Thursday, June 4, 2009

A milestone of a birthday!

Happy Birthday Baxter!

Today, Baxter turns 10. I cannot believe how swiftly time has gone by. Other than the ever so present white on his muzzle, ears and the increase of stray whitish strands on his legs, he has aged well. In human years, Baxter is probably somewhere between 62-66 years old, depending on which formula you are using.

Although it is hard to admit he is getting up there, it is the inevitable truth. I know I talk a lot about my dogs, but they truly have been such constants in my life with Baxter being my first actual dog I raised on my own. I could not have asked for a better dog. He really has seen the worst and best of times in my life, and I don't know what I would have done without him. So Baxter, know that mommy loves you and thanks you from the bottom of her heart at all you have taught her thus far!

As a gift from his grandmom (my mother), he received a Nina Ottoson toy. Well, I admit I've been wanting these for the dogs for a long time, but I knew he would find it enjoyable. Here are a few photos of him playing with the dog tornado. Essentially, he has to learn to spin the bones to reveal the treats.










Once he has that, then you can make it more challenging by adding little bones over the treat slots, so the dog must learn to remove the bone to get the treats. As you can tell, Baxter quickly caught on to this and found it enjoyable.


Full set of photos here

11 comments:

Just Eat It! said...

Tell Baxter "happy birthday" for me!

Cammy said...

Happy birthday to Baxter, from me and G.! I have never met any of your dogs in person (yet), but for some reason that I can't pin down, Baxter has always been my favorite. :)

Kim said...

Aw, happy bday Baxter :)

ego in absentia said...

Baxter is just beautiful! And that toy is too cool!!! xo t

Gwen said...

Ok, that is the cutest birthday picture I've ever seen. Happy birthday Baxter! You look great for an old man :)

Tiptoe said...

Baxter thanks everyone for his birthday wishes. He seemed to enjoy both the toy and his cake, made of beef and liver with mayonnaise icing.

Cammy, hopefully, sometime you will get to meet my brood. :-)

Ego in absentia, those toys really are fun and make the dogs use their brains.

Sarah said...

Aw, sooo cute. I love my cat London like she was my own child as well :)

Thats one lucky dog!

Cammy said...

By the way, I love that toy, I went to the website but couldn't figure out how to buy one. Where did your mom find it?

Tiptoe said...

Cammy, there are a several places to order it online:

Jeffers Pet: http://www.jefferspet.com/ssc/products.asp?CID=0&mscssid=CXR1P4S4PG699M9BHX47J9C4793RB5A4&dept_id=801&Area=&browselist=942&sort=&c=21

Clicker training store:
http://www.clickertraining.com/store/?item=dogtraining

Clean Run:
http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?currentpage=2&fuseaction=category.display&category_id=39&displaycount=8

I ordered this one at Jeffers Pet and received it within two days FedEx. They are offering free treats and a vitamin dispenser as well. I'd also recommend the plastic ones, because they are dishwasher safe and lighter weight.

Anonymous said...

What great photos!! Happy Birthday to Baxter! I love the other dogs in the photo as well. I work at Jeffers and have all of the toys for my dogs. They love them! Your dogs are all very lucky dogs to have such a great "mom!"

Tiptoe said...

Anon, thanks for the comments. Very cool, youwork at Jeffers. They are a good source for pet products.