Category Archives: Golden Retrievers

07

Dec. ’14

Bess at 11 weeks

 

My turn!

My turn!

curled up with big sister Bonnie

Curled up with big sister Bonnie

 

Boy is she growing fast! In the past few weeks Bess has been showing us what she is made of.
She and Linus kitty are becoming good buddies and love to wrestle with each other. They take turns instigating the action.

Lucy kitty is still watchful and making sure the pup is behaving. she still can’t believe we would shake up her world by bringing another dog into it.

Bonnie pup and Bess love to play tug of war with the stuffingless toys.

Belle pup and Bess race each other and I’m not sure who enjoys it the most.

For something so little Bess does a great job keeping up with her big sisters.

Bess and I are attending puppy classes, and she got the hang of sit pretty good, but we are still working on gentle and touch. She’ll get it in time. She seems to enjoy playing with the other puppies that are in the class.

She is already showing us how she is different from her big sisters. She has a longer reach so the garbage can has to go even farther back behind the child gate. She is definitely more vocal than Bonnie and Belle. I am getting a kick out of how she rings the “gotta go” chime. All three pups have a different way of ringing the chime. Bonnie gives the chime a hard nudge with her nose, if that doesn’t bring us she puts her head in the middle of the chime and gives a good shake. Belle gives a dainty nudge with her nose, if we don’t hear her she touches the chimes one at a time that makes for a beautiful sound. Bess jumps up on her back paws and uses her front paws to ring the bell. One paw first but then if we don’t respond or if she really has to go badly both paws at one time kind of like a forceful double high five!

All in all it’s going great, of course we are still transitioning and learning Bess’s ways, like what it means when she sits and stares at us. So far it has meant, I would like a tummy rub please, or I have to go out, or I want a toy that I can’t reach or …

One thing we do know is that our Bess Sprout pup is a wonderful, fun, loving addition to our family and she is loved dearly.

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22

Nov. ’14

Bess AKA Sprout Week 2

 

Hello!

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

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!

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!

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

Bonnie and Bess

Did you see that!

Did you see that!

All in all it’s been a good week!

Posted by . Categories: Cats, Golden Retrievers, Pets. Tags: , , , , . 3 Comments

09

Nov. ’14

Introducing Bessie Puppy

All though our married life Greg and I have had multiple dogs. So our plan when Bonnie and Belle joined our family was that when the time was right we would be getting a third Golden Retriever.  This time we want to get a British Cream Golden Retriever so we called Glenda at Cottage Grove Farms, the breeder where Bonnie and Belle came from to see if she had any available puppies. She had one and after hearing about her and seeing her picture we knew she was the perfect fit for our family.

Yesterday we brought Bessie Puppy home. On our Two Pups and a Kitty facebook page last night I wrote the following in a reply to a “how are things working out” question. “Bonnie’s attitude is “it’s fine with me, but you still love me right.?” Belle is slightly anxious, she is keeping Bessie in line and saved Linus from the attack of the puppy. Linus doesn’t know what to think but is curious. Lucy is annoyed that we brought something else home! Bessie loves her house, is friendly with the pups but respectful, wants to play with Linus and keeps coming up to us to say hi. 3 hours in I’d say things are going pretty well!”

So far we have discovered that Bessie is a barker but does settle down on her own.  She loves to be in the thick of the action so at our house that means when we go to do something we now have 2 dogs, 1 puppy and 2 cats watching and or walking in our footsteps to make sure they don’t miss anything (or we do it right,I’m not really sure which.) She loves to carry toys and has figured out how to carry a tennis ball.  We are practicing “leave it” and “give” and are doing a lot of redirection which she happily does. She gets car sick but has only had a couple of accidents in the house.  Last night Bessie only woke up once which I call a huge success and this morning Belle is starting to think that maybe that little pup who keeps following the big pups around might not be so bad after all. On to day two!

Bessie and Greg

Bessie and Greg

Meet and Greet

Meet and Greet

If I could only figure out how to climb stairs

If I could only figure out how to climb stairs

Do you want to play!

Do you want to play!

Taking a break

Taking a break

I can make it squeak!

I can make it squeak!

Sleepy pups big and small

Tired out Pups

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18

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 . Categories: Cats, Golden Retrievers, Pets. Tags: , , , , , . 4 Comments

24

Aug. ’14

New Weekend Tradition or Girls Go Get Greg!

A few weeks ago we started a new weekend ritual where the pups get to wake Greg up.  It doesn’t matter what they are doing when they hear the words “Girls, where’s Greg? Go get Greg” they stop what they are doing and run straight to the closed door leading upstairs and wait not so patiently for me to open the door.

Yesterday morning I said those magic words and Belle got up from where she was laying, cocked her head at me started to run to the door only to pause to make sure her sister Bonnie was coming from the kitchen to get in on the fun then paused again in the dining room to greet Lucy kitty who was sitting on the computer table only to come to a skidding halt before the closed door.  where she looked at me as if to say “Hurry, hurry Greg’s up there. I gotta go!” All of this took maybe 30 seconds.

As soon as I opened the door the pups bounded up the first flight of stairs, skidded around the corner to the second flight. Ran into our bedroom and in a flying leap landed on Greg thereby waking him up. I personally think the sound of pounding paws on the hardwood floor wakes him but either way the job gets done. 

I love to hear him say “Good morning girls, how are my girly pups?”   According to Greg, Belle after making sure he is awake will run into the bathroom where she searches for the bar of soap that tastes so good to her. While Bonnie quietly sits beside him so he can pet her, and pet her, and pet her some more.  I have asked him if he wants me to stop having the girls wake him up and he just grins and says “No, that’s ok.”  So a tradition is born.

Posted by . Categories: Golden Retrievers, Pets, Relationships. 2 Comments

06

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.

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24

Jul. ’14

So Smart it’s Scary!

I had just gotten settled into the recliner for a bit of an afternoon break. Bonnie and Belle pups were on the couch laying together and Bonnie was snuggling with her stuffingless fox. Belle walks over Bonnie to come climb into my lap, tail wagging, happy wiggles and rolls over for a belly rub. Bonnie upon seeing Belle getting some loving can not resist and leaves her fox and climbs up with Belle and I in the recliner. Bonnie proceeds to give me a bunch of pup kisses on my nose, in my ear, deep in my ear and on my cheek. She is very happy to be getting some loving too. Belle in the meantime climbs off my lap back on to the couch and grabs the fox that Bonnie abandoned in her quest to not be left out. Was it by chance? Oh no she knew exactly what she was doing. Oh Pups you are so  smart it’s scary sometimes!

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20

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!

Good Morning from Linus!

 

Love from Bonnie and Belle

Love from Bonnie and Belle

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03

Jul. ’14

Sneaky Pups!

We have sneaky, sneaky pups! This morning Belle came up to me while I was working at the computer and gave my hand a little lick. I turned to her and said “Belle, do you need some loving” and proceeded to pet her. She sat by me for a few seconds then replied in her doggy way, “No, I just wanted to take your attention away from Bonnie so she could snatch the washcloth off of the table.” “I’m going to go play with her now!”

I went into the living room to find both pups having a wonderful time playing a slow motion version of tug of war. When they saw me little Miss Belle, who had the wash cloth at that moment shook it off of her head so that it fell to the floor and looked at me as if to say,”Come play! This is fun!”

Of course we all know that when I traded the pups one of their toys for the washcloth so they could continue their game they promptly lost interest.

Oh you pups!

Posted by . Categories: doggy playtime, games, Golden Retrievers, Pets. 1 Comment

23

Jun. ’14

Lesson Learned From Our Pups

Our two pups even though they are sisters and littermates have very different personalities.  Bonnie is slightly impatient and Belle is pretty laid back.  One of the ways this is shown is when they have to go outside to potty, or have the yen to check out what is happening in their puppy pen.  Bonnie will ring the “gotta go” chime and immediately after ringing the chime will turn around and check to see if we are coming and if we aren’t “well hurry up please!”. Image

Belle on the other hand will ring the chime and will stand face toward the door, tail wagging, patiently waiting until we come and open the door for her.  Image

It came to me the other day as I went to open the door that, the pups behavior is a good example of my faith in God and Jesus.  All too often I am like Bonnie, I talk to God about something and get impatient and am like “God did you hear me? “What are you going to do about it?” “When are you going to do something about it?” regarding whatever it is I am talking to Him about. When what I really long to be is more Belle like and just calmly wait for Him to act having the complete confidence and unshakable faith that He will take care any concern that I have in His time and in His way. Which will be far, far better than anything I could possibly come up with.

 I love how God uses the things or in this case the pups in my life to help teach me to be patient and to wait on Him.

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