Re~Barkable

Hello, to all my human friends,
This is my mother Marley & myself sitting at the front door just last May... Must be the cat is walking through the front yard, we are focusing in on something. We have come a long ways since then....

See, looking at our picture, Im the biiiggg puppy on your left, my mama Marley is on your right. We do lots of things together, we play (sometimes bicker) with tennis balls, kongs on a rope, bones etc. As you've heard before, , we love tagging along in the vineyard... Why, you may ask... oh, it is a riot to chase birds out of the vineyard, or butterflies fluttering above the clover, searching out mice in the nearby field. When our noses find the smell, we take the trail and hop like the deer over the tall grasses, this is real good fun.

Mama Marley, she is my human fathers dog, for the most part. She loves him so much, when he goes off on the tractor, she gets to run along side him. She knows the ropes, if he tells her to go back behind him, she does, if he tells her over there, she does that too. If he leaves without my mama Marley, she becomes very sad, sits at the door whimpering and scratching. We live on a farm and can go "almost" anywhere our human mom and dad go. We like to go down back of the pasture, where a hunting blind is being built, there we can run around an old water hole, "there are tadpoles/pollywogs, in there", it is also really stinky, you all know, dogs just love getting stinky.... We are no exception........

I really love my human mom, sooo much, when she leaves me at home, I get sad... for a bit..... then I get irritated. If she forgets to close the bathroom door, I get into the trash, usually tissues and chew them up in tiny pieces on the hallway floor. Magazines left on the coffee table..... JACKPOT! She has a few Country Samplers in her basket with my teeth marks on them and corners chewed off.

She has been working with me on this, I'm starting to realize, when she leaves me at the door and tells me she will be back... She does come back... I get all kinds of tickly, but until I calm myself she enters quietly and puts her things away before she greets me. I'm just a little over a year old now, but I'm learning.

Our human parents have hired on a helping hand; at first, Mama & I didn't want her here, however, we changed our minds. We are dogs.... we will work for food... N has treats in a pouch on her waist she is walking my human parents through some tricks on how to rid us of some bad habits.

Mama Marley and I do not enjoy sharing our human parents with visitors, so we have a rug that we are placed on and have to be still (stay on rug, and be quiet) when we can do this, we get to say hello to whoever visits. We have learned and are still learning lots of things from N and we like her now... she is most welcome, as long as she brings salmon treats.

Oh, gotta go now, we are going out back to play while our owners are working on their hunting blind...

Whoof~ Whoof , Lick~ Lick,

Marley & Dunkin

Dog Training and some people training too....

After searching several months, for a trainer to come to our house , our veterinarian called one day with a name.

Turns out, we really look forward to seeing her ... She is the best!


On the very first day of her arriving, you could not even hear yourself think, it was crazy, Marley was barking, Dunkin was barking, they were having a fit, a stranger was in the house...


It took a very long time to settle them down, but she did... She is brave.... If I had dogs coming at me barking and carrying on as they were, I'm sure the fight-or-flight thingy would have kicked in. Since, I'm not a fighter, I would have had the mindset to "fly"....



She is a very bright young lady, knows her business with dogs and even does horses.

I wish, that I had a free hand to snap some pictures of some training session/s, however, I need both hands, could even use a third.... LOL



Our goal is that when someone comes to visit, our dogs will go to their rugs, where they will stay and be quiet until they are released.

They both know what it means to go to their rugs.



They are doing a reaalllyyy good job, and will do better.... So long as we do our homework...



Thank you, Miss N. for all that you have taught us, we will make you proud for your next visit.





On another note, we really love our dogs, and like to take them out to the vineyard, to do barn chores, or include them in walks on a trail. When hubby plays on the tractor we take Marley. She is hubby's shadow, goes everywhere with him. It is cute to watch her get into the truck (she rides more than I do) sits up so straight, so proud, in her glory at his side. Tongue hanging out the side of her mouth as she looks straight ahead and braces herself for the ride. Once they arrive at their destination, she hops out and just loves to run, hopping over the tall grass, with a smile on her face, when she is called and told "lets go", she races to the truck, and takes her place in the passengers seat as proud as can be...



Dunkin, goes to the vineyard with us and he likes to sniff all around as if he is tracking things. He stays close by and does a really good job at coming when he is called. He is not as good of a rider as his mother, he is vocal and whines, but he does like to go... He is much to big to have in the cab with Hubby, Marley and myself, so he mostly travels with me. I'm sure people get a laugh out of him riding in the backseat of a car, all 90 pounds.

Marley, has added so much to this family, she is as lucky to have us as we are to have her.

I know, I'm happy with the pup she gave me.

Until next time...

Puppy kisses

Mug shots

This is my Mama "Marley" on the left and me "Dunkin" on the right. Mama Marley is doing well, she is "very protective" of her humans though. I am growing like a Hybrid Poplar, nearly 8 months old now and approx. 75-80 pounds. Our human mom took these pictures of us while we were enjoying the cool breeze. We are usually digging through the flower bed at high rates of speed and slamming into each other somewhere right around where we are sitting right now.

This is Gramps, 13 year old lab mix, goes by the name "Buzzy" he's still one tuff dog so don't be fooled by this picture. He gets some special treatment and is allowed to chill on the sofa from time-to-time. Buzzy taught us how to bark at the cats when they are spotted way down the road and when they start up the driveway, how to chase them over the garden fence. Scaredy cats!!! LOL

Come on, just look at me, do I look like I could do this?

I thought so... Marley did it... No Dunkin did it... Afraid not Marley did it

At any rate, our human mom got a real life lesson on how to re-upholster the arm of her couch, she did such a nice job the first time, we did it again the very next day. Now, when she goes away she pushes the coffee table against the couch, and puts Mama Marley upstairs with Gramps.

Thanks To You Mama Marley, We Have A Keeper

As some of you may remember, this pup started out being called, "Brownie" due to the color of yarn used in identifying each of the eight puppies, this is him at 6 days old.

This is he, just alittle over one month old here... Folks, meet "Dunkin"

Look at him now, he is just two month old; actual date of this picture Apr.18, 2009 ( I really need to reset the date on our digital) We have decided (well, that's a royal we, meaning me) we couldn't part with this little guy. Just like our old Lab mix this puppy seemed to be very vocal, he whimpered and whined alot.

Speaking of which, he is calling me to go out for a potty break, BRB...

GOOD BOY!

I'm so impressed at how quickly Dunkin catches on, this is great news. I intend on putting Dunkin through a number of training classes and into agility, for anyone who has owned a retreiver knows they are an energetic breed requiring hours of playtime.

Here you see Marley "helping me out" in the process of calming Dunkin down. Marley loves to show her son the ropes, she is teaching him how to defend himself and it is funny to watch. As, I've mentioned Dunkin catches on very quick. Marley will agitate Dunkin until he is chasing her around the livingroom, grabbing at her tail, chewing on her ear, latching onto Marley's collar, even grabbing hold of her lip. Just when you think they've had enough, a new round starts with a ball the other one wants, or the knotted rope in a game of tug-of-war. Hubby and I sit back a chuckle often saying "Dunkin is going to be a big boy" when he grows up, definately, going to tower over Mama Marley.

Marley's day with the Vet

Today, Marley went to the veterinarians to be altered (spayed) poor girl. She has let herself gain total trust in our family. To the point, that she has become very territorial, if she spots someone walking down the road she goes after them, hair standing on her back, barking furiously. When she is following someone down the road barking and we call to her, she gets closer to the people walking, rather than listening to our calls. Hubby, spoke to the Vet about this today, as Marley having been so afraid of people when she was dropped off in our neighborhood back in August of 2008 seems as if she may bite you out of fear.

I called Hubby earlier to check on how Marley did when they arrived at the Vets office, she was terrified, shaking all over, after explaining to the Veterinarian her past history as we know of it, he was willing to let Marley stay on her leash rather than in a cage, hoping to let her get aquainted with him and his staff members.

It breaks our hearts, to think that Marley had been abused so badly, to the point she trusts no one outside this family. We hope and pray, that our family can and will be able to prove to Marley, not all people are cruel. We'd love to put Marley in class with her son Dunkin, however, with her being this terrified of other people, we must work through that first.

Any dog whisperers out there that would be willing to guide this family and the dog who chose us to a better way of life with strangers...

Who Knew

From assisting in the delivery, to getting up 2 or 3 times each night, dragging Momma Marley with me, into the whelping box we would go. Marley was not keen on getting into the box with a litter of 8 screaming babies, she needed someone to hold her paw, night after night, this became the norm, If I left just for a minute, momma Marley would be out of that whelping box and wedged under the bed. Oh, no ya don't girl, these babies depend on momma's milk, come on now, I'll sit with you. When the pups reached the 16th day they were climbing out of the whelping box. Out to the shop I went in search of plywood to make a wall for the laundry/utility room (a bigger box) just for the puppies. I ran out to the country store and purchased a formula made for babies "Just Born" this was mixed with Iams puppy smart to make a runny mash, which the pups would lap up, then stumble off to their blanket to sleep for a few hours, or until they started screaming for more mash.

As time went on, the mash was less mushy and more like tender kibbles. Then it came down to just Iams puppy smart and warm water to feed the little buggers. Now drinking on their own for a few weeks and eating "very well" at the age of 6 weeks, I've decided to start searching for new puppy parents. Happy to say, half of them have found just that. Four pups were placed with families that had dog breeds of this type, they'd had them anywhere from 12 up to 14 years depending on individual circumstances. Three out of four went to country homes and one went to a home on the lake, all very kind folks, loved their prior pets, saddened by their passings. These are homes all puppy parents should look for, a thorough screening was done with each family to qualify, and to give me a clear conscience of knowing they will be properly cared for.

Little, did I know how difficult it would be to see them all leave. It must be because I had to play the role of their mother for the last 6 weeks. Two more will be going home tomorrow, guess hubby will have to see them off, I'm not good at saying my good~byes. It seems the last ones are the most difficult... (pay no attention to the date) I had to recharge the batteries in my digital and skipped over setting the date. These were taken today April 3,2009 as they all lay sleeping under the stools at the island. Well, they were asleep until they heard me coming...

I pray, that the remaining puppies will get loving families and that each puppy will remain a family member to those who have chosen them for the rest of their precious lives.

Hugs and puppy kisses to all who reads this...

Look at Us Now

We now occupy a much larger space in the laundry/utility room downstairs. Our box was big but, no longer comfy with eight of us running around, climbing on top of each other while trying to catch a few winks. As you can tell, we are all getting stronger everyday, see us all walking around sniffing out the new smells.

Hello, my temporary name is Browny (that's the color of yarn I wear, so our human Mom can tell who's who) we are all the same color and just about the same size. Which sometimes works out in our favor. Like, for instance, our human Mom makes us a mash consisting of Iam's Smart Puppy and puppy formula, she soaks the food and then blends it up to make us well, baby food of sorts, with us being all the same, some of us get to chow down twice, you see where I'm going with this... Here I am expressing my appreciation for the new space we moved into today.

Wowser, after we eat that mash, we have all we can do to stumble around to search for a warm place to crash. Our bellies are so full, and eyes so heavy, we topple over several times before we finally collapse, see my siblings, there in front of me. I'm trying so hard to stay awake for awhile and watch my human mom as she has to clean up the mess left behind, you know what I mean...

Our K-9 Mom Marley, doesn't really want to connect with us, so our human Mom has lots to do. During the day she spends several hours washing blankets & laying fresh papers down for us, along with a few feedings of mash here and there. At night, she gets up on average 2-3 times to check on us, well sometimes, we wake her up with our little whimpers, we love to cuddle up on her lap. She tries so hard to get our K-9 Mom to feed us, Marley our mother, will only allow us a few minutes at a time to nurse, then she gets up and walks away (puppies hanging from her belly, dropping off one by one.) However, as you can see, (thanks to our human Mom) we are growing at a steady pace, having lots of energy to gum each other (we are just starting to develope little teeth) as well as pounce on one another.

In just 4 short weeks we will all be ready to face our future with new owners, hope they love us as much as we are loved here.

What do you think, want to take one of us home, huh, do ya?

Are You My Mother

It would seem Marley doesn't want to be the sole caretaker of the eight pups she has brought into this world. From the delivery to the hourly feedings she requires my company either inside the box or sitting on the floor right outside of the box. During the day, I must remind mommy to get into the box at least every 3 to 4 hours (this makes it difficult to leave the farm) when the puppies start start getting restless and climbing around. At night, we make sure she feeds them prior to us going to bed, that way, I'm only required to get up once during the night (Marley comes to my bedside and starts sniffing me) once I'm up she leads me to the box where she feeds for approx. 15 minutes or so.

These little guys are going to make excellent hunting dogs, their coats are very healthy and thick (Golden Retreiver coats) their noses pick up Marley's scent whenever she is near the room. Three out of the eight pups are screamers, once they get Marley's scent they scurring around the box screaming ( well, I'm sure it is suppose to be a howl) but at the puppy stage, it sure sounds like screaming. They will be 2 weeks old tomorrow, soon, they will be moved to the utility room downstairs due to them already climbing on the cutout for Marley to get in and out of the box.

I have done alot of reading about Retreivers and have discovered, they are very brilliant dogs, eager to learn and please their masters. They are quick learners (which we've discovered with Marley) doing really well in obedience classes as well as agility type classes. These dogs are so smart they are commonly known to be trained for Guide dogs, Search and Rescue, and even for people with medical disorders like epilepsy, autism, heart conditions, etc. etc. They do wonderful with other pets in the household, not known to be agressive (not good for guard dogs) which means they are not barkers, however, they do alert you when someone unfamiliar comes.

It will be difficult to see them go but as long as their new owners are kind and respectful we'll be happy knowing their owners are getting a great deal...