Dog Squad Blog – Big Boy Baxter

Say hello to Baxter who lives with his humans Amanda and David. His fictional character featured in Book 3 of the Island Dog Squad.

Here’s Baxter’s story, told by Amanda.

Baxter is a 6-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback who has been with his humans since he was 8 weeks old. He is a spoilt but very loved member of the family and loves chasing squirrels, playing with his friends (he does get rather vocal though) food and snuggles with his mum and dad. Baxter has a cat sister who tolerates him and is quite bossy. There’s no doubt which one is in charge though Baxter likes snuggling up to her and giving her a good groom.

Like every dog I know, Baxter loves going on long walks and he enjoys training activities whilst outside to keep his mind active. He has travelled. Though he’s mainly lived in the UK, he did spend two years living in Cyprus with us. He found the extreme heat very oppressive at first and struggled to adjust, but was much better after a few months.

Our family are back in the UK now and Baxter loves nothing more than being able to run through long grass and chase squirrels through the woods. The squirrels are not amused and find him very irritating. He doesn’t catch them and I’m not sure he would know what to do if he did.

We had a worry recently when we found a lump on Baxter’s elbow. Thankfully it was a benign tumour and was successfully removed. His recovery has been slower than expected due to the location of the lump but he is on the mend. On this subject, Baxter would like to remind all people parents out there to get any lumps on your doggies checked out straight away.

Our lovable dog is a typical Rhodesian Ridgeback and is very aloof with strangers but once he gets to know and trust you he is a very soppy and loving dog, and such a cheeky chap. He loves physical contact and cuddles up really close when watching TV (yes, he’s on the sofa with the humans). I don’t think he realises how big he is and believes he can fit on our laps – all 47kg of him!

He’s a clever boy and has very good recall so doesn’t go too far away when out walking. He feels safest when he’s close to us both. Having said that he does like to pull on the lead and Baxter and his humans are currently undergoing some training with a lovely dog trainer, to help improve his manners. He’s doing very well so far and it turns out he just needed the right information given to him so he can understand what to do.

Baxter’s favourite foods are anything meaty, but for reasons unknown he also loves eggs. He has his naughty moments and once sneakily eat a whole large takeaway pizza, lemon meringue pie and some stuffing balls. His humans weren’t best pleased with this but they only have themselves to blame.

He’s a big fan of stuffed toys and gently nibbles on them like puppies do with their mums and siblings. He’s such a big softy and loves to cuddle up with his teddies too. Did I mention that he’s a very clever boy who loves a good brain workout? His Kong toys satisfy this need. Other than that Baxter isn’t very toy focused. He doesn’t like playing fetch and gets very bored after the first throw refusing to bring anything back.

Our lovely boy is the ideal fur baby for us and a perfect match. If he could speak, his wish would be for all dogs regardless of age go to their forever home and experience a loving home like he has.

He’s our big boy Baxter, adored by us both.