Natalie and the Newf Puppies

Gary, Natalie and I visited Wilbon Kennels today where we visited with Bill and Bonnie Bennett, Katie and Louie's breeders. We got to visit with three 10 week old Newfoundland puppies and a bunch of adolescent and adult Newfs. We had a very nice time. It was especially fun to see Katie and Louie's father, Loki, and to watch Natalie interact with the Newf pups. She enjoyed them except for their kisses (as you will see in the video below).

Pup Quiz: Name the Dog Breed

Gary and I recently went to a dog show that was held in Little Rock, Arkansas. Since we weren't participating this time we were able to visit with lots of interesting dogs. Here is just a sampling of the many different dog breeds we saw. See if you can name them all. The answers to the quiz are at the bottom of the post.

#1 Me with Maggie, one of Louie's girlfriends from dog school.

#2 Cuddling Cuties

#3 A Tall and Elegant Girl

#4 Patiently waiting for Mom to finish his beauty routine

#5 My very first time to meet this breed in real life. I think her name is Star. She is a super sweet girl who would make a wonderful therapy dog.

#6 This little girl's name is Lily

#7 Another breed besides Newfoundlands that knows "Drool Rules!"

#8 Petite Princess

#9 An imposing fellow

#10 Sleeping Beauty

#11 One of the toy breeds on the judges table

#12 This little lady has enough hair for herself and her owner :)

The Pup Quiz Answers:

#1 Portegese Water Dog

#2 Labrador Retrievers

#3 Borzoi

#4 Bearded Collie

#5 Kuvasz

#6 Newfoundland puppy

#7 Great Pyrenees

#8 Yorkshire Terrier

#9 Bouvier des Flandres

#10 Saluki

#11 Japanese Chin

#12 Pekingese

Did anyone get them all right? There were a few I had to look up...especially #4 and #9.

Another New(f) Friend

Gary recently removed some planks from our fence while he was making some repairs. Katie and Louie decided to take advantage of the temporary opening into our neighbor's yard to have a little adventure. Louie was mainly interested in exploring this new territory, but Katie quickly developed a playful friendship with our next door neighbor, a 1 year old beagle puppy named Cooper.

Louie Lovin' On Little Dogs

Here are a few pictures of Louie at the recent dog show socializing with smaller dogs.

He loves them so much and wants so badly for them to love him in return.

With dogs that are timid he instinctively gets down on the floor.

It's as if he is trying to make himself as small as possible so he won't be as intimidating.

This sassy puppy girl wasn't a bit afraid of Louie,

so they just did the usual circle and sniff routine.

Louie is Mr. November in the Newfs Gone Bad 2010 Calendar

The counter climbing stunt that Louie pulled when he was just 9 months old earned him a place in the 2010 edition of the Newfs Gone Bad calendar. The funny thing is that neither Louie or Katie are counter surfers. I think Louie's adolescent hormones were just making him a bit crazy back then.

There are still copies of this calendar available for purchase at this link. All of the proceeds are used to benefit Newfoundland health research.

Remy & Sketch (aka Mutt & Jeff)

Remy the 5 month old Newfoundland plays with his 4 month old mini English Bulldog friend, Sketch. I love watching these two together. They crack me up!

Remy is Louie's half brother and Katie's cousin who lives with Maija and Jason in Los Angeles.

Time for a Puppy Fix

Gary and I were having Newf puppy withdrawal until we recently got to visit with our breeders' (Wilbon Newfoundlands) most recent litter. At the time we made this video they were four weeks old. Gary was teasing me about which one we were going to pick, but I think two Newfs is enough for now :-) They are adorable though. The parents of this litter are Katie (a different Katie...not ours) and Bleau, the star of yesterday's video.

A Few Benefits of Having a Sibling

Having your best friend as your sibling is so convenient...

There's always someone around for cuddles and snuggles.

If you get tired of laying on the hard floor you can use your sib as a pillow.

You can wait impatiently together for Mama to come home.

When she takes too long you can give up waiting and lounge together.

If you get bored you can have a contest to see who can make the funniest face



We could go on and on with hundreds of reasons we love to be together, but you get the picture.

Hugs and Licks from Katie and Louie

"As God is My Witness, I'll Never Go Hungry Again"

Any other "Gone With the Wind" fans out there? I am a huge fan myself. Some of you may not know that my full name is Wilbon's Katie Scarlett O'Hara. Like the heroine of that book, I love the feeling of a full belly and the comfort of knowing that the dog pantry is fully stocked up.

Mama orders our food online and a big shipment just came in. If Louie and I had our way we would get ten pounds of dog food a day, but our parents are big meannies and insist we stay slim...some mumbo jumbo about that being better for our joints. Our diet is also strict because we never get any wheat, corn or soy. Now this part I have no complaints about 'cause those fillers give my brother a terrible rash. Our Newfoundland ancestors lived mainly off fish and so do we. We love our Orijen 6 fish food so much that we will do lots of tricks just for one piece of kibble. When a whole bowl is put in front of me...WOW...the only word that comes to mind is "Heaven".

Lots of love and Newfie kisses to all my doggie and human friends, Katie

Louie's First Draft Lesson

Since I turned 19 months old recently and since the weather was decent today, I was finally able to talk Mama into giving me my first draft lesson. I have to admit I didn't really know what a "draft" was... I thought it was like a little breeze or something. But, I remembered that Katie always gets really excited whenever she gets to go drafting, so I wanted to try it out.

First Mama put this harness on me which was pretty much the same as my car seatbelt, so I didn't mind it a bit. Then she told me to "Stand" and "Stay"...piece of cake for a pro like me. Then she started hooking me up to this wagon thing. I didn't care because I was focused on my Stand Stay. Then she told me "Forward" and offered me a salmon treat - Yum! I started walking forward and it felt weird because something was dragging behind me. It made me walk kind of funny for the first minute or so, but I stayed calm because that's just the way I am... call me Mr. Stability. Mama said she was so proud of me and she complimented me the whole time on what a good job I was doing.

Here I am patiently waiting for Mama to unhook the cart.

When can we go again Mom?

Dumpster Diving

Katie and Louie have been finding a lot of interesting things on our walks lately, but a few days ago they really hit the jackpot. Someone put a trash bag full of perfectly good clean stuffies by the curb for trash collection. We picked out a few and brought them home. Louie is especially enamored of these new toys.

Remy the Amazing Newf Puppy

Remember Remy, our favorite baby Newfie? Well, he is busy growing up with his Mom and Dad in California. He's not quite 4 months old and he already weighs over 50 pounds. Remy's going to be a big boy; good thing he is a total sweetheart. 

Wilbon's Ultimate Gift ~~~~ Remy


Besides being outrageously cute, Remy is also brillantly clever. Have you ever heard of a puppy that never had a single potty accident inside? Remy NEVER did. Can you imagine?!?! Not one single accident. Of course this was partially due to his Mama, Maija's vigilence in taking him outside often and giving him lots of positive reinforcement. The other part of the equation is that Remy is a genius. On his second or third night with his new parents he started letting them know when he needed to go out by gently waking Maija in the middle of the night and then going to sit by the door. Remy is an easy going boy who sits patiently during daily grooming sessions and was completely crate trained by 10 weeks old.

Remy is loving life with his Mama, Daddy and Auntie. We miss everyone so much, but are comforted by all of the pictures that Maija sends to us. Remy is a very special Newf puppy and we are happy to know that Louie's little brother has a wonderful, loving home.

Enjoying the End of Summer

Summertime in Arkansas is usually not a pleasant time for a Newf, but this summer has been milder than most. We have actually been able to spend a little bit of time playing outside.

Here's a glimpse into some of the fun we have been having lately.


We hope you all are staying cool and having fun...xoxo Louie & Katie

Fun Match

This weekend Gary showed Louie in an AKC fun match in Little Rock.

Here's a picture of the ribbons Louie won.

Louie tries to stay cool while waiting for his turn in the ring.

Louie, Gary and Katie

Newfie Window Dressing

"Mama stop working in the yard and come in to play with us!"

Our Super Cool New Fan

Our Auntie Maija told us that Little Remy got an awesome fan that he just loves, so we decided we needed one too. It came in the mail today and we immediately snuggled up to it. Some people like to get cozy in front of fireplaces, but we are coziest in front of cool fans.





A Kiss for My Sis

The Muddy Water of Lake Sylvia

by Louie the 17 month old Newf...

Yesterday Mom and Dad took me and Katie swimming. I hadn't even been in the water since I was a baby pup last summer, but I'm a Newf so I just jumped right in a started swimming. Dad said I am a natural in the water. My sis, Katie, though was pretty nervous about the whole swimming thing. She was brave at first; she went in without hesitating, but then instead of swimming a modified breaststroke like a normal Newf she acted like she was trying to high step her way through the water. Mom put the dog lifejacket on her and she calmed right down. Before long I started getting hot, so Mom and Dad took us home with the air conditioner in the car cranked all the way up.


Once we got home Mom and Dad spent a couple of hours bathing and drying me and Katie. Even though I'm a boy I don't mind getting a bath...gotta stay handsome for the ladies you know ;-)