Hair and more hair!

I know that a couple of you blog readers have dogs, and most of you know that I have two Golden Retrievers, Bono and Tallie. They shed like you wouldn't believe, but I never thought it was possible for a dog to have as much hair as Bono does. I brushed him for close to 15 minutes and this was the result:


The box was half full of hair by the time I finished, filled all the way up to the handle! Bono looks like he's lost about 5 pounds....

Life stays exciting...

I have two basset hounds that I regularly pet-sit; they're a bunch of fun! However, this morning when I went over, there was evidence that the owners hadn't left yet. I kept hearing noises, but I wasn't sure. Then Mrs. K came down after I'd fed the dogs, medicated the dogs, and given them their rawhide chews. At least her job with them was mostly done for the morning. Oh well. Life would be so much more dull without happenings like this!

Woodworking II

Last week I showed you the newly created dog table. Here's the finished product! I went over it first with basic white indoor paint to form a base coat. Then I did yellow acryllic, followed by green stripes, and then Mom put on the polka dots and names. Cute and a moneysaver!

Doggie travels

I was just going to take Tallie with me, but.....

Checkers

My dad and I enjoy playing checkers a lot. We got a mammoth cloth checker board, so we usually play on the floor. This means that the dogs join us. Tallie and Bono are usually quite helpful in offering advice. Here are some pictures from today's game, which, ahem, went fairly unhindered. :)

They do love to rest their chins on whoever or whatever is there!

Massachussets trip!

On Tuesday, I got home from having spent five days with my older brother and sister in MA. It was such a wonderful time! Their dog Selchie had eight puppies in mid-February, four girls and four boys. Last July, they had invited me out to stay for a few days, and thanks to Frequent Flyer Miles, I made it out there. :) Most puppies are cute, but I think Irish Water Spaniels are among the cutest. With curly dark hair all over and the sweetest eyes ever, these puppies were probably the most adorable I've ever seen. On this trip, I.....

• got to spend awesome time with my older siblings
• cuddled the puppies!!
• experienced the frenzy of feeding eight small puppies
• cleaned up more poop than you would think eight pups can produce
• flew about 1000 miles by myself
• saw the pups on their second trip outside; they absolutely love the outdoors!
• did crafty stuff, such as making zipper pulls and putting together binders for the new puppy owners
• went to Flatbreads, the BEST pizza place in the entire world
• throughly enjoyed myself: Jer and Kim, thanks for such an awesome time!!!!!

Since I didn't take the camera with me, I have no pictures to show you, but if you click this link, you can see plenty of puppy pictures!

Adorable Puppy!

The most aborable puppy tries to whistle!

Puppy Tries to Whistle!

16 Golden Retrievers Teach On The Atom!

This is so adorable! I wish my dogs were so well-behaved.....
16 Golden Retrievers Teach On The Atom!

Vote!

As you have no doubt seen, I have created a new poll to ask you which creative dog names you like better. We've made them to fit Bono and Tallie's personalities, and they really do represent my pups! After you vote, and if you would like too, please give me your idea of a pair of names that would go well with dogs! Be creative, and I can't wait to see what you will come up with. :)

*You might want to say the poll names out loud; they may make more sense that way.

Training II!

I've been working with Bono some more, and it's going great! Yesterday, every time I went in my room, he would come in with me and curl up in the crate. It's wonderful progress. More pictures of him in the crate are below:

Training!

Bono has a fear of loud noises, mainly fireworks and thunderstorms. After spending two nights comforting Bono, one of them at 2:00 a.m., my family and I were ready to try anything! Dad suggested getting out Bono's old crate, but I was dubious. Bono has bad crate memories, since he used to be destructive and was therefore always crated when we were out. But we got it out anyway, figuring it was worth a try. However, I was pleasantly surprised! Bono is really fine with it. He's gone in all the way and laid down a few times, and half-way in even more! I am going through lots of treats because every time I go in my room, I tell Bono "Crate!" and toss a treat in the crate. It's working great!

Heartland Reminder

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far! I would like to bring Heartland Golden Retriever Rescue to your attention again. They are now the first in the state of Tennessee, but they're not in the top 10 yet. Please keep voting once a day! For the link to vote, please go to the April 14, 2009 post, and if you have absolutely no idea what I am talking about, please go to the April 14, 2009 post. Thanks!

Puppy Baths!

Here it is! The promised picture of Tallie and Bono's bath time. Both washings were uneventful, with Dad holding each dog in turn while I vigorously scrubbed them from head to tail. After Big Boy was washed, he watched in fiendish amusement from his towel as Tallie submitted to being soaked, shampooed, and rinsed. Tallie was a lot more reluctant to be bathed, and I had to drag her along to the "wash stand."

Remember Heartland Golden Rescue!

Hey, everyone! This is just a reminder to please keep voting for Heartland Golden Retriever Rescue! If you have no idea what I am talking about, just check my post for April 14, 2009 or go to the Heartland website link, located in my list of favorite sites. Thanks!

~Livvy

Heartland Golden Retriever Rescue needs YOU!

Okay, everyone, I've got a request to make. Heartland Golden Retriever Rescue, the organization from which my family got both Bono and Tallie, needs your help! They are trying to win a $20,000 grant through a special contest, and the way they can win is so simple, but they need people to help them. All you have to do is go to http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/. Once you get there, click on the purple "Click here to give -- it's free. From there, go to the top of the page and click on the red "Vote Now box". For the organization, enter "Heartland Golden Retriever Rescue" and they're based in Knoxville, Tennessee. Click the "Vote" button that will come up next to the search result, and then you'll have to identify an animal to confirm your vote. You can vote every day, once per computer until sometime in July. Please help Heartland!! Remember: Once a day per computer! Your vote will help and count! If these directions are unclear, or don't work, please leave me a comment, and I'll do my best to fix them. Thanks so much!!!!

Oh, one more thing: Please tell your family and friends to vote, too! Every single vote counts!

Dog Washing!

For weeks, Mom has been complaining about Bono's Stench - with a capital "S!" It was a perfect day for dog washing today, so I decided to bite the proverbial bullet and get it done. After fifteen minutes of trying to hook up the hose (don't ask me why it wouldn't work!), and assembling the necessary items - such as shampoo, towels, the hose, and a pair of disposable gloves (the need for which I leave to your imagination), I got Bono out of the house. Big mistake! For, at that exact moment, one Great Dane and one Chow scrambled across our neighbors' yard, and Bono decided to go play. Of course, I hollered for him to come back and ran across the street and finally got him back in our yard to begin the dog washing. Today was one of Bono's few-and-far-between ornery days. He would not stand still; he shook all over me, on purpose I think!; he tried to roll in the grass; he wouldn't stay long enough for me to turn the hose off; he knocked the shampoo bottle over; that's to name a few! Below are some pictures of Bono once he finally quit being ornery; after the bath was finished of course!