Category Archives: Yakira

50 for 50 #8 – 2002 Winter Olympics

Posted on by

Raelyn and Yakira

The Gateway

Today we went to the Gateway in downtown Salt Lake City. They was a party for the 10th anniversary of the 2002 Winter Olympics. We didn’t go to any sporting events 10 years ago but we say the torch as it passed a couple of blocks from our home in Provo and we made the trek up to see the Olympic cauldron after it was lit. We also enjoyed the ice sculpture contest and the Dale Chihuly exhibit. We (Bill, Yakira & I) rode Trax in and walked around to see what was going on at the Gateway and took some photos. Then we wandered around the Clark Planetarium and finally had lunch at Rumbi. After we got back to Sandy we stopped at Costco to get some groceries. It was a fun and relaxing kind of day though all three of us where very tired by the time we got home, including Yakira. She was a very good pup and handled all the people and situations with ease.

Happy Valentines Day and Almost 6 Months Old

Posted on by

Yakira in a Valentine's Day scarf

Yakira turns 6 months old the day after tomorrow and since today is Valentines day I put a cozy pinkish scarf around her neck. She looks so cute in it. Well that is probably because she is cute. She doesn’t need a scarf or any other adornment, she is cute all by herself. It bugged her having it on for a couple of minutes and then she forgot all about it. We have had our little girl for 4 months now and boy has she made huge progress and grow so much. I’m proud of our precious pup. Yakira loves heat and one of her favorite spots is in front of Bill radiant space heater. She just lays there basking in the heat.

Yakira laying in front of the space heater

Dirty Johnson’s Dog Wash

Posted on by

Dirty Johnson Dog Wash

Tonight for our puppy class we went to Dirty Johnson’s Dog Wash and all the pups got baths. I’ve never been to a dog wash before so it was very enlightening. Bill did the real washing while I took pictures. He said the nicest thing about it was not having to bend over. We have a pretty good set up at home with our hand-held shower head but the few times I’ve given the pups baths I have to admit that my back is killing by the end. At the dog wash they have the bath tubs raised up off the floor and a moveable set of stairs for the dog to climb to get into the tub. It was a pretty slick operation with a variety of dog shampoo available. There was even one just for black dogs that we decided to use on Yakira. She wasn’t particularly happy about her bath but she was compliant. It was very nice of Dirty Johnson’s to stay open late for us. I can see why dog owners like to use dog washes.

Truck Ride

Posted on by

Last Saturday we bought an old pick-up truck from my niece. Bill has always wanted a pick-up and the price was right and having a second vehicle will be very nice. On Sunday I had Bill go out with me in the truck to make sure I could deal with driving and parking the beast. It has an extended cab and a full length bed which make it very long. It is also wider than I’m use to and the turning radius isn’t very good. I did ok with everything but parking. I’ll just have to park out in the boondocks and then I’ll be fine.

Well today it was my turn to drive the truck and I had some errands to run so Yakira got her first time riding in the truck. With the cold we haven’t gotten the time to really clean the pick-up out. So I put a blanket down on the floor to help keep her from finding goodies on the floor. We had a little trouble at the first with her wanting to lean on my while I was driving but she improved quickly. I think she really like being up front with me and it was convenient to have her get in and out of the same door that I used. I’ll have to get a photo of the old grey truck and post it here later.

5 Months Old

Posted on by
Yakira laying down by the kitty tower

Today Yakira reached what I call the age of accountability. She is no longer a baby and is much more capable of understanding the rules of her environment. She has grown up so much in the last month and a half. She is becoming such a good puppy and she rarely even mouths me anymore let a lone clamp her teeth down on me. Yakira is becoming a good cuddler, which I really love in my puppies. And her stocky little build or her babyhood is gone and she is much more lean and lanky looking. I’ve been letting her get away with a bit of cheating in the car when she puts her paws up on the console between the front seats. She doesn’t know it yet but her days of cheating are know over.

New Rug

Posted on by

Yesterday I spotted a 8’x11′ area rug in greens while at a furniture store with my sister. It was only $300 and I thought it might work really well in our living room. After checking out the size for the room and showing Bill a photo we decided to go back and buy it. It was a great deal because the regular price was $1200! It took several hours of work to clear out the living room, give it a good vacuuming and then decide just how to place the rug. We ended up rearranging the furniture a bit to work better with the rug. Well about an hour after we got the room all back together I realized that I didn’t know where Yakira was. So I went to find her and there she was chewing on the new rug! She succeeded in pulling out about 1/2″ section of yarns on the edge of the rug. I can’t believe I wasn’t more careful. I knew thing in the room and a curious puppy are a bad combination. Just because she didn’t mess with the old rug didn’t mean the knew one would be the same. The spot doesn’t stand out too much but I’m really glad that it wasn’t a $1200 rug.

Note: Our cat loves the rug too. During the night he likes to pick a spot and knead it with his claws. In the process he snags little pieces of yarn and pulls them out. Not at all sure how long this rug is going to last with this kind of abuse.

Snow Troubles

Posted on by
Yakira

We woke up to some snow this morning. Not much, maybe 1/2″ or so but it was cold enough that the drive way was covered for the first time this year. Well Yakira decided that when we went out to relieve she would rather eat snow than pee. Boy did I not handle it very well. I got impatient with her and we went back in without having any success. Well later in the morning while Yakira was playing with Bill she had an accident. So obviously she really did need to go when we went out and I should have been more patient. The newness of the snow meant that I needed to give her more time. We still had some struggles but we worked through it. She still likes to eat snow but I’m being more patient about it.

Puppy raising video

Posted on by

Tonight at our puppy class we had a high school student who wants to do a short video on puppy raising for her class. She video some of our puppy class and then asked some of us questions afterward. I don’t like being videoed and I wasn’t at all relaxed so I’m afraid I’m going to look silly. Oh well. It is for a good cause. I’ll post the video here when she gets it finished.

Note: Sarah needed some more footage so she came to our house a few days later and got some shots of Yakira playing and walking down the street. Here is the finished video.

Teething

Posted on by
Small plastic bag & three of Yakira’s teeth

Yakira is well into the teething process. I’ve found three teeth so far. She lost all her tiny front teeth a few weeks ago. But they are so small that finding one of them is almost impossible. With every puppy I think they are going to go through teething and I’m not going to find any teeth. But so far I’ve been wrong. I found the first tooth on Friday, one of her canines. The second was on Saturday. We were playing tough with her new rope she got for Christmas and one of her back teeth came out. I think this one may have hurt a little bit coming out. There was lots more root left on than usual. Then yesterday I found another canine on the floor. There is a small chance this tooth might be Osaka’s. She lost the last of her canines while she was here for a sleep over but it seems to be a good match in size and color or Yakira’s other tooth. I like to put the puppy teeth into a little plastic zip-top bag with their name on it. This way I can tell whose teeth are whose. One of these days I’m going to put together a little box for each puppy with things like their teeth and their puppy collars in it.

I need to pee!

Posted on by
close-up of Yakira

Today was the first time out on a walk that Yakira gave me that look. The look that means, “I need to pee, can I please pee.” It was a breakthrough because in the past she would just squat and take a pee. Oh what joy puppy raisers get from some of the simplest things. But now that I know she needs to pee or poop, I can help her through it by having her sit and pull herself together and then head back home. Once home to the relieving area, I can give her the command and after she relieves we head back out on our walk. Yeah!