Bonne St-Jean 2012!

A year and a day ago, on June 23rd, we had the great fortune of adding a sweet little guy to our small family. We picked up Max after work on a Thursday, before the eve of Mid Summer, which is really big in Sweden. To me, that was the eve of St-Jean, Québec's national day.

A year later and we're still over the hill in love with our (less) little guy. You might remember last year's picture of a sweet tiny fluffy puppy with a headband and 2 wobbly flags. It barely fit around his torso at the time.

Well, it's been exactly 12 months since that day and St-Jean is again at our doorstep. Max is now almost 14 months old and has grown into a gorgeous puppy. Yes, puppy. He'll always be my puppy!

The headband really fits on his head now, although he had to be convinced to keep it on with the promise of a few meatballs... *coughs*

White, Fluffy and Chilly Make Max a Crazy Puppy

What better time than spring to bring up pictures about a dog's love for snow.
It was to be expected. After all, he's got some Canadian blood in him somewhere!

It seems there is nothing more fun for Max than a snowball. Think about it for a moment, from his perspective...

It's a ball that his human can throw at him.
That he can eat.
That he can also drink at the same time.

What more can a puppy ask for? Oh yes... meatballs! Well, you still cannot drink them mind you.

Don't I look good with white?

I'm ready to start! Let's go go go!

A little to the left...

A little to the right...

Uh oh, TOO CLOSE! TOO CL...

Woohoo! I got it!

Look at me, I'm getting better at this stuff!

*yawns and stretches* A well deserved rest after such a tedious playtime.

Happy New Woofy Year!

Happy New Year 2012!

What better way to begin than by posting old pictures from 2011!

First of all, can someone tell me how much is that dog in the window?

Woof woof! Max staring at me at work.

Also, I've recently gotten a new protection thingie for my computer at work. It's been working pretty well so far.

No virus is going to get in there! No cat either.

 Max is a bit particular. You know how people usually loves to sunbath? We take our long chairs, drag them into the open where the sun is shining warm and bright. We might bring a book, a nice drink or simply choose to close our eyes and drift off while enjoying the nice weather...
Max does it during the autumn, under the cloudy sky, on the bare chair. Silly doggy.

Maybe it's time I turn around so I get an even tan?

Sometimes, he does get tired of cloud-bathing, mostly when he's playing with his cousin Ludde. Let the right ones in? (Låt "de" rätta komma in?).

Let us in! Pleeeeaaasseee! We won't wreck havoc in the house... again... Well, for 5 minutes at least.

He loves to be around us, sleeping at our feet at work and at home, following us around as we do the stuff we do, even when that implies building Ikea furniture.

Ok, so I stay here and you follow my instructions.

I give this the Max' seal of approval. Woof!

We can sleep soudnly with Max in the house. He even keeps the Christmas tree and all teh gifts safe from burglars (or curious people trying to get a sneak peak at their presents a bit too early).

Merry Woofmas!

Hallo-Woof!

Halloween is traditional in Canada and I think it ranks pretty high, if not at the top, of my favourite holidays. I have been tryingto have a little bit of Halloween in Sweden, either by throwing a party or baking creepy (but yummy) things for my coworkers. This year, I had a puppy (uh oh) and, given his Canadian roots, I had no other choice but to make him participate in this great tradition.

I thought a long time about what kind of costume would be best for Max. I saw some amazing ones on the net, but 1) My sewing skills are rather... poor. 2) I did not want to invest lots of money to buy one. Beside, I think it is a lot more fun to make your own costume (and might often look better).

Much googling later, I got an idea.

Behold. Here comes Spider Dog!
"Spider Dog, Spider Dog! Does whatever a Spider Dog do"

"Can he catch, an orange ball? Yes he can, 'cause he's a dog"

"Can he lie down, lazily? Yes he can, 'cause he's a dog"

"Can he swing, on a web. No he can't, 'cause he's a dog. But he'll beg for food stand watch when the evil spider has lunch."

Family Reunion

At the beginning of October, we were invited to a puppy meeting by the owner of Canagold. We were very eager to meet Max' siblings as well as see how they would interact with each other.

It was a very fun afternoon and I think everyone had a great time. I do wonder if the humans or the dogs had the bigger blast.

The actors:

• Saga (the mommy), Tanya (an auntie, I think, as she has the same father as Saga), Tazza (half sister as they share the same mother). You can read about these lovely dogs here.
• Max, Nova, Yatzie, Teia, Tindra, Stella (Max and his sisters. Samos, the other male puppy, was the only missing one). About 5.5 months old.
• Nikki and her daughter Luna, golden retrievers.
• Minnah, Belgian shepherd/Malinois puppy, about 3.5 months old.
• Oh yes, the owners of all these fine dogs and puppies.

Max was a little wary at first, as he usually tends to be. However, it did not last long and soon enough, he was running around and playing with his siblings and the other canine guests.

He happened to be the only male dog during that day, and he got chased around quite a bit.

The puppies are patiently waiting in line for the privilege of being petted.

Max is doing his funny face to make his siblings laugh.

She looks funny!

Max yielding to his sisters.

The puppy house, June 4th 2011

The puppy house, October 10th, 2011 

Niclas thinks he can be a flock leader. Minnah seems to be about to prove him wrong.

Max and Nova sharing a stick. Cute siblings.

Teia, Tindra, Nova, Yatzie, Stella, Max and mommy Saga.

Fluffy White Trail of Destruction

What happens when a puppy finds out the whreabouts of your emergency toilet paper rolls?

A fluffy white trail of destruction.

The trail coming from the bathroom all the way to the den of a certain puppy.

The poor victim, found crippled in the den of the culprit.

The culprit showing absolutely no remorse at all and having another go at the mangled roll.

Happy Birthday Max - 4 months

Today is Max's birthday. Well, sortish. He turns 4 months, so it's a quarter of a birthday!

What has mister Le Woof been up to lately? Well....

1. Eating dirt from my potted plant. Tsk tsk
2. Playing with his new tunnel from IKEA (he won't admit it, but he was terrified of the thing at first, now he seems to find any excuse to run through it).
3. Trying to dig the wooden floor at work to hide his bones. It's actually very adorable. He will start whimpering with the bone in his mouth, then walk around a bit, start clawing the floor, then put the bone there and pretend it's well hidden.
4. Hiding his bone between the cushions on the couch. I found it out the hard way when I tried laying on said couch and my side met with something solid and rather uncomfortable.
5. Niclas has been showing him to seek. He hides the ball and then asks him to get the ball. It works! It's so amazing. Of course, it doesn't work all the time, but gosh this is fun and I find it great that he understands the concept.
6. He's a climber. At work, if left alone, he'll find a way to get on my desk and wander around the place. I had to wash my water glass a few times and throw some almonds that were innocently laying by my keyboard. Oh yes, I've also learned to push my chair all the way in when I leave, although it doesn't always deter him. It's a good thing I can increase the height of my desk with a simple button.
7. He loves to jump... down high places that make me go "You crazy dog, you'll break your bones! Arrrrg NOOOO!"

So, enough with words and let's see some pictures!

Max likes to jump.

How much is that dog, in the car window? Woof woof!

Typical day at work for Max.

He's my little handsome gentlemandog