Pupdate- July 20 2023

 Hey All.    Happy Thursday. 

Today's Momma's day off.  She really needed a mental health day so she took off today & tomorrow.

Already took the kiddoes to the farm with their favorite person on earth. They had a blast. More on that later.....

So the last few weeks have been interesting. The girls have not wanted to go to daycare at all. Depending on whether or not I have to leave after work, I've been letting them stay. Where they once used to be raring to go out the door for daycare, they refuse to move or come to me wanting me to reassure them that they do not have to go.    

Things definitely have changed there so I'm not going to force them when they obviously have no desire to go.   As long as the weather has been nice, I've been taking them to the farm so we all get out of the house. 

It's an adjustment because I need to keep boundaries & not have them think they can get me to do their bidding every time they want something.  
It is tiring as that I work all day.  Before work & at lunch I play with them. After work they expect that I play with them.   They are quite annoying and demanding that I do.   

I have zero breathing room.    I can't even take them for a walk as the weather is too hot/humid for me to walk without getting ill.      

Finding a moments peace that they'll allow me is a challenge.   

I have had Jen, their favorite non-parental person, come out twice a week now vs once.  They love that.  

In fact they had quite a surprise today.  We had her scheduled today & I asked her earlier if she wanted to go to the farm.   So we met up there. 

Lada when she realized Jen was there was a sight to see. She in fact jumped out the car window into her arms just to get to her to greet her.  

They were happy to get in the pond to cool off and even happier to play with both Jen & Momma.   Here are some of the photos that didn't make it on the FB post.......

September 28 2022-Loving the weather thru Oct 7

Fall is here 

The Berners are in heaven. They LOVE this cooler weather.   

As of late it feels as though all the dogs are fighting to get attention from Momma.   It didn't help that I was out late on Saturday. Gone most of the day & coming home around 2:30AM as I attended a concert with some friends, they are not used to my being away for long. 

The greeting I got was very enthusiastic. They are also clingy.     Additionally, Lada seems to get lost in the fight. Being the smallest, she sometimes gets "buried" in the mass of fur.   
She's getting more "possessive" and snapping at the others when they come for attention.  
This morning I had to bring her up on my lap to have a "chat". 

I told her she was my special girl and I'm sorry if she thinks she isn't getting enough attention, but because my lap is always reserved for her as well as the spot next to my pillow--my outward showing of love might make it seem I don't love her.   However she is very loved and is the only one who holds those spots.    Poor girl.   

Reminder

Don't forget to check the Facebook page when there isn't any updates here.   I can update FB on the fly or in the moment, so there is always something there.     
The blog here is our recap or longer thoughts or anecdotes of what happened.  

https://www.facebook.com/thecouchcrew2022/

What's been up

The past week has been very busy here.   On Friday of last week my friend (and one of Peryn's favorite people) came over and we walked the boys on the path.   It was a gorgeous day & enjoyable.  

Sunday, cousin Zenia, came for a visit.   We took them all to the Farm. It was an awesome time.  Watching Zenia explore and experience new things put a smile on our face.   Nothing is cuter than watching a dog experience something the first time & loving it.  

The one downside to the weather has been the rain, particularly the storms. The boys do not do well with them.  While I have gotten additional lap time with Volos, it's not all fun & games.

See what I mean?

Started this post over a week ago.  Apologize if it isn't cohesive.  Trying to get my bearings of what photos, info, & such were last shared. 10/7/22

The Boys

The boys have been staying home from daycare together.  They've gotten walks & plays. They still are up to their shenanigans

Lada-Oct 7
Today is little girl's 6th birthday.   

MISC FB Updates

Shout out to our biggest Fans

Saying HI to our biggest & most loyal supporters.

Sisters=BFFs

In case you're wondering how the girls are doing at daycare, without their brothers? Wonder no more. They're still BFFs.

Nov 14 Pupdate & we're up-to-date

If you're starting here you have plenty of pictures ahead in the next post.   If you've gone in post order, I hope you've enjoyed the photos. 

We're here in November & it's hard to believe the year we've had.  Ziva is growing into a typical puppy brat (the teenage years?).  She's a loving, sweet girl but man is she a brat.   She's 98% house trained. She is pretty good at letting us know when she needs to go out. However 1) when she's in a mood, she goes inside and 2) she abuses her "I need attention" bark. 

She still adores her big brother and he accepts that she is not going to leave him alone.  She & Lada get along fabulously & can be found wrestling hard around the house.  It makes us so happy.  

Peryn has recently become more "affectionate" than previously. I think he's gotten jealous of all the attention every one else was getting. 

Volos has decided to stake his claim on Mommy & is even more of a cuddler. He often climbs into bed to lay on me & on the couch to cuddle. This Mommy is quite OK with that. 

Wednesday of this week we took a ride to my Aunt & Cousin's house. They adopted a new puppy & we were bringing them some stuff we used with Ziva.  We brought Ziva because they met her way back when we brought her home.  We wanted to show them how big she's gotten.  

Ziva loved her new baby cousin, Xena. Xena, 5 weeks, after some trepidation took to her big cousin.  Very very cute!!!

I am really hoping we can get them together again!   

All the pups will be meeting their cousin Marshall on Thanksgiving!  That will be interesting to say the least.

Veterans day the daycare closed unexpectedly so we took the kiddoes to the farm. There were some other pups there.   It was a very nice morning!

Currently they're all passed out around me here in the living room while I get caught up on this blog. 

Also if you were wondering, when we brought Ziva home we were hoping she would be more Rich's dog than mine.  Happy to report that has happened.  She ADORES daddy & shows definite preference to him over me.    
I am quite happy because I already have 2 dogs that are devoted to me & a pack that already follows me around.  

I believe we are all caught up on the pups.  I am also hoping not to go too long in between updates.   Fingers X'd. 

Pupdate: September 11 2021

 

Believe me when I say the lack of updates is due to just how much is going on.   We have a lot going on today, but I have a few minutes to fill you in on as much as I can.    

ZIVA

As of this week she is officially at play care with the others.  Since bringing her home we've brought her up there a few times to get used to the gals who work there. They've watched her twice when we needed & allowed her to become acclimated to the surroundings.   

The thing is, she is such a chill pup--it doesn't phase her.   SO after receiving her final shots on Tuesday, we took her to daycare for her "trial" so to speak.  That was an hour and half of getting to go into the play area & sniff/meet the others.   

Wednesday we introduced her to the farm. I had discovered last week that water does not phase her (the hose) so of course she had no fear with the pond.   Glad we bought her a life vest because she has one awkward doggy paddle.     

Thursday she did a half day at day care.  When I brought her home, she passed out most of the day.   Friday-yesterday- she ended up doing almost a full day.   Girl did not sleep until bedtime.    So today since it's open, she's spending the whole day with her siblings.

From the reports of the gals that work there, she's having a blast.  She loves meeting new people & dogs so this is perfect for her.   She gets to run around & play & have a good time. 

Siblings..... Lada has attempted to play with her a few times. I actually recorded one such time, but other than that--not really much.   I'm hoping Lada will play more with her now that she goes to daycare.  That happened with her & Volos so we shall see if it happens with Z. 

Volos & Z.  Pretty much the same.  They're side by side a lot (Ziva's doing). He tolerates her taking stuff from him & being around him.   I think he grudgingly likes her.  As I have said before--she ADORES him. 

She also tries to play with Lada --but as I said above--the reciprocal is not so often. 

She is HUGE.   She towers over Lada. She's about to surpass Peryn. AND ...to top it off, if you're not paying good attention you can mix Volos & her up.   

She is 36.5# as of Tuesday.   She's still a beauty.  She really has made dealing with a puppy very easy. She has such a laid back personality, doesn't let much bother her.  She loves people.  She loves dogs. She likes water.  She is still teething, so that is the worst part.   She allows you to just pull her to you and cuddle.   She really is a joy.   I love this girl with all my heart.

Daycare, particularly Jen, has taken some BEAUTIFul pics of my girl & even got a full COUCH CREW initiation pic.   I'm going to work on the photos & adding them to this in a few.   Keeping my eye on the clock & listening for Rich ....

The others are doing well.  Volos has become even more of a cuddle bear. His favorite thing to do first thing in the mornings is jump up on the couch & cuddle with me.  i love him so much.  Ziva has definitely brought out an even cuddlier side to him. 

Peryn--- Peryn is still a jerk., an AH, & just a plain ole PITA.   seriously he lives to annoy. HOWEVER... I think I have caught him "taunting" Ziva a few times with a toy.   Volos was nearby so I don't know if she was just in proximity or if he really is trying to get her to play.

Volos & Peryn got into it over a toy. Peryn taunted, Volos responded. The two of them went at it with the object, an alligator, in their mouths while they wrestled hard for it.   It gets tiring (& messy)l..     Their personalities are in direct opposition.    Luckily (if you want to say that) they only fight over toys.   

The Farm

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐ A doggy slice of heaven
I'm pretty sure I've mentioned the Farm here & there in this blog.    Well, today I'm going to tell you about The Farm.-Red River Dog Farm.

We've been taking our dogs to dog parks & dog events for years. We started with Galen & Sheba, but it didn't happen to often while we lived in Cleveland as we had the fenced in back yard for them to chill out in.  

All of our dogs have different reactions to being at the dog park. Duchess used to go off by herself & explore. For that reason she loved the bigger parks that allowed her that option. Her favorites were Medina, Kirtland,  &  Huron. She didn't mind the other smaller parks if we were meeting someone there (Oberlin).  She didn't interact too much with others. It was rare if she did. However, when she was OVER it, she would head to the gate & face out. Waiting for us to get the hint. She would have LOVED the Farm.

Athena....Athena thrived at dog parks. She was all about other dogs, running & chasing, (AND BARKING).  She could spend forever at those places.  If a park was empty, she was happy just exploring with her siblings. She got one visit a few weeks before she past & she LOVED IT!!!

Now Peryn & Lada. They are NOT normal. In the beginning, Peryn was all about wrestling with his buddies, but as he soon discovered FETCH & later -the herding ball-- dog parks were a vary different experience.

Peryn & Lada tend to play with each other either herding their ball or fetching a ball/toy.   They're not necessarily into playing with other dogs.   Depending on Peryn's mood, he may allow other dogs to play along. When he's like this, he encourages other dogs to play with his herding ball.    Other times, nope. Don't come near him. He doesn't want to be bothered. 

Lada does what Peryn does.  That is only if she feels secure enough to be away from Mom.

So going to dog parks was more about the room for them to run than playing with other dogs. In fact, busy parks were often a pain as dogs & people would get in their way.   When we arrived with the ball & let the dogs loose, we always had people coming up to us to ask about it.  "They never have seen such a thing". 

Peryn loves parks where he has the option to cool down while he plays (pool, pond, lake). He only uses them for the cool down.  Now Lada, she likes to swim when fetching.   Down side is there are only so many places with water for the dogs to swim.   Medina (when not having issues), Kirtland (too long of a drive, Stow (again long drive).     Finding the Farm was a miracle!

I first stumbled upon their website: https://www.redriverdogfarm.com/ when searching for a dog park that was nearer to us ( closest was almost 20 mins- Avon Lake) and that had swimming.   I was unsure as it was a Member Only place.  Wasn't sure if the fee was per dog or per family. So I held off for a bit. 

When one of our long time Husky friends (met because of Duchess!) told us about it, I was able to ask questions & find out more.   We did our Free Play Tour Visit last July. The minute I saw the place, I knew it was perfect for us. 

• Large area for the dogs to play with their ball or fetch.....CHECK
• Swimming area for the kids in the summer.....CHECK
• Warm shelter for the freezing winter....CHECK*
• Swimming pools for a quick cool off ....CHECK
• Areas to explore & roam...CHECK
• Not having to deal with over crowding...or any people at all ....CHECK
• 15 Minutes from the house (closest park to date) CHECK
• Member Only.  Better care for the place....CHECK
• Extremely nice owners who are making improvements for a better experience..>CHECK!

This place was/is perfect.  They breed Portuguese Water Dogs who are often on the property.  The dogs are sweet & hilarious & pretty much leave you alone.   Even when they don't they're harmless, so there are no issues.

You'll notice I didn't mention Volos.   Volos is in a category all by himself. He's not one to play with other dogs. He's more of a hang by his Momma kind of dog.  When he's in the mood, he'll go off and explore on his own.  He always makes his way back to my side though.   

He's happy to just lay down at my feet or plop himself in front of me begging for pets while I play with the Chuck-It & Peryn & Lada.

My first thoughts when I toured the farm was that I couldn't wait to get Athena there.  Even though her clock was winding down, I knew she would love it. I am so glad we were able to take her there.  She was having a good day, so that made it even more special.

There have been a few downsides I'll admit for full-disclosure--that this day was a one off--but it was enough of an inconvenience to us. We stopped by one Saturday morning during the winter.  A family member & friends were there to play ice hockey & took up most of the parking spaces (being a small member only place, there aren't that many).   We ended up getting stuck in the snow & ignored by everyone on the ice. We were stuck for a half hour before we stopped & asked the next "friend" who showed up for help that we were able to get out.   
Marti & Janet have since laid down more rocks to avoid this happening in the future.  Additionally we have noticed a camera set up on the barn now.  Heard from our friend that they were able to speak to them through the camera.  So I don't foresee this being an issue in the future.

While the above happened, the family member also had the dogs running all around un-attended & a few of them continued to bother Peryn when he attempted to herd his ball. Dude was not happy.  The others continued to bark at ours & made playing on their own a bit difficult. 

This all was a 1-time thing & each visit we see more improvements to the Farm. 

One more caveat. The neighbor tends to shoot his gun at times.  So if your dog is extremely reactive to noises like that, be aware.   We lived next to a gun range in the last house (in fact we can still hear it at times) so the sound of gun shots does nothing to them. They still carry on as if it's a normal day.  
Volos---the sweet neurotic fluff ball is not a fan.  So he tries to hide in or near the barn or in my arms.      Most times there isn't any, so we have no issues.

Overall, this is the preferred place to go if you & your dog prefer the quieter side of parks or prefer to play by themselves (Or their pack).   
At most, I've been there when 4 others families were there.  No issues what-so-ever. My dogs did their thing, weren't bothered by the curious dogs that wandered over.    Most times we're by ourselves.   It's large enough with a small number of members to make it a pleasant visit. 

Did I mention the barn? The course equipment? The toys?  Yeah.  There is a barn for the human's to rest in, keep out of the sun or cold. It's heated with a picnic table to rest at.  A beverage or two.   

If your dog is into running agility courses, there is equipment there for that. Need a toy to play with, a bucket of toys is right outside the barn.  Your dog doesn't swim? A small pool is available for them to cool off in.  Human needs to use the restroom, a "nice" (can you call the nice) port-a-potty is near the entrance. 

They had a Lure there when we first signed up that was supposed to be getting fixed. I really would like to try that, so maybe one of these days it'll re-appear. 

To view their page & find more information, click the picture below.