A New Addition to the Family

As you may or may not have heard, Alexis and I have a new addition to the family: Sasha!   

She is a beautiful Rhodesian Ridgeback / Lab Mix that we picked up from the AZ Humane Society on Saturday.  She weighs 69 pounds and is 2 feet tall on all fours (although standing on her hind legs, she is about 4'10") and is little over 3 feet long from head to tail.

 

She likes the linoleum because it's a little bit cooler, I think.

She has the color (a reddish brown) of the Ridgeback (just without the line of hair on her back like they have) but her build and personality are kind of a mix between a Ridgeback and a Lab.  For example, she has webbed feet and a sweet disposition, like a Lab, but she is very strong and hardly ever barks (like a Ridgeback). 

She has a lot of energy and enthusiasm when we're outside but for the most part, this is how she spends her time indoors--so long as she knows we are nearby and aren't planning on giving her any treats in the near future. Since she is already 4 years old, she's been crate trained, house trained and socialized to people.  

I'm trying to teach her how to fetch--it's a work in progress.

She is trained in the basics like sit, stay, lay down and shake (she's actually ambidextrous--we're so proud), but we're working on teaching her to fetch and also walk consistently well on leash.  For example, when we first got her, she wanted to just take us for a walk; now she knows better and, although she needs reminders, she is pretty good at walking at our side or behind and not stopping or starting unless we say so--it'll get better though.

Despite popular belief, I did not have to trick Alexis into getting a dog--although no one was more surprised than her that we actually got one.  We looked Sasha up at the Humane Society's website and really liked her so we went for a visit and that confirmed it.  We actually had to wait because we saw her Friday evening but didn't yet have the house ready for her (with a bed, food and water bowls, etc.), so we went back Saturday morning.  Alexis kept saying, "I really hope that she is there tomorrow" to which I questioned, "So you actually want a dog?".  "No" she said, "I want that dog."  


So we are very happy with Sasha and trying to help her get adjusted so that she doesn't bark at the occasional neighbor climbing the stairs at 4am!