NW Ridgeback

New Year's, Part I - The Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:17:00 +0000

Every New Year, we try to go somewhere. Ever since I joined the family we have gone to the beach because Mom and Dad know how much I like to run in the sand! This year, we went to Seaside, OR for a few days! The past two years we have been lucky with the weather but this year it was pretty crummy...we still had fun though!

It was especially fun because my Uncle Joel's girlfriend, (and my new friend) Etsuko, came along and she ran and jumped with me on the beach! I LOVED playing with her...she is so much fun! We had lots of adventures on the beach: we ran, jumped, saw a dead shark and two dead seals (Mom wouldn't let me get close to them though....she's a party pooper!), played hide and seek in the dune grass, and I even met a couple of dogs. There was a beagle that I really wanted to play with but as soon as he saw me he started barking very loudly and his owner took him in the opposite direction. Later, when we were walking down the street the beagle and his owner passed in a little blue car and he was still barking. :) I think he just wanted to play.

The humans and me at the beach

Practicing log jumping with Etsuko

Trying to be a beach model...BOL!

This is what happens when I get too close to the water and it threatens to touch my feet....I turn and run away in fear! ;) Even though the water is scary....I LOVE the beach!

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 18:57:00 +0000

Happy New Year!!!

I resolve to learn new tricks so that I can get more treats! BOL! What are your resolutions?? :)I will post about my New Year's very soon! I had a great time but it is good to be home! Hope you all had a Happy New Year as well!

Also, the links below for Bodhi and Sampson's blog are fixed....oops! Plus, I added a new one here so you can check them out if you want!!

Cookies, Snowy Day Fun, & My Brother!

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 18:53:00 +0000

First, this is a long post so sorry but Mom and I just wanted to catch up on some stuff! Above is from just before Christmas when my pal, Hank, and his human Mom, Christina, came over for dinner. I had just got my present from Bodhi and Mom used the new cookie cutters to make some Gingerbread cookies for me and for my FURiends! I would have sent all of my blog pals some but they probably wouldn't have been too tasty by the time they reached you. ;) They were quite yummy....Hank and I did a few taste tests to make sure they were edible before packaging them for my FURiends. ;) Also, Hank's Mom always makes yummy homemade treats and they brought me a bag of cookies too....bacon balls, peanut butter balls, and even some doggie biscotti!! YUM!

We have had alot of snow here and me and my pals have had a blast playing in it! Check out the middle picture above of my friend Sierra....she is sticking her nose under Mom's coat but not to get warm....she is asking for the yummy treats Mom has stashed in her pocket! BOL! I do this to my Mom too. :)

One snowy day, we even saw two donkeys and a horse! Do you see the gray horse stickin' its tongue out at me as I'm running by...how rude! ;) Sierra and Hank let them know that was not nice though! BOL!

Here are the boys playing in the water! Even though it's freezing cold...Ozzie still gets in! I guess he has more fur than me but still! BRRRR!

"Ok boys, come back over here on dry land and play now! That ice and water is dangerous!"

"Uh Oh....here they come and they are feeling rowdy!"

Ozzie and Hank LOVE to play rough....they bite each other's face and neck but they never get hurt! It's just how they play! It is quite fun to watch!

"Oh no, the vampires have come to get me!"

"I'm so gonna get you Hank!"

"You too Ozzie, get back here!"

Finally, I want to tell you that my brother, Bodhi, has his own blog now! Well, technically, he shares it with his Beagle brother, Sampson, but that's cool! He and Sampson are quite a pair! If you get a chance you should go check it out and tell me if you think we look alike!? Just click on Bodhi or Sampson and you will be transported to their PAWESOME blog!

Santa Paws Was Here!

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 07:28:00 +0000

That's right....Santa Paws came to my house!!! I had sooo much fun opening up my presents and I love them all! In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I kept checking under the tree for more and I also kept putting my head into the bag to make sure I didn't miss anything.

Here's some of my loot! :) The purple bandana/scarf came all the way from my Aunt Marie in WV! Thanks Aunt Marie!

Here are some other pictures of my fun filled Christmas. We got to spend time with my Dad's family! I even got to hang out with my dog cousins, Mickey and Grady. Plus, there were some close family friends that always celebrate holidays and such together that I got to see....among them were Chevron and Scott! I had a holly, jolly Christmas and I hope you all did as well!

Happy HOWLidays!

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 01:31:00 +0000

I hope all of my friends have a safe, warm, and wonderful Holiday!!!

Love,

Nala

Fun & Games!

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 23:39:00 +0000

Mom and I played some games yesterday because it was too cold to go outside! Hope you enjoy the videos of our games! There are two different games so make sure ya watch both videos! ;)

A package from Bodhi!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 05:32:00 +0000

I got a Christmas package from my Ridgeback brother, Bodhi! He really is my brother as we have the same sire! I was soooo surprised!

I tried to to open it myself but Mom had to help me! I inspected all of the packages though before she opened them.

Come on....I want to see what's inside already. It sure smells good!

Finally, here I am with all of my gifts! Bodhi sent me some yummy berry treats, gingerbread cookies, a Rhodesian Ridgeback calendar (Mom claimed that for herself), and a book with dog treat recipes, tricks, and cookie cutters! Thanks Bodhi...you are the BEST brother a girl could ever have!!

Mom tried to taste some of my treats as they smelled so good but I informed her they were mine! I mean, I will share but at least give me the first taste since they were sent to me. :) Silly Mom!

Mom thinks she's funny teasing me with my cookie! Ha Ha hee ho ha...NOT FUNNY! I want my treat!

Finally, the sweet reward...DEEELICIOUS!

Thanks again Bodhi and give your family thank you slobbers for me! I WOOF you so much and hope we get to play together in the snow real soon!

Trimmin' the Tree!

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 16:53:00 +0000

Well, we got our tree decorated and...

I must say it was HARD work! BOL! I never realized how hard supervisors have it! ;)

After supervising for a bit I decided to get in on the action. I really enjoyed knocking things off the table with my nose so they would be closer for Mom to pick up and put on the tree.

I was very curious about this one as it was very rolly! I could have rolled that thing around all night but Mom stopped the fun and hung it on the tree! SCROOGE! (Don't tell her I said that)

Then I tested the ornaments to make sure they were secure on the branches after Mom and Dad hung them up.

Here is the tree!

Here is me in front of the tree that I decorated.

Happy Howlidays!

Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:57:00 +0000

First Snow and Tree Gettin'!

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 01:13:00 +0000

WE GOT SNOW!!! It was pawfect...white and fluffy, fun to eat, fun to stick my muzzle in, and great to jump/run through!

Since the earth was covered in the snow we decided to go get our Christmas tree! My Uncle Joel came along too to help and provide the truck for hauling it! Thanks Uncle Joel! It was sooo much fun playing in the snow while the humans looked for the pawfect tree! It's not decorated yet though and it needs a bit of trimming so we have more work to do later! Of course, Mom had to bring the elf hat and try to put it on me....to see how that turned out just scroll down. BOL!

Chevron comes for a sleepover!

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:56:00 +0000

This weekend, my friend, Chevron, and his human Dad, Scott, came for a sleepover! It was lots of fun!! Chevron and I got along great although he was only into playing occasionally. He's older and a bit more chill than me so I probably irritated him with my constant in your face, "play with me, play with me" licks and play bows and barks! BOL! He also taught me a new trick and I am so sorry there are no pictures but Mom was shocked and didn't go for the camera! You see, Chevron taught me how to knock over the garbage can (just like my pal Waldo knows how to do;) and eat and chew on the stuff inside! Oh, what fun we had! Mom and Dad didn't seem too happy about it though when they came home and Mom was just like Waldo's Mom trying to remember everything she put in the trash just in case we got something bad. She concluded that anything we ate should have been pretty harmless! Mom is now worried that I am going to do this on my own after the lessons learned from Chevron...all I can say is, if it smells good and it's coming from the trash can, there are no guarantees! BOL!

Also, my pawrents and their friends decided to play this horrible game! Poor Chevron and I had to listen to cracking voices, screeching guitars, and the earth shattering beating of drums. Ok, it wasn't that loud but we decided to go to bed early, upstairs, away from the not so beautiful music the humans were attempting to make! At least they had fun though! ;) Silly humans!

Tagged

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 20:30:00 +0000

I was tagged by my friend Addie!

The idea is, go to your Photo Archives or where-ever you store your images; select the sixth file, open it & post the sixth picture contained there, with the story behind it.
And, finally tag six friends to do like wise!

When Mom opened her picture files to upload one onto the blog this is the sixth picture from the sixth file she found. A picture of me from this morning walking back into the house. Notice the snow...YIPPEE...we got our first snow for the year and it is still snowing right now!

However, when she went straight to her picture archives, this is the sixth pic from the sixth file that she found...
Don't be alarmed, it is not an alien but my Mom! Apparently, this was taken about 4 or 5 years ago (before I was born) when she and Dad went on a night hike. Dad was using some night mode for the camera! Weird!

So, I will now tag six of my pals! If you want to play GRRRREAT...if not, no biggie! ;)

1. Chelsea

2. Simba

3. Kylie

4. Rosie, Gabbi, Alfie, & Snoop

5. Waldo & Gus

6. Paco & Milo

And anyone else who wants to play!

Licks,

Nala

Also, thanks Paco & Milo for the award!!

The award was given to blogs that show good attitude/gratitude...so, I nominate all of my blog friends if they would like the award! ;)

Next time I post I will show you our Christmas tree... we just got it today! WOOHOO!!!

Muzzle Caves

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 03:59:00 +0000

It's starting to get a little colder here, and it might even snow this weekend! Normally, we have snow WAY before now! Although I like to play in the snow, I am also a girl who REALLY appreciates warmth.

The past two mornings Mom has caught me sleeping with my muzzle stuffed in a blanket. She likes to call my blanket creations my muzzle caves. All I know is that my muzzle caves certainly keep my nose warm! You should give it a try!

Feelin' Elfy!

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:49:00 +0000

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Keychains from Pop Dog Press!

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 03:30:00 +0000

Mom ordered some cute keychains from Pop Dog Press, and they arrived in the mail today! Pop Dog Press is owned by my friend Simba's HM (Human Mom aka Melissa)! She makes these keychains and she does some really fun paintings of dogs! In fact, you can send her a picture of a dog and she will paint it! Someday Mom wants one of me but who knows when! At least she got the cool Ridgeback keychain! It can sometimes be hard to find Ridgeback stuff so thanks for making one of my kind Melissa! Mom and I LOVE it!!! You probably are wondering why I have the beagle one too?? Well, you see my Mom's Dad who lives back on the east coast of the U.S. has lots of beagles. Apparently, he takes them on rabbit hunts and to dog shows alot! My Mom says they are very fun and I would love to play with them! She also attributes her ability to sleep through anything to the beagles as she grew accustomed to their howling through the night as a child. BOL! So, this keychain of the beagle is for my Mom's Dad! My only experience with beagles is through my pals in Scotland and boy oh boy do they look like they would be fun to play with! You can order these awesome keychains and the paintings on Melissa's Etsy page. Etsy is a site where you can buy handmade items of all kinds from various artists! Pretty cool!

Mom already has the keychain attached to her keys! Looks good, huh! The key holder of the dogs is one she got two years ago around Christmas time. Even though they are not supposed to be Ridgebacks it looks like they have a ridge on their backs and they have the same tail and floppy hound ears! Mom couldn't resist. :)

Also, I was honored with some awards for my blog from Snoop, Alfie, Rosie, & Gabbi (the beagles in Scotland I mentioned before) and from Paco & Milo in Italy! Thanks friends! I feel very honored to have blog pals like you! :)

Tiny Dancer...

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 20:59:00 +0000

or maybe not so tiny! BOL! Anyway, what a fun weekend I have had! First, I got to go to Dog Club on Friday night at my Auntie Lori's!!! I haven't been to Dog Club in a while because Mom has been quite busy in her classroom! But Friday, we got to go...YIPPEE! We played lots of games like musical chairs and we even got to square dance. I didn't win but it sure was fun!

Today, I went for a play date with my friend, Sierra, and my other friend, Samson. We had a great time running around!

Also, I found a new, very COOL blog this weekend! Honey, the Great Dane, lives in New Zealand and she and her human are the best dancers! So, Mom and I were inspired to try and learn a few moves ourselves! Below is a video of me busting a move! Enjoy but please don't laugh too hard! Remember, Honey is a trained professional and I am just learning! Please visit Honey's blog to see some of her BARKarific dance videos! She has lots of really neat moves! I was VERY impressed! She really shows the world that big dogs can do just as much as the little dogs!

Brix the Daredevil!

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 04:58:00 +0000

I have been thinking about my pal Brix lately...because we haven't enjoyed our regular play dates in a little while and I miss him....so, these pictures are from about three weeks ago when we hung out. If I haven't told you before he is quite the daredevil!!! He goes up and down slides, jumps up on super high things, and walks across scary playground bridges among other things! Seriously, he is fearless. Me, on the other hand, not so fearless!! BOL! Mom is ok with some of the things that I am scared of like going up the slide because she is afraid I would break a leg if I tried it but other things she wishes I would be a little more brave about. (like having flies in the room....another story for another time!;) Anyway, below is my attempt at bravery...I mean, I can't let Brix show me up ALL the time! ( That's Brix's Dad coaxing us over!)

Thanksgiving and weekend visitors!

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:38:00 +0000

Well, this is pretty much all the turkey I got for Thanksgiving! Needless
to say, Thanksgiving was a bust this year! Next year, I have decided to sneak the turkey from the oven while the humans aren't paying attention. muuuhahahahaaaaaa!

In other news, My Uncle Joel and his friend Etsuko came over this weekend! We went for a walk by the river and I had a fun time playing with them! It had been a long time since I had seen Uncle Joel so it was a PAWESOME weekend! Hopefully, he comes over again real soon!

Uncle Joel and Etsuko brought me some cool toys too! What a lucky girl am I!! The toys say naughty and nice...hmmmm, which one shall I choose today! Thanks Uncle Joel and Etsuko...I LOVE my toys and I can't wait to see you again!

Before the hives...

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 03:50:00 +0000

I went to Sierra's house to play but I didn't tell you about it because I got sick so here are a few pictures from that fun day! Isn't Sierra cute...she posed so nicely for Mom and there were no treats involved....OK, just teasing, of course there were treats! BOL! Still, nice work Sierra!

This is Sierra's favorite thing to do in her big field...I really have no idea what she is digging for???

I tried to look but I didn't see anything??

While Sierra continued to dig in various places around the field I went to visit the neighbors.

The neighbors are goats. They look like they would be fun to play with except for the one with the big horns! YIKES!

I hung out with them for awhile and then Sierra was finally done digging and ready to play!

We ran and ran and ran! It was great and I was exhausted that night!

Happy Turkey Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:30:00 +0000

Happy Turkey Day to all my pals! I hope you get to eat some juicy turkey today! Mom says I am supposed to say what I am thankful for on this day so here goes:

I am thankful for...

1) turkey

2)turkey

3)warm blankets to curl up in

4)Mom & Dad

5)Nanny & Grampi

6)cheese

7)Uncle Joel

8)My new food from The Honest Kitchen

9)good friends

10)peanut butter

11)soft, squeaky toys

12)sleepin' in the bed

13)the warm heater

14)Madi (my little friend that moved away...BOO-HOO)

15)yogurt

16)hiking with my pawrents

17)bushes to smell

18)chicken

19)playing "run around the table and try to get my toy" with Mom and Dad

20)turkey

Can't wait to eat some turkey today...Mom better sneak me over a really BIG piece!

I am also thankful for all of my blog dogs! Have a BARKariffic day!

Love,

Nala

Birthday Loot and Hiking

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:48:00 +0000

This is all the birthday loot Mom got from me and Dad! We got her a Ridgeback ornament, (although it really doesn't look like me) a cool frame for her license plate so she can proclaim to the world how much she loves MOI, (BOL!) a book for cool hikes to take with your dog, (can't wait to see where she takes me) and some snowshoes. I even have some "snow boots" but I don't want to talk about them right now because they feel so icky and weird on my feet...maybe I will chew them up when Mom's not looking....hehehe! We also went for a hike yesterday and then after that Dad took Mom out to dinner. (I was stuck at home for the dinner part-RUFF, BOO-HOO!)

Here I am leading the way up this super steep hill! I look tired because I had just met two dogs and we did a few speedy laps through the grass!

I like to stay in between Mom and Dad...that way I can check and make sure Mom is still making it and she hasn't collapsed down the hill somewhere. BOL! Don't tell her I said that!

Mom calls me Skippyjon Jones when I look like this. If you don't know who Skippyjon Jones is then click on the red link.

On the way down, Mom gave me a treat for being such a good girl...here you see I am starting to sit in anticipation of my treat.

And here I get my treat but if you look closely you will see I didn't sit all the way down. BOL! I totally tricked Mom!

As we were almost to the bottom we spotted a little bushy tailed creature. I was quite fascinated by it but I couldn't get close enough to say hello because there were too many sticks in the way. It stayed very close though and let me look at it for awhile. What a fun day!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 20:34:00 +0000

Hope you have a PAWSOME Day!!

WOOF WOOF

May The Force Be With You

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:39:00 +0000

This is the new food Mom has decided to try for me. It's from a company called The Honest Kitchen and they are located in California. We are trying the kind called Force first but are also looking to try two other varieties...Keen and Thrive. So, this food is dehydrated and you have to add warm water to rehydrate it and let it set for 10-15 minutes. Kind of different but neat. All the ingredients are human grade and it is even made in a human food facility. How many companies can say that!? Oh, humans also taste test it as well as the employees dogs. I wish I was one of those lucky pups...what a cool job to have! It has all kinds of healthy, raw ingredients. Plus, the owners have Ridgebacks...they are some of the taste testers! Too cool!! Some people Mom talked to said they used to feed a raw diet and then switched to The Honest Kitchen and LOVE it! Many people also still mix The Honest Kitchen food with kibble and meats (raw or cooked) which is what Mom is doing for me as well. I have been HIVE-FREE since Saturday morning! PAWESOME! Plus, Mom called the company and talked with a woman named Tess who was VERY helpful! She is even sending Mom some free samples of food and some 10% discount coupons. Double PAWESOME! You should definitely check out their website...it is very informative and will tell you more than what I can plus you get to see the pictures of their cute Ridgebacks.

Checking out my new food!

Smells good!

Come on, open it up already!

Here is what it looks like after you add the warm water and stir....Puppy Pesto! YUM! Let me just say, it is sooo tasty! I always made sure to lick my bowl clean but never like after I eat this stuff. I leave no spot unlicked on my bowl now. I lick the bottom, the sides, the edges, the top, the bottom, the sides again, all over! It is amazing! It is so hard to wait in between meals!

Thanks again to all my pup pals who wished me well and gave me good advice on food...hopefully, I have found something that will work for me! :)

A Sea of Fog

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 03:24:00 +0000

Today, I got to go for a hike! It felt so good to get out and run! As you can see it was quite foggy here! In fact, it was so foggy that it was hard to see very far. It stayed like this all day.

But if you walked just a little way up the hill you could get above the fog! It was GRRREAT!! Ahhhh, blue sky, sunshine, beautiful!

Here's Sierra and her Mom and...

me and my Mom! We all enjoyed soaking up the Vitamin D and we even saw two deer!

Doesn't it look like a sea of fog...so neat! We were on our way down here but really wishing we could stay and enjoy the sunshine a little longer.

P.S. As you can see, I am feeling better. Mom is going to get me some new food tomorrow so we will keep you posted!

They're Back...No, No, No!

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 17:08:00 +0000

Well, Thursday and Friday were lookin' good but this morning at 6:30am I threw up yellow foamy stuff and then started breaking out again so Mom gave me more Benadryl. The only difference that Mom can think of is that Thursday and Friday she and Dad started to add in a little bit of the kibble to my food again. The same brand they were feeding me before (Solid Gold) but a different variety. I think this is affecting my poor Mom more than me...she is a mess trying to figure out my problem. I told her that regardless of bumps I need a play date today so hopefully I can have some fun. :)

Mom is part of an online Rhodesian Ridgeback group and a couple of people there suggested different raw food sources plus one called Honest Kitchen and Nature's Variety (I think)...ever heard of them or have any experience? The Honest Kitchen website said their food is human taste tested and is made in a plant alongside human food products such as cereal, etc...???

The picture above is me on the couch in Mom's classroom last night. I went to protect her while she was getting some work done. ;)