White Stuff!

There's a lot of it - everywhere!



They Call It Snow

And it's cold, wet and wonderful! I like it!

Holiday Greetings

Look what Santa left under the tree!


There was even a little bunny just for me!

'Tis the Season to Be Jolly
I like this time of year - people coming and going, delicious smells coming from the kitchen, and there's even a tree in the living room!

I have a new toy bunny and it's just great. I chewed off its ear on Christmas eve so my persons keep it hidden and bring it out only for play time.

Snowstorm on the way. I can't wait. More news later.

Visions of Sugar Plums

Cooling off



It's a good thing
My persons were busy today baking and making cookie houses. I circled the table a few times and managed to lick up a few delicious crumbs but mostly I slept. There's a lot to be said for long winter naps - especially when you're a growing puppy like me.

Growing Up

As of 3 December, I am six months old. No longer a baby puppy!

How big?
Normally, I don't share my vital statistics but since you asked here they are: (all measurements are approximate - I wiggle a lot!)

Height: ca. 41 inches

Weight: ca. 42 pounds

Length (not including my tail): ca. 33 inches

I have all my new teeth and they are white and sharp. But, I don't chew on things in the same way like I used to. I still like to chew on tennis balls, rawhide, soup bones, sticks, and the occassional pig's ear but when someone pets me I don't chew their hand - I lick it!

Family Matters

For the record, kitties aren't the only ones who like to lay
in baskets


This is Cocoa. When she's not hurling soup bones across the
room she likes to relax.


This is Millie. From what I hear, she's as cool as she looks.

Kitty cousins
You may remember me mentioning my cousins Sigurd, Emma and Tacy. Well, I have more cousins, living Over There. In fact, I have 4 kitty cousins and one doggie cousin, Cocoa. I've never met them in person but I have photos.

First, there's Millie of Borton Mill. Millie wears a soft, furry tortoise-shell suit and likes to lay in baskets, play with string wands, watch birds and sniff catnip. Rumour has it that Millie may start her own kitty-blog one day soon. I can't wait!

Millie shares her home with Cocoa - an eleven-year-old rough coat collie. Cocoa owns several soup bones and spends her vacations in Mt. Laurel. Her nose is very pointy and she wears a long, furry coat - even in the summer! They say that her yard is full of birdies and she likes to play with a black lab just like me.

More about my other kitty cousins later.

Home Again

There's no place like home!

Back to normal
My persons have returned from wherever they went. I was happy and surpised to see them. Not that I didn't enjoy the time with the person who was left behind to take care of me. He did a good job and I am in great shape. But, I am glad that my pack is together once again. The only problem is that I am a bit rusty when it comes to all the tricks I learned in training this fall. I guess it's back to basics. I just hope she uses those tasty doggie treats.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is a great celebration. I get to meet lots of trick-or-
treaters - they come right to my door!


Some are scarier than others

No More Mr. Nice Guy

Darn it! I was just beginning to get my person to obey me.

There's a new trainer in town
Today at puppy training we had a different trainer than the one we usually have. She was tough! She was filling my person with all kinds of new ideas about how I am getting to be a big puppy now and have to come immediately when I'm called - no more sniffing around and coming when I feel like it. And I can only get a doggie treat after I've done what I'm supposed to. No more freebies! And no more feeling sorry for me! The worst part is my person is obeying the new trainer. It's the pits.

Seeing Spots

Polka Dots
I meet a lot of different doggies on my walks in the woods - big, small, short, and fat. On Saturday I met Bella. My person and I reached our favorite spot in the woods when I looked up from my sniffing and spotted her in the distance. First, I thought I was seeing things. But as she walk towards me I could see that my hunch was spot-on - she really was full of spots. She was rather aloof and not very interested in playing with me. Maybe she was embarassed having so many dirty spots on her white suit. I hope her person buys her some spot-remover.

Identity Crisis

Yes, it's really me. I think!

All mixed up
I almost went home with the wrong person yesterday. I was at training with my person Sunday morning and she almost took my sister home instead of me!

All of us puppies were allowed to play together after the class. We were four black lab puppies (my sisters), and the other two were goldens, who are not really golden, but white. Anyway, the trainer insisted that we all take off our collars so we wouldn't get our respective puppy teeth caught in each other's collar. Maybe that wasn't the best idea. Once our collars were off and we were running around no one could tell which puppy was which! They called and whistled at us but we couldn't be bothered to come - we were too busy chasing and wrestling each other. Finally they had to step in and break up our party. My person was on the other side of the field pulling my sister off one of the golden retriever puppies thinking that was me. But I was at the bottom of the other pile of puppies.

In the end, four people were left standing, each holding a black lab puppy but not really sure they had the right one. Luckily, my person could tell she had the wrong puppy by the extra large fit of my sister's furry suit. (My suit fits rather snug around the waist and shoulders these days - too many doggie treats!). Once she realized she had the wrong dog, she switched with the man who was holding me.

I'm sure glad my person figured out that she had the wrong dog. Just think - I could have ended up as a hunting dog!

Next week I'm going to paint my nails red.

Sweet Dreams

My new bed is roomy, warm and stylish


Sometimes it gets so warm I have to sleep like this to cool off

My new bed
See what I've got! It's my new super size dog nest for super size doggies. No more puppy bed for me. The washable Burberry-like cover makes it practical and chic. My person likes to lay in it when he's watching television. Luckily, there's still enough room for the two of us. The best part about it is that I can shape it the way I want, and it can be moved around the house. So far it seems like the perfect bed. But come to think of it, I haven't tried to chew on it yet. Hmmmm.....

Chewin' the Fat

My top five chews


Rawhide bones are good, too

A bone (or two) to pick
You know how I love to chew. Here's a review of my five favorite chews.

1. Soup bone
This is a classic. And, in my short life (17 weeks to be exact), one of my cherished favorites. Although they can be a bit sticky, soup bones are economical and tasty while giving hours of chewing enjoyment. (I know what I'm talking about. To date, I have 4 soup bones under my belt.) Soup bones come from a cow's leg and people use them to make beef stock. For doggies like me, soup bones are best enjoyed raw, and in their natural state - right from the butcher's cleaver. But, if you can't make it to the butcher, a frozen shank bone from the supermarket works, too. On average, it takes me about an hour to chew a soup bone clean of meat and sinew. Then, what's left is the marrow that I usually lick out. Afterwards, the bone can be reused by stuffing peanut butter or liver paté inside where the marrow used to be and freezing it for later enjoyment - a kind of doggie popcicle. Not a bad idea when your puppy gums are sore.

2. Piggy ears
Convenient, practical and tasty - you can't beat a dried pig-ear for chewy goodness. And, no mess. You buy them at the local pet store by the dozen. For those of you who have never seen one, they're actually pretty big. But the chewing enjoyment only lasts for about 30 minutes. They are delicious, though. (Note: cousin Tacy is also a big fan of pig ears and gave me my first bag.)

3. Wood & sticks
Firewood, kindling, sticks, bamboo knitting needles, twigs, branches - you name it - wood is wicked. It's easy to find, carry and chew. I like the fresh branches the best because I can peel off and chew the bark. Old fire wood kindling is good, too, if it's soft. You can't eat wood (believe me, I've tried!) but if you chew it up and spit it out it makes a great, inexpensive diversion for busy puppy teeth.

4. Dental chews
These are really doggie treats in disguise. Long, soft, chewy sticks that my vet says are good for puppy teeth and sore gums. You can only buy these at the vet's so stay away from dental chews if you're counting pennies. When I was a very small puppy it took me about 15 minutes to eat one. Now, they only last about a minute so you can hardly call them chews. But they do taste great!

5. Wooden clogs
Okay, you might say wooden clogs fall into the same category as wood and sticks. But, not really. These are wooden shoes worn by my person so they have a great fragrance that you just can't beat. The only problem with these is that they are forbidden fruit - meaning you have to chew really fast before your person discovers that both the dog and the clog are missing!

Happy Birthday!

You know who you are!
Special birthday wishes from me to you. Enjoy your day. I hope your birthday wish(es) come true. xxoo

A Can of Worms

I'm getting lots of rest


It won't be long before I'm ready for action once again

Down but not out
I've been feeling a little down lately and it's all because of worms. First my vet thought it was kennel cough but after closer investigation (I'll spare you the delicate details), she discovered that it was worms. Awful creatures. She gave me some turbo-charged medicine that's not only supposed to kill the worms it helps prevent fleas, ear mites, fox mange and more worms. Pretty strong stuff. Let's hope the pharmaceutical company is not over-promising!

Apparently these worms are quite common in my part of the woods. Puppies like me eat things we're not supposed to - particularly forrest and garden snails. Snails like to eat fox droppings and we all know the company foxes keep. So there are a lot of doggies in my area who are infected. Bummer.

Kissin' Cousins

Tacy's my cousin, too!


We both like water, and we both like sticks

Meet Tacy
You've already met Sigurd. And Emma. Now meet Tacy. She's my "other" cousin (you won't catch me kissin' Sigurd!). Tacy and I have lots in common. We're both retrievers. We both like sticks. We both like water (though Tacy is a much better swimmer than I am - she's had more practice) and we're both girls. Tacy teaches me how to deal with dog-dudes like Sigurd - the ones that can't keep their paws to themselves! She has some tricks of her own but I'm not tellin' what they are!

Friendly Fire

Never mind the gun shot, where's my doggie treat?



Not at all gun-shy
We learned about guns at puppy training this week. Yes, guns. Since most of the puppies are in training to be hunting dogs (not me - remember, I'm a family dog!) we have to be tested to see how we react to the sound of gun fire. (If you're a hunting dog, you can't be running away when the shooting starts!)

We all lined up in the field and sat next to our persons and waited. Then, one of the trainers walked a few hundred yards away from our group and started quacking like a duck (so she thought). She threw something up in the air (a dummy, of course!) and then fired a starter pistol - like the ones they use at races.

None of us puppies reacted, so, she moved closer to the group, quacked, tossed and fired a second time. Again, none of us puppies seemed to care. I know I didn't. I had other more important things to think about: doggie treats.

My person has bought new, tastier doggie treats for training. I suppose she thinks these doggie treats will make me do all the things I am supposed to do - sit, stay, walk nice and retrieve. So I couldn't wait to get started with those doggie treats, especially since I don't get my dinner until after training.

It's a Small World

I didn't know puppies came in size XXXSmall.



Making room for Emma
I thought I was the smallest (and cutest) puppy in the world...until Sunday. Meet Emma - the world's smallest dog (in my world, that is). She's no bigger than a cocktail weiner and her furry suit is the color of a charbroiled hotdog. She's so small that I heard them say that they might have to tie a flag to her tail so she doesn't get run over by the lawn mower.

Okay. No more short jokes.

Yes, she's little. But, her teeth are no less sharp. In fact, I think her puppy teeth are sharper than mine! And, if you don't believe me, I have the bite prints on my ears to prove it.

Who's Emma? She's Sigurd's new 10-week-old protegé.

Stay tuned.

Dummies are Dumb

It's really a no-brainer
We tried "retrieving" for the first time at puppy training last week. Each puppy had a turn to show their stuff. (The hunting-dog people seem to like this exercise.)

When it was my turn, I was dragged over to the corner of the field so the other puppies couldn't distract me. Getting to the other side of the field took some time as the field was full of those great cow patties!

Next, they unleashed me (YES!). Then the trainer waved a little rectangular beanbag-thing called a "dummy" in front of my nose, and tossed it.

Little retriever puppies like me are supposed to pretend the dummy is a dead duck and run, fetch it and bring it back - all of this in exchange for a doggie treat. The doggie treat part is good. But, believe me, dummies are boring - especially when the alternative is to blast off in pursuit of the other puppies who are sitting in a circle waiting their turn.

So, I ask you: lifeless dummy or playful puppies? You can guess what I did. But, what would you do?

I've Got a Friend

Meet Irma
Irma is my good friend. She visits me in my backyard every so often. We play, run and shake things up. Irma teaches me how to act around grown-up doggies even though she's almost a puppy herself. Irma and I are kindered spirits! And, when Irma goes home I fall to sleep faster than a tail wag.

Caught Red-Handed!

Guilty as charged
Okay, I couldn't resist. They were laying right in front of me on the little coffee table. Tiny, delicious bamboo knitting needles - size 3.5mm - just the right thing for my small, sharp puppy teeth. A few bites and that's all she wrote.