Rob and Emily Raleigh

Rob and I got ourselves a dog for Christmas, thanks to Rob's aunt Denise. She is a yellow lab with a bit of husky mixed in, and though she's pretty much full grown, she's still under a year and very playful. Even better, she is a total sweetheart and enjoys her new surroundings. We're calling her "Dallas" after the Wisconsin town where Rob's grandpa's farm is.

Dallas loves her big backyard and will bound through the snow, and even lay down and roll around in it. The playset intrigues her, and she's pretty sure there's a way to get up on it but hasn't figured it out yet. We've taken her on a couple of walks and found out that she is very strong. I'm afraid to walk her alone for fears of her running off with me sliding behind her with the leash in hand.

Tokyo and Penny are NOT happy at ALL. Though Dallas is curious, she has mostly ignored them and will leave them alone when they swat (Tokyo has gotten a couple of good punches in). However, the times the dog has wanted to play and chased after them have not done well for diplomacy. The cats now spend their time in Rob's office and the laundry room where the food is.

We suspect that Dallas didn't have much socialization in her previous home, so our next challenge is to get her used to people. She's recently met a neighbor on one of our walks and seemed frightened of him when he put his hand out. Hopefully we'll have enough visitors in the next few weeks to have her comfortable with people other than us.