out honestly.   I wish we could afford to send him to daycare 5 days a week.  

Non-daycare times he absolutely loves patrolling the yard. He patrols for animals & people.  He barks at them all on the trail, in other backyards (that he can see from ours), from walking by the front of the house.   Additional cameras were needed to keep a visual on him when he is outside.  When he's bored & no one is wandering by, he likes to lay out & chill.   He's either on the patio, in the middle of the back yard, or in the front of the house--in the drive-- waiting for the next "intruder".   

He's barky too.  He can't do any of that above without letting the intruders know that our Yard/Homestead is protected by "Khors Security".  He's really good about the invisible fence as well so he stays where he's allowed. 

HE is also obsessed with going to the basement (a bit like Volos was).   He doesn't even have to be involved with any play, just being in the basement with Momma is enough for him. If he's down there and is in a playful mood; that looks like him wrestling with Ziva, playing tug with her or Momma, chasing after a ball or some toy.  He just likes to be in the basement with the pack.

Early on I bought him this green "duck" that he adores.   It eventually got torn to shreds (thanks Z)so he hasn't had it in awhile. I picked up a new one a month or so ago & he was so happy to have it again. He cherishes this thing. He will sit & sometimes just squeak it to make sure it still works. Other times he just moves it around.   Peryn has taken to taunting him with it.   Khors is very careful when any of the other dogs attempt to play tug with it. It is like he knows they'll ruin it otherwise. 

He's a pretty happy guy.  He tires me out though.  He requires too much interaction.  It makes my Tues & Thursdays difficult.  We're just days away from his 1 year gotcha day.  Physically he's come a long way from that skinny dude with patchy hair.   He's a BIG dude with nothing but hair. Hair, hair, & more hair.  He's been to grooming more than any dog we've ever had.  It's quite a task too.  Luckily we found a groomer who knows how difficult he is & can work with him.

One thing that has not changed with him from day one is his enjoyment of life.   He's a happy boy who finds joy in everything.