Have you met the new guy?

Several of you have reached out to ask how Ramble (Rambo wasn't working well) was settling in.  I am amazed at how quickly he has adapted to a new home and how well Monty and Harlow have taken to him.

Of course, we do have some new dog "things" to work through.  We haven't quite established a potty habit with him, he is an extreme counter surfer and we had to do some very quick puppy proofing in the house, and we've had one incident (which will remain unspoken of) that required a dose of hydrogen peroxide to make him throw up what he had eaten.

Monty's comments are shown in red, Harlow's in purple, and Ramble's comments will be green.

So to answer some of the questions we've been asked...

How are Monty and Harlow doing with Ramble?  Both of them have taken to Ramble very well!  Harlow, of course, gets along with everyone and has found that as long as she keeps her play gentle, she has a sparring buddy who is willing to play 24/7.  Monty has even been seen playing with Rambo and has already taught him some of his worldly wisdom, like how to eat raspberries off of the bushes.  Monty does not have Harlow's aversion to fruits and vegetables.

There’s something odd about da new guy…

Da Harlow loves her new little brother…

Hi?

 How old is he and does he act like a puppy?  Ramble is about 18 months old and sometimes he acts like a puppy.  Right now he has discovered that people loving is what it is all about and spends a great deal of his days seeking it.  He has some amazing quirks though - he is a talker.  He moans when we aren't loving on him and beeps when he feels confused or lost.   

Something seriously different about him…

Da Harlow loves da brothers…

Beep…

Does he know his manners?  Yes and no.  He sits, I'm working on stay, down is hard on him because he doesn't like hard surfaces and Aaron and I are both working on his recall, which is easy right now because he craves attention.  Like I mentioned before, he is a terrible counter surfer and we've had some issues with that.

I can’t quite put my paw on it…

Da Harlow is happy he is here…

Beep beep…

He adores Aaron and me, and wants to be where we are.  I've noticed if I disappear from him, or go somewhere where he didn't see me go, he panics.  I'll hear his sad moans and know I need to call him.  He looks up to Aaron, though, and does his best to keep both of us happy with him.

What am I missing?

Da Harlow can keep dis smile up all day…

Dad …

 We are so happy he is here with us!  Thanks for everyone who have reached out to give him welcoming hugs and happy thoughts, and also for the suggestions on how to help his coat grow out.  I've ordered a few products and will definitely look into all of them.  We aren't sure anything will grow, but we are going to try. 

Must not be important…

Iz dat a treat, da Momma?

New people friends….

The new guy...

If you follow us on Facebook, then you already know that we've added a new addition to our family.

If you don't, you might have just said "Wait, what?"  Didn't you guys just move, buy a house, move in last weekend...  Now you are adding a dog?

Let me explain.  A while back Arizona Golden Retriever Connection posted a photo of a special needs pup on their page.  I took one look at him and fell in love.  So did Aaron.  So it only made sense to reach out and ask if they did out of state adoptions.

They said yes.  (Insert happy dance here!)

So why is our new pup special needs?  Well, he isn't sporting a Golden's normal growth of hair.  In fact, think "fuzzy legwarmers" and you've pretty much summed up our pup.

Meet Rambo:

Photo from AZGRC

The hope is he won't sunburn or have sun-related issues up in Washington with us.  He's had a bunch of tests run and we have a long list of things he hasn't got going on - so we'll just do our best to make sure he is happy and healthy in every other way.

...and yes, we will make every effort to regrow his fuzz - but we like him just as he is.

...and you know he is going to have the nicest wardrobe of any dog!  (Remind me to tell you about his pink jacket one time!).

The next big question was how would we get him up here?  The nice folks at AZGRC volunteered to bring him up, which was huge, considering our Monty can be a little reactive and we weren't even sure if it would work out.  They may make the trip  for nothing! I was afraid to mention it just in case it didn't work.

This past Wednesday the AZGRC van pulled up and we got to meet Rambo for the first time.  Harlow, of course,  wanted to make sure our people guests knew we were happy to see them.

Hi dere!

I think she ended up greeting everyone multiple times with her customary enthusiasm!

Rambo got to meet the horses....

What dese?

I didn't get too many photos of the initial introduction of Monty and Rambo, due to needing to pay attention to Monty.  There was a lot of concern over stressing Monty out, and we waited for Aaron to make the final decision, since Monty is truly his boy.  Harlow of course loved Rambo from the get go, but Monty took a little more time.  Aaron decided that Monty would be fine and we decided to do a trial run, since the folks from AZGRC were spending the night and in no time at all....

First walk together!

The trio!

He's definitely a keeper!  We are just getting settled with him, learning his (shark-like) eating habits and potty needs, but he seems to want to make sure we are pleased with him.  ...and he is a huge cuddlebug!

We'll be sharing more photos in upcoming posts and more stories of our trio!

Thank you, AZGRC, for letting us adopt another one of your pups and for bringing him to us!  We are so happy to have him here!

June Chewy review - ZiwiPeak Good-Dog Lamb Jerky Dog Treats

It's time for our June review from chewy.com!  Our first delivery to our new house!  Thank you, chewy.com!

We decided to try ZiwiPeak Good-Dog Lamb Jerky Dog Treats.  I'm always looking for a high quality, value added treat to help further our pups along in their education.  I think I might have found one with this product!

Nicely packaged to maintain freshness!

 First a quick look at the ingredients....

Don't worry - it was hard for us to read too.

The treats were made up of the following:  Lamb Meat 95%, Lecithin, Chicory Inulin, Parsley, naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols...  

Just in case you were wondering:

Lecithin:  generic term to designate any group of yellow-brownish fatty substances occurring in animal and plant tissues, which are amphiphilic - they attract both water (and so are hydrophilic) and fatty substances (lipophilic), and are used for smoothing food textures, dissolving powders (emulsifiers), homogenizing liquid mixtures, and repelling sticking materials.  (Via Wikipedia)

Chicory Unulin:  Inulin is added to dog food for two key reasons: 1) it is somewhat sweet and can be used to increase a food’s sweetness even though it is a relatively low calorie alternative to other fats or sugar and 2) it can be used as a prebiotic to aid digestion. (Via slimdoggy.com)

Tocopherols:  Mixed tocopherols are a common source of vitamin E in pet foods. (Via drsfostersmith.com)

The treats smelled delicious and Monty couldn't wait for me to open the bag.

You need help dere?

Or apparently for my fingers to get in front of the camera.... 

Whisker shot!

 Harlow remembered her manners....

Da Princess is always gentle, da Momma.

...and posed for an "after treat" smiley shot!

Wipe da drool da next time?

ZiwiPeak Good-Dog Lamb Jerky Dog Treats smelled very good and meaty and I really liked that they were soft and easy to break apart.  All in all, our pups gave them four paws up (out of four!).

Disclaimer:  How Sam Sees It has not been compensated for this product review. We received a product to review.  We have no connection with the brand and were not influenced in our opinions. Our opinions are strictly our own.

Our new house!

Since several folks have asked about our new house, I thought I'd veer from our normally scheduled doggy format to show you a few photos of it.  The house itself was built in the 1920's, and is nestled between a small (549 acre) lake and state land.  We have four acres - perfect for pasture, the pups to run, future goats, and the chickens.

That's right, chickens....  During our negotiations we asked if we could keep the deep freeze and the riding lawnmower, the former owner asked if we would keep the chickens.

Chickens!

 The house itself is smaller than our AZ house, which was one of our requirements.  The property is pretty overgrown, but the small area around the house has been well maintained.

Here's the view of our house looking down the hill from the chicken coop.

Garage is on the left, house is on the right.

The property is covered in flowers and fruit trees.  We have apples, grapes, Indian plums, blueberries... and beautiful flowers!  I have no idea what any of them are, but I'm enjoying all of them!

There is a small barn that needs some work to get it ready for the horses.  Baron is currently still in boarding while we fortify fences, but Maggie and Hutch are already home and enjoying their pasture.

We have beautiful views out of every window (on the list for serious washing....).

Oh da bunnies, da Momma, da bunnies.....

The pups seem to really enjoy the new place!

Dis green stuff is called grass.  Is great for eating and peeing on.

Wordless Wednesday - Monty Edition

A special gift!

During our blogging break we kept up with many of our friends through Facebook, including one very special pup named Charlie Martin.  Charlie and his person, Phoebe, like to make bandanas for all of his friends and we were the lucky recipients of one of them.  Of course, moving from temporary housing to our new house delayed our mail for a bit, but we couldn't wait to post about it once we had it.

All the way from Australia!

Check out the adorable stamp on the envelope:

There was a special note from Charlie and Phoebe...

Thank you, Charlie and Phoebe!

The bandana is beautiful!  I love that it is reversible, with the most adorable herd of moose on one side...

...fun spots on the other...

...and check out this logo!

We love it!

Of course, Princess Harlow had to show off her new look!

The fun moose!

The pretty spots!

Thank you so much Charlie and Phoebe!  We love our bandana!

Thank you, da nice Charlie and da Phoebe