Avoiding the News

My dogs have always known when I feel stress.  The give me additional hugs, kisses, or just hang around a bit more.

Several nights ago I watched the President give his speech, listening intently on the economic issues that are the focus of each of us right now.

This was Annie's reaction.  I guess ostrich is a good idea!

Murphy's day.

Growing Up

While it has only been 5 years since Sage was a pup, I marvel at the daily, no, the minute changes in Annie.  I am not privy to how the gears click in her brain (and have never been sure how they work with Sage), but each day I can see her becoming more aware of what she is supposed to do, more excited about pushing those boundaries, and certainly understanding the routines of the house.

It's also fun to see the differences between Sage and Annie.  Murph and Sage were distinct and clearly that is now the case with Annie, thus adding more to the nature/nurture debate.

But rest assured, she is still very much a pup.  Full on then dead stop.  Not much in between.

Murphy's day.

Forbidden Toy

Let's see, what did my friend Mary call Annie?  Holy terror?  Ah yes.  Yesterday's adventure was trying to steal the forbidden toy.  She is oblivious to "no."  Determined to see just how far she can go before she is caught by her collar and told to sit, lie down, and stay.  It's the best I can do...!

Sage merely walks away shaking her head.  I remind Sage she was just like this before she achieved perfect status.

Murphy's day.

Good Grief!

News Flash!  Sage's sanctuary, the bed, has just been invaded by alien labrador puppies who have figured out they too can jump!

And then, yesterday, the puppy invaded my fly fishing closet, stealing one of my wading boots (fortunately caught in the nick of time, but...).  Toilet paper is one thing, but my wading boots?

Good grief!

Murphy's day.

And the Oscar Goes To...

I am not a big fan of the Academy Awards, but last night, Annie and I watched them together.  Sage napped upstairs, while Annie dreamed of receiving the award for Best Puppy.

This weekend was spent in Seattle.  On Sunday, we worked in the back yard.  I tried to remind Annie that shovels, not paws, were meant for digging.  But the amazing thing was the tennis ball lesson.

She retrieves!  Ok, not all the time, but she gets the ball thrown, come back, drop, ball gets thrown.  Murphy is really inside this dog.

Last week, we walked with friends, and the one thing everyone noticed was how gentle Sage was with Annie.  And she is gentle.  I am so very proud of Sage. 

The award for best lab goes to....

Murphy's day.

When Everything is a Toy

Need I say more?

Bliss

Ah, a quiet moment.  Bliss.  More for Sage and me than Annie!

I am absolutely convinced there is reincarnation in dogs.  Yesterday morning, after only hearing silence, I find Annie, upstairs.  But on the way upstairs I find little pieces of toilet paper on the stairs and a shredded roll of toilet paper still attached to the dispenser in the upstairs bathroom.  Murphy did a similar shenanigan when she was a pup.  

And I guess, knowing there is a little bit of Murph inside Annie also brings me bliss.

Murphy's day.

New Toy Syndrome

They received a new toy on Monday.  And for the past two days that is all they have been playing with, morning, noon, night.

This time it is long enough for a good tug o' war game.

On the other side, you know, kids who don't need toys to remain entertained, puppies can teach us a lot.  On the warm Tuesday mid-day, Annie was out in the back yard chasing bugs.  Happy, happy, happy (as was I, she wasn't digging or trying to crawl under the deck!).

Murphy's day.

This Is What It Takes To Get To Exhaustion

Among other things, this is what it takes.

She's now at 30 pounds.  Has all her shots and aside from spaying, is good to go.  And go she does.

Murphy's day.

Exhausted

This is Annie after a long long day of playing in the snow (ok, it was really crusty).  I couldn't even get her to come out for dinner.  This is the face, if you can see it, of exhaustion.  

It took almost all day to get her to this point, however.  Without performance enhancing drugs!

Murphy's day.

Catch Me If You Can

At the risk of becoming repetitive, I had completely forgotten the amazing speed of puppies when they are focused on their task and know it's forbidden.

In this case, she was re-arranging the blankets, mat, and pillow in Sage's crate.  I was trying to put things back in order before Sage found out.

Move aside, Leonardo DeCaprio, Annie is going to be cast in the re-make of Catch Me If You Can.

Murphy's day.

When I Grow Up...

Parents must do this often, wonder what their children will be when they grow up.  They'll see a sign, you know, the child playing with a toy in a certain way indicating he/she wants to be a doctor, or begins talking early and often so that you think they are going to be lawyers...

The past several days Annie has taken to re-arranging the house.  Mostly she arranges Sage's crate, taking out her mat, pillow, and blanket, dragging them all over the house.

I got myself an interior designer!

Murphy's day.

Figuring Things Out

Annie is at that stage, which will now seem forever, where she is figuring things out.  In this picture, she is behind a fence in eastern Washington, trying to understand how to get to where we are!

Of course, the figuring things out involves a lot of  "Annie, NO!"  But then, it is also entertaining to watch and try to outfox her (nearly impossible).

It's going to be a long, long process...

Murphy's day.

One Year!

I noticed on the start page to my blog that I have been writing for a year!  This all began as it really sunk in that Murphy was aging and I thought I wanted to see what this blogging thing was all about.  It was a good avenue for me to think through what I was seeing and feeling with Murphy.

And now there is this little one wandering all over, getting into mischief (she, like Murphy, as discovered the thrill of crawling under the side deck), harassing her sister, Sage.  

It doesn't seem like it has been a year since I started writing.  Time really does move too quickly when you're trying to hold on tight.

Murphy's day.

Weekends

As many of you know weekends are frequently spent in what is technically called North Central Washington, but we call it "the property."  We got the property because, among many reasons, we wanted a place to let the dogs run off leash and not worry about "animal control."  

For awhile Murphy loved every thing about the property but the neighbors who target practiced and the summer lightening and thunder storms.    When she got so old and frail, she just loved laying in the warm summer sun, standing in the Wenatchee River, and waiting for scraps from the fabulous  barbecue place down the road.

After Murphy died, Sage parked herself at the top of the driveway and just gazed.  

But now, the Dos Amigos are in control.  Once the dog bag is packed, Sage is out the back door, waiting by the gate.  Annie is just getting the gist of this routine, but first, she has to make sure her dog food is packed.  Just like Murphy, always checking to make sure the all important pigs ears were in the bag.

Weekends.  Glad to see my buddy, Sage, excited to be and Annie, ready for whatever the world brings to her paws.

Murphy's day.

Thinking About Murphy

It's still true that a day does not go by when I don't think about Murphy.  While the pup is taking up a lot of time and energy, I spend time every day feeling Murphy in my heart.  She was an extraordinary dog.  I am so grateful that she was able to guide Sage, and that some of Murph is now being pawed-down to Annie.

But more importantly, it's the time I had with Murphy that touches me every day.  Yesterday I had lunch with an old friend, and I was telling her about the last year with Murphy, how I would feed her, hold her, encourage her on walks, play with her.  My throat tightened just talking about her.  She occupied a lot of my geography.

Murphy's day.

You Can Only Imagine

I have a picture on my refrigerator of my Soft Coated Wheaten terrier chasing my older and much loved Airedale.  I have a picture of Murphy harassing the same Wheaten.  And I have a picture of Sage going after Murphy.  In a long line of pup's tormenting older sisters, here is it.  

You can only imagine what the house looks like.  Every night I pick up toys so I don't trip over them at 4:45 AM.  By early evening, a bomb went off.  Sage, however, is not going down lightly.  Of all my girls, she is the first one to ensure her top dog role will stay intact.

Remind me again, why did I agree to take Annie?

Murphy's day.

Nothing Better

For a lab, there is nothing better than water in any form.  And high on the list is snow.

They don't care if it is pristine powder or crusty Cascade Concrete.  It's snow.  It feels good on the fur, it is fun to slide in, chase snowballs, it preserves scents.  It's snow.

There is nothing better.

Murphy's day.

Home School

It's probably not the smartest thing I do, but I home school my dogs.  I think it stems from a really bad experience at a dog obedience class many many years ago.  

But, the older I get I keep thinking this is a lot of work.  

Annie, clearly still recovering from being in a litter, loves the idea of "catch me if you can."  She is too young to realize my really deep Alpha voice means trouble (Sage goes totally submissive), so, it's now games of out witting each other.

Score you ask?

Mommie - 0

Annie - too many to count.

Murphy's day.

Isn't She Lovely?

We've spent a little bit of time on Annie, but when I downloaded this picture I realized, again, how lovely Sage really is.  What a gorgeous girl.  And she is being so patient with Annie, yet letting the little one know who is top dog.

While I named Sage after a fly rod manufacturer on Bainbridge Island, here in Washington, really, I think, Sage is beginning to live up to another meaning of her name.  Wise dog.  She really is lovely.

Murphy's day.