| July 2009-What a wonderful dog! I’ve never had a dog that stopped to smell the daisies – literally – and any other flower, as it comes into bloom! She is curious, feisty, lovable, and having a glorious time up here in Door County. We go for a two-mile walk every day – good for her, and good for us – on which she meets a few people and an occasional dog, to her great delight. I mentioned previously her GI problems. She was treated for Giardia, and I changed her diet – at your suggestion – to Iam lamb & rice. Both these things helped but didn’t cure her. Finally the vet up here put her on a sulfa drug, and in three days she was cured. Today, Lucy met an enormous GR-Collie mix who loved to play, but almost flattened her with her huge paws, and is the first dog that outlasted Lucy for play time! We thought Lucy was completely housebroken, but it turns out we were the ones who were completely trained. Today, both Barbara and I were preoccupied with other things and didn’t take her out after naps. The result: two pee-pees inside. |
| Hi – I never thought of our previous Golden Retriever, Cassie, as stupid by any means, but I am beginning to think that Lucy is smarter. If curiosity reflects intelligence, then I’m sure I’m right. First, she cannot understand why that puppy in the mirror won’t play with her...well, actually, it jumps at her every time Lucy jumps, and licks her every time Lucy licks, but somehow it just isn’t the same. And it’s very frustrating! (I don’t remember Cassie ever being interested in a mirror image.) Second, I turned on the TV tonight, with Lucy in the family room, and she became very curious—cocked her head to listen to the voices, and then went up to the TV table and explored the screen. Third, she is very interested in learning new noises, smells and places–– not surprising. But when there is a loud noise, she goes on alert to try to figure out where it’s coming from. No matter how loud, if she can figure out the source, she’s okay. But if she can’t – a car alarm honking off and on, or a dog barking from some distant place – then she gets alarmed and wants to run somewhere safe. Not a bad rule of thumb, hey? Of course, we’ re concerned about how she’ll do with a loud thunderstorm. This has nothing to do with intelligence, but she is very frustrated that our cat won’t play with her. She’s learned to keep a respectful distance, but will still jump up and down and bark at him as he sits impassively, looking down at the poor baby. |
Lucy
Golden Retriever from Kiwi and Drex
| Hi Guys, We just thought you might enjoy an update on one of your brood! We couldn’t be happier with Lucy. She is very curious, seems intelligent (likes to push a ball under a coffee table, then retrieve it), and, with every passing day, is increasingly content to spend a period of time playing by herself. She is also beginning to have to learn the hard lesson of: No! Chewing on our fingers and hands was cute the first couple of days, but no longer. We have been surprised at how much sleep a pup this age still requires. There have been plenty of accidents, some our fault and some just not predictable. We give her a treat every time she does her business outside, but I don’t think she’s caught on that this has anything to do with our location preferences. The vet tell us that from week 11 through 16 is when she will have a big surge in brain development, and these are the optimal weeks to do training. (Not that it stops there.) Talk about social! We live right across the street from the main park in our town, which usually has from a few to lots of people in it, and she has got to have met at least three- hundred people so far. She is quite disappointed when someone passes her by—and I have to say, I don’t know how they can! She especially likes kids—and of course other doggies. I hope it isn’t too quiet around your place, these days! |
| Lucy’s first swim: not what she bargained for! We took the mile hike down to Mink River – which is an estuary, off Rowley’s Bay in Door County, on Lake Michigan – where the water is a couple feet deep immediately off shore. She looked, stepped in, and: whoops! In over her head! But she of course managed to learn in a hurry, and then was willing to go back in to retrieve sticks. Does she look proud, or what? She is still a love-puppy, though, and we are being ridiculous in letting her up on the couch. We never let our previous beloved Golden do that—and what will it be like when Lucy is full-size? It is truly amazing how fast they grow. Lucy has long, adolescent legs already; I know my daughter, who hasn’t seen Lucy in the flesh for over a month, is going to be shocked and probably dismayed that her precious little fuzz-ball has gotten so gangly! |
Oh Those Lazy Summer Days!
| AUG 2009: I’m attaching a photo that’s not particularly great, but I thought you’d appreciate because it shows Lucy with the “blankey” that you gave her to take along to her new home. She still sleeps with it in her crate every night. |
| "Lucy" |
| "Lucy" whispering to "Ty" |
| "Lucy" trying to explain that dogs don't wear this stuff! |
| "Lucy" |
| "Lucy" |
| "Lucy" |
| AUG 2009: Lucy came to stay with us while her family went out of State on vacation. We enjoyed spending time with her so much and couldn't believe how much like Kiwi she is in personality. She sleeps like her, eats like her, and shakes her paw like her! We took her with us to the parade we were in and she was a HUGE hit! Such a personable little gal! |
| Hi - Babies do have a way of growing bigger, don't they? It is clear that Lucy is not going to be large, as Goldens go, but still, to have 55 pounds of canine leap up on the couch with you doesn't feel like your usual lapdog! Lucy has a wonderful combination of traits. She is still a love--have you ever seen a dog with her own teddy bear? Lucy found this one on the shore of Lake Michigan, and fell in love with it immediately, wagging her tail, sniffing, picking it up carefully. Now she often sleeps with it, or plays with it (sometimes a little too roughly). At the same time, it is clear that Lucy would love to be a hunting dog. It's a shame I can't accommodate her. Like all Goldens, she loves to swim and retrieve items, like sticks, from the water. But unlike her previous dog, Lucy doesn't just jump in as soon as you cock your arm to throw something. She waits, looking intently at the water, and when the stick hits the surface, she gets a bead on it and only then dives in. She seems to care less how cold the water is. In town, on the occasions when it is safe to let her off the leash in one of our parks, she will stalk a squirrel like a young lion: creeping up slowly, freezing when the squirrel looks her way, and then racing full throttle when the squirrel starts to run for it. So far she hasn't caught any, mainly because there are so many trees closely available for the squirrels to reach. Finally, when we go on our daily walks, Lucy loves nothing better than to find a branch, or stick, to carry the entire way--which she does with great pride. If she can't find one, she'll carry her leash. What a treat this dog is! Best, Ron |
November 2009 7 months old & beautiful!
| Hi again - Couldn't resist sending you these two great photos, which I entitle: urban huntress. (The elusive squirrel in the upper right) |
| www.thosegoldens.com |
