Surgery

It has been awhile since I last wrote on this page. Rosie is as cute and bad as ever and Ron has been taking pictures. I have just been lazy. The real story in the dog population has been Daisy.

Sometimes Chessies have a body oil that can be kind of stinky. We experienced it with Bo, but Bo was a beautiful dog and it was not too bad. For the most part we just grinned and beared it.

Now Daisy is a different story. She is probably the sweetest dog we have ever had and very lovable. Actually, everyone loves Daisy. Even people who don't usually like big dogs. From the time we brought her home, she has had a distinct odor. First, Ron gave her a bath. You may remember from an earlier blog that we were afraid to bathe our first Chessie because we didn't want to ruin her coat. We embarrassed ourselves by asking a near stranger why she stunk only to be told she needed a bath.

After we bathed Daisy things got better for awhile, but then a really offensive odor developed. We kept wiping the liquid from her mouth, she drools a lot. That was not it. We cleaned her ears. That wasn't it. Ron gave her several sits baths. Finally he took her to the vet and they cleaned her anal glands-lovely. Things got better for awhile and we kept her mouth and ears in check.

The odor became unbearable. If she was outside, no big deal but when she is practically sitting on your lap-UGH!! We could not stand it. Ron decided that he would take her to the vet and ask to be taught how to clean anal sacs. If you would like more information on the cleaning of anal glands do a search on You Tube.) Ron advised me against posting the video on this blog. It was too much even for him. What a guy.

When he and Daisy walked into the vet's examination room, Dr. Glen smelled it right away. He told Ron that her anal glands should be removed. Without asking the price, he agreed immediately. We couldn't stand to be in the room with her and a long Minnesota winter is coming. We don't have the heart to leave a dog outside in this weather and we got her to cuddle with on those long winter days.

The next day Daisy's anal glands were removed and our bank account was consider

ably smaller. She came home with one of the new no bite collars on and she has been great! She doesn't run too much and she hasn't gone in the river. Luckily the weather has cooled off so it hasn't been too bad. Even more impressive she has put up with Rosie, who desparately wants to play and Ron and I aren't as much fun as Daisy.

Friday I took her for a check up. She is doing well and smells much better. Dr. Glenn thinks we may have to change her food because she does have a little odor from body oil. (He will have us feeding her raw chicken before he is done.) With a clean bill of health and an appointment to have the stitches removed on Saturday, Daisy and I headed for home.

She started whining as soon as we got in the car. Actually, she had whined all the way to the vets. She doesn't like the car that much and I just thought she missed Rosie. About half way home something stated to stink. No, it couldn't be. She could not have had a bowel movement in my car. I had her out before we went to the vet. I walked her around the vet's property before we went in. She must have just passed gas.

On my way home, I had to drive through the post office to mail some letters. I looked in the back seat. Oh my goodness, I have hit a new low. My sweet dog has had a bowel movement it my car. Of course, being a well behaved dog, she was extremely agitated. Fortunately, we live about a mile from the post office. I got her home. It was everywhere- on the seat, on the floor, on the kleenex box, on some ribbon and paper I had in my backseat.

I put Daisy in the kennel, got a bucket with Mr. Clean, some rubber gloves and a rag. I had the pleasure of scrubbing my back seat and thowing away a lot of things. When Ron got home, he gave it the sniff test. It passed. I got a gold star for cleaning up BM. It's like riding a bike once you know how to do it you never forget.

Rosie Swims

The weather in Minnesota finally broke. Today it was not raining and it was not too hot and muggy to take the dogs out to play. We have been laying low. Just playing with the dogs enough for them to get some exercise but not get overheated.

Today we played fetch in the yard for awhile and then they wanted to go swimming. Ron bought a new throwing dummy so I took it down to the river for a game of swim and fetch. While I was playing with them Daisy did all the swimming and Rosie stood on sure and pounced w

hen Daisy got close.

After Ron bailed the water out of our neighbor's boat, he came over to play with us. He wanted to get Rosie swimming and he did. As you can see in the video below.

They played for quite awhile and then they had to stay outside. They were too wet to go in the house and we were going out to dinner, so we dicided to leave them in the kennel while we

were gone. Ron also bought Rosie a new collar for the woods. He is looking forward to taking her out pheasant hunting. Right now all she wants to do is follow Daisy but he is optimistic. She is showing off her new collar in this picture. You can't really tell from the picture, but she is sitting in her favorite lawn chair. I am convinced she thinks she is human. Ron thinks she is just spoiled.

Ron has given Rosie a nickname, Rue. He got the name from the book HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins. It is young adult fiction but it is pretty dark. Rue is a young girl who is a part of the Hunger Games. She was Ron's favorite character, so he has started calling Rosie Rue.

This is not really the trailer for the movie, but I thought it was the best fan made trailer I could find on You Tube. Rue is not in this trailer but it gives you an idea about the story.

Peter Pan/Hurricane/Princess

Rosie was in full throttle today. She has decided that the concrete on our patio is not at all comfortable enough for her. Whenever Ron and I go in the house. She helps herself to a seat. Of course, since we love to spoil our dogs, we laugh and take a picture. We should be reprimanding her and making her get down. We did the same thing with our son Ryan. I remember saying when he gets bigger these things are not going to be funny, but that could not stop me from laughing. I have a good sense of humor. In the end, he did turn out just fine.

This afternoon Ron was sitting in what I guess is now Rosie's chair. His being there didn't stop her from flying up and landing in his lap. Thus the nickname Peter Pan. Later in the evening she came rushing into the house like a whirlygig. Ron had been playing with the dogs and had taken them swimming in the river. That was not enough to slow her down. Thus the nickname Hurricane.

I, on the other hand, have my own nickname for her. Just look at the picture. She is The Princess.

First Trip

If you read this blog regularly, you may remember that Ron and I purchased a new car and paid extra for a pet cage installed. The plan was to keep the dogs in the back and the people up front. That is without using my arm or Ron jimmierigging an old fence to our car.

Well, we just returned from our first trip in the new car. The dogs did great other than Daisy vomitting the first few minutes in the car. This is the second time that has happened. I think we have figured out not to feed her and then pu

t her in the car this time. The trip to Erie took about seventeen hours. It's about 960 miles but we make a lot of pit and walk the dogs stops. There was just a little whining from Rosie each leg of the trip, but thankfully she let us know when she needed to stop. No accidents and everyone stayed where they belonged on the way to Erie.

Not true on the way home. Rosie decided to go on a little adventure as we we drove through Ohio. She worked her way through the top of the divider and onto the backseat filled with everything we hadpacked. She just wanted some human company. After she checked things out and took a little nap on my lap, she decided to head back.

She did not make it very far. She took another nap until we made our next stop when we returned her to her rightful place. In the pet area with Daisy, the good dog, who had sat quietly keeping her watchful eyes on the little one.

The Hunter or the Hunted?

The storms are over and we had another beautiful day in MN. When I got home from work I took the dogs down to the river. I don't have any pictures because trying to play with the two dogs in the river is really all that I can handle. Daisy fetched her while Rosy stood on shore and hid in the bushesand would pounce when Daisy would get near to shore.

We were not down there five minutes when I looked up and there was a bald eagle not more than six feet over my head - no camera. I'm sure it was checking Rosie out. Good thing she is at least twenty pounds by now.

After we played for awhile, I put Rosie on her leash and was going in the house to wash my hands. I heard a little commotion and turned to see Rosie's back paws on the lawn chair and

front paws on the table. In her defense, I will say I had the last of her dinner on the table so Daisy didn't get it. I put her and her food on the ground and she finished her dinner. She was ready to play again.

Daisy and Rosy wrestled for awhile. While they were wrestling everthing came to a stop all eyes up into the sky. A Great Blue Heron was flying over the yard. I think she is going to be a great bird dog. She is really interested in whatever is flying around.

A little later, Daisy took off down the hill and found one of their balls. I let Rosie off her

leash and she ran down to play a game of sniper. Most dogs place chase but not Rosie. She has figured out that Daisy is stronger and faster than she is, so she sits or stands in wait and then pounces.

Daisy Beware!

Rosie's Life not so Rosy

Rosie has had a few rough days. Last night we had company. Sarah, not our daughter, brought her children and dog for a visit. We all had a great visit. That is everyone everyone except Rosie.

Her dog is a beautiful yellow/white Lab named Bear. He is just over a year old and weighs about 95 lbs. He and Daisy had a grand old time chasing and swimming until they were exhausted. The problem was Rosie could not get out of their way fast enough. After about ten minutes in the chaos of two large dogs running rampant on your turf, she wanted to go in the house.

We put her in the house and when I went in to set the table, I didn't see her. She didn't come to the door to greet me. She wasn't under the table, her favorite resting place. I started looking for her. Finally, I found her in the laundry room lying quietly and trying not to be noticed. It's not that she has never gone in there before. It is usually when one of us is doing laundry. She likes to check out the piles of dirty clothes to find some embarrassing article of clothing and sneak it out to the kitchen to chew on.

This morning when I got up, Ronnie and the dogs were downstairs. Again, no greeting from Rosie. I found her in the laundry room again. Ron had put her ear drops in and they hurt, so after she was all done with her drops she went to her quiet space. We don't even have to give her time out she takes it herself.

Rosie and Daisy BFF

Before we get started with the Rosie update, I just want to share a picture of our beautiful lawn. It looks much better than the professional job done a couple of weeks ago. Ron is thrilled to be done with it as you can imagine.

Rosie had her third vet visit today. We ventured out in the new car. She was in the back and the barrier was in place. She could have escaped under it, but she kept trying to go over it and couldn't fit. She was not able to escape to the back seat, but she did initiate the car with just a little pee. I didn't have a towel or anything to clean it. Fortunately, the vet gave me some paper towels - no charge.

She weighs 19.25 lbs. We were pretty close when we guessed 20 lbs. She got a booster shot, Frontline, and Iverheart Plus. (The Vet said it saved us 20% over HeartGard this year.) Of course, that could not be the end of it. He noticed her ears stunk, and they do. He gave us an antibiotic, Gentamycin Otic. Saln., to put in her ears twice a day also, Chlorhexiderm Flush to clean her ears twice a week. You know I don't really mean that he gave it to us.

He thinks the ear infection may be caused by a food allergy. This is why he does not recommend more than one bag of Puppy food. He says it is too high in carbohydrates- sounds familiar. I think my doctor said my diet was too high in carbohydrates, too. If the ear infection does not clear up, he will recommend changing dog food. He is a proponent of feeding your dogs raw chicken and vegetables. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the ear infection clears up.

While waiting for the Vet, I was talking to the Tech and she just loves Rosie. She thinks she is so cute and friendly. I know they say that about all the puppies. Then, she told me they have a few Chessie's for patients that they cannot even touch. I'm always incredulous when I hear these stories about Chessies because our experience with them has been so positive. She also asked me if Rosie was getting along with her sister and I assured her they are BFF.

The eagle has landed

When I woke up this morning, Ron was sitting on the patio, sipping a cup of coffee, and staring into the sky. There is nothing wrong with that, but it is not like Ron. I went out to join him and it was immediately apparent why he was sitting there so enthralled.

A bald eagle was perched in our neighbor's tree. It looked like it was looking for something to eat. A few times it opened its mouth either to yawn, it was only 6:30, or to take in a few insects. I am not sure if eagles eat insects, but that is what it looked like.

Of course I was immediately concerned for our little Rosie. I love seeing eagles as much as the next guy, but I did not want Rosie to become breakfast.

See how appetizing she looks, She even has her mouth stuffed. We think she weighs close to twenty pounds now. Bald eagles are supposed to only be able to carry up to four pounds, but she looks awfully tempting.

You may notice that the concrete is falling apart under Rosie. She has been teething on our concrete or as Ron would say, "She has been excavating." He had to buy Quikrete so he could make repairs before the stairs cave in. The concrete is his next project because today he had to finish a much bigger job to finish!

I know I mentioned Ron was just sitting around sipping coffee this morning and he was. That is before he repaired the damage done by last week's torrential downpour. We had just had dirt hauled, holes filled, and sod laid. Then, the rains came.

Ron has spent the last week removing ruined sod, hauling and spreading more dirt, and laying new sod. Before he goes to bed tonight it will all be done and look beautiful again!

Gullible

During our torrential downpour this evening, I was trying to keep the dogs entertained and watch a couple episodes of LOST Season 3. I gave them each a Natural PetStore rawhide flip chip. Daisy was finished with hers and Rosie had quite a bit of hers left. I put a Milk Bone treat in the large kong to keep Daisy occupied, so Rosie could continue to chew on her rawhide. Although Daisy is a great big sister, she is no dummy. She wanted another rawhide chip not the Milk Bone treat.

She took her Kong and laid it down right next to Rosie. She pretended to be really interested until she caught Rosie's attention. As soon as Rosie let go of the chip, Daisy lost all interest in the Kong. Rosie was left with an empty Kong and Daisy was gnawing on her second chip.

Watching them reminded me of what a gullible

little sister I was. My older brother who was a great older brother most of the time, liked to trick me like Daisy fooled Rosie. His most notorious con was the money con. If I had a dime, he would convince me that a nickel was bigger therefore worth more, or better still two pennies was worth more than one quarter. I would give him the quarter and he would give me thepennies. He was pretty happy until I told mom and he had to give back my quarter. I think I got to keep the pennies, too.

I did not make Daisy give the chip back. She finished it too fast.

Happy Fourth of July

This is sweet, little Rosie around three o'clock this afternoon. Ron worked until 5:30 AM and he took this when he woke up around three. That is before I told him that I had to move his herb garden (in a pot) because she ate one of the basil plants this morning. Actually, the herbs used to sit right where she is laying in this picture.

After she ate the basil, she was pretty good today. It is hot and muggy here, so neither of the dogs feel much like playing until the sun is out of the back yard and it is shady.

The last few evenings I have been putting a leash on Rosie and taking her into the yard with Daisy and they play chase. The leash lets me catch her if she starts going somewhere she doesn't belong. This afternoon they were having a good game of chase and I was standing right in the middle of it. Daisy usually sets the boundaries and keeps Rosie in our yard.

Five minutes into the game something went awry. Rosie was in the neighbor's yard before I could get to her leash. I ran after her and grabbed the leash but not before she had some black thing in her mouth. EEEEE! I think it's a dead mouse - no it's a dead bird. Let me make it clear the bird was dead when she picked it up. The way she made a mad dash for it; I think she knew it was there all the time. I think she had been waiting all day to get that bird.

Once I had the leash, I led her up the hill, bird in mouth, then she dropped it. I had to get the poop scooper to pick it up. Trust me this is way outside my comfort zone. I let go of the leash - big mistake. While I was disposing of the bird, Rosie took off for the river. She was down the hill and into the water before I could stop her. The river is pretty high and moving pretty fast and she has a leash on her neck.

Although I was frantic, I carefully went down the hill, over the muddy bank, and down to the water in my sandals. Fortunately Daisy came with me and went out into the water to wrangle her back to shore. I did not have to go in the water, thank goodness. Rosie spent the rest of the afternoonon her chain.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY from out little firecracker, Rosie.

Dog Food

We are doing something we haven't done with any of our other puppies. Upon the recommendation of our vet, she is eating regular dog food. He prefers to feed dogs human food that is prepared for them, but we haven't gone that far yet.

We are feeding her Purina One. He also recommended Purina because they have been around so long. She seems to like it. She weighs seventeen pounds now. That is up three pounds from last week. If you've watched any of the vidoes of her on this blog, you know she is an active, happy puppy. The adult food seems to agree with her and I think it is cheaper than puppy food.

She also got her last bottle of Clavamox Drops which she has been really good about taking. She's a good little girl.

We heard some fire crackers across the River this evening. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the dogs won't be bothered by them. If they are, it is going to be a long weekend for me.

Pooch Mobile

Well, we purchased the ultimate dog pamperer today - a new car. That is a new car to transport the dogs. You see Rosie giving it the once over. We used to just put kennels in the back of the truck and hit the road. Then, the dogs made it into the cab of the truck- not always so safe. I already told you about the contraption Ron puts in the car to separate the dogs from the front seat of the car. Those days are over.

There were a number of vehicles that we looked at the Mazda Tribute, Kia Sorento, and the Subaru Outback. The Outback won for a number of reasons the first being Sara and Ryan both thought it was a good choice. They know people who know people who have Subarus and they love them. I think another large factor was the Outback brochure. They actually market it as a great car to haul a dog around. You should see the cute picture a 4X6 glossy. 2010_outback_accy_brochure.pdf

We even had them install the pet cage. Now we don't have to imagine our dogs in the Outback,

and we can make our own 4X6 glossies. No more make-

shift divider attached with plastic ties. This is classy ride for a couple of classy dogs.

They look like they are about to fall asleep in their new wheels. Hopefully, they'll sleep all the way to Erie at least between pit stops.

Can't Buy me Love

The title of this blog lets you know what I am going to write about each day - spoiling a Chesapeake Bay Retriever. Ron and I love to spoil our dogs. I don't mean make spoiled brats of them. We don't condone excessive barking, jumping on people, aggressive behavior and even though the vet doesn't know it, we don't encourage our puppies to chew on us.

What we do is pamper our dogs. We buy them silly toys- no clothing, take them to the vet for a hang claw, monitor their waste disposal, llet them on the furniture (I can't believe I just wrote that much less do it.) etc. The truth is that dogs like children can't be bought. No matter how many cute little toys we buy, Rosie prefers to play with things that we have put in the garbage. Watch her play with the empty milk bottle. She is running circles around Daisy.

She is soooo cute which why we love to spoil her.

Dog Trainer

No this is not a picture of Cesar Millan star of tv's Dog Whisperer. This is Daisy, our dog trainer extraordinaire. If you have been reading the blog, you know that we have to tie Rosie up so she doesn't run into the neighbors' flowers or into the Mighty Mississippi.

Tonight Daisy took off into the yard with Rosie's plush bone. She went too far for Rosie to follow her. I felt it wasn't fair, so I put Rosie's leash on her and took her down to Daisy. The leash is mostly to give Ron and me a chance to catch her if she tries to escape.

I watched for a good half hour while Rosie chased Daisy around the yard. Daisy would run in one direction and then the next getting close to our property line but never crossing it. Rosie followed her lead and stayed in our yard.

Yes, stayed in our yard even though Ron was chatting with the neighbor. I'm sure he was telling him that Dave Genz was fishing in Ron's fishing hole this afternoon. Dave Genz in our backyard!

Playtime

Rosie is a busy puppy. It wears us out just watching her! We sat down to eat dinner but, "Oh no!' We forgot to put up the puppy gate. Ron ran up the stairs to coax her down before she could make a mess. He got her to come downstairs -fortunately he didn't have to chase her. He put the gate up and sat down to dinner again. There she goes into the TV room. She perches on the step and plays with her Cong, no she would rather chew on the stuffed beaver.

Shucks no one really cares. She comes into the kitchen then disappears into the storage room or bathroom. Ron is up again making sure she doesn't get into trouble. Oh, she can reach the handle of my lunch box. She pulls it off the stool and drags it around the room. I get up and take it from her.

Hmm. Maybe she can get Daisy going. She jumps up in Daisy's face and licks her, nips her. Daisy does not take the bait; she sits quietly waiting for Rosie to stop.

she stops and moves on to look for something more interesting.

Whew! She wore us out just watching her. You can watch her play in our yard early this afternoon by clicking on the video below.

Uneventful Day

The sun was finally shining in today. It was a pretty uneventful day for Rosie. We did stop at Mills Fleet Farm to pick up some bird seed. Of course it was next to the dog aisle, so we had to get a couple items for Rosie. She got her on puppy Kong and a stuffed bone. At least it was our intention that they were hers. Daisy has her own big Kong and she has taken the stuffing out of more than one stuffed toy. Of course, Daisy did her best to take everything away from Rosie and since Rosie has to be tied up so she doesn't escape, Daisy just took them out of her reach. I thought it was very mean but Ron said, "What do you expect? She's spoiled."

Truth be told, Rosie was not all that interested in any of it unless Daisy wanted it, too. Well, here is our cute little Rosie just chillin on a hot summer's day.

Alpha Dog

One of the real bonuses of having two dogs, especially if the oldest is well behaved, is that the older dog helps in the training of the younger dog.

When we got our first Chessie, we were a little anxious. We were used to a placid Cocker Spaniel who was not aggressive (She did snap at a neighbor boy who tried to crawl into her kennel while she was sleeping in it, but you really couldn't blame her.) Everything we read about Chessie's indicated they were hard to socialize and could be aggressive. If properly socialized, they could be great family pets and companions.

My plan to socialize our puppy, Nikki, was to have her around Ryan's friends when they came to the house and to take her everywhere I could. Mostly I took her to high school soccer games and track meets. She was very friendly and everyone loved her.

Ron's plan to make sure she wasn't aggressive was submission training. A friend of his had a Vizsla and he was training the dog to know who was the alpha dog through submission training. Ron took his advice and most evenings he would put Nikki on her back and he would crouch over her. I'm not saying that it had anything to do with her fear of thunder, her penchant for eating trash, or any of her other crazy behaviors. I am just saying.

She is the only dog with whom Ron has used this submission method. It may be that he didn't have to use it with our other dogs because the older dogs did it for him. Yesterday when it finally stopped raining and I could take the dogs outside, I watched them play. Much of their play centered around Rosie lying on her back and acting like a wet rag while Daisy stood over her. Thank goodness, Ron does not have to put Rosie on her back and crouch (That would be hard on his new knee.)over her because Daisy is doing it for him.

Positive Reinforcement

As you can imagine, Ron and I are feverishly trying to train Rosie. Train her to go outside when she wants to po or pee. Train her to stay in our yard not the neihbor's flowers. Train her not to jump on us. Train her not to bark. You know what I mean she has a lot to learn.

To make the job easier we even bought Pet Life extra smart training treats. Every time she does her duty outside we praise her, "Good girl," in a sugary voice and give her a treat. Being the older sister who we don't want to feel displaced, Daisy gets a treat just for being there. When she starts to run away we call, "Good girl, good girl." If she comes we give her a treat -positive reinforcement. But I really have to wonder who is being trained? If she doesn't want a treat, she just keeps going and we chase after her.

In the early eighties when our son was born, positive reinforcement was the newest child rearing fad. We were praising our children for doing things they were suppose to do. Giving them stickers for behavior that should have been expected.

Our daughter Sara was not too thrilled when her brother was born. (She could have taken a lesson from Daisy.) She always seemed to be doing something to him that she shouldn't be doing. Today, I could not name one thing she did to him but I know she did, and it was bad. The reason I know it was bad is I somehow convinced Ron to go to a parenting class. It was a positive reinforcement class that was being sponsored by Hamot Medical Center. The fact that Ron agreed to go sit in a class for several weeks is proof we were concerned about her behavior.

After the first couple sessions, I stayed after class to ask the instructor a question that I was embarrassed to ask in front of the other parents. There was a short line of parents who also had questions they did not want to ask in front of the group. When it was my turn I asked,"What if the child never does what you want her to? What if she is never nice to her brother?"

Apparently, they had heard this question before. They had the perfect answer, "Praise her before she has a chance to do anything mean like when she wakes up from her nap."

Wow! I was impressed. It was the perfect plan. I would put it into action the next day.

The following morning when she got out of bed I said, "You are such a good girl. You haven't hurt your brother today." This comment was followed by a morning of her usual shenanigans, then I put her to bed for her nap. When she got up from her nap, I praised her again for not hurting her brother.

She looked me right in the eye and said, "What are you up to?"

I'm a little suspicious that Rosie may be thinking the same thing when we say, "Good girl!" and give her a treat. That is when she wants a treat more than the neighbor's flowers.

Puppy Love

In two short weeks that we have had Rosie there have been a lot of changes. She has gained three pounds and weights fourteen pounds. She also has a new best friend. She left her litter of eight pups, Mom, Dad, and big brother and came with us home to us to meet. Daisy and Rosie' parents are the same, but they had only met briefly when we went to see Rosie when she was five weeks old.

In the two weeks we have had Rosie she and Daisy have become buddies. At first Daisy just ignored her. The last couple days they have actually been trying to play with each other. On Sunday when Rosie squealed as if she were being eaten alive, Daisy ran to her side and looked at me as if to say, "Do something. Can't you see she is hurt?" The truth is I couldn't see what was wrong with Rosie. She squealed every time her foot touched the ground and her leg looked crooked. When I picked her up, her leg seemed limp and lifeless. I put her on the couch and looked at her leg. It did not look right. I put her on the floor. She couldn't stand up. I knew her leg was broken.

What should I do? Call Ron of course. He had just finished helping Dave change the breaks on our car. When I called, he was going to put gas in the car, but no he couldn't. He had to come right home. For sure we would have to take Rosie to the emergency pet hospital $$$$$!

He came home. He checked her leg-touched it everywhere, pulled it, examined her paw - nothing. He set her on the floor. She limped a little but no squeals. All the while Daisy stayed right by her and made sure we did not make Rosie squeal again. Since then they have been playing with each other more and more.

Although we have heard that it is not good to give your dog rawhide, our vet also told Ron not to encourage the pup's chewing on him. (DUH) WE have resorted to Whole Care Pet Natural Rawhide Flip Chips. Daisy likes to take Rosie's, so of course I try to distract Daisy while Ron give's Rosie her chip. The problem is Rosie prefers Daisy to the chips. View the clip below and you will see how much Rosie loves Daisy and what a sweet, patient dog Daisy is. This video shows that Chesapeake's don't deserve their reputation as mean or aggressive. They are very sweet, social dogs.

Lazy Crazy Days of Summer

Daisy was enjoying the river so much that when we went to Petco to look dog travel equipment, we had to get Rosie a wading pool. She turned into a real "bunkin bronco." That's an inside joke. Nikki frequently turned into a bucking bronco and I mispronounced it once. My children have never let me forget my mistake. I don't even try to say it correctly anymore. I know I am going to get laughed at no matter what, so I just join in on the joke. Click on the video and see our "bunkin bronco."






We think that by the time she outgrows the pool she'll be ready for the river. She and Daisy will have a great time swimming together. I did not realize how lucky we were to find this pool until I googled a variety of topics - puppy pool, kiddie pool, hard plastic pool, etc. - I couldn't find anything like the pool we stumbled upon at Petco. It is not even on their website. I did find more than one website where other dog owners were inquiring about where to find f a plain jane plastic pool. That Rosie is sure a lucky dog.

Father's Day with a Chessie

Happy Father's Day! Since we could not be with our kids today we did the next best thing. We spent most of the day with the dogs. It was a beautiful morning on the Mississippi. Ron and Daisy headed down to the river around 9:00 AM. If you click on the video below, you can see how much fun they had. Daisy loves to swim and play fetch in the water, but when she's done she's done. She takes her toys and goes home.

Nikki, one of our former Chessies, was never done; she would play forever. Even though Nikki only had a blaze orange training dummy, we would have to hide so she wouldn't collapse from exhaustion. Times have changed and dog toys come in a wider variety. Daisy has a colorful Loopie that Sara brought her from Chicago. Maybe that's why she is sure to take it when she's done.

Firsts

Today was a day of firsts. It is the first time Ron has been a conductor on a train. Earlier this week I received an email from the Monticello Chamber of Commerce asking for volunteers for the annual Walk and Roll. They needed two adultsone to drive the train and one to help load the kids. Ron agreed so I emailed that we could help.

When I emailed back I asked for more details. I was told to go to the West Bridge. I was also informed that the usual driver was a conductor and he always wore his overalls and cap. Ron was thrilled with the new information. You can see in the picture that he doesn't have either overalls or a conductor's camp. He is not even wearing his ball cap.

The tractor was pretty jerky. At first we thought maybe is was to simulate a train ride, but Ron decided it just needed its carburetor cleaned. By the third trip around the block

the fumes were getting to him, but the kids were having fun.

When we got home, the dogs were glad to get out of the kennel. Most of the time Rosie has lost the privilege of running free. We have to keep her on a chain. She just keeps taking off into the neighbors flowers or or under their lilac bushes. She is getting fast so we can't catch her.

This evening we had friends, Steve and Jean, over for dinner. I think they actually came to see Rosie and she was as cute as she could be when she wasn't chewing on someone or whining. If Jean was hoping that spending a few hours with Rosie would convince Steve they needed a puppy, it may have backfired. It was probably more like grandparents when they leave knowing they love their grandchildren but are happy to go home without them.

After dinner Ron and Steve took the dogs out and Rosie took off. For the first time she did not stop when she got to the weeds along the river. She kept going right into the river. All four paws planted in the Mississippi. Luckily, the sensation must have startled her because she stood absolutely still. By that time, Ron was down there and he grabbed her.

Soon we will love watching her swim in the River and Daisy will love swimming with her, but she is not strong enough yet. Sara thinks its time we buy her a wading pool.

The Second Vet Visit

Rosie went to the vet again today. It is not a very inviting place. Neither she nor Ron had any fun. Our vet was not there and they saw another vet, probably for the last time. At dinner, Ron told me repeatedly that the vet told him not to encourage the puppy's to chew on him. "What does she think I am, stupid? This is my fourth Chessie. Doesn't she think I know not to let her chew on me?" He was not in a good mood. He never enjoys paying to be talked to as though he is stupid. The good news is she gained "a pound six," that's what he said, "a pound six". The bad news is she didn't do very well in the truck - I think he may have let her chew on him to settle her down so he could drive.

Rosie was not too happy to be visiting the vet either and I doubt she even knew she was going to get two shots. After she waited awhile, she was a little more comfortable.

The vet had to give her two shots. DHPP Temporary Puppy Vaccine and

LYMES Initial Temporary Vaccine

Rosie whined for the first shot but took the second like a trooper. She also got her second bottle of Clavamox and only needs one more. She is suppose to

go back in two weeks for another set of shots.

By the time she left, she felt right at home. This is not a picture of the rude vet whom Ron would not ask to take her picture with Rosie, but rather the nice vet assistant who was happy to have her picture taken with such a cute puppy. Is Rosie chewing on her finger?

I think we are going to be in Erie in two weeks. And we are driving. It should be a fun trip cosnsidering the vet is a fifteen minute drive if the traffic is bad. Erie is a fifteen hour drive if the traffic is good, we speed, and we don't stop.

Even though we have had dogs most of our married life and we have frequently traveled with them, we have never purchased one of those pet vehicle barriers that keep your pets in the back seat. In place of one of these nifty barriers, Ron just used some bolt cutters and cut a portable exercise fence that he puts right behind the front seat. He attaches it with plastic ties. His parents gave us the exercise fence, so other than the cost of the plastic ties it didn't cost us anything. You can imagine how attractive it looks and how comfortable the back seat is when the fence is up. Occasionally, Sara or I have to sit back there with the dogs. It feels like you are in a squad car, but it didn't cost much.

The storm

There she is in Daisy's big dish. She has to stand on the steps to eat from it. Notice that I have outsmarted her. I put her aluminum bowl, the one she doesn't like, in Daisy's bowl. As you can see she is eating away- none the wiser. Of course, Daisy is not all that thrilled with the set up but whatever works.

We had a couple accidents this evening, but they were not really Rosie's fault. The Saint Cloud area was under a tornado warning or watch or something this evening. The siren was going, the wind was blowing and at times the rain was pouring. Needless to say, I was not all that comfortable standing outside waiting for a puppy to piddle.

She did pass another important test today. The noises- the siren, the thunder, the wind- did not bother her. That is a relief. Nikki was afraid of thunderstorms. So afraid that one night she chewed through a heavy metal kennel. She lost a tooth that night. After that fun evening, we didn't try to kennel her during storms. She liked to find high places- usually Ron or my shoulders- and stand on them while she panted heavily, all seventy, slobbery pounds of her. If we weren't sitting down so she could stand on our shoulders she would teeter on the back of the couch. I'll keep my fingers crossed that Rosie does not develop Brontophobia. So far so good.

Trash Eater

Yes, that is a trash can on my commode. The reason I am writing about it is I came home from work and found the trash can sitting on my commode. It is not because Ron mopped the floor today. It is because we have our second trash eater of a dog. Rosie has been rooting around in the trash, finding used Kleenex, and eating them.

This is a very bad sign. Our first Chessie, Nikki, was a trash eater. She was partial to paper products but even more than paper products she liked panty hose. The reason we know she liked them is they do not digest. Yep, that's right, they come out looking just a little worse for the wear. When they come out on their own, its bad enough but when they need some help - need I say more?

My worst experience with an undigested panty hose took place in St. Mary's, PA. We were on our way to Twin Pine, the Detrick family camp, in the state forest near Hyner View, Renova, PA. Ron's grandmother, Nan, referred to Renova as the "a-- hole of the world. " Well this story fits right in with that name.

We were driving through St. Mary's and everyone was hungry. Since we had Nikki with us, that meant drive thru. We drove though Burger King, at least Ron did. While he was driving thru, I jumped out of the car with Nikki. There was a nice wooded area adjacent to the parking lot. I brought my plastic bag to pick up any mess she made. Thank goodness, for that bag! As soon as we got to the grassy area, she started sniffing the ground and circling. She crouched but something wasn't right. I got behind her to take a look. "OH NO!" What was coming out of her backside ? Panty hose, and she needed some help.

There I was standing next to a parking lot where people are driving through to pick up their dinner, and I am helping my dog remove panty hose from the back end of her digestive system. I put the plastic bag on my hand like a glove and started to gently pull on the panty hose. It is a slow, careful procedure. It wasn't pretty

If I ever had any pride or ego, Nikki took it from me that day. Oblivious to what was going on, Ron picked up the food and rode around the lot to get us. I lwas laughing so hard I was crying, or maybe I was crying so hard I was laughing. Embarrassed doesn't come close to describing how I felt. I only needed to say one word to Ron, "pantyhose." He knew what had happened. This wasn't our first time at the rodeo. I suspect a few families saved some money due to a loss of appetite while they were driving through.

Oh No! Rosie just ran by and something long and beige or is it suntan is hanging from her mouth. I gotta go.

First Week

We have had Rosie one week today. She is 9 weeks old. Ron weighed her this morning and she weighs 11 pounds. She is eating about two cups of Puppy Chow every day. She eats better if I take the food out of her bowl and put it on the ground. I don't think she likes her bell clanging on her metal bowl. She also prefers to drink water from Daisy's big bowl. What little sister doesn't want to use her big sister's things? She hasn't had any accidents in the house for two days. She doesn't really let us know when she needs to go out, but she seems to be able to wait until we let her out. She is either pretty well trained or quite possibly she has us trained.

As we expected, she has kept us entertained and she is a lot of fun. I put together a little movie that shows her spunky personality. This is my first movie. I just learned how to cut the parts I didn't want. I also chose the song. It is Gunslinger by John Fogerty. We thought about naming her Annie Oakley or Calamity Jane after two of my childhood favorites, but Rosie seemed the best choice. We'll just use this song as her theme song. Enjoy!

Click on comments below and let me know what you think. Don't be too hard on me. I'm just a beginner.

Lazy Sunday

Today was what we refer to as a Lazy Sunday and no one was lazier than Rosie! After Ron made ham and eggs for breakfast(Rosie is napping in my shoes while we eat.), he and Sara took the Kayaks down the Mississippi to Sauk Rapids. While they were gone, I kept the dogs busy playing in the yard. When they got back, the puppy was ready for a nap. This video pretty much sums up her day:

A couple hours later, we headed for MSP airport so Sara could catch her flight back to Chicago. Unfortunately, after we dropped her off she found out that her flight was delayed two hours Thanks to the technology of cell phones she was able to call and tell us before we were very far away. It really didn't do us any good though. The traffic to the airport was terrible and because of the "War on Terror", you cannot easily spend time with your loved ones at the airport, so we headed home. She spent three hours waiting for an hour and a half flight. She bought a book Ghost Writer to help her the pass the time. I hope it's good. I'm sure she'll let me know on her blog.

Daisy steals the spotlight

Well Sara arrived as scheduled at 9:30 PM yesterday. I picked her up at MSP airport and brought her home. Ron had Papa Murphy's Pizza (veggie and pepperoni and cheese waiting.) The puppy was still awake and Sara was immediately smitten by her.

Even though, Sara is here and the puppy is as cute as can be. For a few minutes this morning, neither of them was the center of attention.

Living on the Mississippi, on the whole is wonderful - beautiful sunsets and sunrises, lots of birds, jumping fish, and sunning turtles. As with most things you have to take the good with the bad. At our house, the bad is the nasty Canada Goose and its droppings. (There we go with the BM again.)

Ron and I have tried everything to get rid of them. We purchased special chemicals used on golf courses and soccer fields to deter geese-they thought it was delicious. We put up an electric fence which worked for two summers, but last year they were just walking under it. I know you are probably thinking,"What about those wonderful bird hunting Chessies that you have sitting on your couch." All is can say is one day 70 pound Nikki and I went out to scare about a dozen geese. As Nikki started walking toward them. The guard goose took a couple steps in our direction. Nikki immediately backed up. I, who has a severe case of ornithophobia, had to stand on the patio waving my hands and screaming like a banshee to get rid of them. As for Bodie, he was handsome, proud, and a lover. The geese had his number immediately. He wouldn't even get off the couch when they were in the yard.

Now Daisy is no Nikki or Bodie and she is not having any geese in her yard. Actually she was really good about not chasing them out of the yard when the goslings were small. Today we had about ten in our yard and a few in the neighbors. I should mention that a couple weeks ago our neighbor fell and broke her ankle. Ron is convinced it was goose dropping that she slid on.

Sara and I went out with Daisy. The geese in our yard took off toward the river. Daisy took off toward the neighbors and got there in time to wrestle one of the geese. It looked like she grabbed it by the neck and rolled it over. We got a lesson in how soft the mouth of a good bird dog can be. The goose got up and took off for the river apparently unscathed. I have walked the shore and there is no sign of a dead or injured goose. Thank goodness!

The puppy had another good day. No accidents in the house. She and Daisy played fetch. She has no idea that Daisy has fifty-nine pounds on her, and Daisy has been very gentle.

Throughout the day we debated names: Rio, Wesley, Bodie, Max, and Rosie were given the most consideration. As of right now, we are calling her Rosie. We only know one other Rosie- she has curly hair and is a heck of a lot of fun. We hope the pup lives up to the name.

The Vet

We have big plans for the day,but it started out slowly with the family watching the start of the 2010 World Cup. (Although we were cheering for South Africa, we thought Mexico scored when they were called off-sides.) Puppy is living the high life. She has already forgotten that five days ago she was living outside and sharing a kennel with six other puppies. She has taken to pampering quite well. She shows her appreciation by being as cute as she can be and doing her business in the yard.

She had 10:30 AM Vet appointment. Ron took her and I stayed with Daisy. She weighs eleven pounds. Since Ron found a wood tick on her ear and there was some blood when he pulled it out, she came home with some medicine just to be safe. We have to give her Clavamox Drops twice a day. We also have 8 Nemex tablets to give her to make sure she does not have and will not have worms. She also got her first application of Frontline to protect against fleas and ticks and her first dose of Heartgard to protect against heartworm. She should be safe for awhile.

I think that covers everything from the vet. The rest of the day for puppy will be naptime, playtime, and well you know. The real excitement for the day is that Sara is coming to visit. I will pick her up at the airport this evening. We have big plans. We just received MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS from Netflix. She thinks we will all enjoy it.

She also wants to go shopping in Maple Grove, MN and stop at the Land's End Inlet on our way to the airport on Sunday. Of course there will also be a lot of home cooking. Chef Boy R. Morrow will prepare French Toast for breakfast and fried walleye and perch caught (by someone in Ron's fishing party) in Mlle Lacs Lake, and the Pièce de résistance strawberry shortcake made with homemade biscuits (using Ron's grandmother's to die for recipe.) for dinner. Bon Appetit!

Warning the following Video may be to graphic for those with a weak stomach or an aversion to puppy BM's but we are proud parents, so view at your own risk.

Accessory shopping

Today Ron had to go to purchase a few doggie accessories. Most importantly a collar -WITH A BELL. We have been afraid that we are either going to step on puppy or trip over her. She always seems to be at our feet. Neither of us can look at the ground and effectively walk.

He had to go to the cat department to get the bell. At first she did not like it at all. She kept looking in the direction she thought the sound was coming from.

He also bought a number of stuffed toys for her to chew. I know it seems a little out of character for Ron to be spending money so frivolously but, like the collar, it is for self preservation. Without the toys, she is chewing everything: furniture, shoes, rugs, pillows, anchor rope (She wasn't able to move the anchor but she tried.), and body parts. I think this investment in toys will save us quite a bit. Of course, just like the kids used to like to empty the kitchen cupboards and play with pots, pans, and tupperware, she found a plastic cream bottle in the recyclables and it's her favorite toy.

After he finished the dreaded shopping, Ron got to come home and work in an area he is much more comfortable. He was once again on BM duty. Not only did he watch and reward puppy for making at least six BMs, he also inspected Daisy's BM. He followed her down to the weeds near the river, her preferred depository, and watched for location.

When she finished, he checked it out Upon his close and scientific inspection he came to the conclusion all was well - color, consistency. He has been worried since last week when she let us know she wasn't feeling well by getting up in the middle of the night and thinking the green throw rug in the kitchen was the weeds by the river. That specimen did not have good color or consistency.

Of course since he spent all of this time inspecting BMs, they became a topic of conversation this evening. He remarked that the puppy only seems to go after she eats. I responded that I thought that was pretty normal. He agreed, but found the need to remind me that Nikki was a "sh__ factory. "(Ron's words, not mine.) "She went every time she was outside." I think it was actually good for him. He went up and down the hill to clean up after her. It kept him in good shape!

Moving on to a more appropriate topic. Ron made a little video of puppy trying to make friends with Daisy.

Play Date

Well, she slept through the night that is until 5:30 AM. Ron learned he doesn't have time to get dressed or to wait for her to walk downstairs. (Maybe he will start wearing PJ's.) Like Bodie, you need to pick her up and put her out the closest door as soon as she wakes up. She only has a little bladder so it wasn't too bad. That was the first of a few little accidents. Let's not dwell on the negative. She had four or five (If you are counting, and we are.) BM's in the yard - none in the house!

We fed her approximately two cups of Purina Puppy Chow. She eats pretty slowly but by this evening, it was all gone. And you can tell from the aforementioned regularity it seems to be working. She played hard, took several naps, and drank lots of water. Lesson for the day -as soon as she eats or drinks she needs to go outdoors immediately!

She and Daisy also spent some time together in the kennel. A little whining, but no dogfights. Hooray! we will be able to leave the house at the same time and not worry about the kids killing each other. I think Ryan and Sara were in college before we were able do that with them.

The highlight of the day was the visitors who came to see our new arrival. Dave, who also came to MN from Erie when the Hammermill closed, stopped in on his way to work at Verso.

Then, we had the pleasure of the company of S., her children B. and E. and Bear. Puppy was the perfect hostess.

Puppy Play Group - While the big dogs (Daisy and Bear) ran, swam, and wrestled, Puppy explored. She really likes the Basil in the Ron's herb garden. Ron is not too excited about the possibility of her eating all his herbs. She also learned if she acts scared or yelps the older dogs will get yelled at. Sound familiar?

That's a chucker B is using to throw the slobbery ball - great invention!

S and E enjoy the show.

E is laughing at the hijinks while S gets to relax- a little

B and Puppy chill out. They are a perfect match. Puppy fits in B's lap perfectly.

We've had a lot of excitement and fresh air today. We are all tuckered out.

Sweet Dreams!

Preparation

Today is the big day. We are going to pick up our new puppy. For the past two days I have been blogging about how we fell in love with Chessies and how they have become part of our family. We like to joke that each time one of the kids went to college we got a dog to replace them.

Since we moved to Minnesota, both of our Chessie's have died. For about a half a second we considered not getting another dog. We travel to visit family a lot and traveling with a dog is a hassel, and we aren't getting any younger. That does not even take into consideration if anyone enjoys company that brings along a large dog or two. We could kennel the dog and we do sometimes. We found a great kennel, but since we have them so spoiled or maybe it is they have us spoil, we miss them if they are not with us.

A few months after Nikki died, a friend told me about a gentleman in Motley, MN who had a three year old Chessie he was giving away. Needless to say my interest was sparked. Within 24 hours, we were at his house just to check it out. Would we really want an older Chessie? One who already had a master. We were only going to look. We didn't even take a leash. How good could a dog be if it was being given away? That old myth that Chessies could be mean was nagging at me.

As soon as we got out of the car we knew the answer was YES! Four, calm Chessies walked over to the car and one leaned against me. Yep, that was her, Daisy. We could have opened the door to the back seat right then, let her in, and drove away. We decided to be polite and visit with Gary and Jan for awhile. We left a couple hours later; I was riding shotgun and Daisy was in the backseat. We never looked back.

Daisy grew up with other dogs around, so she is ready for the puppy. Ron went shopping and purchased a dog bowl for the puppy. We also havea leash so this afternoon when we ride up to Gary and Jan's we are ready to open the back seat of the car. let the puppy jump in, and head home to start spoiling another Chessie.