Katie's Monsoon Birthday

by Katie the Newf...

My third birthday has been an extremely wet one (5-7 inches of rain tonight alone), but I've still managed to have some fun. I got an awesome goodie box from my cousin Remy in LA which was great fun to unwrap and sample. Also, with the help of Louie I rearranged the living room furniture and we played with about 10 different toys tonight in quite a rowdy fashion. Since it's too wet for my usual birthday walk in the park, I'm going to take a trip down memory lane instead.

When I was six weeks old my Mama held me for the first time. I picked my Mama out all by myself. When she came to visit me and my litter mates I told her that she was the Mama for me and she agreed.


Then when I was eight weeks old my Daddy came to visit me and I realized I was a lucky pup to be getting such a sweet Dad.


My elderly sister Scarlett was 13 when I came home. At first I thought it was great fun to pester her, but eventually I learned that she didn't like that. We became good friends after a few months when I settled down a bit.


Even as a fuzzy puppy I loved to be groomed.


Before Louie came along to keep me company I used to go to Bonnie and Bill's house to play with my litter mate Rose. Those were fun times.


I've always been a spiritual Newf doing lots of yoga and meditation. No joke about the meditation. Seriously, I know what the word means when Mama says it. When she goes to her meditation spot I go with her and I am perfectly quiet until she is done.


I love to spend time in my backyard playing with my toys.




This is when I first learned to "Speak!"


Me and Scarlett (she was almost 15 years old in this picture)


My first snow


One of the best ever days of my life... My little brother Louie came home


Me and one of my favorite toys that now resides in toy heaven


Sprinkler fun at Grandma's house


Me and little Louie scanning the sky for alien invaders


Me with my two favorite guys. Check out my impressive flooger.


Me with Louie, my partner in crime


In my first Rally Novice Obedience competition I won second place!


Last spring we watched the Little Rock Marathon. We lifted the spirits of many runners.


My first Rally Advanced qualification.


I love being a therapy dog. Here is a picture of me on a recent visit to Easter Seals resting between play sessions with the kids there.


This is what a three year old Monsoon Birthday Newf looks like. Mama keeps drying us, but we just keep getting wet again.

I let my 1 year old sidekick be in the photo 'cause unlike some Newfies we know (cough...cough...Louie) I don't always have to be the center of attention.


Part of our play session tonight. See how clever I am... I got under the coffee table, so my brother couldn't jump on my back.


Thanks for sharing my birthday with me. I hope you all are somewhere warm and cozy surrounded by the humans and animals you love.

Do Newfies Take Up A Lot of Space?

People are constantly asking me if we have a big house because they think Katie and Louie must take up a lot of space. I've always tell them that Newfies don't need as much space as you would think and here's proof:



At the dog show last weekend Katie was hanging out in her crate. When Gary opened the door Louie decided he wanted to join his sister and shoved his way into the eight square feet of crate space.


It's a good thing they love each other :-)

Our New Rally Advanced Newf

Louie earned his third Rally Obedience Advanced leg today to complete his Rally Advanced title. He also won 1st place! We are so proud of Louie. He has qualified all six times he has been in the rally ring.

I'm laughing as the judge hands me Louie's ribbons.


Mama and her baby boy share the joy.


Me, the judge and Louie (making one of his rare serious faces)


Louie looking like a conformation dog as he poses with his ribbons


By the way, we lost three points today for redoing a station because the first time we did it our friendly baby decided he would like to go say hi to the judge :-) We got back on track though and still managed to win 1st place.

Tomorrow Louie will get his first experience competing in Rally Obedience Excellent. Send some good vibes our way please :-)

Hospice Sweetheart

Katie wore her kerchief which says "Arkansas Hospice" on it and her red hair bow to a recent Hospice visit and brightened the evening for many patients and their families. The staff is already madly in love with Katie, but when she pranced in with her kerchief and bow they were completely bowled over by her cuteness. Our gentle giant is such a sweetheart to share her soothing love with those who need it the most.

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.

Lil' Boy Bleau

When we went to the Hot Springs Dog Show recently we got to see one of our favorite Newfies strut his stuff in the conformation ring: Bonnie and Bill Bennett's Newf Bleau (CH Magnolia's Bleau Bayou of Wilbon Newfoundlands). Not only is Bleau drop dead gorgeous, he is also a total cuddle-bug. I enjoyed snuggling with him once he was done looking handsome in the ring.

The music in the video is "Doggin' Around" by Count Basie... very appropriate since Bleau was in high spirits and was really hamming it up in the ring.

A Special Birthday Gift

My dear friend Maija sent me one of my favorite birthday presents of all time. When I opened a little box from her yesterday and saw a bracelet inside my first thought was that it was very pretty. As I looked at it more closely I saw my name floating in a little glass vial. Then Katie, Gary and Louie's names became visible - each one painted on a piece of rice. Maija knows that my family is very important to me and that the Newfs are as much a part of it as the humans, so I was very touched by her thoughtfulness.

I went outside to do some work in the yard and while out there Natalie popped into my head. I thought to myself about how Natalie already feels like part of our family even though we haven't met her yet. When I came back in the house I picked up my bracelet to admire it again. As the grains of rice shifted once more the name Natalie came into view; I was so surprised. Maija knows me even better than I thought :-) When I wore the bracelet to work today on my birthday I glanced down at it often thinking of the day when our family of five will finally be complete.

Thank you Maija for this beautiful gift. I will always cherish it.

Making a Wish

Gary got me this scrumptious buttercream chocolate cake for my birthday. Any guesses as to what I wished for when I blew out my candles? Of course I can't tell because then it wouldn't come true.

Pooches in the Pumpkin Patch

We had to take advantage of the lovely pumpkins we received from our communtity supported agriculture program for a Newfie photo op.

Newfie Pumpkin Pull

Katie and Louie practiced their pumpkin pulling skills Friday evening. This was Louie's third time to pull the wagon. He's starting to get much more comfortable with drafting. As you can see by her wagging tail, Katie is very happy that Autumn is here so she can do draft work again.

Five for Five

People keep telling us that it is unusual for Newfoundlands to succeed in obedience competition. Louie has been in the Rally Obedience Ring five times and all five times he qualified. Today he earned his second leg toward his RA/Rally Advanced title. It was a tough run today because someone was playing with their dog and a toy right on the other side of the gate. Louie was very interested, but when I told him to leave it he got back on track. Also, the jump was immediately after a right turn which didn't give him a lot of room. I was worried, but Louie sailed over the jump. Gary built us some awesome jumps at home yesterday. We practiced last night and first thing this morning. I think that made a huge difference for Louie in the ring today.

Louie earning his 2nd Rally Obedience Advanced leg:


Louie on the left with his three ribbons and Katie on the right with her ribbon


Louie can never be serious for too long :-)

Cool Newfs in Hot Springs

Saturday was a great day for our family at an AKC dog show in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Louie competed for the first time in Advanced Rally Obedience and earned his first leg toward his RA title. Katie also competed in Advanced Rally and qualified for the third time. This means she now has her Rally Obedience Advanced title. Hooray for Katie. Now she is officially retired from the competition world. She is going to focus on her draft and therapy work since those are the activities she loves the best.

It was so thrilling to get to take both Newfs into the ring to receive their ribbons.


We are so proud of Katie and Louie!


Excerpts from Katie's performance:


Excerpts from Louie's performance:

Daddy's Boy

Although Katie and Louie adore both Gary and me (as we do both of them), Katie tends to be a Mama's girl and Louie tends to a Daddy's boy.

Louie loves to cuddle and play with Gary. At night he usually sleeps on the floor next to Gary's side of the bed while Katie sleeps on my side.

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

The Dish on Dog Food

I am truly sorry if my post about dog food last week offended anyone; I wasn't trying to say that there is only one way to feed your dogs. Most readers of this blog are dog lovers and I'm sure we all do the best we can for our fur kids. Here is the story of the evolution of our dogs' diet:

For years I fed my Siberian Husky, Scarlett, Science Diet ID (prescription food for intestinal disorders). Scarlett had pancreatitis and this was the food that was supposed to make her feel better. Instead she continued to have disabling attacks about every 2 weeks. This food was costing me about $60/bag... definitely not a "cheap" food. I started doing a lot of research and found source after source stating that some dogs have difficulty processing wheat, corn and soy. I looked at the ingredients list on the Science Diet and found that the first ingredient was corn, so I thought it was time to try a different food to see if we could get Scarlett some relief.

I first heard about Canidae from Katie's breeders and decided to give it a try for our new puppy Katie and our 13 year old girl Scarlett. The Canidae agreed with them both and Scarlett's pancreatitis attacks went from every 2 weeks to every 8 weeks. I was so happy that my baby was almost free from this illness. Scarlett lived a happy life until she was over 15 years old. When Canidae changed their formula the food began making a lot of dogs sick, so I used the website dog food analysis as a starting point to evaluate our dog food options. I chose Orijen partially because it received the highest rating on this site, but also because so many of our Newfie friends have used it with enormous success for years. I read post after post on newf.net about dogs with various digestive disorders and skin problems that miraculously went away when their owners switched to Orijen. Since Louie was having some itchy skin problems I was hoping it would help him, and it did :-)

What we choose to feed our pets is a very personal decision. The main point of this post is not to change anyone's mind about what kind of dog food they buy, but instead to provide a source of information to those who are interested in digging deeper into this topic.

Are Newfies Strong?

Gary recently sent me a link to the Wikipedia page on Newfoundland dogs. Before reading the entry I already knew through personal experience that Newfies are extremely strong, but I wasn't aware that they are considered to be possibly the strongest of all dog breeds.

Here is one of my favorite YouTube videos which gives a hilarious look at just how strong Newfies are.

"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.

Rally-O Practice

After taking a break from rally training we are getting back on track in preparation for our upcoming competition in Hot Springs, Arkansas at the end of September. It will be Louie's first time off lead in the ring as he works toward his Rally Advanced title. Katie already has 2 Rally Advanced legs. I told her if she gets one more leg in Hot Springs she can retire from the rally ring at the ripe old age of not quite 3 years old. Katie obviously enjoys practicing rally, but she gets tense in the ring. She will be focusing instead on her draft and therapy work. Louie, on the other hand, is phased by nothing and seems to enjoy competing. He will continue to do rally, therapy work, conformation and will hopefully start working toward his CD next spring. I will also give him an introduction to drafting as soon as the weather is cool enough.

Katie

Louie

"Speak!" Therapy

Therapy Dogs Come in All Sizes: Bonnie the Yorkie & Katie the Newfie

Last Saturday Katie and I visited the kids at Easter Seals.One teenage boy who is both mentally and physically challenged has always maneuvered his wheelchair into a corner to hide when the dogs come to visit.In the past when we have attempted to talk to him he has always turned his chair away from us.During this visit he was, as usual, way across the room by himself when Katie and I were showing a little girl some of Katie's tricks.When I asked Katie to "speak" everyone in the room jumped at the sonorous Newf bark that came out of her cavernous mouth. Across the room a shriek, which was quickly followed by a chuckle, came from the shy teenage boy. I asked Katie to speak again and this time the boy started openly laughing. I walked across the room towards him and asked if he wanted Katie to speak again. Even though his head was completely down I could see his slight nod, so I asked Katie to speak a few more times. Each time she barked he would laugh. At one point he reached his hand out like he was going to pet Katie, but then decided against it. His teacher said this was big step for him. We are hoping that Katie can bring him a little further out of his shell with each visit. Maybe next time he will be able to feel the soft fur on our extremely loud Newf.

A little girl laughs as she dodges kisses from Katie

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