First Hike to Sardine Lake

A few weeks ago, Gary and I took all 3 dogs on a short hike to Upper Sardine Lake.  It was a little bit of chaos trying to manage two puppies and Levi (who loves water and can't be kept out of it), but it all went pretty well overall.  I wish I would have had the front clip harness for Hudson because I couldn't really work on nice leash walking skills in that setting, but it was a very good outing for him and he got to see a lot of interesting things and people.  We tried to get him to swim a little bit and he did a short amount but wasn't a huge fan.

Hudson's Sleeping Positions

 I don't know how, but this puppy can sleep in the most awkward of positions 😂

Happy 4 month Birthday Hudson!

A little belated, but Hudson turned 4 months old on the 16th.  Time is flying by and my little puppy is growing up 😢.  So, in the tradition I started when Levi was a puppy, here are 4 things that I love about Hudson right now.

1) He is such a funny, goofy, happy puppy, and he makes me laugh all the time.
2) He flops/falls over constantly.  Sometimes I think it's just because he's still pretty uncoordinated, but othertimes he does it on his own.  He'll be playing with a toy and then just flop onto his side.
3) He is very easy going and just a pleasure to be around.  He isn't really mischievous at all, and is very good about playing with his toys and not getting into things he shouldn't.
4) He still absolutely loves the other dogs, but he's starting to want to see me and be around me even if Levi or Paco are there.

Levi teaching Hudson how to be a good boy and stay out of the kitchen when Mom's cooking

Both my boys hanging out at the office with me

 

Hudson's First Camping Trip

A couple weeks ago Gary and I took a short camping trip at Frenchman Lake, just up the road from our house.  The trip was a getaway to celebrate our second wedding anniversary, but with all these new puppies we knew we couldn't go somewhere that the dogs couldn't come with us, so camping was a good option.  We were able to stay on private property at the lake, and borrowed Gary's parents' RV, so it was a very peaceful and relaxing weekend.

Hudson and Paco had a great time wrestling almost nonstop (unless they were tethered to separate trees), and on Sunday we found a section of the lake without anyone around that we were able to take all the dogs down to swim.  Hudson did pretty well, and went right in, but was a little unsure about swimming out to retrieve his bumper or ball.  He did swim out a couple times, but usually didn't end up bringing the bumper back with him.  I don't have any pictures from the water because I was wading in it with them to encourage them to get in. The dogs had such a great time, but were absolutely filthy with a fine layer of dirt by the time we left.  Needless to say, they all got baths as soon as we got home. 

After bath time, all the dogs got to come inside (a novelty for little cow dog Paco) and Hudson enjoyed teaching Paco about his favorite little hideout/secret passageway through our coffee table. Silly puppies!

Introducing Hudson

Gary and I picked up Hudson about a week and an half ago from his breeder down in Chico.  It has been a whirlwind since he arrived, and honestly it feels like he's been here for a month already.  The drive back from Chico was a very windy one, and poor Hudson got carsick twice on the way, but otherwise slept peacefully in my lap.

He has settled in well at home, and absolutely loves his great-uncle Levi and his stepbrother Paco.  I try to limit how much time they play together so he doesn't bond with the other dogs more than me.

Hudson's house training is going really well.  He was initially very barky in his xpen or crate inside, but that has improved dramatically.  He still occasionally will bark at the other dogs if they are on the other side of the xpen and he wants to play, or he'll bark sometimes if he's put in his crate and not ready to settle down.  A blanket over the top so he can't see us works magic on that barking.  He's only had two close calls for accidents, but luckily I've been able to scoop him up in time and rush him outside.  He learned his potty spot quickly, and is very good about pottying right when I take him outside.  Now we just need to learn a way to indicate that he needs to go outside.  Hudson is great at entertaining himself with toys, and it's fun to watch him climb in the toy box and search through to pick what he wants to play with next.  He also loves to come up and stand or sit between my legs.

He loves Levi's bed and will pounce onto it with his toys

Still haven't mastered the game of fetch, but we're working on it

Helping in the kitchen

He's been coming to work with me every day, and has been a great truck dog, and has been settling well at the office too.

We took a little walk earlier this week down our dirt road, and he was so funny somersaulting into the tall grass.

Today we went into Reno to run a couple errands and to socialize Hudson a little bit, and he had a great time walking around the shopping center and trying to get pets from everyone he saw. Everyone we walked past exclaimed at what a cute puppy he is (i agree but might be a little biased).

He didn't understand why these "people" wouldn't pet him, and he whined and kept going up to them

Hudson isn't as food motivated as Levi or Kobe were, so it might challenge me a little bit more with training, but so far he is very smart and is learning sit, down, stand, and come very well.  He's pretty good about sitting for attention and not jumping up, except at work were I need to train my co-workers a little better :-).  Hudson is definitely not as high-drive of a puppy as Levi was.  I knew that about his litter, and I thought that would fit well at this time in our lives considering we're hoping to start a family in the next year.  Now that I have him though, I realize that the dog trainer in me really enjoys training a higher drive dog, and he might not be as much fun to train as Levi was.  It will definitely take more work on my part to get engagement out of him, and I already realize that he can only take shorter periods of work/play.

One thing that I realize about having a puppy is that there is always some comparing to the dog that came before them.  I know that they are each individuals, and are wonderful and lovely in their own right, but it's just natural to compare them a little.  The nice thing about getting Hudson when I still have Levi, is that it doesn't make me miss Levi like Levi as a puppy did for me missing Kobe.  Instead, it just makes me appreciate things about Levi even more than I already did.

Time can slow down now so Hudson stays a cute, cuddly puppy for just a little bit longer.

Green Boy's the One!

I just found out that I'm getting Green Boy!  I'm really excited since he was one of my favorites and I was really hoping for him.

Some of the things Christine told me from his puppy testing:
Green boy is very structurally sound with good angles so he should hold up well with agility.  He showed confidence and he did really well with the retrieves, bringing the toy back to the evaluators' lap each time.  He even returned a bird wing to the evaluator rather than just taking it off on his own.

I'm really happy and think that he is a perfect match for me.  I get to pick him up at 10 am tomorrow.

Soon to Be Spoiled Puppy

This puppy is going to be very spoiled!  Today Alicia came home from the store with three new toys for the puppy!  They are all very cute and I'm sure the puppy (and we) will love playing with them.  I started getting little Levi's room ready for him today.  I set his crate up with the new custom made bed (thanks to Mom) and custom made divider (thanks to Dad).  I just got a soft crate today in the mail that will be his truck crate this summer since the metal folding crates that I have are almost impossible to fit in the back seat of my truck.  I think I'm just about ready!  I need to do some yard work tomorrow to clear the weeds out of what will be his potty area, and then I'll be done.  Only 5 more days!  I can't believe how fast the last couple months have gone by.  It seems like just yesterday that I was meeting Sport and Christine for the first time before the puppies were even born.

Too Many Toys?...I don't think so!

What's in a Name

I think I've narrowed down registered names to my top four:

Tigana's Pure Hoppiness
Tigana's Chasing Tail Golden Ale
Tigana's Sweetwater Happy Ending
Tigana's Don de Dieu

Of these I think my favorites are Tigana's Pure Hoppiness and Tigana's Sweetwater Happy Ending.  I really liked the Chasing Tail one because it had to do with dogs but I don't really like how it flows when you say it.

For the puppy's normal name I am still undecided.  I thought the name Bentley was cute, but I don't think it fits any of these puppies.  I still really like the name Tucker, and that is probably one at the top of my list right now.  Another one that I thought of recently was Levi.  I really like the name Bailey but my sister thinks it is a better girl's name than a boy's name, so I'm undecided on it.  A fourth choice is Fisher, although this one doesn't seem to fit these puppies well either.  I'll keep working on new ones.  Any suggestions, likes or dislikes?

More Name Ideas

Sweetwater Happy Ending
Don de Dieu (translation "gift of God" in French)
Night Stalker
Twisted Pine Hoppy Boy
Twisted Pine Blonde
Angel's Share Grand Cru
Chasing Tail Golden Ale

Back to Puppies...

The puppies are two weeks old now and they get cuter every day.  I already love them all.  I can start visiting them next weekend, yay!  The litter theme for picking AKC registered names is "Artisan Beers" since Christine has been calling them Sporty's "six-pack".  She started a list of potential names going off a list of the top 100 beers on beeradvocate.com.  My mom has also been doing some name research.  Some of the names that I like so far are:

• Tigana's The Perfect Storm
• Tigana's Exponential Hoppiness
• Tigana's Pure Hoppiness
• Tigana's Splinter Gold
• Tigana's Duck Duck Gooze

Any name suggestions are greatly appreciated.

I've already started my puppy shopping and a fun box of toys arrived last week.  I couldn't help but test them all out. : )  One of my favorites is this hide-a-bird toy that I got.  They make a couple different types of these puzzle toys for dogs and I thought they looked like a lot of fun.  There are three little plush birdies that you put in the tree and the dog then finds them and pulls them out.  I also got a Chuck-it which is surprisingly more difficult to use that it appears.  I guess maybe I just need to practice outside of the house and then it might be easier. I also got the puppy an everlasting treat ball which my Uncle and Aunt have for their golden-doodle.  I also ordered a new crate that should be here in the next week or so which will be the puppy's crate at school so I don't have to transport mine from home every day.

The puppies have all opened their eyes now and their ears just recently opened as well.  Christine says that they are starting to play with each other and their toys now.  I just can't believe how quickly they grow up.  The next 6 weeks are going to fly by.  I will start posting pictures after I visit them next weekend.  (Thanks again Dad for letting me borrow your camera!)

The Puppies Are Here

Sport had her puppies this morning! There are 6 of them, 4 boys and 2 girls. They are so cute, and Christine says they are very big and vigorous eaters. I'm not sure that I will get one of these puppies because I think there are 5 other people plus the breeder that want a puppy from this litter. I'm just trying to stay positive and hoping for the best. I'm not sure how she will decide who gets a puppy so for now it's more of a waiting game. At least there are cute pictures to look at while I wait. :)

Sport

I got to meet Sport and Christine today!  I talked to Christine for awhile and found out a lot about Sport and what her personality is like, as well as what William (the dad) is like and why she chose him to breed Sport to.  It sounds like the combination of Sport and William should really improve upon each of them as individuals and that the puppies should have really great temperaments.  Sport was very sweet and seemed to have a very loving and playful personality.  Christine said that she is a really great partner for agility, that she loves the sport and she is very responsive to Christine's direction.  I'm hoping to get involved in agility and field trails whenever I get a puppy.  I wish that I would have gotten involved with more dog stuff with Kobe.  I didn't know that I could do all of that stuff with him.  The golden retriever world seems like one big family.

The repro vet that ultrasounded Sport said that she is carrying ~ 8 puppies.  I'm so excited and I hope that one of them fits what I am looking for.  They are due March 26 and once they are 3.5 weeks old I can start going to visit them once a week.  Christine does temperament testing on the puppies when they are 7.5 weeks old, and then she can figure out which dog fits which owner.  So I guess right now I'm just waiting until the puppies are born.  Once they are born Christine said she would post updates and pictures on her website (that will really help me focus on studying : ) )

The Beginning

My roommate Alicia suggested that I start a blog about my journey of finding a new puppy and our new life together, so that's what I'm doing.  Those who know me know that my golden retriever, Kobe, who recently passed away was the love of my life.  He was my child and he meant the world to me.  He died very unexpectedly on February 12, 2010 due to hemangiosarcoma in the right auricle of his heart (for all you vet school friends).  It devastated me.  I knew that I couldn't live without a golden in my life though, not after the love and joy that Kobe brought me.  Shortly after he died I contacted his breeder, Cindy,  to see if she knew of any good litters of goldens that might be ready to go home around summer time.  I figured by summer I would be ready to have a new puppy, and then I wouldn't be in school so I would have a lot of time to devote to it.


I contacted one breeder in Wisconsin that was recommended to me, however she wasn't planning to have puppies until fall or winter which was a little bit later than I would've liked.  Then Cindy sent me an email about a great litter that she knew of and highly recommended.  I contacted the breeder, Christine at Tigana Goldens, about the litter and it sounds perfect.  The dam, Sport, does agility, field trials, conformation, etc.  You name it and she seems to excel at it.  And did I mention how beautiful she is. Pictures of Mommy Sport and Daddy William.  

I am going to meet Sport and Christine this Sunday.  The puppies are due at the end of March, so they would be ready to go home around the end of May.  Pretty close to perfect timing.  Hopefully everything works out and there is a perfect little puppy for me.