Pupdate: April 25,2021

 

The last pupdate focused on Volos, so who is next?  I'm going to go with my partner in crime. The goodest of girls.  My sweet psycho Lada. 

Rich is the one who asked if we could get a 4th dog.  After raising 3 for so long, it sounded insane. He wanted a playmate for Peryn.  He wanted a dog for himself.    
I said Yes, but was filled with anxiety at the thought of a 4th dog.    
At the time I was extremely sick (recovering from bronchitis) but we made the trip to Burbank, Ohio to pick her up.

To say she chose me from the moment she saw me would not be stretching the truth. She literally jumped in my arms & on my shoulders when I went to greet her.  The rest as they say is history.

Lada is very energetic.  She has the nickname Psycho because she doesn't do anything half heartedly.

She's a lot of love in a small fur package. She can also JUMP.  She often has escaped the play area at daycare if she thought Mommy (or something better) was in the office.   The only thing that keeps her there is that she wants to be. 

Lada & Peryn took to each other right away. They were BFFs in an instant.  She got along very well with Athena.  Her relationship with Duchess was different. To some it would look like she was constantly "attacking" Duchess, but that's how they played.  Duchess never laid a paw or tooth on her although she sure deserved it. 

Lada loves to be with Mommy.  Now you may think, well my dog loves to follow me around too. No. Lada must have me in sight almost all the time.  She freaks out if she thinks I'm not around.  

She loves Peryn and Volos to death. She has different relationships with each of them.  She does love her Daddy.   She loves playing fetch with Mommy more than anything other than sleeping with Mommy.

Since Duchess she has taken on role of "The Protector". She barks at people walking by. She barks at people at the door. Even people she used to let in without issue get barked at.   

She does love Daddy too.  Don't get me wrong..Daddy gets plenty of loving, but you really can't compare against her love for Mommy.

She owns the passenger seat in the car. It belongs to her. If a human is sitting in it, she expects them to hold her (this doesn't always happen, but she does try).  On our trips to and from Tenn she sits there, refusing to sleep and watches me non-stop. I used to always try to tell her to sleep, but she just watches me. 

She ALWAYS expects me to hold her (after she jumps into my arms) when we are some place. Pick her up at daycare, jump into my arms.  
At the dog park, Jumps into my arms.   At a rest stop on a road trip, jumps into my arms.  Talking with neighbors, jumps into my arms.    

At the one Cattle Dog meetup she sat on my lap facing me while I held her.   Many commented they had never had seen that before.    She loves Momma.    Momma loves her.

 

She's obsessive.  Obsessive when she's playing. Obsessive when she's kissing. If she wants to be in your lap or arms, she will be in your lap or arms. She's very agile to keep her down.

She LOVES to give kisses. However there is so much frantic energy in her kisses. It is very difficult to breathe when she is giving you these kisses.  OH and don't you dare laugh.  If you are laughing whole-heartedly she thinks you need kisses.   
Because she is so small, she jumps easily and that is annoying when she wants something and gets on you.

She is the most social of our dogs. She has many different friends at daycare & will play with those she likes.  She's also not afraid to stand up to those who bug her.    

Her favorite toy is a tennis ball. Simple as that. When she does play by herself, she rolls it around in her paws.    That is rare.   Her favorite thing to do with the tennis ball is have Mommy throw it and she retrieves it. 

She does like playing with her herding ball and tug..both with Peryn. 

Essentially all her faults lie with her energy...her unending energy.   

She loves car rides, day care & her small # of approved humans that she will let you know she loves.   

She's a good girl over all.  Annoying at times, but really a very good girl.  She definitely is the one who loves her pack being together.  She's been very loving of all her siblings.  She was wonderful with her older sisters that is for sure, especially Athena in the end. 

 

Field Trips, Exhaustion, Week 4, 9 Weeks Old.......

Hey hey!

HIS spot in Daddy's office

Welcome back.     Life with a puppy is crazy. I never realized how good we had it with a 4 month old puppy like Galen.   I don't know where we'd be if we didn't have the girls to help take on some of the pups crazy energy.

He's growing like crazy. It's really unbelievable. Even though he's still to young to really hold his bladder, he's doing a good job.   The past few days we had a 5 hour and a 4 hour night between breaks.  
It really wouldn't be so bad if he didn't insist I escort him out on the break. He refuses to go out by himself unless I'm out there with him.   He'll do it without me if the girls go out with him--but I still have to walk him off the patio.    It's COLD out!!!

Working with him on the training.  The only things he seems to comprehend is Potty & sit.  He "knows" Paw, but it's hit or miss if he decides to do it.    We started with Come and Lay Down today, but that we'll work on until he gets.

The girls have had a rough few days. He's tired them out!  Pooped.  No more energy. Leave me alone.  They're not up to his speed.    He likes that he has two different play mates with different play types.  Athena is the typical doggy wrestling type that she does with MC & Bestie.   Duchess on the other hand is really rough.  She pushes him around with her head.   He LOVES it. He goes jumping at her.  He and her go at it every morning.   I love seeing Duchess getting play time.    

We've discovered his love of fetch. When the girls haven't worn him out, a game of fetch will do the job.  

Car Ride

This weekend we were 'kidnapped' for an experiment/field trip.   Hubby forgot his phone at work, so we packed up the car with the girls & Peryn in his crate.  Drove most of the way there before he realized he forgot his entrance key. Turned around to get it and go back to work.   (25+25+40=90 min ride there).   The girls were getting agitated. Peryn slept in his crate.    I happened to remember seeing a dog park not too far from his work, so after he was done we headed there.  It was empty like I figured and we let the 3 dogs go wild.    IT. WAS. AWESOME!!!!!  Peryn had a blast running around with his sisters. The girls got to run off the nervous energy and we were tiring out the pup!


The ride home and the rest of the day was wonderful. They were so mellow.  Most of today, Sunday, was like that as well.   Their energy has returned this evening and they just came in from playing.

Peryn has taken to MC next door. Their tie outs reach just far enough for them to greet each other and do a little wrestling.     We definitely have a social pup.

I'm sad to see the puppy grow up, but he's going to be such an awesome dog as he gets older. Part of me cannot wait.  He's already jumping up on furniture without assistance.   No where is safe for Athena now.

Sleeping beauties

He sleeps in his crate, but one of our daily routines is to have him hang out with Mommy in the bedroom before Daddy retires for the night.   He'll play a bit and then come hang out on the bed with Duchess & Mommy.    He'll cuddle with either Duchess or Mommy.  He'll stay there until Daddy comes and gets him. When Daddy's ready for bed, in the crate he goes.  He accepts it now with little or no complaint.     Sleeping through the night is a dream of ours.

Just let me sleep!!!

I just need a break!!!!!

Hanging out in Daddy's office

With Mommy on the patio

Let me see!!

CHEESE!!! (W/Daddy)

We're just chillin

Let's Play Athena!!!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

The girls and the newest addition

WIGGLE WORM

After Galen's and Sheba's passing, we were content with two dogs. We knew three dogs are a chore and the two girls are a handful as it is.

As time goes by, my itching for another dog grew.  I love my girls. I really do, but I missed having an affectionate and loving dog.  My girls love me, but Duchess isn't affectionate other than cuddling in bed at night.  Athena only wants hugs and kisses for a bit, but then she's done.


I miss the dog cuddling with me as they sleep.  Curling up and freely giving kisses.   I began to bug Rich for another dog. It grew and got worse when I  began scanning all of Galen's old photos.

Last Friday, Feb 5 I stumbled across the opportunity to adopt a new puppy. Once I saw his face I sent the photo to Rich.  The face was too much for him too.  The puppy was spoken for, but we put it out there that if that fell through, we'd be interested.

Here we are a week later.

At first Duchess and Athena were NOT AT ALL happy. In fact, Duchess rebelled a few times. They did not want to have anything to do with the puppy.   That was disappointing.

We thought Athena for sure would be interested. She loves small dogs and puppies when we're out at the park.  

no puppy bowls for him

Something changed Wednesday and before you know it, both girls are playing with him.   Its truly wonderful.  

He's a pretty good dog.  The house training thing is going to kill me.    He's relatively laid back. He's very curious and a sweet pup.   He's taken to us very easily and seems to fit right in.

He ADORES his big sisters.  He loves to chase after them to play, even after they're done with him.
He's pretty fearless too, he has nicknames like lil ninja and kamikaze.  

He goes for his first appointment tomorrow.  I wish we had weighed him last week, but we didn't.

I think the three of them will make a good pack.   I never thought having 2 older and  1 puppy would be a good thing, but so far it's looking that way.

He fell into our laps.   I've wanted a puppy for awhile now and someone was offering him up free.
Hubby couldn't say no once he saw his adorable face.

He was previously "claimed" and I stated if that fell through, we'd be interested.  The next morning I was notified and we hopped into the car with the girls.

We fell in love instantly.  He was so chubby and cuddly and sweet.
We took him home.

His first night was awful. I didn't sleep. He cried and whined in the crate all night.

The next night was more of the same.  The third night got better.  He's getting better and better each night.  

I'm not a fan of the getting up to go out in the freezing cold weather every 2 hours....

The girls have warmed up to him and as we get to know  the little guy better, we'll fill you in here.

Peryn LOVES playing fetch or tug. He loves his toys and will bring them to you to fetch. His favorite item is his Cheezburger.

He LOVES his little sister Lada, they are BFF's.  Almost always together.

When playing fetch with her, he will keep a toy in his mouth and run with her to get the item.  He prefers playing with at least one ball or toy in his mouth. 

He also loves his big herding ball. They are often in the basement herding the ball around. 

Recently has become obsessed with is big brother Volos.   He and Volos have a weird frenemies relationship. They run up and down the basement stairs together and bark at one another. 

They also both "fight" over the same ball.    

Peryn mourned the loss of big Sis Duchess and there has been a slight personality change with guarding the back yard. He once tried to silence and herd them all away from barking at people. He now barks at people.  

Stubborn and sweet.  Gives affection on his own terms.   Not a beggar.