Zaltana Anatolians

Here comes Trouble

Ayla is still wearing the battle scars from her recent lesson about respect. So far, the first lesson has not left an impression on her, neither have time outs or stern reminders to chill out. She is a very headstrong teenager when it comes to keeping the adult dogs on her toes. On the other hand she is incredibly sweet with us, always looking to share some affection.
She and Kobi the terrier continue to be great buddies. On the first picture she can be seen coming around the corner, clearly looking for mischief. Kobi had been sleeping peacefully on the couch, but when Ayla came up to see if he was up for some playtime he immediately went into play mode. He is very funny about it, he flings himself on his back and wiggles like a worm daring anybody to make a move. So they got started playing, Kobi stays on the couch to give him a little bit more height, and Ayla is thinking about how she can get the little man to come off the couch.
And there she goes, pulling on the sheet in the hope that she can pull him off.
But he already knows her tricks since she has tried that before, so he just moves a little to stay on the couch, so Ayla keeps messing with the sheet, maybe she was hoping that if she appears to be interested in the sheet, he will come down and they could have a game of tug. Well, he didn't buy into it this time, so "Trouble" had to look for something else to entertain herself with.

Leydi's funny faces

Every time I download pictures of Leydi, I come across a few with her making really funny faces. I never realize it while I am taking the pictures, so I am always surprised when I see them. Many of them I have deleted, but here are a few I took lately.

The first Snow

Last weekend we got a good rain and with the rain came the first snow on Mt. Charleston. This is the mountain that towers over our valley and that I look at when I sit at my deskSo Nanuk and I took a little afternoon walk in the nearby desert to take some pictures. He is a really good sport when it comes to posing for me. I can put him wherever I want him to be, get him into the right position and tell him to wait, he will even turn his head for me if the angle isn't right. Sometimes I wonder what he is thinking about all the picture taking, is he bored with it, amused, annoyed or what? Well, he ain't talking, so I will never know.

Leydi the Guardian

As I was sitting on my computer I heard Leydi outside making funny noises. Since she didn't stop right away and it sounded like something wasn't right I went outside to see what she was up to. She was really intently looking at something on the ground, first I thought it was a lizzard, but as I looked closer I realized it was a giant SCORPION!!! Yikes, I had never seen a scorpion in my life, though I know they are quite common here. First thing I did was make sure my little terrier is safely locked up, he is my smallest and most vulnerable to venom dog. The next thing was to get Leydi out of the way, she was not going to let this thing go. Then I got a jar and grabbed my camera to take some pictures of the critter. This guy or maybe it was a girl was about 3 inches long, pretty good size for a scorpion. I did take it to the cooperative extension office in the hope to get an ID. They confirmed that it was a scorpion, and that it probably wasn't a very poisonous one because of the large pinchers. I released this large insect into the desert, hopefully it will live a long and prosperous life there.

Doggie Bed Story

I had lost this picture when I changed computers, but thanks to Kim Gray of Lost Armadillo Anatolians I have at least one picture of this really funny example of Ayla's cute ideas. I bought this doggie bed for my Kobi, the Jack Russell Terrier, and actually the bed was too small for him. So here came Ayla, she took one look and the proceded to claim the new doggie bed as hers and settled down on it quite nicely as can be seen on the picture. Unfortunetely the next day she turned the bed into a chew toy, I guess she figured if it wasn't useful as a bed she might as well use it for something else.

Leydi's 3rd birthday!

Leydi has been with us 6 months now and yesterday was her 3rd birthday. Her gift to me was that for the first time since she came her she climbed into the bed with me when I took an afternoon nap. She absolutely loves it when it pat her big head and tussle the hair on her neck. When I do that she just melts into a big heap and rolls on the ground. She is a very affectionate girl and lately she has also started to "talk", especially when she feels it's taking me too long to get ready to take her for a walk. Still hoping she will grow out of the habit of stealing blankets to take them outside. A big thanks to Bob and Betty of Huzur's Anatolians for letting me have this beautiful girl.