Tikka

Hello Family and Friends,

The reality of life is that I don't seem capable of posting anything on time...nevertheless, better late than never!

On July 14th (yes, that would be nearly two months ago) we brought home Tikka, who was 6 weeks at the time. She is a female Vizsla (a hungarian pointer breed).

Tikka on Day 2: 6 weeks old

Having her has certainly been a new experience -demanding to be sure!! By the second week she was pretty much house-trained and kennel-trained, so that has been good. Other than that, I'm just started to appreciate the need for so much consistency in her training. Being that she is just a pup (now 3 months old) she wants to chew on everything she can get a hold of -so that has been a challenge at times. The most costly victim thus far have been Fede's glasses...but no shoes or sofas yet :)

Tikka has already grown so much from the time that this picture with Antonio was taken. Here she weighed about 6 lbs and now she weighs about 17 lbs!

At first she could easily nestle in Francisco's lap (and initially she slept quite a bit!) but now, there's no way she can cuddle in his lap!

watching a dog sleep is one of life's simple pleasures. what peace! 

She is a beautiful dog and very fun to have around. Definitely we would consider Tikka high-energy dog, as she needs lots of exercise. Every night Fede puts on his roller blades and goes as fast as he can around the neighborhood to tire Tikka out. When the come through the back door Tikka immediately sprawls out on the cool kitchen tile to cool down -so funny! I take her out on weekend mornings for a walk-run, which doesn't tire her nearly as much but still does the job!

Tikka has found a second home at my Aunt Marisa's home. Earlier this year, they got a bolonka puppy named "Chicharito" and so we've had the opportunity to take her there for a "playdate." It is like taking her to Disney World! she couldn't be happier running around, visiting with Chicharito and even jumping in their pool! She is a water dog, although we haven't had many occasions to practice with her.

This picture is actually from 10 days ago, so it is more true to life. I took Tikka out on a Saturday afternoon at 5 pm in the scorching heat. Not surprisingly, halfway through our jog she found a shady spot and promptly spread herself out on the grass. I couldn't get her to budge! Finally after a few minutes I managed to drag her to a stand and get her going again. She has also started chasing her tail, which is so darn funny!

Ok, next on the line up is Ana's August visit to Houston and our family reunion. After that, pictures of the kids in school :)

And finally, in case you are wondering about the name "Tikka" -well, technically "Tica" is a Hungarian name, but we decided to spell it with "k"s because she kind of looks the color of one of our favorite Indian dishes "Tikka Masala."

Best to all of you!
-The Martinez Family