Gilbert

 

Nine weeks old!

Gilbert is now nine weeks old and has been living with us for almost one week. It feels like a lifetime!

You will have heard of Rhodesian ridgebacks - well, Gilbert is a 'ridgenose Labrador'. 

He has a ridge of contrariwise fur down the middle of his nose. It’s not uncommon and is called a ‘zip’. 

I told my grandson that it occurs after the stuffing has been put in and the fur has been stitched together. He almost believed me.

Gilbert is learning quickly:-

1: Squeaking is one way of getting attention.

2: Munching furniture/clothing/hands/feet will also garner attention.

3: Attempting to play with Herschel and Jellicoe as though they are an unfamiliar breed of puppy is not acceptable and is an insult to self-respecting Ocicats.

4: Chasing cats does not always achieve the desired effect. Often they turn round and follow him. More disconcertingly, they rub round him, ‘scent-marking’ him!

5: Going to the patio door encourages the humans to take him into the garden, where he can sniff at will and – usually – relieve himself. (‘Go potty’ for the North Americans!)

6: Following humans wherever they go and attempting to trip them up is fun.

7: Human feet make the best pillow.

 Roxy is not hugely enamoured of Gilbert at present and gazes at us, asking, ‘Why?’ She has been elevated from Junior dog to Only dog and now Senior dog in the space of three months; it’s been a sudden escalation and adjustment but there is no doubt that she and Gilbert will become the best of friends. 

She is very patient with him and allows him to push his nose into her food bowl, quite an achievement for a dog affectionately known as a dustbin. However, it's not something we encourage in Gilbert - he has to respect her status.

Yesterday, Susannah's dog, Arthur, came to play.

Hitherto, Roxy has been his playmate and suddenly she was not the focus of his attention. She watched, and was on the point of joining in the high jinks with Arthur and Gilbert, when time was called and Arthur had to have an enforced rest, or ‘time out’, because he was becoming over-excited. He is a working Cocker spaniel, full of energy, but is still very young, only sixteen months old.

 Roxy, Gilbert and Arthur, just before 'time out'

Everyone was exhausted last night!