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The First Meeting: Becker picks Mac for a brother
Settling In: The first few days
Learning the Rules: Mac gets an education
Note: The following images are thumbnails; click on any image for a larger view.
This was the picture that led us to Mac!
I was searching for a buddy for Becker, and so I did a search for vizslas on Petfinder.com. Mac came up as a vizsla/greyhound mix (since he was born without a ridge, he can be difficult to identify).
We arranged for Becker to meet Mac at the Horticulture Park at Purdue University on January 31st, 2004.
Becker greeted Mac as he got out of his car, and the rest is history!
Just hanging out, getting to know each other...
But then playtime begins!
Becker's fast, but I don't know if he's any match for this guy!
Watch out, Becker! He's getting closer!
Almost there........
Gotcha!
Kerplop! I guess they both hit an ice patch and went skidding...
They weren't too affected, though. They bounced right back up and were at it again in a matter of seconds.
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Settling in:
The first few days
Becker was pretty excited that we got to bring Mac home with us. He probably thought that we were going to be able to do this every time he met a buddy at a dog park!
He's such a sweet boy. He's trying to get the rules sorted out in this new house, but he's trying very hard to be good.
He seems pretty happy to be here. I think he's going to fit in fast.
Here he is proudly showing off his new collar and nametag. We took him to the store to go shopping for all of his new things, and he seemed to think that was pretty fun.
Becker shared all of his toys with his new big brother.
Even the beloved sqeaky squishy ball! Wow, Becker must really like this guy!
Finally Becker showed him the whole toy chest so that they could each have some toys to play with. Mac: "You mean all these toys are for us??"
After that they had a good time sharing all of their toys. They each had a rawhide to work on.
They shared a frisbee, and Becker soon realized that his life-long dream had come true...
He had someone to play tug with!
Becker also learned that he had a great new wrestling buddy.
Mac is so very patient with his new little brother! Becker likes to slide from underneath and grab a hold of Mac's face.
And Mac grabs back, but only just hard enough to play along. He is very careful not to bite too hard.
Look at those two go! They have so much fun together.
Becker thinks this is the best game he's ever invented.
But much like a human little brother, Becker often pesters Mac to play when Mac just wants to work on a project by himself.
They take a break from wrestling to just chill, talking and laughing like brothers do.
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Learning the rules:
Mac gets an education
Becker's showing him the ropes of the house: "See Mac, when she gets out the camera, you smile like this. Then you get a treat!"
"You mean like this?"
He's extremely intelligent, and I can tell he's going to catch on to obedience training quickly. This is a picture of one of our first formal training sessions.
After just one day, he's already getting the hang of it!
Here's a shot from further down the road in the training: learning "lie down."
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