Sam's Package

A while back, Miley had a giveaway for Bo Hoefinger's new book "Memoir of a Rebel Doggie Blogger". We entered and guess what? Sam won!

I have a package?


What do you say, Sam?

Thank you, Miley!


Hmmm, what is in here?


Wow! Is this for me?


A new duck! Sam loves his ducks!


Sam also got a great card! Being quite literary, he can't wait to read the book.


Thank you very much, Miley!

Happy Mother's Day!

Energy or the Lack of...

One of our biggest issues with Monty is trying to wear off all of his energy. As far as we can tell, this isn't possible! If we don't try to at least make a little dent in it each day, he is constantly in trouble. This morning for example, we started off with a brisk 2.5 mile walk. Now, let me present you with Exhibit A and Exhibit B.

Exhibt A - Monty


Exhibit B - Sam (Shhhh....)


Anybody have any suggestions on how to wear this boy out?

May the 4th be with you...

Swimfest

This week has been very busy with Sam and Monty. They are settling in well together, and Monty is shaping up to be the good dog we know he can be! Today we took both Sam and Monty to AZGRC's annual Swimfest! The boys had a great time!

Welcome to AZGRC's Swimfest!


We let Monty off leash as soon as we got there, but were a little hesitant with Sam. He doesn't always realize that he is a dog!

Please, Mom, can I go play too?
How could we resist?


Both boys had a new bandana to wear! I finished sewing these just in time for them to wear to this event!
"S" for Super Sam...


...and "M" for Mighty Monty!



Lots of dogs were already in the pool when we got there.


I went to find Monty to see if he wanted to go swimming. We didn't think that Sam would swim, but we were sure that Monty would! How could he not want to? Look at how much fun these Goldens are having!


Look at this guy diving in!


To our surprise, Monty wanted nothing to do with the water!


Both dogs had a great time visiting with everyone.

Here is Sam being very social and greeting everyone...


...and here is Monty!


This is great, Mom!


Of course, Sam couldn't resist asking for a little food from everyone too!

Excuse me, Sir? I'm the food inspector - I'll need to test that hotdog to make sure it is fit for human consumption...


When that didn't work, he moved on and tried other people...

What?? I'm just offering to help them finish their food!


Sam did find a little time to visit with his Mom.


This sweet girl kept coming up and asking Aaron for attention!


I think both boys had a great day! Did you have fun, Mr. Monty?

I sure did, Mom!


How about you, Sam?

I've had a wonderful day, Mom!

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

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.