Happy Birthday Honey!

Who knew there was ice cream made specifically for dogs? I did not! Today we went to the pet store to get something special to celebrate Honey's first birthday. From the pictures below I think doggie ice cream is a winner.

Looking at this picture I wonder what we were thinking placing a dog so close to an open flame

Ok, as if the first picture wasn't bad enough, now we forced the poor thing to down next to the flame

Honey is not sure if she likes this frozen stuff

But after the first few licks, I determine she likes this better than the other frozen stuff we give her - ice cubes

Honey was so distracted by the ice cream she did not even seem to mind wearing the 'birthday hat'

Happy Birthday Honey and the rest of the V10 litter!

Honey in Harness?

The following pictures explain why you do not ask a 10 year old to take pictures of your puppy in training. We were trying to see how Honey would react to putting on a harness (great!), how she would react to wearing a harness (great) and how she would react to working in the harness (great as well). Now if I could just get my son to center Honey in the pictures I would be a happier person!

Centennial Sportsplex

We met at the Centennial Sportsplex where the dogs watched an ice hockey game and also watched swimmers in the pool.

Frenchie watching the swimmer

Pat with Moose, Becky with Clifford, Honey, Tina with Frenchie

Puppy Camp

Sorry for the delay in posting blogs. I have been writing some posts during this hectic summer but I have not found the time to publish them. With the kids starting back to school next week, I will finally have some free time to update Honey's blog with some of those posts... I hope!

Honey has been at puppy camp for almost 2 weeks now. We will finally get her back home with us at our puppy raiser meeting this weekend. Due to puppy camp we missed 2 Friday photo sessions, her 'you better be watching me at all times' attitude and just Honey in general. Puppy camp, for us, is a very small taste of what IFT will feel like. I do not like this feeling! In the meantime we have been puppy camping, Frenchie, a not so little 5 month old black female goldadore. She is one of Miss Fayes pups. What a world of difference between Honey and Frenchie.

The top 10 Differences between Frenchie and Honey

10 - Frenchie is VERY laid back. Honey, well, let's just say she is not so laid back

9 - Frenchie is very lean. Honey is, as my grandmother would say, rugged.

8 - Frenchie prances on our walks. Honey attempts to pull me along on walks.

7 - Frenchie tires easily. Honey is constantly in motion.

6 - Frenchie follows me around - everywhere. Honey follows my husband around.

5 - Frenchie wakes up way too early in the morning. Honey needs to recharge her batteries so she thankfully sleeps in.

4 - Frenchie is a goldadore and has a rounder head and much longer whip-like tail. Honey is a lab and has a much flatter head and shorter tail (and oddly. her tail does not whip or injure us!).

3 - Frenchie 'busys' without moving around. Honey 'busys' almost in motion.

2 - Frenchie does not jump or give kisses. Honey loves to jump and lick.and the #1 difference is...

1 - Frenchie does not steal socks!!!!!

Check back tomorrow for our Top 10 similarities...

Honey on the tie-down

I try not to put Honey on the tie down now that she is older, more predictable and much better behaved. The exception to this rule is when I need to sweep the floor. Sometimes she just wants to eat the broom. Sometimes I cannot help but sneak out of the kitchen, grab the camera and hope Honey does not notice me sneaking back to take her picture. Inevitably my plan fails. Look closely and you can see the blur from her tail wagging!

Temptations

Ok, I admit it. I like Frenchie's laid-back nature. I purposely placed my socks on the floor along with a hair clip (two of Honey's most likely to eat items) to see what Frenchie would do. What did she do? Nothing! She plopped down and went to sleep. Now that is my kind of dog!

Puppy Camp

We puppy camped Frenchie while Tina had Honey. I am not a fan of puppy camp but we did enjoy Frenchie!

Puppy Swap at Drakes Creek Park

We usually swap dogs during puppy meetings to let the pups get use to other handlers and this meeting was no different.

Scotty with Moose

Becky with Honey

Pat with Clifford, Becky with Honey, Me with Moose

Pat with Clifford

What a pretty dog!

Decoration Day and Family

Although I sometimes do not like to admit it, I was born, raised and lived in New Jersey for 40 years. My eldest sons special needs necessitated our relocation to Tennessee in 2005. I miss talking face to face with my Mom. I do not get 'home' often enough. I am sad that my children are not growing up with the majority of their cousins nearby. I dislike that my youngest son has not seen his 'Grammy' in 3 1/2 years. I could go on forever. I could also tell you about the wonders of Tennessee. Meeting my husband, the beauty of the mountains, the less stressed living, not to mention the lowered cost of living. My youngest son has lived in Tennessee longer than he lived in New Jersey. He does not say 'Are-inge' like a Northerner but instead says "Or-inge' like a Southerner and (sometimes) I am ok with that. I like the South. It is my home now.

Then Decoration Day arrives and I remember that, unlike my husband, I am not a Southerner. I never heard of Decoration Day. After it is explained to me I think 'Well isn't that just like Memorial Day?". My son's Boy Scout Pack in New Jersey took responsibility for placing flags at the headstones of deceased military members at several cemeteries. In the South though, A LOT of people go to their loved ones cemetery and 'decorate' the grave sites - whether they served in their country in the military or not.

I guess Honey is a Southern Dog. This year she participated in Decoration Day.

And then, for being such a good girl, she was rewarded with some down time at the farm.

Puppy Meeting Foundation Fighting Blindness Walk

Today was the Foundation Fighting Blindness walk in Nashville. This normally would be something right up my alley EXCEPT for:

• It was one of the hottest recorded days in Tennessee in almost 70 years
• I had to walk with Honey, the other pups in our group as well as what seemed like a million other dogs (ok you cannot tell from this picture but there were A LOT of dogs there!)

• The Cicada invasion was at its peak

• CIcadas like to fly into me and land on me. There could be thousands of people around but somehow they always seem to want to be with me. The same is true of mosquitoes!

• Cicadas in mating mode are really loud!
• The walk is being held in Cicada headquarters

• Dogs love to eat Cicadas!

Being raised in the North, this was my first experience with cicadas. For those of you who do not know what cicadas are the above pictures should give you some understanding of my desire to be almost anywhere but where I was today. The puppies did well and we all managed to survive the heat and bugs. Today I think I took some of the best pictures of Honey to date.

Isn't she sooo cute??

Water Dog? Not Honey

We went to Atlanta to visit Scotty's sister, Tamera and her husband, Nigel. Always the most gracious hosts, it is like a vacation to visit with Tamera and Nigel. They have a lovely home with a beautiful fenced yard - with a pool. Let me preface what follows by stating Honey loves water. She loves to get in the shower, likes getting wet by the hose outside when Scotty is washing the cars, loves puddles, the rain, sprinklers, her water bowl - pretty much anything to do with water. I was worried that Honey, being a Lab, would give us problems around the pool. We had problems but not the type we expected. Not many words necessary. I think the pictures explain it all...

Scotty - 'I can coax her into the pool'

Despite best efforts, it is not working. Honey will not take the plunge.

Scotty - 'Look at this cool green ring'

Bribe time.

Scotty - 'Closer but not in'

Honey -' Closer but not in'

Scotty - 'AHA, I got you now Honey'

Honey - 'Let me out of here!'

Honey - 'Maybe if I swim to this thing I can get out of here'

Honey - 'Well that did not work. Billy just screamed.'

Note Billy writhing in pain in the background

Billy - 'Ouch, that hurt!'

Scotty - 'If I beg will you come in?'

Scotty - 'You will learn to love the pool, Honey, even if I have to drag you in'

Frantic to get to safety

Honey - 'I am safe here!'

Scotty - 'Maybe if I carry her in Honey will like the pool'

Scotty - 'Wow Honey, you are getting heavy!'

The Dog Whisperer

Look! Honey can doggie paddle

Honey - 'I think I may get use to this swimming stuff'