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Sunday, April 25, 2010

Our Weekend With Monty

Well, our first weekend with Monty is coming to an end. It was very busy for us! Monty was a good boy, and he and Sam got along fine, but he has some holes in his educations that desperately need filling! He is a good boy in the house, and while on a leash, but once you take the leash off of him in the back yard he gets a little crazy and in a lot of trouble!

We didn't get many pictures taken due to our camera not cooperating. I finally dug out my Canon this morning, and we took some pictures of Sam and Monty practicing Agility. Here I am setting up the equipment.


First up was Sam. After several contract negotiations a quick pep talk, he leapt the jump like a pro!




He jumped the jump several times, and then tackled the weavepoles! He sailed through these with no problems!


Monty took more convincing. He was sure these were obstacles that he was not able to scale! Out came the treat bag!

Here I come!


Sit, please, boys! Monty is a little behind when it comes to basic obedience. We are working on his sits, stays, downs, and come every chance we get! Sam is showing him the proper way to sit.


Here are Sam and I giving him a pep talk before he attempts the jump...

You can do it, kid. Just give it your best try! It will make them happy!


We started with the bars set at an angle so that he could jump just a few inches and worked our way up. Here is Monty finally jumping the lowest setting on the jump! Go Monty!


Sam had to jump the jump one last time before we called it a day...


We also had to throw in these great "Fabio" shots of Sam and Monty. Aren't they a pair of heartthrobs?


Monty


Sam

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Meet Monty (nee "Marty")

OK, so I'm nerdy as a guy can get sometimes, but here's the explanation for last night's post...you remember Marty from last week?

Christine and I decided that he should stay with us, rather than go with someone unknown. Sam was happy enough to have him visit, but to live here? Sam asked if we needed another Golden, seeing as how we had the finest example of the breed living here already. But after a long talk about his new friend's need for a family to love and be loved by, Sam agreed with us that he should stay.

I wish I had more pics of his arrival but given the manic energy of our new boy, most of the ones I took are as blurry as a picture of a hummingbird. He was so "everywhere all at once" that I put up some fencing to try and keep him out of the shallow end of the pool. It was nearly successful.


Aside from his playful puppy personality, one of the things about the boy that made us want to take care of him was his extreme skinniness. Take a look:



Compare Monty (right) to Sam. They're pretty much the same height, but drastically different in build.

Not that Sam and I are anything to swoon over but still, I'm looking forward to filling him out to the manly proportions of the rest of the male members of this family.

(....Sam and I want you to know that these are not really us, just 'shopped.)

So meet Monty (by the way, we prefer Monty over Marty, and it's close enough that he doesn't seem to notice the difference). This little guy is now part of the family. You'll be hearing all about his tragedies and triumphs as he integrates into the household over the next few months. I'm confident he'll fit right in.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Read with an "outrageous" French accent...


...I tol' them we already had one!
Stay tuned, tomorrow will reveal more info as to just what the heck I'm talking about...


Saturday, April 17, 2010

Sam's Play Date

We apologize for not posting all week. Sam has been so miserable with his ears that we couldn't get any pictures of the boy looking happy. The good news is Sam did not have to have his ears repacked! We were able to give him a bath before his play date!

This is Marty!

Hi!


Marty is currently being held by the Arizona Golden Retriever Connection, the local Golden rescue that Aaron and I support. Marty was turned in to the pound for unknown reasons, but which we suspect were just because he is a normal, happy Golden Retriever pup. Marty came over to meet Sam.

This is the biggest smile we have seen from Sam all week!


The people who had owned Marty before had allowed him to roll in the dirt and play immediately after having him neutered. Because of this, the whole area had become swollen and infected. He is currently on the mend, just very thin.

Marty made Sam look like a tank!


We were so busy watching Sam and Marty play, that we forgot to take pictures! We remembered a little later, but by then, Sam was happy sitting with the people while Marty explored.

This is a big mountain I need to climb!




Marty, in typical water dog fashion, found the pool to be rather pleasant. Sam, in his typical non-water dog fashion, was horrified.

What are you doing, Marty?


Look at this! How cool!


Get out, quick! You are going to drown!


For the love of dog, somebody save him!


After we convinced Marty to play on dry land, he and Sam tried to order treats through the door.

We would like three crunchy treats, some yams, two antlers...
I'll have to take you to Starbucks, Marty, they have the best treats!


We think Marty had a good time.

Ummm, can I come back?


Of course you can, Marty!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

No Pictures Please!



Sam had his stitches taken out on Friday. That is the good news! The little guy also has a problem with one of his ears. Aaron and I have been dosing him daily and thought his ear was looking so much better! We were really looking forward to getting him out of his t-shirt and getting him a b-a-t-h. However, Dr. Kerne obviously had a secret meeting with Sam and worked out a nefarious scheme to avoid bath time - she decided to pack his ears.

If you have never had this done with one of your fur-kids, it involves filling the ear canal with a very greasy, dense medicine. We really hope that it helps and takes care of Sam's problem. In the meantime, it has made Sam deaf. He missed us pouring food into his dish, which is a sound he loves! He missed barking at the neighbor Saturday morning when he put his trash out. ...and he is very jumpy! Of course, when greasy medicine becomes warm it also melts. As of this morning, Sam looks like we poured a bottle of cooking oil on his head. Of course, all Sam knows is that he hasn't gotten a bath, and he can't have one until after his recheck next Friday. He is quite okay with this.

I've taken quite a few pictures of Sam this morning, but the one above is the only one that doesn't show him completely in his current disheveled state. He really does not look like himself this morning.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

One Year Blogiversary!

Let the party begin! Today is the one year blogiversary of "How Sam Sees It"! It's been a fun year, we've met so many new friends, worried about the illnesses and pain of our blog dog friends (and their human families!), and laughed at the silly antics and fun photos you have shared. We've leaned so much! We've also cried at the passing of our dear friends. We thank all of you for making Sam part of your blog families. We look forward to many more posts full of good stories and great pictures!

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Saturday, April 3, 2010

SciFi Saturday presents, "Guardian Golden" or the "Pup at the Portcullis"

No matter when or where, no matter if it's the Daleks or Dr Who himself, when trouble comes knocking at the castle door...


Sam is there to protect your interests!

So do your worst...you can even RELEASE THE KRAKEN!


Go ahead, I ain't ascared!

Saturday We Work

Saturday's are very important to Sam. Saturdays are trash days, and he takes his job very seriously. First of all, he wakes his Momma up at 6am on the dot to get started. He waits, rather impatiently, as she gathers the inside cans.

Hurry, Mom!


As you can see, he still has his t-shirt on. We had him in for a recheck and his stitches look fine. He will have them removed next Friday!

Here he is waiting patiently next to the can for me to unlock the gate. I love his shadow in this pic!


I make him sit-stay until I'm sure it is safe. We have very little traffic on our street, but occasionally we do get a faster moving car.

Don't forget me, Mom!



Woops, he got a little impatient and followed me out. Here I've just reminded him to sit.

...but you take so long!


After we get the can to the curb, I let him explore the front lawn.

He needed to sniff the newly painted bee to make sure it wasn't new...


...and he needs to check what has been in the yard during the last week.

No cat's, Mom. It's safe!