Sweet new puppy friend!

We had a lovely walk on Friday with Barb, Khegen and their brand new, adorable pup, Supernova (Nova, for short). He did a great job with the big dogs and was very good on his first off-leash walk. He is sweet and gentle, very easygoing and oh-so-snuggly! Welcome, Nova!

So many deer bones, so little time...

Dear Millie brought me another deer foot in the woods. Appropriately, she dropped it when asked, but Maggie decided to run with it. Literally. It would have been comical had I been watching. However, being the chaser it wasn't terribly amusing. Lynette, when you get home, remind me to tell you the whole story about the mystery of the three deer carcasses...

Let's see, what else have these pups been up to? Oh yes, Maggie jumped off the bridge over Black Pond. She never would have considered that, but she was simply following Edgar (a big sweet lab) and that's where he went. Sigh. A bath was long overdue anyway so it all worked out in the end. Millie sampled the water to her belly, but decided against it.

Millie looks fabulous just having come from the groomers. Little red bandana and all. And, fortunately, I got no berating for bad grooming behavior.

More puppy fun

Maggie LOVES to chase the tennis ball and Millie is learning to love it too. Here is one area that Millie actually needed a bit of instruction. I have now whipped her into shape and she is now returning with the ball, rather than running off with it, and I can even get her to drop it now most of the time. It's fun to watch those dogs run after it. Millie is built to run. Her lithe form is fast and agile. But Maggie gets to it first at least half the time just from sheer determination. (She loves that ball!) Okay, truth be told, I probably favor Maggie some of the time. I mean, she surely deserves a handicap against this lightning bolt. Not only is Millie fast as the dickens, she's smart. Not that Maggie isn't smart, but it's probably not the first thing I'd say about her. If I'm completely honest, I think she's the right amount of smart. I mean, how smart do you really want your dog to be? We took care of a golden doodle last summer and she figured out how to do things dogs shouldn't be doing. I half expected to come home and see her reading the paper. Love and loyalty: these are the best characteristics of dogs!

On a completely different note...Millie trotted up to me in the woods with a great find (or at least she thought so): a deer hoof. Still furry, and apparently very tasty. She was not happy to give it up, but she has been well-trained so she did, reluctantly...

Three Dog Night...errr, weekend, I mean!

We actually had three dogs for the whole weekend! Just like the old days. I thought it was a real treat, but Tom isn't too thrilled at what his lawn looks like. I never did quite get the man and his grass thing. Alas, I try and be understanding, but when it comes to dogs vs. grass, I'll take dogs every time. We had Maggie, of course. Who, by the way, is still in need of fine polishing, in case there are any master trainers out there who would like to volunteer their services. She is very wonderful on her walks, and splendidly lovable, etc, but she still likes to jump up in her exuberance to say "hello". Oh, and there's that pesky little problem with trying to steal food off the counter...Back to the point. And we had Shelby, who is a 10 year old golden retriever who is sweet as can be. AND well-trained! Imagine. And Millie, who is a whoodle (wheaten terrier and poodle mix). I'd have to say that they all had a ball. I think they thought they were at summer camp. Shelby would often stay to the side and watch the youngsters play, but she seemed entertained more than annoyed. And tired. Shelby has since gone home, but Maggie and Millie are continuing their fun together for most of the rest of the month. Can you believe her parents didn't want to take her birdwatching with them in Bhutan?! It's actually been wonderful weather, so it has been doubly enjoyable romping outside with the sweet furry girls. Oh, did I mention that Shelby's parents shaved her? Yikes, so she's not so furry anymore. I immediately let Tom know that he better NEVER do that to my lovely dog. Sheesh, so embarassing...