Huxley

Huxley joined our family just about a week ago and is settling in nicely. He came to us from a family who had him the first four years of his life but could not keep him due to long term travel conflicts. So, this was a big change for him to have new digs and new humans all at once and all of a sudden. He was very nervous and anxious for the first couple or so days. Gradually, we are seeing his true personality and his very basset traits come through! Today we took him for his first bath and he behaved like a dream. He is very used to having weekly baths and seemed to like most of it except for the drying with cool air part. He is enjoying two walks a day and receiving lots of attention from the three adoring children and two adults in the house. He only barks a little or whines at first when we leave the house for a while and waits in the backyard for us to return. He does have two or three habits which we are working on breaking him of, namely jumping on the couch (dogs do not go on the furniture on our household which is somewhat against basset philosophy!), mouthiness, and jumping on people when excited or meeting new people. Some of this, we hope, is due to the newness and will subside once he is more settled in over time. Nevertheless, we are working on this and he knows when he is being naughty! We have introduced him to marrow bones from the butcher and he is quite happy gnawing on them for extended periods of time. Another of his "habits" is stealing socks and other soft items such as stuffed animals and small pieces of clothing and going on his dog bed for a good slobber session. He is very affectionate, prefers sitting on your feet, and enjoys a good belly rub at the drop of a hat. Comical behavior he sometimes engages in include chasing his tail, sudden bursts of energy where he rips around the house at high speed, and this morning he growled at a fly. He is very good in the car and we can't wait to take him to our family cabin in Lake Tahoe and see if he will swim in the lake or just touch the edge of the water with his paws. All in all, he is a welcome addition to our family and he brings such joy and life to our daily routine. Right now, he is like a new toddler in our home for all of us to take care of while he learns the ropes of his new household! Thanks, Jamie Pehanick and family