Thursday, January 31, 2008

You Tube Videos

I added some You Tube dog videos that I think are pretty funny. The last clip is of an Aussie watching the TV commercial for the Dyson slim Vacuum. The reason this one cracked me up is that our dogs, especially Taryn, have the same reaction to the commercial. There are quite a few videos of dogs reacting to this commercial on You Tube. All of the dogs are different breeds but they all get a rise when they see, and hear, this commercial. Some things in the canine world are universal no matter what breed, at the same time dogs have qualities that are breed standards. That is one of the reasons that we have Labs. The standard personality of Labs is just the right fit for us.

Peace,
Jamie

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Sister Sweetly



One of Taryn's favorite things is sitting on our ottoman and looking out the front window (as seen in a previous post). She sits there for hours watching the world go by. Mind you, we live on a very quiet street so there is not a lot of action. She was window gazing this morning when Kylie decided she would like to join her. Pretty funny since Taryn takes up the whole ottoman! I snapped a couple of cute pictures of them together and wanted to share them. Heart warming isn't it?


Peace,

Jamie

Monday, January 28, 2008

Bananas!


I've complained before about how hard it is to get the Mile High Labs to all sit and let me take a picture of them. The other morning we discovered the key to rallying the girls and keeping them in one place for more than two seconds. The girls actually showed me themselves. Bananas! If you look at the kitchen counter in the background you will see that I have left the unused portion of the banana I sliced into my cereal laying on the counter (if you click on it you should get a larger image). Taryn has always enjoyed a small bite (very small so that we don't induce loose stool) of banana and we oblige her because she is so polite about waiting for it. Kylie is like a soldier when it comes to meals and treats. She loves bananas and will wait in formation until I finish my cereal and share a little with her. Now we discover that after only sampling bananas once before that Payton is a connoisseur as well. In this picture they are all keeping an eye on the banana to make sure it doesn't sneak off before they get a little nibble. Taryn is the closest because she digs it the most. When there is a banana on the counter she won't budge from the corner of the kitchen. This is serious business Y'all!

OK, I'm pretty sure there are many things that we could substitute for the banana, they are labs of course, but banana is definately their favorite. Not all people food is good for your dogs. If you are unsure about feeding your dog something check out my link to dangerous people food.


Peace,

Jamie

Monday, January 21, 2008

Bump Watch

I have actually had a health problem with Payton that I have been wanting to share but haven't been able to yet. She has a fluid filled bump on her side that our Vet is calling a Seroma. It is not bothering her in the slightest but it is bothersome to Mark and I that she has it. We have been waiting for it to shrink and go away along with giving her a couple doses of antibiotics daily to ward off infection. It seems like the bump got really big, shrank to almost nothing, and is bigger today. The Vet said that if it doesn't go away on it's own she will have to drain it internally. Not a good option, so we are waiting to see if it does go away on it's own. It's not easy to just play the waiting game. I will have to take her back to the Vet if she doesn't heal in the next couple of days. Like I said, it's business as usual for Payton. She doesn't even know that it's there. So she is not in discomfort while we wait to see what happens.
Of course I need to let you know how this may have happened. I was extremely worried when I discovered the bump because I have read about "bloat" being deadly. I went to a web site and refreshed myself on the symptoms of bloat. http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/bloat.html Some of the symptoms were similar to what Payton had. Bloat should be dealt with immediately. When I called the Vet about Paytons bump she asked to see her right away. We actually live only a few blocks away from our Vet so we were right there. After feeling the bump Dr. Lutz asked me if Payton played hard. I told her "Yes, all the time." Dr. Lutz said that her bump was a Seroma. Probably caused by playing hard with her sisters(I know that Payton and Kylie had a big game of American Gladiator going on right before I discovered the bump). She described it as an internal abscess that is just under her skin. She said that if her bump were bloat it would be hard and Payton's bump is soft, it feels like fluid. Dr. Lutz did take some X-rays to be sure it wasn't something else. Nothing unusual showed up in the X-rays except that she was due to poop which she did right when we got home. Of course her vet bill was over $200 with the X-rays. Luckily we have pet insurance to help out with emergency vet visits so that we never have to weigh the cost of treatment with the needs of our dogs.
*UPDATE* Paytons bump is getting smaller. It is not totally gone, but Dr. Lutz put her on one more week's worth of antibiotics to give it some more time to heal on it's own. I will keep you posted.

Peace,
Jamie

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Can't They Just Sit Still?



We have been trying since the day we brought Payton home to get a great picture of the three dogs together. I keep getting pictures of their backsides while they are waiting for Dad to throw them something, or pictures of nothing because they all have moved. This morning I thought I had the "money" shot lined up. It was the most calm and focused the three of them have been for the camera. I took the shot and just as I did Kylie looked away and Payton lost focus on me. Taryn, bless her heart, was the only one cooperating. Oh well, it's still a really cute picture. I love the snow on the end of Payton's nose. She always has her nose down in the snow looking for buried tennis balls or frisbees. We just got a fresh snowfall last night for all of them to play in. They're just like kids when it comes to snow. It's never too cold to have a good romp! I'll keep trying for that elusive portrait of the three of them.
Peace,
Jamie

Monday, January 7, 2008

I Hate to Leave!



Mark and I have been off work for the last three days. We were celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary and both of us were due a few days off together. The time off was fantastic. Just what I needed. I obviously would have liked another day off but I needed to go back. The hardest part is always leaving the dogs. They do not have separation anxiety, or worry when we are leaving for a few hours, but they always seem to turn on the cute right when we are getting ready to leave. You look at a face like the one to the left (Kylie) and think "How can I leave these guys? I want to call in sick and take them to the dog park, or on a really long hike!" The problem is that not all of us have the priviledge of working from home (I'm really envious of people who work at home even though I know it has it's disadvantages) and we have to leave the house to go make a living. If we didn't we wouldn't be able to pay for dog food, frisbees, vet bills, and the hundreds of other expenses that come with dog ownership. Still, my dream is to spend all day every day with my husband and my three dogs. I wonder if the dogs think that too, or are they tired of us being around the house and can't wait to get back to their regular napping schedule? Either way, they seemed really happy to see me when I got home. Our family is most content when we are all together.
Peace,
Jamie

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Payton's Poop Sheet

















Payton is the latest addition to our pack. She was born on 7/6/07, so she is almost 6 months old. We've had her for about a month. We were linked to her through an organization called Safe Harbor Lab Rescue. Payton's name was Violet. Safe Harbor had rescued her and her four sisters. It wasn't a horrible living situation, but the owner could not care for all of the pups. All of the girls were named after a flower. Payton's sister Tulip was just adopted a few days ago. She was the last one of the litter to be adopted. If she is anything like Payton I know that family got a sweet dog. Payton has been so easy going. You don't see a lot of behavioral issues even though it took her 5 months of her life to find her forever family. She is very calm, totally different from our other dogs (if you've been to our house you know that our dogs take a while to calm down when guests come over. They also bark at squirrels and cats in the neighborhood a lot!). Mark and I agree that Payton is the most affectionate dog we have ever been around. She just wants to snuggle all of the time. If one of the other dogs is getting pets she has to be right there to make sure she gets some. She has found her temporary role in the pack. I say temporary because I think she might challenge Kylie for her Alpha role some day. Payton gets along well with everybody and every dog. She instantly took to our neighbor and her Golden Retriever Bailey. She's a charmer and she knows it! She will steal your heart right off the bat. Our girly is smart too. She already knows her name, sit, stay, and she is very polite at meal time. The crate is not a scary place for her. Payton has no problem settling down for a few hours while we're at work. At night we bring her bed from the crate into our room and she sleeps down on her bed next to her sister Taryn. When I look at her the first word that always pops into my head is "precious"! I think it would be fun to organize a flower pup reunion on their birthday.
Peace,
Jamie

Kylie's Poop Sheet











We brought Kylie home about a year after we got Taryn. We actually picked her up on Mother's Day 2006. She was born on 3/20/06. We found her with a breeder in Niobrara, Nebraska. We had put down a deposit on her about 6 weeks before we brought her home so there was a lot of time to prepare for her. Also a lot of anticipation! We wanted her home immediately. We were able to go to the breeders web site to view updated pictures of her growth and progress. The breeders had sold most of their litter to people in the Denver area and brought all of the puppies here from Nebraska. It was fun picking her up because we got to meet her puppy brothers and sisters and her human sisters who said that she was the special one of the bunch. They had spent a lot of extra time with her and had started calling her Kylie as soon as we had decided on a name. Kylie was little but mighty! She took over as Alpha Dog a couple days after she arrived. We were prepared for this possibility, but it sure was funny to see this tiny pup take charge of her big sister that was 5 times her size. Kylie is almost full grown now and has remained on the small size for Lab standards. She weighs a little under 50 pounds. She is completely healthy, just smaller. Her size makes her extremely fast and agile. It is really fun to watch her play in the backyard or dog park. She flies around. She loves to be chased. She has yet to find a worthy apponent. Her other favorite game is to intercept the ball or frisbee that is being thrown to Taryn and entice Taryn to try and get it from her. She has spin moves like a football player. The picture above is her going after a squirrel on the power line. We wonder some times if she is on the small size because of all the energy that she expends. At night she curls up at the foot of our bed and you barely know she's there. Kylie added a lot to our household when she arrived. I couldn't imagine life without her.
Peace,
Jamie

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Taryn's Poop Sheet





Taryn is the oldest of our three dogs. She was born on 3/2/05. We had decided it was time to bring a dog into our family. It was going to be a Lab. I had researched a few other breeds, but kept coming back to the Lab for it's temperment and activity level. We are not into mini dogs, we are not equipped for a maxi dog. The Lab seemed perfect. Our first intention was to adopt one from our local animal shelter. The staff there was uncooperative and discouraging about any of the dogs we asked about. I was so emotional after visiting the shelter. Mark agreed that we should look elsewhere. We found Taryn and her family in Arvada, CO. We were the first people to meet the litter and pick a puppy. She was one of two black females in her litter. The family was keeping the other one. She was pretty shy at first, which is a crack up to think about now when she is all over our house guests, but she was receptive to our contact. We were in Love! Thus began our head on journey into dog ownership. Taryn has been everything we wanted and expected in a Lab. She is athletic, energetic, smart (the smartest dog I have ever met in my life), and a big love. She is 76 - 80 pounds depending on what time of year it is. We do a lot more dog park visits in the Summer which keeps her lean (favorite sport is "chuck it" retrieving). She is not our Alpha dog but she still demonstrates a lot of leadership abilities. She is gentle and patient with puppies and helps show them the ropes. Taryn is absolutely adored! She is our beautiful big girl.

Peace,
Jamie

New Year, Why Not Start a Blog?

Happy New Year. I hope 2008 has already treated you well. I have been wanting to start a blog for some time, but I felt I didn't have enough action in my life to share. Well there is a little more action around here these days. We recently decided to adopt a new Labrador to add to our family. For those of you who don't know we already have two fantastic female black labs. Our oldest is only 2 1/2 years old. Her name is Taryn. Our other girl is Kylie, she is almost exactly one year younger than Taryn. Our love for our two dogs and their breed has always drawn me to a labrador rescue here in Colorado called Safe Harbor Lab Rescue. They are located in Golden which is a town West of Denver. I go to their web site frequently to view the available dogs just in case they have a dog that could fit in well with our family. We decided to fill out an adoption application because we thought it would be a lengthy process to get approved and find a dog. We were wrong about that! The agency contacted our references almost immediately to interview them about our dog parenting skills. One of our references was our next door neighbor because she gets a peek into our daily lives with our dogs. She also has a dog that she rescued from a family that had way too many dogs to care for them properly. Her dog Bailey is great. He is one of our best friends and comes over often to play and hang out. I have gotten off the topic... anyway SHLR contaced me very quickly to plan a meeting with a dog. The meeting didn't go too well. This gorgeous boy jumped our fence after less than 15 minutes here. He wanted to go play with Bailey next door! We knew that he scaled the fence way too easily and wouldn't work out well here. We then fostered a female black lab post her spay surgery. She was a sweetie, but had some issues. Not the dog for us. We were getting a little discouraged when the adoption coordinator recommended we meet Violet, a 5 month old black female lab coming straight from her litter of 4 other black females. All of the girls had been spayed and vaccinated, SHLR provided all of her medical needs. We fell in love with this little girl instantly! I'm a softy, so I was ready to adopt after one look into her eyes. Mark is always a little more guarded and doesn't want to make an emotional decision. The little girl was smart. She instantly approached him and turned on the cute. He was butter in her paws. So the newest member of our family is Payton, formerly Violet (that's her in the picture above and in the header). All of her litter was named after a flower. They were a puppy bouquet! It is really common to rename rescue dogs. New life, new name. She seemed to know her name after only a couple of days. She is extremely smart, loveable, and easy going. She was acting like she had been here forever after only a couple of hours. Very impressive for her age. Taryn and Kylie get along with her really well. She has qualities that both of the dogs can relate to. I will blog as often as I can and share dog info and stories about my life with my girls.


Peace,
Jamie