Rain, playdates, collars and *ahem* ladies business

Hello doggies and your humans, this is Bella again!



It's winter here in Adelaide, and we've been experiencing a particularly wet and windy one. A large wooden beam has even fallen into the garden from the pergola, broken from all the wild wind! I do enjoy running through the mud- how many dogs don't?- but I'm not a huge fan of wet grass, or the wind in my ears, or rain. Rain is icky.

Recently I've had lots of fun despite the wet and wild weather, enjoying playdates with my best doggy friends, Arya the Borzoi and Elvis the Greyhound. I've also become reacquainted with Pasha the Standard Poodle and Boris the Australian Bulldog. I hadn't played with Pasha since he was a little puppy, so it was a bit of a shock to see him so large and grown up. I was a bit intimidated at first because of his size and bounciness, but eventually, when it was just the two of us playing, I decided that he was pretty cool after all (for a kelb!). It took me even longer to warm up to Boris (and by 'warm up to', I mean 'come to tolerate the presence of'), big, chunky dogs really aren't my type. I like my playmates to be long and leggy, just like me!


Pasha and I, he's the one with the awesome curly hair.

My favourite playmate is Arya. She's just a few months younger than me and is tons of fun. I like to boss her around a lot, and unless she has an accomplice (like young Pasha), she naturally respects my obvious superiority. Being a sighthound, Arya can run real fast and loves to play rough- just my play style! I'm very loud and rowdy when I play with friends; when I'm having fun, everyone knows about it.


My fast, fun Borzoi Friend Forever (BFF), Arya (Alyosha Aphrodite). She's a bit goofy, which I can really relate to.


Fun in the mud is the best fun to have. I got big muddy paw prints all over my coat while we were wrestling.


She can't catch me! I'm a speed demon. :)

I've been less happy the past couple of days as I have come into season for the second time in my young life. Being in season is really a bit rubbish, I have to wear specially made pants around the house which, as well as being VERY undignified, means I can't inspect my ladies bits. :( Amy tells me that I need to wear them because last time, when I was given a chance to keep myself clean, I didn't to a great job and I made a big drippy mess around the house. I guess it's just one of the less great things about being a lady!
 My friend Arya doesn't come into season at all because she's been 'desexed', which is a special operation which means you can't make puppies. I can't have this operation just yet, because I am an occasional show dog and am working toward my 'Australian Champion' title. Amy says that a lot of desexed Salukis get very fuzzy as well, some people even call it 'Afghanitis' as some Salukis grow long hair a little like our Afghan Hound cousins! While I am entire, Amy is very careful to make sure that I am not ever put in a situation where I might accidentally get pregnant (like my mum did- I was a very happy accident), as there are so many unwanted dogs in need of homes these days, and breeding is best left to those who really know what they are doing!

You may notice that I am sporting a fabulous new accessory, my beautiful collar which was made by Zita in the Czech Republic (http://www.jawharah.wz.cz/Shop.html). She's a very clever lady who makes lots of gorgeous collars and coats made especially with the Saluki body shape in mind. My warm and snuggly leopard print coat is one of her creations as well- I love it!
Amy tells me that Autumn colours like reds, oranges, golds and yellows really compliment me, and I tend to agree. I think my new colour is super elegant, though the effect is ruined slightly by my 'in-season' pants!

Here are a few more pictures of me playing model:

Hound Club Show

Hello, this is Bella again.

On the weekend I went on a car trip with Amy and her friend (Arya's mum) all the way to Kilburn to go to the Hound Club of SA show. I used to find dog shows quite scary because they are so busy and filled with so many different people and dogs and smells, but I've decided that they're actually quite fun, and a good excuse to hang out with both human and doggy friends.


Do I look happy or what?! This showing business can be a lot of fun. :)

One of the things that weren't so good about the show was that there was a show for very tiny dogs next door to the ring that the hounds were in. Whenever we walked past the tents with the very tiny dogs in they would all jump up and yap at us which was a little scary. The very tiny dogs certainly loved to talk! We Salukis are more into singing than yapping, we have such beautiful, melodic voices. :)

There were seven other Salukis entered today, with two of them in the Intermediate Bitch class with me. Arya's mum handled me in the ring, which was a little bit confusing for me as usually it's Amy who takes me round (Amy had a sore foot, so she took pictures instead of running me around). I was a little bit fidgety when the judge was feeling me over because it's very hard not to squirm when someone is giving you pats!  I will say that I did move like a little angel and didn't start breaking into a run like I've been known today. I was runner-up in my class which was a pleasant surprise.

I'm on Facebook!

Hello Mere Humans!

This is Bella, here to inform you that I now have my very own Facebook page! I'm still not entirely sure how it works, human inventions can be such strange things, but I THINK it means that I can talk to all my friends using a computer-machine. I'm sure I will have many, many friends to talk to- who wouldn't want to be friends with me??

This is my profile: http://www.facebook.com/grizabella.saluki
Aren't I stunning?
Actually, Amy tells me that I look rather like an evil villain in my 'cover photo'. How rude. The reason I look a little grumpy in that picture, is that I had grown weary of having my photograph taken, and was hoping to get that message across by giving my most withering death glare. Apparently something got lost in translation, because Amy proceeded to take even more photographs of me. *sigh* The trials of being this darn beautiful...

Aside from the time consuming business of being drop-dead gorgeous, I've also been busy in my social life. Last night I stayed over at Elvis Greyhound's house (actually, it is also home to Bonnie Small White Fluffy and Clyde Small White Fluffy as well), which was a whole lot of fun. Elvis is great at chasey games as he can run so, so fast, but he likes his games quite short unfortunately as he'd really rather be sleeping. I did get a few good races out of him though, and I very nearly caught him! I almost catch up to him on the corners, but on a straight he regains his lead. Elvis is, however, entirely lacking in Saluki stamina, which I am most certainly endowed with. I could run and play all day! That is unlike some people; Bonnie and Clyde didn't want to play with me at all, most disappointing.

Here is Elvis run, run, running...


...and here he is passing time in his preferred manner.






I went to Elvis' human's mum's house, and also to Elvis' human's dad's house. At the second house, there was lots of space to run around, and a great big hill to play on. I was very curious about some fat squeaky things in a cage; 'guinea pigs' I believe they're called. I wasn't allowed to play with them though. Pity.

Here are a few photos of me hanging out in the big yard.

Ready and Waiting for Autumn

Greetings, this is Bella, speaking out once again to all my admirers (I assume that I'm admired; if you aren't overwhelmed by my beauty when you gaze upon me there is clearly something wrong).

I'm very disappointed that I'm forced to endure another 'hot spell', just when I thought summer was wrapping up until the next. If you're not aware, we live in South Australia, where it can be extremely hot and dry in the summer, not fun at all! You may say, "But Bella, surely you, as a Saluki, are the sort who would enjoy lots of hot, dry weather?". Well, I don't. Unpleasantly warm weather makes for hot cement (so walks can only take place in the evening), shortened zoomie runs due to heat exhaustion and, worst of all, getting bits of prickly plants stuck in my hair whenever I go outside. Today I went out to play for five minutes and by the time I came in, Amy had a whole handful of prickles that she'd pulled out of my feet, legs, ears, pants, ears- basically anywhere with pretty feathers. I'm coming to start to think that smooth Salukis must have the right idea! Amy tells me to be grateful that I'm not an Afghan Hound, if I was I'd surely pick up one hundred times more bits and pieces in my fur. Eww.

Thankfully, we have had a couple of cool days recently among the scorchers. Amy took this opportunity to take some photos of me being utterly gorgeous. WHY no upmarket canine company has asked me to model for them is beyond my comprehension. I'm a babe, and I know it.

First, I posed with the hills in the background, providing a nice scenic backdrop.



Because I am a Saluki, and as such can run very fast indeed, and am unlikely to stop chasing something just because some bossy human tells me to, I have to stay on my leash-contraption. If I were to get off, I might be a bit silly and run onto a scary road in my enthusiasm to run and run and run. It's a bit of a pity because the pictures would look rather nicer without the leash-contraption in the way, but I suppose it's better than getting run over by a car.



Amy says that it's better to take photos of me when she's crouching or lying down, but that's another thing that's quite difficult in the summer as she gets all prickled by all the dead grass and spiky things! It's quite amusing watching her struggle to get in the right spot for a picture, and then once she's ready I fidget so she's got to reposition herself all over again! Hehehe.




I like playing on these big mounds. Apparently they were put in for humans to ride on with their bicycle-contraptions, but I think they're more fun to run up and down.



While Amy has taking these photos of me, she got bitten by a spider, haha!









And one last photo:

New Tricks

Hi, Bella here.

I've been on holidays from formal obedience training for the past couple of months, but in that time I've still been learning.
I've now mastered a new trick, 'take a bow' (which involves lying down with only your front half, so your bottom sticks in the air). As well as that, I'm also getting a lot better at going over jumps which can be a lot of fun.

This is me waiting for instructions.



And performing my bow.



Ooh, I can do high fives as well!



At the first obedience school I tried out, one of the instructors said that Salukis are 'a bit dumb' which OBVIOUSLY is utter nonsense. So, here I am proving such sentiments wrong. We Salukis can certainly learn tricks like any other dog and what's more, we only feel the need to perform if there's something in it for us. Dumb? I think that makes us cleverer than most. ;-)

Another thing that is new is that my human, Amy, now has a Redbubble profile, which means you can now buy greeting cards and posters with her doggy art on. Amy's going to put some t-shirts on there that you humans can wear. You can now even buy Christmas cards featuring the most beautiful Saluki in all the world- that's right, me!!!
Take a look!

I shall talk to all you mere humans again soon. Hug your hounds!

Licks,
Bella (the great)

WORZ Gorillas

And now for a second bombardment of gorilla photos, this time from Werribee Open Range Zoo. It was my first time visiting the zoo and I was very impressed. I do think it would have been a lot more enjoyable in the school term though, being school holidays it was packed with screaming children. It's shame that people aren't bright enough that a gorilla probably isn't going to be impressed by your unimpressive chest beats and bizarre Tarzan calls. And that wasn't even the children, those were the adults! Now I've had my whinge, I will say that there were also lots of sensible people who were quiet and respectful when watching the gorillas.


The houses three males, Motaba and his two youngest sons, Yadumu and Ghubari.

This is Motaba. I really like him a lot, he's a magnificent silverback. Motaba spent a lot of the time sitting with his back against the glass, so it was very near impossible to get decent photos of him up close, but I think I did pretty well considering. I loved being close enough to actually smell him, I love the scent of gorillas- so gorillary (made up word)!








This is Yadumu (Yakini), the 'middle' gorilla. He spent a lot of time snoozing in a shady shelter. The last time I saw him was in January 2009, and he has matured so much since then.







And this is Ghubari (Ganyeka), Motaba's youngest son. I think he's a very handsome young man.

Melbourne Zoo Orangutans and Gorillas

Visiting gorillas is always very exciting for me as there aren't any living in South Australian zoos, so it's a rare treat to see what is probably my favourite animal of all.

Melbourne Zoo is one of my favourite places to see gorillas, along with Bristol Zoo in the UK, I just love their group, which now includes one of my favourite gorillas from Sydney, Mbeli. Unfortunately, Mbeli never really put herself in a decent spot for a photo so I didn't manage to get any of her. I did get plenty of photos of some of the other gorillas though, including my two other favourites, Rigo and Julia. I think Melbourne Zoo has a great gorilla enclosure, lovely and shady with lots of vegetation and places to get out of the public eye.

Rigo (looking pretty darn good for a forty-something year old):






Yuska


Julia





I loved watching the zoo's orangutans as well, especially beautiful baby girl Dewi. It's always special to see a baby ape cared for by his or her mother.

Maimunah and Dewi


Dewi


Maimunah


Gabby (Kamil)


Kiani (Suma)


I have many more photos in my Flickr album: Melbourne Zoo
There are pictures from a few years back in there as well, the recent ones are in the bottom third.