In Honor of Spartacus' Birthday Friday Aug. 6, 2010

Rebbetzin

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On Friday, Aug. 6th, Our beloved dog friend will be 6 years old!! How time flies!!
When our Mimi dog died of cancer, I said "No more dogs." Then a few months later, I was lonesome for a furry friend.

We started to look for a new dog friend. We each saw him, at different times, but we emailed this photo to each other saying "What do you think of this one." And just so happened, we were drawn to the same puppy!!

Here is the first photo we ever saw of him.
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Here he is on his first day with us. We picked him up from LAX. Since it was still too hot in September for him to be shipped to us in Tucson.

His first of many smiles!


FirstSmile.jpg


And here he is two weeks later!

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Here is another big smile, on a "big bye bye" trip to Eagle CO to visit my daughter and her husband. Back in 2005. He loves to perch on the console and look out the windshield.

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I will take him shopping for his birthday present on Friday. Last year for his birthday, we went to the feedstore and he picked out a stuffed cat! We spent over 30 minutes looking at different dog toys. But, when he saw that cat! He barked loudly and said "This is it!" Then grabbed it out of my hand and decided he was keeping it!!

Here he is today with his Kitty Toy... I said, "Where is your Kitty Toy?" He went to the toybox and brought it to me.

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Then I said, "Can you get that Kitty?" And here he is "getting" the Kitty...(sorry for the feline abuse) Though, he never really hurts his kitty.

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The first time Rich took him to PetsMart, Spartacus picked out a toy he wanted. A stuffed little person shape. Here he is when he first brought it home. He was only 4 months old. December of 2004

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And here he is taking a nap with the same toy two years later. In December 2006.
He takes good care of his toys.

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He brings us a lot of joy. He is a very good dog friend.
 

TanksHill

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Happy Birthday big guy!!! He seems so smart. I gotta say some dogs have it and some.... well just don't.

What type of dog is he? Sorry I do not know many breeds.

gina
 

Rebbetzin

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big brown horse said:
What kind of pup is that?

I'm smitten!!!!!!
Spartacus is a Cane Corso (Italian or Roman Mastiff) The breed was just recognized by the AKC recently. There are not too many of them in the USA. The breed standard crops the ears and tail. We didn't want his ears cropped. They do it very short, like a cat ear! Makes them look mean, I think.

In Italy they are an all around farm dog. They can herd, drive, and can be used to pull carts, great at protecting property and stock. VERY SMART!! Once you show them what you want, they seem to never forget.

As an example.. To teach him to roll over, I showed him... I rolled over.. and from then on, he undrestood.

We are teaching him to talk... He can say "I love you" and " I want it" But, mostly he communicates with dog noises. He does great "L's" It is hysterica to see him making "L's"!!! He has such a long tongue!!

Spartacus is very smart... I have had some dogs that I couldn't teach to do anything! And others from the same litter that were sharp as a tack!! Just depends on the individual dog, and the people working with them.
 
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