Don't work!

I think the Ming-a-Ling is onto something here, literally,
Perhaps I should take her hint, take the day off, and live the life of a cat.

Pillsbury State Park

This past weekend, we headed up to New Hampshire's Pillsbury State Park. We left on Thursday and arrived shortly after dark. On our way up, we stopped by the Common Man, a restaurant we have stopped at frequently before, to enjoy a hearty meal. Jeffrey had some seafood saute and I enjoyed the pot roast. Yum. We've had many good meals here.

Campsite #40 was about a quarter of a mile hike in. We had to walk our stuff into the campsite. I am glad I got lights for both of the dogs even though they probably didn't need them. Riley's done this with us enough times and Sabrina is very good about staying with Riley or staying close to me. But you can't put a price on peace of mind. Being Sabrina's first night camping trip and first night outside of the house, I was pleased what a good girl she was.

Riley was a good boy, willing to share his air mattress with his little sister, who just loves to cuddle with him!

Every morning, just as dawn crept in to push out the night, the dogs were up and ready to get out of the tent. And the rodeo life we experience everyday in our kitchen at home was transported to the campsite. There was wrestling, there was chasing, there was digging and rolling and splashing. Needless to say, the dogs got pretty dirty, especially since we had gotten a little bit of rain during the night. We were able to take Sabrina out on the boat for the first time and good thing we kept the leash on her! She was thrilled to watch the ripples of water pass by the boat and tried her best to jump out to catch the pond grass. When we slowed the boat down in the middle of the pond for some fishing, the dogs settled down to take a nice leisurely nap. Our two dogs could not be any more different in personality. Sabrina decided that smack dab in the middle of the boat was the perfect spot for her to roll over on her back, extend her paws over her head and out as far as they could reach and take a snooze. Riley preferred to carefully curl up next to my feet and keep his head in my lap.

Since Sabrina was still too young to do any hikes, we basically took it easy and hung around the campsite. Our site was very nice. We had our own access to the pond and had a lot of privacy. Here is a view of the pond from our campsite:
Everyday the dogs and I took a short hike near our campsite while Jeffrey went running. Some times we spent the time gathering fallen twigs and branches to start the evening fire. The dogs were a great help, dragging sticks back to camp with me. Along one trail I found delicious little morsels of blackberries growing wild. Sabrina quickly learned to pick them right off the bushes! More please!





The great outdoors was peaceful, especially at dawn and after dusk. Along with raccoons, chipmunks, and squirrels, we were neighbors to the loons as well as this beautiful, and large, bird. I'm guessing it's a woodpecker. It bears a strong resemblance to Woody the Woodpecker.

Ring That Bell

Sabrina is 13 weeks now. Up to this point, Sabrina has been learning quickly from her big Berner brother when to do her doggie business outside. We were getting up to 5 hours in the daytime and 7 hours at night with no accidents. I began to realize that unless Riley was there and we had her on a schedule, she really didn't have her own way to communicate with us when she needed to go out. Riley has always communicated in his own way, giving us a very distinct HUFF when he needed to go out. And that HUFF would gradually get louder and louder until he had to WOOF to get our attention.Sabrina doesn't communicate like that. I had heard of people putting a bell on the door so that their dogs would learn to ring the bell to go out. So I found a bell and tied it to the front door knob. Sure enough, it took 2 days. She got it. But wait...
Murphy's law says once you brag about something, inevitably, things will start to fall apart. So now that I think I've gotten my 3 month old puppy house-trained and bell-trained she ends up with a urinary tract infection and is now peeing all over the house in various intervals. ARGH! The poor thing doesn't have any control and I cannot get mad at her cuz she's also in a lot of pain. I totally feel for her, and for the rugs we just had steam-cleaned. Yah, no kidding, just had them cleaned 4 days ago. Murphy's law!

Clever, clever girl

That little Sabrina continues to surprise me everyday. One minute I'm frustrated cuz I cannot believe she's doing something I've told her not to do and then the next minute I am amazed by how smart she is. I have to keep reminding myself that she is just a baby and everyday is a learning experience.


First of all, last night she slept the whole night through without us getting up to give her a potty break. I had a feeling she would be able to do it, but I was so afraid of her having an accident and then having to clean it up in the middle of the night, that every night we've been giving her a potty break around 1-2 am. Disrupting your sleep like that can really make you feel tired and cranky the next morning. I hope this is it, fitful sleep, here we come. This would be a dream come true. Did I even mention that Riley was 6 months before he really got the potty training concept? That means 3 months of letting him out, around the clock, every 2-3 hours. And he was still have accidents!

So this morning I took the kids out for our early morning walk. Sabrina usually likes to run up to everyone we meet to say hello. This morning, the construction crew was there repaving the road. Sabrina saw a worker and started off in his direction, increasing speed from a leisurely trot into a full canter in her excitement to meet someone new. Not wanting her to get in their way or get hurt, I tried to call her back. Recall has not been reliable even though we've been working on it only ALL THE TIME. I've tried all different intonations of her name and most typically I have had to run after her and catch her as she does not indicate at all that she has even heard me. But I suppose it takes a few days to really learn your name, ignore the world, and respond obediently. Well, how hard is it really? But today that little girl heard her name, did a quick U-ie and came right back to me. WOW! I was so proud of her!

Then finally as we returned back to where my car was parked, she wow'd me again with her smarts. I had stopped about 30 feet from where three cars were parked in line with mine. A gentleman I knew and his beautiful 12 year old Husky were just arriving. We were having regular HowYaDoin morning conversation when I did a quick scan to check where the dogs were. Sabrina had found my car and was sitting so nicely by the rear passenger door, waiting to go home. 10 days with us and she already knows our car! I don't really remember how long it took Riley to know our car....hmm....

Sibling rivalry

Everyday, there's a rodeo in our house. Bucking Berner and pouncy puppy all over the place. Good thing Sabrina is still small and Riley tires quickly, cuz it's quite a ruckus!
The two of them seem to enjoy each other's company and Riley has been happy to get all of his toys out. Toys, he really hasn't paid much attention to in months.

But of course Riley also takes his job of big brother seriously. Each day, Riley teaches her how to play with the various squeeky toys and encourages her to play tug-a-war with him. And each day as Sabrina develops more confidence, Riley also makes sure she knows her place in the household. Here he does the paw-on-the-head-maneuver:


And if that doesn't work, he goes into the head lock:


Things don't always work out well for Riley. Sabrina's a toughie.



In order to keep the peace, I have learned to get two of everything-like here with their bully sticks.

Return to Echo Pines

July 29-August 5, 2006
This summer, we returned to the cabin in Acadia for a summer vacation. I have been trying to get these photos posted but I have been having difficultly uploading them to Blogger. Don't know what that's about. So all the photos are large, I couldn't seem to upload them at different sizes. Whatever.
Here is a picture of my gorgeous boy on the front lawn. I know I'm so biased, but how can you not agree he is the handsomest boy?!


The cabin is a one minute walk from Echo Lake and a 15 minute drive to Bar Harbor. We had a busy week biking, hiking, swimming, fishing, and eating of course!






Jeffrey, Riley, and I hiked Cadillac mountain one day. We started at Jordan Pond and it took us all day. It just about did Riley in. The weather was mild, in the 70s, but the humidity was rising. Neither Jeffrey nor I could feel the humidity much, but I'm sure Riley felt it. We were trying out his new Palisades Pack from Ruffwear.





Half way up the mountain, we had to remove Riley's pack and carry it ourselves. The pack separates from the harness easily, but the harness itself is made of very thick spandex-like material that made Riley very hot. I was quite disappointment about the new pack. The harness, however, served as a very useful tool when it came to scrambling up the rock faces. We encountered 3-4 foot rock faces on the way up and down. Riley needed all the help he could get getting up and down the slippery rock. When we finally descended the mountain near Bubble Pond, Riley laid down on the bank and almost seemed to hug the ground in relief. That night, Riley didn't seem himself. I think he may have just had an off day. We let him take it easy for the rest of the trip. Here he is resting in the shade of the woods. What a look on his face!

The Esplanade

Sunday morning family outing. We packed up the dogs and headed to the Esplanade to enjoy a gorgeous morning. When Riley first came to us, we did the same thing his first week. The Esplanade is a great place for a puppy to experience lots of sights, smells, and stimulation. She did great. We are lucky she is such a calm puppy. Riley kept a good eye on her too.



I think Sabrina looks HUGE in this picture, like she's almost Riley's size! She was 20 pounds last week. We'll have to weigh her today and see how much she's grown already.

Siblings

12 Weeks today! Our little girl is growing up so quickly. Just one week and she has learned so much. Isn't this a beautiful sit-stay? Last night she slept through the entire night. Yippee! I really needed the uninterrupted sleep. Geez, how are we ever going to manage human babies?

"Uh, am I a dog?"

Stepping Forward

I drove to Jamestown, Rhode Island today to attend a board meeting for the local Berner club. I was really excited and have been looking forward to this opportunity to learn a little more about how the club is run. I have wanted to attend a meeting for the past couple of years, but I was etiher busy on all the dates or they were way too far to travel to. Our local club has members from Maine, NH, Maine, CT, NY, RI, and even NJ and PA. They meet about 6 times a year and each time they rotate through the officers' different homes within the club regional area. Jamestown is only about an hour and a half away, plus I am co-chairing the Fall Fun Day coming up in September. It was a good time to finally attend a meeting.
It started at 11am at the home of the club secretary, whom is married to the membership chair. Their home, first of all, was beautiful and had a breath-taking view of the bridge and harbor. And Berners decorations everywhere too of course!
I really enjoyed listening to the officers and directors give their reports. It was all very fascinating. After I gave my update about how the Fun Day planning was coming along, I had to leave, as they continued on to more business. I left feeling like I've found another calling. I really like being involved in the planning of our club events. There are several open committe positions. Listening to them describe the positions immediately perked my interest. I kept thinking to myself, I could do that?! I'd really like to do that! I'm going to think about this Volunteer Chairperson position. It's a little bit of PR, a little bit of spirit, and a bit of organization too. Let's see how the Fall Fun Day goes first. Come one, come all! It's September 16th from 8-3 at the Westford 4-H Fairgrounds. We are going to have a fun filled day! Yay!

Firsts

Here are some of Sabrina's Firsts. They are moments we have captured in our memories forever:
Her first bark
Her first walk on a leash
Her first successful trip up the stairs
And her first successful trip down the stairs
Our first time watching our dog really enjoy the water in a brook
Her first trip crossing the street
Her first day at home without us
Her first bully stick
Her first game of tug-a-war with Riley!
Her first encounter with children, and chasing them, what fun!
Her first bath in the kitchen sink
My first experience having someone (or something) try to get into MY bath!
The first time we've had a dog bring in the paper
Her first Raw Meaty Bone!

That's Sabrina with a semi smashed section of a turkey tom neck in her mouth.

Sabrina's Getting Acquainted

Riley's new little sister is the most delightful addition to our family. Each day, as we get the dogs more acqainted with each other, get a household routine down, and try to train Sabrina, we are delighted to watch her experience all of her firsts. She is the smartest little thing I've ever seen. Such a difference in these breeds! Riley was always a breeze to train and wonderfully obedient, but this new little Sabrina learns things in a millisecond and refuses to be obedient!

I have been trying very hard to capture some of the cutest moments of Sabrina's puppyhood with Riley and the cats, but photographing a black fuzzy being racing around the house is just not that easy. The camera doesn't seem to know where to focus. Alas, I have a lot of photos of the cats and Riley in the house with a little black blur somewhere in the photo. I try and tell people, she's really not very photogenic like Riley is. You've gotta meet her in person. She's got the cutest personality.

The past few days have been a blur. I can't quite tell if Riley just thinks were doggie sitting a fun new playmate or if he has really accepted his role as big brother. It's too soon to tell, but he is definitely playing the big brother role very well, much to our hearts delight.

Welcome home Sabrina!!

For the past two weeks we have been talking about getting a new puppy. Actually, we've been talking about it for two years. For the longest time I couldn't imagine dividing my attention away from my Berner boy. My Berner baby needed so much of my attention, how could I possibly love another? People kept asking me when we were finally going to get another Berner. I just didn't see it in our future. I love this breed to death, but there is space in my heart for only one Berner, my BernerBuddy. I cannot believe that any other Bernese Mtn Dog could be as great as him. Plus, he has finally turned three and is beginning to act a little older and wiser. It's such a relief that his hormones have settled down.

But then I suddenly realized we did need another dog. I had a good reason to get a new puppy and we had found the perfect breed: the Flat-coated Retriever.

I suggested the breed to Jeffrey and the more research we did, the more we liked it. I like it because it's functionality fits our purpose. We needed to find a breed that was lighter boned, more energetic, could tolerate the heat better than Riley, loved the water, and would enjoy lots of running. When it came down to it, we needed a dog that was not Riley. We needed a dog that could run a couple of miles with Jeffrey every morning, go swimming and fishing with him, and also be his companion on multiple-day backpacking trips. The Flat-Coat was all of that. I also like it because it is not a common breed.

So while on vacation in Acadia last week, I began my search. I was responsible for finding a reputable breeder and finding us a female pup. After many phone calls and information seeking conversations, we met up with a breeder who was close enough for us to drive to. Our biggest concerns was that we wanted a female and we did not want her shipped. Females were hard to come by as breeders tend to keep their females for breeding stock. There were plenty of male puppies available but we held out. We knew we had to find a female puppy who would be a companion to Riley. He would have to love her as much as we would. Neither of us thought Riley would bond with a male. All of his favorite playing buddies are girls. We weren't getting much luck and were beginning to consider a female from Texas or a female from Florida when the phone call came.

"One of the females that was promised to a family is now available. They have decided not to take her."

REALLY?! Can we come see her next weekend?

So we were supposed to go meet the breeder, the adult dogs, and the puppies on Sunday the 13th. As you can see, we never made it that long. Yesterday afternoon, with our afternoon schedules free, we drove a couple of hours to see our puppy. We spent a little over an hour there and managed to impress the breeder enough to let us take her home with us. You see, she was one of his favorites and was a very special little girl. He just wanted to make sure she was going to the best home. We tried to reassure that we are avid dog lovers, a very active family, and she was exactly what we were looking for, while Riley rolled on his back playfully to her. Our hearts mealted, Riley liked her!

As I am writing this, Sabrina has been in our house for 24 hours now. I sense that she has already long forgotten of her siblings and previous home. She is an extremely smart, curious, mischievious, and loving little girl that looks at life straight in the face. Her disposition fits into our home perfectly. This puppy has impressed us beyong comprehension in just the one day we have known her. She has not had a single accident in the house, slept with Riley and us in the bedroom last night no crate necessary, stayed home with Riley for 4 hours alone today, and walked beautifully on the leash today. Every time we take her outside, pee and a poop. No problem. Amazing little girl. I'm am so tickled pink by her smarts as well has her funny antics. However, I have to admit, I'm really not too thrilled that she likes to step into the water bowl and scoop the water out onto my hardwood floors.

She is the perfect little addition to the growing zoo in our home. We are so happy to have found her. Our little Sabrina. Welcome home.

Pet Rules

PET RULES - To be posted VERY LOW on the refrigerator door - nose height.

Dear Dogs and Cats,
The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.
The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.
I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.
For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years --canine or feline attendance is not required.
The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough!

To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:
To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit and Like to Complain About Our Pets:
1. They live here. You don't.
2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That's why they call it "fur"niture.)
3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly.

Remember - Dogs and cats are better than kids because they:
1. Eat less
2. Don't ask for money all the time
3. Are easier to train
4. Normally come when called
5. Never ask to drive the car
6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends
7. Don't smoke or drink
8. Don't have to buy the latest fashions
9. Don't want to wear your clothes
10. Don't need a gazillion dollars for college, and...
11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children