January 2012 Blog Posts (96)

FIRST: I am not crazy...

SECOND: There are plenty of people out here just like me...

THIRD: I’m looking for a full body rain suit for the boys!

I…

Now, i know you breeders out there will find this story ho-hum, but to a newbie like me, this was BIG! Here is what happened.

I agreed to host a pregnant dog for my breeder to whelp her pups and keep them for a week or so while she settled in after a long trip. As usual, the breeder would come right over as soon as it looked like the whelping was imminent and I would call her when we were close to that point.

Last week, I was in the process of putting all of our Holiday stuff away and Tuesday, I worked most of the day de-constructing Christmas. In between that tedious task, the dogs and I went for two long walks in frigid temperatures and I even cooked dinner. All in all, a productive day and I was looking forward to kicking back and relaxing after dinner and checking out the happenings on DoodleKisses. Back into our bedroom I went, along with Fudge and Vern, both tired out from their walks and…

For those of you who have not read this, no worries, I will try not to give anything major away. 

All I will tell you is that "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein may be one of my favorite books of all time.  I resisted the urge to read this for a few years (because it is an animal book and we know how these can be emotional!).  However, my sister and mom both read it over the past few months and passed it along to me as a "MUST READ".  Again, this book came out in…

On January 10, 2012, our Vern turns two.  He has grown into a big dog, all ninety pounds of him, and we cannot imagine our life without him.  Every morning, the first living thing to greet me is Vern.  He swings by our bed and stands staring at us until we open our eyes.  He stands there wagging his tail, with a smile on his face, even though some mornings we ask him to stop by later after we have slept a little longer.  No matter how nicely we ask, he continues to stand there wagging his…

Well he's got the big stick down..(not always a soft walker :) )

So Chester is a complete stick hound. Our walks usually consist of Chester ditch diving for a stick err TREE.. to carry.

Ok so it is an unstructured walk- I know that some of you are tut tutting.. This I am sure adds to the whole not great loose leash walking and is probably against the rules of an enjoyable walk. And I am probably a bad doodle mom..But he enjoys it.

Not every walk is a stick…

 …“Leo is!”

Yep, Leo is somewhat cautious when he encounters you for the first time. I recognized this right after we met. Spending his first six months in the mountains of Blacksburg, VA was great for exercise, but not so great for human socialization. Meeting me, one on one, on his “turf” made our introduction easy. Getting to know my family members wasn’t too difficult because Harley was already there. It’s those other people we call “strangers” that he requires a little time to…

Hi all, I just wanted to share some of the photos I captured during my recent trip to Halifax. I had some free time on the last day so rented a car and drove out to Peggy's Cove, where the famous light house is. These are some of the scenic shots I took with my point and shoot there, and along the way. I can't help but show off, the coast was so pretty, even on a freezing cold windy rainy day. I've cross posted this in the Photography Group.…

Oh man, I'm exhausted here ... but in a good way! Declan's settling in quickly and Lachlan's over-the-moon happy to have a brother. Pixel's still pretty annoyed by the whole situation, but he'll come around over the next few days. He's curious about this new addition but extremely wary.

I'll admit it - I'm flabbergasted by this pair. My gast is thoroughly flabbered. Saturday morning Lachlan gave the dog bells at the back door a good yank, more slowly and deliberately than he normally…

I saw a picture of this little puppy and fell in love.  So three years ago today, my DH and I took a trip to get a new family member.

Three years later...…

Wow! When I was in Montreal the other day with Winston there was so much French around me that my mind got locked in French mode and when I was speaking to the receptionist and Winston was tugging on the leash to greet another dog I blurted out "Winston, assis!" (sit) and sure enough, he did! He understands French!!. Who knew??

I tested this out further this morning, I looked up all the commands in French, and he knows a bunch. Assis (sit) Coucher (down), ici (come), ... I…

This winter has been really nice and mild so far. Here in Pittsburgh, usually by now, we would had several inches of snow and freezing cold weather. I hate cold weather, so this has been perfect for me. However, Charlie LOVES to play in snow. Too bad for her..... Well, Today I found out that local county park's ski slope has been doing the test shoot of the fake snow. So, during our regular walk, we took a detour to go look at this test shoot. There were several large patches of snow, each…

Rafi, one of the puppies from Lyric's first litter born Jan 1, 2011 who was affectionately called "Porkchop" has come for a visit! he had not been here in 6 months and remembered all the dogs, toys and poopie spots in the yard immediately! Smart poochie! He has learned to do a "high five" with his paw for a cookie in just two days--my three doods do that every time they get a treat. He is a really good boy who listens well and is very cooperative. 

He and Rio play really well together…

 My little Brady Bum has just completed his 8th month and the Doodle 'love' just keeps building!!!   This little boy is the love of my life (of course along with my husband and 3 daughters)!!     Of course!!!    

Brady has in his short life been included in a few note-worthy events.   At 12 weeks he was actually invited to a country wedding - he was not present for the 'service' part, but arrived just before the  dinner and was so well behaved - just sat contentedly on his little bed…

Yesterday was a "Kayla Day" - Oma and Grumpa babysit 15-month-old Kayla.  Mid-morning, she asked to watch a "vee-oh" so we put on  "Things That Go Counting", a baby genius video.  Sedona, our Doodle Genius, was especially interested in "Number 2 - Dogs":…

Well, Christmas is over in our house for another year and this year, I made a big mistake.  The girls and I chipped in together and got my husband an iPad 2 or as my mother said, “some new fangled thing that she will never understand.” 

From the moment he opened that gift, I have come to understand what it must feel like to be one of the first three wives on the show…

Zane got his new tag in the mail today for passing his CGC

Hi everyone!  I had posted a few months ago that my husband and I are expecting our first baby this May.  We found out right before Christmas that we are having a boy!!! Seamus will finally get the brother he's always dreamed of lol.  And Stella will get to be a big sister.  They have been so funny lately as we are beginning to put together the baby's room.  They go in there allllll the time......I think they think we are making a room just for them.  Stella even hides her special chew bones…

I mentioned somewhere in the past couple of weeks that I was ordering new dog puzzles for Guinness, and someone asked me where I was getting them.  Well with the holidays not only did I forget to respond, but I also forgot who asked, and now I can't find the post.  Guinness seems to like puzzles, but I've been frustrated because he figured out the ones I have in about 5 minutes, and then it was just about how fast he could get his paws on the treats.  It was no fun.  Karen actually turned me…

I am constantly amazed at the intelligence of our pets.  My cat Banjo who lives with his dad opens the fridge when his food isn't to his liking, has opened a freezer and defrosted a huge amount of food and turns on the tap when he would rather have fresh water.  

It takes a while to learn the workings of the mind of our pets and Riley is no exception.  Here is a little example,  Those who know my past postings will know that Riley knows the command 'leave it' which means that if he…