Aurora had two special visitors this afternoon, Kurdish dog-loving men.
But, before she received the call to greet visitors she spend time in the backyard tasting the vegetation.
Day 58 – Among the Plants
Later in the afternoon Firooz and Basil stopped by to greet the girl.
Day 58- a Kurdish Visitor
Day 58- a Visitor and the Pack
Most dogs have at least two names: the name they get when they are at the breeders with their siblings and then the name they are called by when they go to their permanent homes. Purebred dogs registered with the American Kennel Club are given an additional name, their registered name.
We gave Zenith’s newborns puppy names of “MUNI” and “Metro”. (Unfortunately Metro died the first week.) And, now at 8 weeks MUNI is old enough to have a permanent home and a new name.
Her permanent home is going to be with the Ozdachs pack! So, we get to give her a “call” name and a registered name.
Aurora is puppy MUNI’s call name. This name was originally suggested by a friend as a potential name for Apex or Zenith, but those two names played off each other too well.
Aurora is the name our girl will [eventually] answer to. It’s what we’ll call at home and even in the show ring. In fact, we cannot call her by her registered name in the ring, because if we did, the judge could know the reputation of the bitch in front of him and might be prejudiced to award points to her because of her famousness and not because she was looking and behaving fantastically in the ring.
So, to the AKC, Aurora will be known as Ozdachs Celestial Princess of Oz.
Aurora herself is pretty nonplussed about the naming business. And, she never seriously considered moving away from home. She does react well to being called “Aurororororor-grrrr-ora”, though.
In addition to getting a new name today, Aurora had her second car ride (the first was on the way back from the C-Section) and her first visit to the vet. For her first round of shots, Dr. Chase made a house call because we wanted to avoid being in a place where dogs with potentially communicable diseases had been. We were willing assume the slight risk of transmission today since MUNI Aurora had some immunity from shot #1… plus, we made sure we had the first appointment of the day.
Dr. Chase was very complimentary about Aurora’s personality! And, she’s healthy, too!
Dr. Chase Meets Aurora in the Veterinary Office
Once again Aurora showed no reaction to the vaccination (no lepto vaccine tried, yet, though). She was her normal playful self when back home.
She did discover a so-far insurmountable frustration. When we all go into the back yard, the older dogs can abandon her! How do they scale these things, anyway?
Day 57 — Aurora’s Insurmountable (for today) Frustration: Stairs
What could be more traditional for a Sunday than being At Home to receive visitors. MUNI socialized in a big way today meeting five new friends.
Day 56 — MUNI and Diane
Click on any photo in the blog for a larger version. Then click again!
Diane and Kathleen drove me home from church and were today’s first visitors. Diane clearly is a dachshund maven, although MUNI enjoy attention from them both.
We talked about showing dogs, and wondered if MUNI is destined to be a show girl. It’s too early to tell, but Geoffrey brought out the grooming table to demonstrate his ring technique. Here’s MUNI’s first attempt at (not) stacking!
Day 56 – First (Non)-Stacking
MUNI was exhausted from the hard work and being a gracious host. As soon as Diane and Kathleen left, a nap was required.
Later in the afternoon, I returned from meeting a friend to see another social moment, already in progress.
Day 56 — Two Hanging Out
Our minister and her daughter had come by to see MUNI. I snapped this picture of Vanessa and MUNI, and her daughter caught me with MUNI.
Day 56 — Held Captive by a Dad
Vanessa and her daughter were generous with their socializing time and MUNI got cuddled by a fifth church person when Rohit came to pick up his family.
Day 56 — Bonding with Rohit
Whew! What a fun day for the girl!
She was sated with stimulus and enjoyed another afternoon nap.
At dinnertime she weighed in at 4 pounds, 1 ounce. Nice!
An unexpected event occurred at dinner. MUNI and Apex were eating side-by-side and MUNI reached into Apex’s food bowl and started chowing down on Apex’s kibble, leaving her wet puppy food on its plate as second choice. So, she prefers kibble? We have puppy kibble that I’d planned on using for later, but I guess now we’ll bring it up and see.
It’s also clear that MUNI knows no boundaries. Eating food out of the bowl of a big adult dog? Gutsy! (Foolhardy?) We are lucky to have a amiable pack.
MUNI liked having another human around today to help her enjoy her current play toy favorite, the snake!
Apex and MUNI Share Snake Destruction Duties
MUNI, in her role as deputy play machine, is fearless in competing with the #1 player, Apex. MUNI will fight for the same toy and do at least her share of growling!
Apex and MUNI Play Snake
But, it isn’t all Sturm and Drang in her life. The day was nice (if smokey) and MUNI continues to enjoy early afternoon outdoor dining with her mother.
More Outdoor Dining
But, after lunch and an afternoon nap, MUNI puts the snake back on the agenda. She’s grateful that there were two humans around today so that one could hold the snake while she posed for the other dad with the camera.
Day 55 — Snake for One
Just as long as we keep dangling the snake, she’s up for playing!
Day 55 — Dangling the Snake
MUNI started off the day at a fiesty 3 pounds, 13 ounces, up 2 ounces from just yesterday. Well, maybe her weight isn’t necessarily feisty, but everything else abut her is turning out that way.
It’s a good thing!
Day 54 — Woof! or Grrr!!!
She’s playing hard three or four times a day. Her sessions are pretty aggressive, fearlessly playing with any adult, canine or human. If she had litter mates we probably wouldn’t find her attacks on them so fierce, but watching her pose and “Grrr!” at her mother, aunt, grandmother, or Paris is a kick.
The adults for the most part are happy to have her around… we think. Zenith frequently — and Apex sometimes — will parry MUNI’s attacks with chasing moves. Apex has also seemed to roll the ball in MUNI’s direction… sometimes. Other times Apex is horrified that the puppy has started gnawing the ball that Apex had brought to a daddy for throwing.
Things to work out!
Day 54 — Determination