Welcome 2011 and Hunter! :)

December flew by! (And so did 2010 for that matter!)

I didn't post any pictures of our house decorated for the holidays because we didn't do as much decorating as I thought we would for our first Christmas here. We spent a lot of our weekends on home improvement projects and just had the small tree that worked perfectly in our apartment, but looked very small in our big kitchen! Luckily, we were able to get one in an after Christmas sale that is 7 feet tall. Next year's adventure will be finding ornaments to decorate all that tree with :)

Rob and I were both home for a short visit for the holidays and, as always, wished we could have spent more time with everyone. Rob came back to Phoenix last Sunday and I came back last Wednesday. I really can't say that we've gotten back into a normal routine here because we totally uprooted our routine and adopted a dog!

This is Hunter:

He is a two year old (nearly to the date) chocolate lab. He was set to be euthanized at the pound when a rescue agency saved him, and we adopted him a day later, this past Friday. To be honest, we got off to a bit of a rough start. He definitely prefers Rob and is like his shadow now. But initially, he didn't seem to like me at all. He did a good bit of growling and even gave a snarl or two in my direction. I think it's either that he recognized that I was more nervous around him or that he had a mean female owner previously. It's tough to tell. We put him in his crate on Friday night to go to dinner at Oregano's and he growled and showed his teeth and barked angrily at Rob and I both, and then later at our friends who came over. Needless to say, we were reluctant to let him out of his bed/crate, as prior to all this he had been friendly and very calm.

On Saturday morning, I was about ready to take Hunter back. We took down his crate and were getting ready to put him in the car when I realized he needed one more chance. Rob and I both sat down with him and petted him and talked in nice voices a lot and he seemed to warm up to us again. He was on probation all day yesterday and did very well with it. Needless to say, he is still here and we are both starting to get attached :)

It took us almost an hour and a half (and a lot of treats) to get him back in the crate yesterday afternoon so we could go to the grocery store and when we came back he was calm and happy to go out for a walk. He went in his bed right away last night and even whimpered for us, sad that we had gone to bed. This morning, I let him out by myself and he was in good spirits again. We are thinking it was a fear-based aggression, and as he is realizing that we aren't out to hurt him, he is calm and loving.

We have been going for lots of walks and when I have the leash Hunter sometimes is walking me! He encroaches on my side of the sidewalk and pulls on the leash a lot at first, but as the walk continues and he gets tired, he does a much better job at staying by my side.

It's been chilly these past few days when we have been out walking...a few big puddles of standing water even froze over during the nights! Typically, after our walks, Hunter lays on the tile in the kitchen, in the sun, while we cook breakfast or dinner (since he's been walking twice a day). He chews like crazy on his rawhide bone, but nothing else in the house so far (knock on wood). He did get at a little bit of the sweet bread on the counter, but we've been watching him closely and the only human food he's allowed is peanut butter when he goes into his crate.

We will keep you posted on Hunter as time goes on. Rob and I are both a little nervous about the beginning of this week as we transition back into our work routines and he has to stay in his crate for a longer period of time during the day, but hope it doesn't upset him too much.

We hope 2011 is off to a fantastic start for you all! Love, Sarah, Rob and Hunter