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

Louie Gets Gorgeous

Gary took Louie up to Cabot today to be trimmed by Bonnie, his breeder, in preparation for a conformation fun match next Friday. I usually trim Katie and Louie myself, but I'm not very good at it yet. I didn't want Louie to look goofy in the show, so Bonnie agreed to trim him for us.

Doesn't he look handsome? :-) Thanks Bonnie!

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

Finders Keepers, Losers...

Yup, Louie is crying like a baby because for ONCE I have a toy and he doesn't. My bratty little brother is always stealing my toys...never lets me keep anything in my mouth for longer than 1/2 a second. Well, I found this super cool toy in the street on our walkie yesterday. I carried it the whole entire walk. Mama said since I was so fond of it she would make sure I got to play with it before Louie got his grubby paws and teeth on it. Louie was banished to the kitchen with Daddy and I went to my special bed and played with my new toy. 20 minutes of uninterrupted playtime was pure bliss.

Chomp!

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 ;-)

Reverse Psychology for Newfs

Although Katie and Louie are both on the high energy end of the spectrum for a relatively low energy breed, they sometimes temporarily become couch potatoes. It's as if they decide that it is just impossible for them to peel their great mass away from where it appears to have melted into the floor. If I say their name during one of these moments the only acknowledgement I receive is maybe an eye blink. I used to struggle to find a way to move them when they were in their nearly comatose states until the day I discovered that reverse psychology works on dogs.

One evening upon returning from dog school Katie decided that she was perfectly comfortable in the car and she would just spend the night there. Since this was not acceptable to me I had to find a way to get her out. After discovering that my usually obedient dog was not going to listen to me I thought I might be able to trick her into getting out of the car. I needed Katie to want to get out so I decided to convince her that I didn't want her to get out of the car yet. Katie and Louie know the "wait" command extremely well, so I said "Waaaaaaait" in a very low and slow voice to make her anticipate the release word of a very upbeat "Ok". Sure enough when I said "waaaaaait" her head popped up, her eyes snapped to attention and her body became rigid with anticipation. I waited several seconds then said "OK". She practically flew out of the car.

When our Newfs aren't tired all that is needed is a command of "Katie move" or "Louie move" if they are blocking the fridge or backdoor, but when trying to budge a sleepy Newfoundland something extra is needed. This handy reverse psychology trick works like a charm every time.

Cyber Sisters in Opryland

Charity, Beth, Lori, Autumn, Sue and Cary

During the past three years I have been very fortunate to become close friends with a small group of extraordinary women whose families were logged into the China adoption program in July of 2006 - the same month as Gary and I. These families are all using the same agency as us, so some of us will definitely travel to China together. There are about a dozen women who are active in our group and six of us were able to meet in Nashville. These incredibly strong and beautiful women have become some of my dearest friends. It was surreal to sit down and talk to some of them face to face after three years of sending thousands of emails back and forth and sometimes talking on the phone. We have given each other so much support during this seemingly endless wait for our daughters... sharing lots of laughter and tears along the way. Someday we will share in each others' joy as we receive our referrals and then when we travel to China to bring our daughters home. I'm looking forward to many reunions over the years with my Cyber Sisters and our daughters.

Ready for Their Baby Sisters to Come Home


The Whole Nashville Gang


Charity and Sue


Cary and Sue

Our logo designed by Sue

When is Mama Coming Home?

Remy, Our Newfie Nephew

This weekend our friends Maija and Jason came to visit us. They drove all the way from California to pick up their Newfie puppy, Remy from Katie and Louie's breeders Bill and Bonnie Bennett. It was wonderful to get to spend some time with our friends and it was super exciting to get to see them meeting their baby Newf for the first time.


Remy is one of the most gorgeous Newf puppies I have ever seen. He's also one of the sweetest. Seriously, I think he is as sweet as Katie and Louie!! In fact, Gary and I both fell in love with the little bear within five minutes of meeting him. Gary and I secretly plotted a Newfie puppy abduction, but then gave up the idea because we like Maija and Jason too much to do that to them :-)


Louie and Remy are half brothers...they have the same Mama: Robin.




Katie and Remy are second cousins.


Katie adored Remy as she does all puppies (especially the Newfie type). Louie seemed to like him too, but I didn't trust him alone with the baby. I know Louie would never hurt a puppy on purpose, but he could do some damage if he accidentally stepped on Remy. Katie, on the other hand, is super careful of where she places her feet when she is around a little one. We did manage to get a few closely supervised pictures of the three Newfs together.






Aunty Charity


Uncle Gary


Charity with Paladin, Louie and Remy's Granddaddy


We were sad to see Maija, Jason and Remy go, but so happy that they have each other. Remy has very caring parents who will lavish him with lots of love... lucky boy... AND lucky parents!!!

Louie the Love Bug

Yesterday Louie and I went on two therapy jobs. First we went to Easter Seals to visit the children that are residents there. It was Louie's first time at this facility and was a bit more challenging than his first therapy jobs because there were other dogs around this time. Since Louie is an unneutered male teenage dog he is really into posturing these days and wants to make sure that all other male dogs know he is the biggest and baddest boy in the land. He has never been aggressive...not even so much as a lip curl, but he loves to stare other dogs down. I didn't let him visit with any of the other dogs and tried to keep him focused on the kids. He wasn't perfect but I will give him an A-...pretty good for his first attempt.

He did get lots bonus points in my eyes for his interaction with people. One little girl in particular who was about 9 years old. She was in a wheelchair and wasn't able to speak, but she could use her hands. I asked her if she liked dogs and although she could not answer she didn't seem at all afraid. I let Louie slowly approach and he went up and sniffed her face and gave her a couple of sweet little kisses. Her face broke into the most beautiful smile. Her hands went to the top of his head and then her grin got even bigger. I could see that she really loved the feel of Louie's soft fur. She wanted to keep him close to her and a few times she grasped and pulled on his fur a bit. I showed her how to gently pet a dog and she did very well. I was mainly showing her for her future interaction with any dogs. Louie didn't show any sign of protest when she was tugging on him. He just remained his sweet gentle giant self. The little girl petted him several more times before we left and preferred him over the other dogs.

Next we went to the Arkansas Hospice Inpatient Center where Louie brought smiles to more faces. There he had what I think was the most touching interaction I have witnessed so far during my 35 total visits with Katie and Louie. An elderly woman was sitting in a wheelchair in the hallway. I approached and asked if she likes dogs. She responded, but it was unintelligible. Like the little girl she didn't seem afraid so I let Louie approach her. He gave her kisses also and her face lit up. She tried to talk to me, but she was having a difficult time forming her sentences. After we visited some other patients we stopped by to see her again and of course Louie went in for more kisses. With great effort she clearly said "Those are the best kisses I've had in my whole life". It made me so happy to see the joy on her face. Louie is turning out to be a fantastic therapy dog for lots of patients and for me!

Rockin' the Opera

Last week Gary and I went to the Arkansas Rep Theater to see The Who's rock opera "Tommy". It was a fabulous show although it was extremely loud. We both wore ear plugs which took the volume down to a mere "very loud". Great music, wonderful actors and a thought provoking story line made for a great evening out.

Before the show started a reporter took the picture below for a local paper and we found ourselves in print and on the web this week. It's a rare picture with no Newfs in sight...LOL


Sync Weekly The Who's Tommy at the Rep

Meeting the Cousins

Saturday after the dog show Grandmother, Katie and I went to visit three of my cousins. We had a wonderful time with them. My four year old cousin, J, was very smitten with Katie. He learned how to make her sit, down and shake. J became a bit depressed when it was time for us to leave. I think he wanted Katie to come live with them. They already have four dogs though! J was probably thinking one more "little" dog wouldn't be a big deal :-)

Cousin J Getting to Know Katie


Showing Off Some Tricks; J loved the "Speak" Trick


J Learns How to Tell Katie to Sit


Katie says "Where's My Treat?"


"That's Better" she says


Hanging out with cousin J and Grandmother


Many thanks to the three J's for welcoming us into your lovely home. We had a fabulous time. I think little J is going to be a great dog trainer someday. He's definitely a natural.