I've attached some random pics for you - the newest ones were taken a few weeks back. I've been so bad about updating their pics.....

Raiden looks almost as big as Odin and I'm thinking he weighs about 105-110lbs (the last time we weighed him was about a month ago and he was 102lbs). His ears have gone up mostly but he still has a tiny bit of that lop-sided flop, which makes him look like the biggest goofball. And his eyes...hahha..he has the most dopey-looking eyes. People always ask if Raiden's as goofy as he looks and yes, he sure is! But as cheeky and playful as he is, he is also really loving and loves to follow us around the house. Odin, on the other hand, enjoys his quiet time alone from everyone.

Jaime and Cary   May 14, 2007

We're enjoying watching Raiden grow and he should be around 70lbs or so now - we need to weigh him this weekend. He's ALL skin!!! :o) You can see his ears are still floppy and we love them that way. It really suits him and his goofy personality.

He graduated puppy school about a month ago and he was the only one that obeyed all the commands on graduation day. We'll probably do the advanced classes once the holidays are over.

Jamie & Cary   November 16, 2006

I finally have some time to write and share some pics with you. It's been a very hectic past couple of days, as you can imagine.

Jolene, we've named the puppy "Raiden" (meaning Japanese God of Thunder & Lightning). He is absolutely adorable!!!! Very, very noisy but so clever.

He was quite timid when we first picked him up from the airport. We took him out of the crate and I held him on my lap during the car ride and by halfway, he was climbing to sit in the compartment box in between Cary and I. We took him straight to the vet and he weighed in at 17.1lbs. All the doctors and nurses who know Odin were fawning over Raiden, so we have another superstar in the making.

It's now been 5 days since we got Raiden and both the boys are getting along much better. Thanks for all those tips! Odin was acting jealous at first so we always make sure he gets plenty of love from everyone. Yesterday, we took them both to one of the parks near our house (it's neutral ground for both dogs so Odin wasn't as territorial). Odin still growls but it's natural so we don't tell him off. We just let them interact and don't interfere unless it gets too physical. It went quite well, so we let them play in the house for a bit. It's hilarious seeing the two of them. Odin tries really hard not to step on the little one and Raiden shows NO fear at all even when Odin growls at him. It's such a crack-up when Raiden grabs Odin's tail and legs in his mouth :) Talk about ankle-biter!!!!

Jolene, you weren't kidding when you said the pup talks too much. Good grief, does he have a set of lungs!!! He cries everytime we put him in his crate and walk out of the room. He has a real fit!!! When he cries, he throws his head back and howls and yowls. He was really bad the first few days...crying non stop for hours at a time. Now, he does it for a few minutes and then he's ok.

Raiden is slowly learning to do his business outside on the street but even after he's done and we bring him upstairs, he always has some leftover and will do it in the house. Kind of frustrating and we've used up rolls and rolls of paper towels. He's pretty good about letting us sleep through the night and doesn't make much noise until 5.30 or so.

He is really smart and by the third day, he already knew his name, the "no" and "sit" commands. It didn't take long for him to learn and he comes running when we call his name. He's a chewer and like to nip and chew at everything so we have to constantly keep an eye out for that. He loves his cuddles and is very different from Odin. Odin didn't really liked being held much when he was little but Raiden is very laid-back and likes to be carried. Very submissive.

Jamie & Cary   July 31, 2006