Meet Rufus!

Rufus is a 17 month old 'Fox Red' Labrador.  He is still a puppy at heart, fulfilling all the playful, bouncy, excitable roles to be expected with a young Lab.  However he is rapidly developing 'old man' tendencies, becoming very keen on his routine and with a fixed idea of when is an appropriate bed time.  He will often take himself off to his bed if he has decided that we are staying up too late (normally anything past 10pm), and should you attempt to persuade him to go outside last thing at night  you can expect a rather reluctant glance from one eye only.  No other movement without further persuasion.  He loves his bed.

He is the most affectionate dog and, as cliche as it sounds, is a true 'people person'.  He seems blissfully ignorant of his 40kgs frame when trying to get on your lap, should you have decided to sit on the floor. Likewise, if I am home alone with him I can be guaranteed a ginger shadow for practically all daily activities, invited or not.  Suffice to say that when my husband is away with work I develop a rather uncanny and possibly slightly insane ability to communicate with Rufus.  I am never lonely, we understand each other perfectly and I almost certainly talk to him far too much than is healthy.

Despite his continued efforts to become an oversized lap-dog he is from a working strain and so has been / is in the process of being trained as such.  Whilst we will readily admit that his professionalism on the field has undoubtedly been compromised by his 'spoiled' indoor living and being addressed in various silly voices / baby language, he is somehow still remarkably well-behaved and shows much potential.......most of the time! 

I have a slight obsession with taking photos of Rufus, which will probably be joined by an even greater obsession with photos of the baby,  so I am sure he will feature rather heavily on this blog.  I shall, however, attempt to refrain from becoming one of those pet-obsessed nutters who post about their darlings on a daily basis and bore the rest of the world (who are unfortunate enough to have not had the pleasure of meeting said creatures) to tears!