Tag Archives: british cream golden retrievers

One Year Ago Today…

We met our Bess Pup

We met and brought home our Bess Pup

Once she came home she found the toy box.

She quickly found the toy box

Met her sisters Bonnie and Belle, who clearly didn't know what to think about this new bundle of energy.

Met her sisters Bonnie and Belle, who clearly didn’t know what to think about this new bundle of energy.

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Bess was introduced to Linus under Belle's careful eye.

Bess was introduced to Linus under Belle’s careful eye.

They soon became friends.

They soon became friends.

From the beginning Bess was determined to keep up with her big sisters.

From the beginning Bess was determined to keep up with her big sisters.

Belle, Bess and Bonnie

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Just like her sisters, Bess went to school to learn manners and how to be a good pup.

Just like her sisters, Bess went to school to learn manners and how to be a good pup.

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Bess is a bouncy loving pup and it’s been a blast watching her personality develop this past year.

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Bouncy Bess and her Greg at the park.

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Over this past year Bess has changed from a bouncy, barky alligator jawed puppy to obeying “leave it” and “give” commands even when she really, really doesn’t want to.  She is learning the joy of sleeping in on the weekends. (Thank you pup!)  She is starting to realize how much fun it is to cuddle.  She is learning compassion and will quietly lay beside someone in an effort to bring them comfort.  She is starting to learn that when she wants me to get up out of bed that means she has to stop standing on me so I can get up.

Bess will show us what she wants, by following the “show me what you want” command. Sometimes it’s to go outside, other times she wants a tummy rub.  She still loves her stuffie toys and usually has at least one and most likely two or more in her mouth at one time.  She is always up for an adventure and continues to be our bouncy Bess.  I can’t wait to see what this next year brings.

Lucy Kitty and Barky Bess

Last night when it was time for bed I took down the child gate from the stairway door,  Bess ran up with me and low and behold there was Lucy kitty sitting on the stairway ledge.  Bess luckily didn’t see her and I was able to get Bess to go back downstairs. It’s amazing what a burst of energy and an excited voice will do to get a pup to obey. With Bess downstairs and the stairway door closed I scooped Lucy up and took her downstairs where I was hoping the pups were otherwise occupied.  Um, yeah so I quietly opened the door and there are all three pups staring at us. Bess barked, Lucy clawed to get down and shot up the stairs with Bess in close pursuit followed by Bonnie and Belle and me saying “Leave it Bess Leave It!”

Lucy ran and hid under the bed with the pups  Bess of course in the lead, running around the bed barking trying to get closer to Lucy.  I managed to get the pups out of the bedroom and closed the door.  I then called to Lucy, who from under the bed immediately started to tell me how she felt about all of this  came out from under the bed, let me pick her up and snuggled close purring all the while.   I simply held her for a few minutes, then I wrapped her up in a sweater to try once again to get her downstairs.  With Bess barking I tried to explain to Greg what had been happening and he was able to get the dogs into our bedroom while I got Lucy out.

Once downstairs Lucy jumped out of my arms and ran into the front room.  When I went back upstairs  I told the pups it was now bedtime and time to settle down. It took a bit but they finally did.

This morning I went out to the front room where Lucy greeted me and seemed calm. The pups were out in their pen so I carried her to her spot on the desk in front of the computer but she wasn’t ready yet and went back into the front room and that’s ok. We’re taking this slow, we don’t have a choice in that because that’s how Lucy needs it to go.  All in all we are making headway, Lucy isn’t  nearly as upset as she would have been a few days ago.  Bess even though she is barky and bouncy is listening and does “leave it” when we tell her to, well after hearing it a couple of times.   So we’re getting there and that’s encouraging.

Bouncy Bess’s Mother’s Day Walk

So on Mother’s Day I had this “brilliant” idea that Greg and I should take Bess 8 1/2 months old for a walk to a local park. No problem except I forgot the part where our bouncy Bess doesn’t really know how to go for a leash walk.  Of course we practiced it during our puppy classes but in the busyness of life right now I forgot that you have to keep practicing to really master a task.

Bouncy Bess and her Greg at the park.

Bouncy Bess and her Greg at the park.

Bess kept getting Greg tangled up in the leash and she was just all over the place trying to take in all the sights and smells especially the smells of the park.  So we cut that walk short and headed home where first we took her on leash for a walk down one of the country roads by our house to help get the bouncy wiggles out.

Getting the bouncy wiggles out

Getting the bouncy wiggles out

Then we headed home to our long lane and treats to work on leash walking and yes we forgot to take treats to the park so that just added to the experience.

Starting out in a sit.

Starting out in a sit.

Getting ready to head out

Getting ready to head out

Walking together

Walking together

I would love to say we mastered calm leash walking but you all know better,  what was mastered was 15 feet of calm leash walking and we consider that a win!

One wore out pup

Bess was one worn out pup

A “Quiet” Saturday Morning

A few weeks ago we decided to try having Bess pup sleep uncrated upstairs with Bonnie, Belle and Greg and I.  After a week getting used to the new arrangement it’s working out well and the crate will be taken down and stored for some future use.

Our weekday wake up time is 5:00am but on weekends I like to try and sleep in a bit so last night I asked the pups if we could please sleep in until 6:00am.  This morning at 5:30am I woke up to see Bess puppy standing over me with her stuffed toy in her mouth asking me if we could please, please get up.  Since it was at least past 5:00am I agreed much to her delight.

It’s finally warm enough to have the windows open and I’ve enjoyed a peaceful morning listening to the birds as I’ve been working on typing up Sunday’s bulletin.   As seen in the following pictures taken this morning the pups and Lucy kitty enjoyed the lazy quiet start as much as I did.   Linus didn’t get in on the picture taking as he ran upstairs to go snuggle with Greg.

Of course the quiet of the morning has been interspersed with multiple trips outside, a few roughhousing playtimes between all three pups and multiple leave it, gives, and redirection for our pup who is still learning what she can chew on. Plus a give command  and a reminder for Belle to not chew on my shoe, yes the shoe was put up and she had to reach for that tasty morsel. Yep, we’re always learning and no, she hasn’t done that for a long, long time.

Oh and Lucy has left her computer supervisor position to go to her perch on top of Greg’s recliner where she surveys her kingdom and keeps the rest of us in line.

Wishing you all a wonderful Saturday!

Lucy Kitty, my computer buddy

Lucy Kitty, my computer buddy

Bonnie and Bess

Bonnie and Bess

Belle

Belle

Belle and Bonnie

Belle and Bonnie

Bess

Bess

Bess’s First Thunder Storm

So…. last night we decided to see how Bess pup who is 6 months old would handle sleeping upstairs with her sisters and Greg and I uncrated.

The only areas the pups have access to overnight is the hallway and our. Even then Bess was pretty antsy and she just didn’t quite know what to do because you know there were lots of good smells to sniff and lots of exploring to do.

Then all of a sudden there was a flash of light and a few seconds later some fairly loud rumbling.  Bess immediately started barking  to let us know there was something going on.  Belle jumped up on the bed to nudge me off of the bed to go take care of whatever that was. Bonnie stood at the ready to see what we were going to do.

Our dog trainer Lora during one of Bess’s puppy classes told us to make thunderstorms a party so puppies can handle the storms better.  Remembering that, I thought to myself how do you have a party at 11:30 at night, well by turning it into a slumber party of course.  Calling the pups to come with me we headed downstairs, it had been several months since we had had a thunderstorm so all three dogs were stuck like glue to my side.  We had cuddle time during the worst of the storm, yes, it is possible to cuddle three golden retrievers weighing between 50- 60 some lbs each at the same time. When the storm started to move away I grabbed a quilt and settled down in our oversized recliner for the night.  Bonnie decided to share the chair with me, Bess was happily laying on the floor about a foot from me, and Belle was curled up on the couch also about a foot from me.   Linus and Lucy kitties weren’t bothered by the storm but they did curl up on the chair with me to give their support. Thanks Kitties!

This morning Bess woke me up by gently laying her head on my arm, saying “it’s morning, I need to go outside please.”  After checking things out I discovered that Bess did well being uncrated all night, there were no accidents and nothing was chewed up, so we’ll give it another try tonight, hopefully there won’t be any storms to add to the fun so we can sleep upstairs.

You’re Home!

The pups usually are in the doorway of the kitchen to greet me when I come home each day from work.  This past Friday after a very busy long week I saw Bonnie peeking through the window watching me walk up to the house.  When I went into the house she said  “Oh, you are home, Yea! You are home,(happy sigh) Okay, I’m going to go finish my supper now.” this was accompanied by a quickly wagging tail, a smiley face and leaning into the pat and cuddle from me.

Bess met me at the door too with full body very excited wiggles and licks, cue the peppy music. “You’re HOME! You’re HOME! You’re HOME! my life is complete! Ok gotta run and go eat NOW!” and she was off and running.

Before I made it up the 4 stairs from the backdoor into the kitchen Belle  appeared tail wagging, eager for her greeting but she had a tired look on her face  then she said, ” Boy, I’m glad you’re home! That puppy has been bouncing around all day, can’t you do something about her? It’s your turn, I’m taking a break!

Linus was lying upstairs on our bed, where he usually at this time, resting from his very busy day of being Linus and looks to me and says, “Oh, good you’re home” and goes back to sleep.

Lucy was  perched on the back of the chair which is her custom and told me all about her day and what she had to do to keep Linus in line. She accompanied by a forehead bump her way of saying I love you.

What a great way to be welcomed home!

Lucy and Linus Kitties

 

Lucy and Linus Kitties let me know in no uncertain terms that they feel slighted because I haven’t written about them for awhile.  So it’s time to fix that!

Lucy in her computer supervisory role

Lucy in her computer supervisory role

Lucy is 12 years old and is our 4 footed family matriarch. While she tends to be a private kitty, she is my steadfast companion when I am working at the desktop computer or doing paperwork.  Her favorite trick is to lay right on the paper that I need to see or stand and fluff out her tail to effectively cover the monitor.

Lucy laying down the law to the pups.

Lucy laying down the law to the pups.

The rule in the house is that the pups all need to respect her, and are not allowed to chase her.  Even Bess at 4 months learned that rule quickly.

Laundry Supervisor

Laundry Supervisor

Lucy never fails to make sure the laundry won’t fall off the table.

Lucy's favorite spot

Lucy’s favorite spot

Lucy’s favorite place to curl up is on the back of Greg’s recliner.  Her second favorite place to lay is in front of the heat register.  Her third favorite is close to me when I sit to read or watch tv.  She isn’t a lap sitter but she curls up close on the back or arm of the couch.  She does cozy really well.

Lucy is our vocal kitty and will answer you if you talk to her. She and Bess puppy had quite the conversation the other day!   Lucy is a forehead bumper, and that is part of our good morning routine.  She is starting to slow down and this  is the first year that she didn’t climb our Christmas tree.  She has been losing weight and hand in hand with our vet we are closely monitoring her health. But so far she is doing fine.

Linus Kitty is a lovable stinker kitty, He thinks he is a Golden Retriever and from the time we brought him home as tiny kitty he followed the pups, especially Belle,  everywhere, except outside and that still frustrates him to no end.  He has been known to ring the “gotta go” chime in an effort to go out.

He is 1- 1/2 years old and loves to play. So much so that it’s hard to casually pet him because he turns it into let me bite that hand.   He is a lap sitter and loves to snuggle although he has this habit of sucking blankets and I’m not sure what’s up with that.

Let's play!

Let’s play!

Linus, Bonnie and Belle

Linus, Bonnie and Belle

Things  have changed a bit for Linus since Bess puppy joined our family a couple of months ago.  When Bess first joined our family she and Linus loved to play together and Linus would usually be the one to instigate the play.  But Bess quickly grew and her play became too rough for Linus, so much of our time is telling Bess to “leave it” when we hear our non verbal kitty give a yowl.  I have noticed lately that Bess is learning how to play more gently and Linus is once again starting to play with her.

During the day we have a child gate across the upstairs doorway so the pups can’t go upstairs but the cats can.  The upstairs landing has become one of Linus’s favorite places when he needs a break.

In his safe place upstairs.

In his safe place upstairs.

 

Linus and Bess

Linus and Bess

 

Ha, you can't reach me! Notice Belle standing protectively beside Linus.

Ha, you can’t reach me! Notice Belle standing protectively beside Linus.

Otherwise he spends a lot of time just out of her reach.

When Linus allows himself to nap his hang out place is the back of the couch where he alternates sleeping and keeping an eye on things outside.

Linus's favorite place to lay.

Linus’s favorite place to lay.

 

Keeping watch.

Keeping watch.

Lucy and Linus kitties are a very special part of our family and life quite simply wouldn’t be the same without them.

The Pups Version of Musical Crates

But this is my crate!

But this is my crate!

Sleep Over

Sleep Over

Bonnie and Belle haven’t been crated in months.  They sleep upstairs with us in our bedroom.  Bess has two crates is crated when we are gone and at night. When we first brought Bess home she was in a crate in our bedroom at night to be close to us.  This became a problem when she had difficulty getting down the stairs and across the house to the pup pen during our middle of the night potty breaks. So we had her sleep at night in her daytime crate to make the distance to the pup pen shorter for her. Bess is basically housebroken now, (let the balloons and streamers fall from the ceiling in celebration!) and in all my humanness I decided that she must be lonely downstairs by herself, so the past couple of nights we had her sleep back upstairs in the crate with us.   This morning after a  1 am potty break on our way back upstairs her firmly planted paws told me in no uncertain terms that she prefers to sleep downstairs thank you very much!  Ok, no problem I said and put her in her downstairs crate.

Fast forward to two happenings this morning.  When Bess came in from the pup pen she went right into her crate, sat down looked at me and yawned clearly not ready to start her day.   Then I heard laughter from Greg, who was still upstairs, Bonnie and Belle were curled up together in the crate in our bedroom.

I don’t understand their attachment to the crates but I am glad that the pups feel comfortable in the crates even when they don’t need them.

Such is life with our pups!

Tiaras Plus Treats Equal…Epic Failure!

Tiaras plus treats equal…. epic failure. Belle clearly hates hers then she took Bonnie’s off and tried to eat it. Bess kept hers on just long enough to snap the picture. So even though we can’t get the cute pics with props from our crew to yours we wish you a happy and blessed 2015. Thanks for reading our posts we hope they make you smile. Oh and for those of you who can take the cute pictures with props. More power to you, you are my heros!

Treats and Tiaras

Treats and Tiaras

Belle clearly hates it.

"Bonnie, let me help you get that thing off!"

“Bonnie, let me help you get that thing off!”

"Anything for a treat, but hurry up I don't like this!"

“Anything for a treat, but hurry up I don’t like this!”

“Good it’s off!”