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.

The Second Act

You would think that any sane family who was used to a small Cocker Spaniel would have more than enough dog with a seventy-five pound Chessie. That is where our #2 child, Ryan, comes into play. That is Ryan pictured on the left.

After we had Nikki for a year and a half and

our Cocker Spaniel was no longer with us #2 child was going to leave for college. In the spring of Ryan's senior year, Ron was out in the yard with Nikki when Maxine, a swim coach who also raised chessies, stopped by. (You might be able to tell from his picture Ryan is a swimmer. He was perfecting his butterfly stroke at the age of one.)

Although Maxine coached in a neighboring district, we had gotten to know her fairly well through Ryan and Chessies. The reason she stopped that fateful spring day was to offer Ron another puppy. Her breeder was having another litter and giving them away. Ron immediately replied, "No, we're good."

He made his mistake when he came in the house and mentioned the generous offer to the rest of the family. Needless to say we were not in agreement with him. To the rest of us, Nikki seemed lonely without Lady. Ryan would be leaving soon - even though he would only be five miles away at Gannon University. And Nikki was Ron's dog. She could stay outside with him all day. She loved to run in the field looking for pheasant and she loved to swim. Another dog would mean at least some of the time it would seem like I had a dog.

If you read yesterday's blog, I mentioned that I was persistent. Well, an appl

e does not fall far from the tree. Persistence is one of the few good traits our children picked up from me. We all knew Ron needed another dog before he knew. It's either that or he is really shrewd and wanted us to think the second dog was our idea.

Before the summer was over, persistence or shrewdness paid off. Maxine delivered #2 puppy, a chocolate brown Chessie. My brother Jim was visiting from North

Carolin

a when the puppy arrived. He actually came up with the name, Bodie. Our puppy was named after a lighthouse in NC. Apropos for a Chesapeake Bay Retriever

Bodie was a beautiful dog and carried himself as if he knew it. He

wasn't much of a hunter, but with his looks who need to hunt

He was also the sweetest, most loving dog we had ever had but more important than that he was a chick magnet.

With both of the kids gone, I was a little worried about socializing the new pup. The house was no longer full of teenagers and we were no longer spending as much time at soccer games or track meets - dogs aren't really welcome at swim meets.

I did not need to worry, because unlike his sister Ryan did look back or at least he would regularly stop at the house for a few minutes-long enough to pick up Bodie. He usually had at least one college coed with him. He wasn't much of an artist so his line must have been, "Would you like to meet my puppy?" It seemed to work for him.

If you are a little concerned Nikki might not like the idea of a puppy in the house - not to worry. Lady had set a good example of how to treat a new dog. We did not even bother sending Bo to puppy preschool. We let Nikki handle all his training. She did not train him to be as smart as she was. She let him play the role of the lover. Everybody lov

ed Bo and he loved everybody!

Bo and Nikki were great companions. They made the move to Minnesota much more palatable for Ron and me. They also taught us how to spoil dogs. We actually bought a house on the

Mississippi River so they could go swimming any time they wanted as long as it wasn't 20 below. We also purchased a leather couch so they could get up on it and keep us warm on those long, cold MN nights. Nothing like cuddling with a eighty pound dog who puts its twenty pound head in your lap.

Nikki lived the longest. She was ten when she died. Since then, I've learned ten is within the range of average for a Chessie. It did not seem long enough to us. The lover boy, Bo, did not fair as well. He only lived to be seven but they were seven happy years. We miss them both so that is part of the answer to question, "Why are you getting a puppy?"

The Beginning

This Blog is an effort to answer the question, "Why?" that I was repeatedly asked when I informed friends and coworkers that Ron, my husband, and I were going to get a puppy. More specifically a Chesapeake Bay Retriever puppy. We will pick up the puppy on Tuesday, June 9th. I start the blog today because the story does not start on June 9th. It starts in the spring of 1999, or maybe the autumn of 1979. At least that is where I will begin.

You probably noticed this not a picture of a Chessie. It is our cherished first born, Sara, who along with her little brother, Ryan, monopolized twenty years of our lives. We had a full life band competitions, softball, baseball, soccer, swimming, whiz kids, track - you get the picture. Then, in the late summer 1998 we drove to State College, PA and spent the night in a seedy motel. It was best described by my husband's canny observation that he would have gotten a better night's sleep if he had slept on his dirty underwear instead of the pillow they provided.

The only reason we spent the night and didn't drive home was we were there to deliver #1 child to Penn State University. Another insightful observation by her father, "Did you notice how she did not look back?"

I noticed that Dad was having a little difficulty adjusting to only

one child and to make matters worse; the family dog, Lady, seemed to be hanging on for our sake. I started doing some research. I was looking for a dog that would be a companion to a guy who liked to be outdoors, loved to hunt and fish. A dog that might fill a little bit of the empty left by a little girl becoming an independent woman. I searched the internet and found the perfect dog, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever,

Ron did not jump on board immediately. He thought a Golden or Labrador would be a better choice and besides Lady was too old to deal with a puppy. Chessie's had a reputation for being territorial and possibly aggressive. I knew he had a lot of love to give and would not raise an mean dog.

Some people have referred to me as a Bulldog and not only because I am from Wesleyville. I am sure they were alluding to my persistence. As you can see, I was persistent.

This is Nikki. Our first Chessie. Our son picked her out of a large litter and she stole our hearts. Our first born came home from Penn State for summer break just in time to take her to puppy preschool. Nikki learned that if she would sit, lay down, and heel when we wanted her to we would give her a treat. If she didn't, we would laugh and say she was, "Sara's dog."

In closing, I do have to say Ron was wrong. Lady perked up when we brought the puppy home. We all believed it added at least 6 months to Lady's life. She loved that puppy, so they were a happy six months. It also made the decision to put our blind, hard of hearing, and slow to move Cocker Spaniel to sleep after 15 sweet years as a family dog a little easier.