Category Archives: Cats

Dec. ’14

Pupdates

Belle

Bess and Belle

Bess

Bonnie

Sleep over in Bess’s crate

I love watching our pups sleep. They manage to look cuddly and silly all at the same time.

Bess is growing like a weed, she almost doesn’t fit on her self proclaimed puppy shelf on our coffee table any more.

I have had to intervene in the play between Bess and Linus, Bess plays a bit too rough for Linus’s tastes at times but then other times Linus still instigates the play so they are still fast buddies. Belle will occasionally remind the pair that she was Linus’s buddy first.

Bess is still teaching us about her likes and dislikes, she loves, loves, loves sticks and always has to find one to carry around when she is outside. Her favorite inside toy is the stuffingless fox, I’m not sure what the draw is but it’s the favorite of all three of our girls.

Bonnie continues to morph back into puppy mode, (if indeed she ever left it) to be the first in line to rough house and play tug of war with Bess. But Belle is relaxing her “I’m the mom” stance and is playing a lot more with Bess too so progress is being made.

Bonnie and Belle went to the vet yesterday for their x-rays to check for hip dysplasia. We will get the results from the OFA in a few weeks. Our vets and their staff are fantastic and I trust them fully but it was still difficult for me to leave Bonnie and Belle as they had to be put under an anesthetic for the x-ray. We were able to bring the pups home at the end of the day and this morning they are back to their old selves which this dog mom is happy about.

Bess had a round of tummy rumbles the past few days with several nights of limited sleep for both of us. I am happy to say that with the help of yogurt and bran flakes and medicine from the vet her tummy rumbles have subsided and we both had an uninterrupted sleep last night!

Looking forward to the coming year, not sure what it’s going to hold although we hope to continue with Bess’s puppy classes and keep working toward the Canine Good Citizen classification for Bonnie and Belle.

Happy New Year to you and your families from Greg, myself and our snuggly silly crew!

Posted by Margret Abbott. Categories: Cats, Golden Retrievers, Pets. Tags: british cream golden retrievers, Golden Retrievers, Kitties, Pets, Pups. 2 Comments

Nov. ’14

Bess AKA Sprout Week 2

Hello!

Bessie has had a busy two weeks. She seems more like a Bess than a Bessie and she spends just as much time being called Sprout. The Jolly Green Giant from Green Giant vegetables had a sidekick named Sprout who thought he was big like the Giant. Bess seems to think she can do anything Bonnie and Belle can do hence Sprout.

The pups

Linus and Lucy are getting used to having Bess in their life. Lucy tries to ignore her much like she does Bonnie, Belle and Linus. Linus however is game and he and Bess seem to have fun together.

Let’s play!

Bess is proving to be a quick learner especially where the “gotta go” chime is concerned. She has figured out that ringing the chime means the door opens and she gets to go out in the pup porch and pen. I was washing dishes the other evening and heard the chime. I turned fully expecting to see Bonnie pup imagine my surprise when Bess’s little face looked back at me. I snapped her leash on and out we went. She went right to the bone that the older pups had left on the porch. She wanted the bone and she figured out what she had to do to go out and get it. Not wanting to lose a teachable moment we continued out to the pup yard.

We had our first puppy class last week. Where we learned Find It, Soft Mouth, and Gotcha. Soft Mouth is easily my favorite as Bess has sharp little puppy teeth!

She is going pretty good when it comes to chewing on things. Lucky for her, she joined a family that has an abundance of chewy toys.

So many toys to chose from!

Bonnie and Belle are getting used to having Bess in the mix.

Judging by their looks and behavior they don’t quite know what to think about her but they have figured out that she’s fun to play with!

Bonnie and Bess

Did you see that!

All in all it’s been a good week!

Posted by Margret Abbott. Categories: Cats, Golden Retrievers, Pets. Tags: british cream golden retrievers, Cats, Golden Retrievers, puppies, Pups. 3 Comments

Sep. ’14

Morning Routines

Our pets morning routines differ for each one of them.

Bonnie pup sets off her Bonnie Bark Alarm when she feels it’s time to get up or she thinks she is missing out on something. Thank goodness she is now back to sleeping in past 4:00am. When I open her crate door she just stands there for a bit relishing in the fact that she can come out of her crate but wanting to do so when she wants to.

Belle pup is our late sleeper and will open a sleepy eye to look at me when I open her crate door. Often she stays put to get a few more minutes of sleep. Then she slowly stretches her way out of the crate and into the room and comes to me as if to say “Well Good Morning, I’m up!”

The pups then wait in the living room for Greg to come down stairs and enjoys a quick good morning love and cuddle that starts the day out well for all 3 of them. During the course of the early morning each pup comes to me at separate times for a love and cuddle from me.

Linus kitty will meow a good morning unless he is busy elsewhere in the house. He usually quiet in the morning unless he is mousing then he’s anything but quiet! Linus is still learning that cuddles are a good thing, he prefers quick drive by pats.

Lucy our matriarch kitty greets us with a good morning meow then proceeds to follow both Greg and I from room to room and surface to surface until she gets a good morning hug and a cuddle. If we don’t see or hear her she reaches out a paw as we walk by and snag us which usually works well to get our attention.

No matter how they greet us, the morning isn’t complete without their good morning greeting.

Posted by Margret Abbott. Categories: Cats, Golden Retrievers, Pets. Tags: Cats, crates, Golden Retrievers, Pets, Pups, Relationships. 4 Comments

Aug. ’14

Refresher Course in Leash Walking

Now that things are settling down and there is a bit more time I decided it was time to start working again with Bonnie and Belle on leash walking. We live in the country and have a long lane which makes it the perfect place to start practicing. After they remember how to walk on a leash politely then we will start going into town to practice. Our goal is to be able to take them with us when we go to antique car shows, parks, parades ect…

I’m taking the pups out one at a time for a couple of reasons. First so we have some one on one time and second because combined the pups almost weigh as much as I do so it’s easier for me to control one at a time.

Belle got to go out first this time She did pretty good staying by me and walking at a fast but controlled speed. She did a great job listening to the “leave it” command when a bunny ran not once but twice in front of her. She also did great when I told her to “leave it” when she saw a cat cross the road a few feet from her. She did get scared though when a big truck zoomed passed our lane we were close to the road. We also practiced sitting a few times during our walk.

When it was Bonnie’s turn she kind of wiggled, hopped, and really wanted to run. Luckily the bunny stayed in the corn field this time as did the cat. Because I have a feeling she wouldn’t have listened to the “leave it” command as well as Belle did. However she didn’t have much of a reaction when it came to traffic passing our lane. When we practiced sitting during our walk she gave me a look that said “You want me to what?! “I mean there’s all this exciting stuff out here to explore and you want me to sit!” But even though she didn’t want to she did eventually sit.

All in all both pups did very well for the first night of our refresher course in polite leash walking.

Posted by Margret Abbott. Categories: Cats, Golden Retrievers, Pets. Tags: Bunnies, Leash walking, Pups, training. 1 Comment

Jul. ’14

Snippets!

I just have some random snippets to share from over the past few days.

Our 3 year old grandson isn’t sure yet about our feisty energetic pups, and enjoys them the most with a door between him and them which is totally fine. The other day while watching the pups wag their tails as they looked at him. He said their tails look like they are clapping. After he said that I took a closer look and when their tails bumped they did indeed look like they were clapping!

He and the rest of his family brought the pups a couple of tennis ball launchers because his aunt has one for her pup and he thought our girls should have them too. I am hopeful that the next time he visits, that from the height of his grandpa or daddy’s arms he will want to launch the tennis balls for the pups to chase and will feel comfortable playing with the pups because I know the pups want to play with him!

The pups always sleep with their stuffingless foxes and this morning when I opened their crate doors, I noticed Bonnie took hers went to Belle’s crate laid it in her crate and picked up Belle’s and ran to the pup cushions to play with it. A while later though I noticed that Belle and gotten hers back. I had to laugh though that Bonnie traded hers for Belle’s.

This morning while working on the computer I have been interrupted twice by the pups and their “requests”. It’s made me aware once again of the differences in our nearly identical pups. Bonnie comes up and true to her nature head bumps my arm when she wants to be loved on. Belle on the other hand true to her nature will come up and gently lick my hand as a request for some loving. Two totally different personalities, both equally loveable and precious!

Good Morning from Linus!

Love from Bonnie and Belle

Posted by Margret Abbott. Categories: Cats, Golden Retrievers, Pets, Relationships. Tags: Golden Retrievers, Grandkids, Kitties, Pets, Pups. 2 Comments

Jun. ’14

Cuddlebugs Who Know What Their People Need

Cuddling with Belle

Along Came Linus

Bonnie made three

Belle and her Greg, Please pet me.

Oh right there!

One happy pup

Belle staying close

Lucy Kitty Invitation Supervisor

Posted by Margret Abbott. Categories: Cats, Golden Retrievers, Pets, Relationships. Tags: Cats, Golden Retrievers, Pets, Pups, Relationships. 3 Comments

May. ’14

As I write this I am listening to the clank, clank, clank of pool balls hitting one another. Linus has discovered our kid size pool and air hockey table. His new favorite game is putting his paw in the pocket where the balls are stored and batting them around.

Yesterday was a rainy morning and Bonnie was clearly dealing with some rainy day blues!

This week brought change into the pups lives, we didn’t think it was going to be a big deal but once again we discovered something new about our pups, Belle doesn’t like change. We moved their crates to our upstairs hallway freeing up space in our dining room and moving the pups closer to us during the night. At first they thought it was great fun finally being able to go upstairs when it had previously been off limits. Both Bonnie and Belle explored our bedroom, the bathroom and esp. their crates which were now in a new environment. That first night after the last potty time I said what we always say “Ok, pups bedtime!” and Belle ran into the dining room and looked first at the spot where Bonnie’s crate used to be then at her spot then looked at me with a confused look on her face as if to say “And where would bedtime be?” I said ” come on, upstairs!” and up we went. I had made sure that their blankets and stuffingless foxes were in their crates and in they went. Both pups were uneasy but Bonnie settled down pretty fast. Belle kind of whimpered then with much sighing settled down.

The next morning we came downstairs and began our morning routine. When the crates were in the dining room it wouldn’t be unusual for the pups and Linus hang out in the crates so in an effort to make a comfy spot I put a blanket on the floor where Bonnie’s crate had been. Belle settled down on the blanket but clearly was still confused.

Last night it went better, although since we have had the pups I have assumed any noise in the night was Miss Bonnie but I am learning that Belle is quite the restless sleeper. I know though that given time both pups will settle into our new routine and will think it’s the best thing since peanut butter and cheese stuffed Kongs!

2 Comments

Apr. ’14

This and That

We have been very busy with the 2 legged people in our lives over the past few weeks. Our son in law’s father passed away suddenly so I spent several days helping out with our two oldest grandsons so the adults could take care of everything else. Greg came down for the visitation and funeral and helped out as well. Besides spending time with the kids I got to know our Granddog Patch better. He is a Brittney spaniel mix with a big, big heart who loves to play. At 8 months he tops both of our pups and is going to be a big boy.

While we were gone our tax refund check came and it had been placed up high where our pups couldn’t get to it…well we learned the hard way that things need to be place higher up than we thought as Miss Belle decided that she liked the crinkle of the envelope. Greg took what was left of the check to the bank along with the joke about you know when your dog eats your homework… The bank referred us to the IRS. We are in the process of replacing the check. Oh Pups!

Easter was this past weekend and we had a lot of family and extended family and friends in and out during the weekend. Because our 5 grandkids are still very little (6 years-to almost a year) and our pups are still very boisterous the pups while the kids were up and about spent a lot of time in their puppy pen where they had a steady stream of company.

Lucy Kitty is shy and pretty much hung out in the basement but she did venture upstairs during the late evening hours for her cuddles and gentle tummy rubs. Linus Kitty on the other hand was up and around the action much more. He clearly favored our 5 year old grandson who enjoyed cuddle time with Linus during our early morning snuggle times.

As I write this Bonnie has been ringing the “gotta go out” chime in hopes that her sister who isn’t quite ready to wake up will go out with her. I answered the summons and let Bonnie out but she wanted right back in so that’s my indication that she wants Belle to go out with her. Give her a few more minutes Bonnie pup.

Due to medication I am on for a bout of bronchitis I had trouble sleeping last night and Lucy kitty kept me company. I was in a room and had the door almost shut when Lucy wandered in and upon hearing Linus who wa coming to investigate stood up on her hind feet and shut the door so Linus couldn’t come in. Lucy clearly wanted some alone time with me, which was just fine. She is good company and listening to her rumbly purrs serve to help me relax and get sleepy.

I would love to hear about the special 4 legged family members in your life.

Posted by Margret Abbott. Categories: Cats, Golden Retrievers, Pets, Relationships. Tags: Cats, Golden Retrievers, Grandkids, Pets, Pups, Relationships. 2 Comments

Feb. ’14

Canine Good Citizen Class Challenges

Today was our second CGC class. The challenges started when we walked out the door. Bonnie immediately decided that she was just fine staying home thank you very much. With the help of a treat and Greg encouraging her she made it into the van.

I sat in the back with the pups to help them especially Bonnie with the drive. They did better with the rumble strips this time although Bonnie needed a lot of reassurance pretty much the whole trip there. Belle was very interested in watching cars. She alternated looking out the side windows and well as the back window even giving a bark to the car behind us that she apparently thought was traveling too close to our van. I had purchased two squeaky monkey toys to keep the pups entertained on the 40 min drive to class. They could have cared less in fact the only one so far that has really liked them is Lucy kitty and that’s completely out of character for her but that’s a story for another day.

Lucy cuddling with the toy monkey.

When we arrived at class the dogs magically changed personalities. Bonnie who is our act first think later pup after the first few minutes was calm and pretty focused and Belle our calm, laid back pup freaked out. Greg had to take her outside twice to help her calm down. Outside away from all the other dogs, enticing smells, and chaos she did great sit/stays as well as wonderful down/stays.

Greg brought her back in just as we were getting ready to walk an obstacle course made up of crate trays, carpet squares, 3 very yummy open boxes of treats, a statue of a small dog that every dog in the place thought was real, one person sitting half way through throwing a frisbee and keys on the floor and another person sitting with the dreaded bouncing ball. We all went through the course three times. The first time it was just get through it to expose the pups to it. The second time we had to sit by the people sitting in the chairs and the third time we had the choice of going through on leash or off leash both Greg and I chose on leash.

Bonnie did pretty well, our challenge was the carpet squares with all the wonderful scents on it and the fact that Bonnie has been trained to walk on my right side and now she needs to walk on the left side. Belle’s challenge was having to walk on the crate trays. She wouldn’t do it although by the third time she did put one paw on it in order to reach the treat. She handled the rest fairly well.

The instructor came up to talk to us when class was over and next time she wants us to change dogs half way through. She is concerned about Belle’s anxiety and said that if she were to take a therapy dog test today she would fail and we realize that. We are to take both pups but especially Belle out to a store at least once a week to get her more used to being around lots of people and activity.

The trip home went well, the pups were so tired out that even the rumble strips didn’t wake them up.

Bonnie Pup

Belle Pup

We would love to have the pups become therapy dogs but our main concern is helping them feel less anxious, Bonnie about riding in the van and Belle about well everything. At home she is so comfy and at ease with everything. I’m beginning to think that she is like the rest of us and has a difficult time coming out of her comfort zone.

So we have things to work on , a lot of things but right now, we’re going to take a nap!

Nap Time!

Posted by Margret Abbott. Categories: Cats, Golden Retrievers, Pets. Tags: Cats, CGC classes, Pups. 6 Comments

Feb. ’14

Two Pups and a Kitty

Bonnie, Belle and Linus the snuggle bunch

Welcome to our page! Bonnie and Belle are sisters as well as littermates. They will be 2 years old in June 2014. We got the pups from a reputable kennel when they were 9 weeks old. They are precious loveable stinkers. The pups are pretty identical so Bonnie wears a red collar and Belle wears blue.

We have been through 3 rounds of obedience training and are currently in training to take the Canine Good Citizen test. We have been prayerfully considering training the pups as therapy dogs and time will tell if they are suited for that.

Bonnie is outgoing, mischievous and a bit anxious although she has a big heart. When given a command she tends to think about it for a bit before obeying. We are working on that. She loves to show off her squeaker skills and continually tries to teach Belle how to squeak the tennis ball.

Belle, is a little more laid back, definitely wants to be the “good girl” and for the most part is the first to respond to a command. She is trying to learn how to squeak the tennis ball but is doing very well in catching it and bringing it back to be thrown again. She has been known to take her sister down if Bonnie gets to it first.

Linus is a long hair kitty, he is 8 months old and thinks he is a golden retriever 🙂 Linus and Belle have a special bond although all three of them play and snuggle together. The other day I gave Bonnie the “leave it” command as she was rough housing with Linus, that’s when I realized that Linus was playing just as hard and was being the instigator in the playtime.

Thank you for joining us in our day to day adventures with our two pups and a kitty!

Posted by Margret Abbott. Categories: Cats, Golden Retrievers, Pets, Relationships. Tags: Cats, Golden Retrievers, Pets, Relationships. 4 Comments

Three Pups and a Couple of Kitties

Follow the antics of our loveable crew