Introducing Soba's Friends..

It has been so great that Soba is able to grow up playing with other dogs in our neighborhood. This not only helps him socialize with other dogs but it also allows him to burn off some energy when they play. So, ... here are the dogs that Soba hangs out with almost everyday.

1. Bailey - "the lizard hunter". Bailey doesn't play with the other dogs as much. You'll find her in bushes or next to walls looking for lizards. When she finds one, she starts to bark and then jump up (at incredible height) trying to get at it. When she does play with other dogs, she takes the role of sheriff. She would bark at Soba and Madison if they are playing to rough. Here is a picture of Bailey with a lizard.

2. Madison - "ball chaser". Madison is such a sweet dog. She is the most obedient dog in the neighborhood. If you call her, she would come to you. She loves to play catch. You'll find her dropping balls of any kind in front of your feet wanting you to throw or kick it. She and Soba plays so well together. Here is a picture of them playing.

3. Toby is a black lab who lives next door. Although he looks a bit scary because he is so big, he is actually the sweetest thing. He plays with Madison and Soba. Because he is a bit older, he gets tired more quickly. You'll find him just walking around or lying on the ground resting. Picture of him to come...

Soba the Casanova or Not?

Don't the pictures below say it all? Soba is a pretty dominant dog. So, when he plays with more submissive dogs, the following type of actions will occur! I've been told that humping is a way to show he is dominating another dog.

We see a lot of this when he plays with his girlfriends - Roxie and Madison (both are at least 3X his size). He spent an afternoon with Roxie yesterday, and there was a lot of humping action. Roxie's mom calls this "doggie porn". Yikes! =)

What a day!

I went out to run some errands today. Since Soba was sleeping, I decided not to crate him. Well... When I got home, here is what I found...

• My favorite purple pen all chewed up.
• Lotion all over the floor.
• Destroyed hair tie.
• A mint candy wrapper with no sight of the candy. I assume he ate it.
• He ate all the Chinese candy and left some wrappers along with black seasame seeds all over the carept.

Bad guy! Unfortunately, he will be crated from now on when we go out until further notice.

If that wasn't enough, he found a dead, flatten rat from the bushes while he was outside playing with his friends. I screamed when I saw the tail protruding from his mouth. It was so disgusting. I had to borrow a glove from John and Susan to get the rat from his mouth. He grossed out the entire neighborhood!!!

"The Nipper"

Usually, when someone sees Soba, they would ask us what type of dog he is. However, when Wade went on a walk with Soba today, another fellow dog walker asked Wade "oh, is he the Nipper?" Apparently, Wade was so shocked he didn't have a good reply. After Wade told me the story, I was insulted. We were trying to figure out why we took offense to her remark. Perhaps, it is true that Soba nips when he greets people, BUT ... you don't refer to him as "The Nipper". That is just rude. I am keeping my eyes open on our walks for a lady walking her Beagle. I'll let Soba show her what nipping feels like! Haa haa! =)

Birds of Paradise

We did some garden work this weekend, and cut down a big bird's of paradise leaf. Here is Soba trying to show it who is the boss.

Fenced Out

Soba loves to get into the planter to dig, dig, dig... Wade finally got fed up and put chicken wire around the planters. The backyard now looks like a war zone. Got to give Wade credit for getting the green chicken wire so it doesn't look so ghetto. TBD if this will work.