Monday, February 25, 2008
I swear, he's nice!
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Labragon
1/2 labrador, 1/2 dragon
I guess I haven't written a post about Riley, our dog, yet so to update anyone who we haven't told about him (or hasn't come over to our house and seen the awesomeness that is Riley), here goes:
In June we went to the SPCA to see what kinds of dogs they had. We had just moved up to Antelope and the one requirement for a place to rent was that we could have a dog. We didn't really intend to pick a dog that day, but I really liked Riley. He was a lab mix that was all black, but with a white belly, and white tips on his tail and paws. He was a big puppy still (6 months old and 60 lbs), but he was very cute and seemed to be very attentive and smart. He was already housetrained, so that was a bonus. We put a hold on him for a couple days to think about it. We went back later that weekend and decided to take him home. Unfortunately it wouldn't be for a few days because he had to go to the vet to get neutered.
Jen brought him home during my first week of work. He was pretty crazy around the house and made a lot of trouble. She wasn't working at the time, so she basically spent all day every day with him. After a week or so we decided to take him for a trip to the dog park in Roseville. He definitely loved it and was very social with all the other dogs. The only problem was that he didn't realize how big he was, so he would start playing with puppies that were smaller than him and their owners would freak out.
We went to the vet for the first time for a checkup- he said Riley looked very healthy. He said he wasn't sure what Riley was mixed with (definitely part lab), but that he didn't think he would be over 100 lbs. For the first couple months we would go to the dog park and try to figure out what other breed Riley was mixed with by looking for similar characteristics. In time it became obvious...
A local obedience trainer gave 1 free lesson to dogs from the SPCA, and we knew Riley definitely needed it. After about 12 lessons, he is great at sit, down, up, wait, stay, watch, drop it, leave it, come here, and walking on a leash. We also taught him to roll over, high-five (and ten), crawl, bow (Schaffhausen!), off, get out, and to bring us his bowl when it's time to eat (although now he brings us the bowl when HE thinks it's time to eat- which is always).
When he got to be about 9 months, we realized that he was quite a bit bigger than any labs we had seen at the dog park. His stomach also seemed a bit thinner (labs are usually pretty filled out). We started looking at breeds that were bigger than labs, and we found that there is a color pattern of great dane called a "mantle" that is all black, with a white chest, paws, and tail. We also found that "labradanes" (labrador/great dane) are a pretty popular hybrid breed. There is a purebred great dane named Max that goes to the dog park that is quite a bit bigger than him, but when we watch them play together they have a pretty similar body shape and gait. Riley's head is definitely labrador, but we're now pretty sure he's a labradane. He is over 100 lbs (silly vet), but we think he's pretty much done growing.
He just turned 1 year old this month, and he's starting to settle down a little (although he still gets pretty hyped up when people come over or when we go someplace new). He is smart- when we sit in the living room watching TV and he is outside, he tries to chew on the cable that runs down the outside of the house! He is awesome in the car- we drove 8 hours to Temecula for Thanksgiving and we had to stop more times so that Jen could go to the bathroom than for Riley. We're taking him to my parents' house for Christmas, so hopefully we'll have some cute pictures and no disasters.
Off to the dog park!
Current Music: Nothing in particular
Link of the Day: Space Dog
Random Picture:
This is not Riley. Sorry.
But this is!
I guess I haven't written a post about Riley, our dog, yet so to update anyone who we haven't told about him (or hasn't come over to our house and seen the awesomeness that is Riley), here goes:
In June we went to the SPCA to see what kinds of dogs they had. We had just moved up to Antelope and the one requirement for a place to rent was that we could have a dog. We didn't really intend to pick a dog that day, but I really liked Riley. He was a lab mix that was all black, but with a white belly, and white tips on his tail and paws. He was a big puppy still (6 months old and 60 lbs), but he was very cute and seemed to be very attentive and smart. He was already housetrained, so that was a bonus. We put a hold on him for a couple days to think about it. We went back later that weekend and decided to take him home. Unfortunately it wouldn't be for a few days because he had to go to the vet to get neutered.
Jen brought him home during my first week of work. He was pretty crazy around the house and made a lot of trouble. She wasn't working at the time, so she basically spent all day every day with him. After a week or so we decided to take him for a trip to the dog park in Roseville. He definitely loved it and was very social with all the other dogs. The only problem was that he didn't realize how big he was, so he would start playing with puppies that were smaller than him and their owners would freak out.
We went to the vet for the first time for a checkup- he said Riley looked very healthy. He said he wasn't sure what Riley was mixed with (definitely part lab), but that he didn't think he would be over 100 lbs. For the first couple months we would go to the dog park and try to figure out what other breed Riley was mixed with by looking for similar characteristics. In time it became obvious...
A local obedience trainer gave 1 free lesson to dogs from the SPCA, and we knew Riley definitely needed it. After about 12 lessons, he is great at sit, down, up, wait, stay, watch, drop it, leave it, come here, and walking on a leash. We also taught him to roll over, high-five (and ten), crawl, bow (Schaffhausen!), off, get out, and to bring us his bowl when it's time to eat (although now he brings us the bowl when HE thinks it's time to eat- which is always).
When he got to be about 9 months, we realized that he was quite a bit bigger than any labs we had seen at the dog park. His stomach also seemed a bit thinner (labs are usually pretty filled out). We started looking at breeds that were bigger than labs, and we found that there is a color pattern of great dane called a "mantle" that is all black, with a white chest, paws, and tail. We also found that "labradanes" (labrador/great dane) are a pretty popular hybrid breed. There is a purebred great dane named Max that goes to the dog park that is quite a bit bigger than him, but when we watch them play together they have a pretty similar body shape and gait. Riley's head is definitely labrador, but we're now pretty sure he's a labradane. He is over 100 lbs (silly vet), but we think he's pretty much done growing.
He just turned 1 year old this month, and he's starting to settle down a little (although he still gets pretty hyped up when people come over or when we go someplace new). He is smart- when we sit in the living room watching TV and he is outside, he tries to chew on the cable that runs down the outside of the house! He is awesome in the car- we drove 8 hours to Temecula for Thanksgiving and we had to stop more times so that Jen could go to the bathroom than for Riley. We're taking him to my parents' house for Christmas, so hopefully we'll have some cute pictures and no disasters.
Off to the dog park!
Current Music: Nothing in particular
Link of the Day: Space Dog
Random Picture:
This is not Riley. Sorry.
But this is!
Labels: beast, dog, labragon, riley
