"Mommy you love that dog way too much", said Claire in a non complaining tone while doing her homework and listening to my mumbling to Calitey at the same time.
Once Claire said to me, "Mommy if you love Caitlin and Caitey before me, it is OK I don't mind". It might sound a little cold but I think it is pretty cool for a 10-year old to hold that kind of mature attitude. She reminds me of how I was when I was her age -- mischievous but well behaved (in general), passionate yet realistic, dreamy without being overly delusional.
Her comment got me thinking. I was not a dog person before Caitey. I had never owned a dog before her, I did have a cat for a little while when I was my girls' age but she ran away for reasons that we still don't know....well as they say "Dogs have families, cats have staffs". I AM a very motherly person in general but I have never imaged that I could love a dog this much. I adore Caitey from head to tail.
If only you could see the joy she gives me everytime I come back from outside... putting her front legs on me, wagging her tails, poking her wet nose against my face and licking me all over. Everytime I come down from upstairs, the little darling rushes out of the kitchen downstairs and runs to greet me at the end of the stairs. Mind you she only does this to me in the family, how she distinguishes our footsteps is beyond me. One day it rained after we went out to walk her so I asked Claire to run back with Caitey so they would not get so wet, but Caitey kept stopping to wait for me in the rain and Claire had to drag her all the way back home.
You can say that she is happy with me the most because I am the one who keeps feeding her treats, but it sure feels wonderful that you are appreciated this much. I get the satisfaction from seeing her happy, and my love to her is reinforced by her affection given back to me...thus this "chicken and egg" loop continues and the bonding flourishes.
This reminds me of a poem named "Love" by Roy Croft, but if I may twist it a little and change it to "I love you not because of who you are, but because of how you make me feel when I am with you".
For love to be sustained, be it between us humans or a human and an animal, constant input is forever needed to reap consistent output. It is like a bank, if you stop making deposits and keep making withdraws, eventually your account will be depleted and sooner or later the affection will run out.
So Caitey, keep your smothering kisses coming and I will keep your treats going.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Hiding from Caitey in the house
Do you know how it feels like stealing food from your own kitchen and quickly running to hide somewhere in your own house?
That is what I am doing now.
The problem is that I am the one who just can't stop feeding her treats (be it dog treats or human food), so Caitey keeps following me everywhere around the house with that kind of sad puppy look in her eyes begging for more.
How can you refuse and ignore that kind of eyes? I can't. I tried to eat with my back towards Caitey so I did not have to look at her, but that little smart thing went around me and sat at an angle that there is no way that I could avoid seeing her.
She sure knows which button to push.
In the end I gave up. I asked the kids to distract her, grabbed something that I didn't even know what from the stove and fled. I ended up having my lunch in a closet!
That is what I am doing now.
The problem is that I am the one who just can't stop feeding her treats (be it dog treats or human food), so Caitey keeps following me everywhere around the house with that kind of sad puppy look in her eyes begging for more.
How can you refuse and ignore that kind of eyes? I can't. I tried to eat with my back towards Caitey so I did not have to look at her, but that little smart thing went around me and sat at an angle that there is no way that I could avoid seeing her.
She sure knows which button to push.
In the end I gave up. I asked the kids to distract her, grabbed something that I didn't even know what from the stove and fled. I ended up having my lunch in a closet!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Something to amuse you animal lovers
Put your dog and your spouse in the trunk of the car for an hour.
When you open the trunk, which one is REALLY happy to see you?
When you open the trunk, which one is REALLY happy to see you?
Strike Sunday
Caitey is back on hunger strike again.
I felt guilty because I screamed at her yesterday for scratching Caitlin, so after her dinner I gave her a few pieces of pork hoping it'd make her feel better. I figured by next morning she probably would not remember about her treats she had the previous night.
I was dead wrong -- it is almost noon and she is still not eating!
What happened to her 3-second memory?
I felt guilty because I screamed at her yesterday for scratching Caitlin, so after her dinner I gave her a few pieces of pork hoping it'd make her feel better. I figured by next morning she probably would not remember about her treats she had the previous night.
I was dead wrong -- it is almost noon and she is still not eating!
What happened to her 3-second memory?
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Sad Saturday
Caitey scratched Caitlin by accident while playing;
Caitlin cried over her bruise;
I screamed at Caitey for hurting Caitlin;
Caitey went under the dinner table, duck there with her chin on the floor, and would not come out;
We are all sad;
The end.
Caitlin cried over her bruise;
I screamed at Caitey for hurting Caitlin;
Caitey went under the dinner table, duck there with her chin on the floor, and would not come out;
We are all sad;
The end.
Friday, September 25, 2009
So you want a Golden puppy
Well I am a new mom so I am still learning how to take care of a golden everyday, but in case you are thinking of getting one, you might want to know these lessons that I learned the hard way.
First and foremost, before anything else get a crate!
I can't repeat this one enough. By statistics, new parents abandon their puppies within a month the most simply because they are too frustrated with the mess left by the dogs. We had the same issue and almost let go of Caitey. I know like me, you wanted to be human and don't want to make the baby go into a crate that looks like a prison cell, but trust me, it is the key if you want to keep your puppy with you over a long period of time.
Dogs don't like to soil their den by nature in general, so a crate can keep your house clean AND at the same time give you the peace of mind knowing that you house is safe from chewing or scratching. Most puppies can hold 2 to 3 hours at a time I heard, but our Caitey once managed to hold 9 long hours straight because I failed to wake up in the middle of the night to let her go potty (bad mommy). I was eventually waken up by her barking downstairs which she rarely does -- she was only 10 weeks old then.
So get a crate, get a crate, and get a crate. Trust me, it saves you a ton of headaches if you use it in a disciplined fashion.
2ndly, find high quality dog food that is full of nutrients and no artificial ingredients.
I strive to eat healthy because I have seen the improvements in the family once we modified our diet for the better. I believe the same thing should benefit our puppies as well. The last thing you want to do is to load them up with man-made ingredients like artificial colors/flavors and preservatives which can easily hurt a puppy's immune system and make them allergic or sick. After all a puppy is like your child, you are happy when they are healthy.
One thing that I do like is the organic "Nature's Best" from Science Diet. For instance, their lamb/brown kibble is made from lamb meat from Australia and New Zealand (note their regular product is made with local lamb organs that is filled with toxins from the body). You'd be happy to know that down in that part of the world, people don't use artificial growth hormones or antibiotics on farm animals; and brown rice not only is a better choice of carb that is richer in nutrients, but it is also easier for puppies to digest. Also Science Diet did a great job making the organic products in smaller pieces than their regular kibble so it is easier for puppies to chew on.
Next, get a good house keeping tool for your house.
Now if you are like me who is very particular about a clean shiny hardwood floor, congratulations you could not possible have picked a breed that is more wrong than golden for yourself!
Diligent brushing does help, but then goldens shed a ton -- that is the way their hair is and there is nothing you can do to stop it from shedding. Sometimes I will have a trail of small balls of golden puffy hair on my spotless hardwood floor after Caitey walks on it. So for a person like me who HAS to bend over and pick up a tiny piece of hair on the floor the moment I see it, and wish I could make my family walk with their feet on their shoulder...hear me say that I am vacuuming around the clock and there is no way that I can get my Polish cleaning lady in every other hour!
But you know love never comes without a price any way.
If you have no choice that like me, I suggest that you get a good dry cleaning tool that is both gentle on the floor but still offers some vacuum power -- the Swiffer SweeperVac.
Trust me I have tested lots of fancier vacuum cleaners on the market, but I have to say that the expensive gadgets did not serve my purpose as conveniently and the heavy duty ones scratch my floor. Now ordinary Swiffers does a great job picking up dust and some hair, but it can't help much if you have dirt or small crumbs on the floor. That is when the Sweeper Vac comes in handy because it sucks in the small pieces and picks up hair and dust at the same time.
Because the Sweeper Vac is a cordless rechargeable device, it adds convenience but does run out of power quickly if you have a sizable house and have to make your floor squeaky clean the way I do. My solution is to get a couple of them, at least one on each floor. The good news is that the Sweeper Vac is very economical and easily available from stores like Target for under $30, although you do have to buy the refills every now and then.
I also like the same manufacturer's Wetjet for wet cleaning and dusters.
Last but not the least, good news -- goldens can be lured.
A man once said hopelessly: "She does not love me, not even my money". Well that is a tough situation to be in, but luckily goldens can be bought with treats so make sure you bribe shamelessly to get it into good habits.
A treat is useful for both training and rewarding good behaviors, but there are treats and then there are treats. I find it most useful to use the ones that a puppy likes the most to do things that she likes the least to create a positive association.
On the flip side, be sure to stick with your plan and discipline your puppy early for things that you don't want it to do. Keep in mind goldens are a loyal breed that is eager to please its parents. In our case we don't want Caitey to chew up our pianos and our leather sofa sets so she is forbidden to get to the piano room and the family room. It was actually not hard to make it happen -- we just said "NO" to her and took her out a few times, and pretty soon she never bothers to go in there again.
Hope this list has been helpful. I will come back with more if I have something else to offer later.
Good luck with your golden and have a golden day!
First and foremost, before anything else get a crate!
I can't repeat this one enough. By statistics, new parents abandon their puppies within a month the most simply because they are too frustrated with the mess left by the dogs. We had the same issue and almost let go of Caitey. I know like me, you wanted to be human and don't want to make the baby go into a crate that looks like a prison cell, but trust me, it is the key if you want to keep your puppy with you over a long period of time.
Dogs don't like to soil their den by nature in general, so a crate can keep your house clean AND at the same time give you the peace of mind knowing that you house is safe from chewing or scratching. Most puppies can hold 2 to 3 hours at a time I heard, but our Caitey once managed to hold 9 long hours straight because I failed to wake up in the middle of the night to let her go potty (bad mommy). I was eventually waken up by her barking downstairs which she rarely does -- she was only 10 weeks old then.
So get a crate, get a crate, and get a crate. Trust me, it saves you a ton of headaches if you use it in a disciplined fashion.
2ndly, find high quality dog food that is full of nutrients and no artificial ingredients.
I strive to eat healthy because I have seen the improvements in the family once we modified our diet for the better. I believe the same thing should benefit our puppies as well. The last thing you want to do is to load them up with man-made ingredients like artificial colors/flavors and preservatives which can easily hurt a puppy's immune system and make them allergic or sick. After all a puppy is like your child, you are happy when they are healthy.
One thing that I do like is the organic "Nature's Best" from Science Diet. For instance, their lamb/brown kibble is made from lamb meat from Australia and New Zealand (note their regular product is made with local lamb organs that is filled with toxins from the body). You'd be happy to know that down in that part of the world, people don't use artificial growth hormones or antibiotics on farm animals; and brown rice not only is a better choice of carb that is richer in nutrients, but it is also easier for puppies to digest. Also Science Diet did a great job making the organic products in smaller pieces than their regular kibble so it is easier for puppies to chew on.
Next, get a good house keeping tool for your house.
Now if you are like me who is very particular about a clean shiny hardwood floor, congratulations you could not possible have picked a breed that is more wrong than golden for yourself!
Diligent brushing does help, but then goldens shed a ton -- that is the way their hair is and there is nothing you can do to stop it from shedding. Sometimes I will have a trail of small balls of golden puffy hair on my spotless hardwood floor after Caitey walks on it. So for a person like me who HAS to bend over and pick up a tiny piece of hair on the floor the moment I see it, and wish I could make my family walk with their feet on their shoulder...hear me say that I am vacuuming around the clock and there is no way that I can get my Polish cleaning lady in every other hour!
But you know love never comes without a price any way.
If you have no choice that like me, I suggest that you get a good dry cleaning tool that is both gentle on the floor but still offers some vacuum power -- the Swiffer SweeperVac.
Trust me I have tested lots of fancier vacuum cleaners on the market, but I have to say that the expensive gadgets did not serve my purpose as conveniently and the heavy duty ones scratch my floor. Now ordinary Swiffers does a great job picking up dust and some hair, but it can't help much if you have dirt or small crumbs on the floor. That is when the Sweeper Vac comes in handy because it sucks in the small pieces and picks up hair and dust at the same time.
Because the Sweeper Vac is a cordless rechargeable device, it adds convenience but does run out of power quickly if you have a sizable house and have to make your floor squeaky clean the way I do. My solution is to get a couple of them, at least one on each floor. The good news is that the Sweeper Vac is very economical and easily available from stores like Target for under $30, although you do have to buy the refills every now and then.
I also like the same manufacturer's Wetjet for wet cleaning and dusters.
Last but not the least, good news -- goldens can be lured.
A man once said hopelessly: "She does not love me, not even my money". Well that is a tough situation to be in, but luckily goldens can be bought with treats so make sure you bribe shamelessly to get it into good habits.
A treat is useful for both training and rewarding good behaviors, but there are treats and then there are treats. I find it most useful to use the ones that a puppy likes the most to do things that she likes the least to create a positive association.
On the flip side, be sure to stick with your plan and discipline your puppy early for things that you don't want it to do. Keep in mind goldens are a loyal breed that is eager to please its parents. In our case we don't want Caitey to chew up our pianos and our leather sofa sets so she is forbidden to get to the piano room and the family room. It was actually not hard to make it happen -- we just said "NO" to her and took her out a few times, and pretty soon she never bothers to go in there again.
Hope this list has been helpful. I will come back with more if I have something else to offer later.
Good luck with your golden and have a golden day!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Chinese Mom and "Story of The Fox"
You probably know "Chinese Mom" isn't a very positive phrase. It has been widely used by other races to describe how over parenting we are in general.
Not only the Chinese moms, I see the same thing with Indian parents as well.
Every morning, there is always someone who would inconsiderately block the single lane during kids drop-off at school. Trust me I see it over and over again, the worst offenders are either Indian or Chinese parents.
Like this morning, an Indian dad riding in a Lexus arrived at the drop-off entrance of my older one's school, got off his car, opened up the door for his daughter, left it wide open, put the backpack on her back, zipped up her jacket, tied her shoelaces, and then walked her all the way to the door while still repeating things that perhaps he had talked about 10 times the previous night.
Meantime, the little girl was busy saying hello to her friends and turned a deaf ear to whatever the dad was saying, and the dad turned a blind eye to the mile long line of cars behind him.
Again, at my younger one's school, another Indian dad stopped at the drop off line, and this time walked his son into the entrance and did not even return. He was completely oblivious of the cars behind, but how can you blame him? The guy does not have eyes at the back of his head.
I know what you are thinking, yes we Asian parents are too protective that we end up being irresponsible to both other people and our own children. You do have to give us credits for trying our best though.
In our area, there is a very large Asian community, predominately the Chinese and the Indians. It is very common for grandparents of these two groups to spend their golden years here helping the 2nd generation raise the 3rd generation. The devotion to their youngsters typically does not end even after the cubs grow up and leave the den. It is great the we have such strong family ties, unfortunately, it keeps our children remain latched on... and on... like babies.
When I was at my girls' age, I once watched a Japanese documentary film called the "Story of the Fox". It was reported that the Japanese camera crew followed a family of 7 foxes many years to shoot the movie.
The story was about a male fox Philip and a female one Lena fell in love when they were young and had 5 kids together. But life had been everything but easy for mom and dad.
The youngest one, born blind, died prematurely.
Then mommy got caught during food hunting for her babies while getting chased by dogs. I still remember her sad eyes when she looked at her cubs right before her died.
After losing Lena, Philip hunted and raised 4 kids alone. He trained the young cubs hunting skills, then chased and drove each of them away from home so they could be on their own in the wild.
The end was pretty sad, with 3 out of the 4 remaining cubs dead from hunger, the hunters or the predators. The last cub, after carefully learning from its sibling's losses, survived the longest. He later met his daddy right before getting chased by the hunters, and both fell off the cliff in the end.
We typical Asian parents probably will never be able to kick our children out of the home like what the daddy fox did. We will sacrifice a lot more just to make our children suffer a little less, unfortunately at the same time, lengthen the time needed for them to become mentally strong and physically independent.
I really shouldn't criticize others as I myself am in similar boat. I drive my girls to school every morning just so they can sleep an extra 30 minutes, but I am a little more cold-hearted -- at least I don't carry them off the car and to the door on my back so drivers behind don't have to curse me out.
There is a well known saying in Chinese "可怜天下父母心" which literally means "poor parental love".
Not only the Chinese moms, I see the same thing with Indian parents as well.
Every morning, there is always someone who would inconsiderately block the single lane during kids drop-off at school. Trust me I see it over and over again, the worst offenders are either Indian or Chinese parents.
Like this morning, an Indian dad riding in a Lexus arrived at the drop-off entrance of my older one's school, got off his car, opened up the door for his daughter, left it wide open, put the backpack on her back, zipped up her jacket, tied her shoelaces, and then walked her all the way to the door while still repeating things that perhaps he had talked about 10 times the previous night.
Meantime, the little girl was busy saying hello to her friends and turned a deaf ear to whatever the dad was saying, and the dad turned a blind eye to the mile long line of cars behind him.
Again, at my younger one's school, another Indian dad stopped at the drop off line, and this time walked his son into the entrance and did not even return. He was completely oblivious of the cars behind, but how can you blame him? The guy does not have eyes at the back of his head.
I know what you are thinking, yes we Asian parents are too protective that we end up being irresponsible to both other people and our own children. You do have to give us credits for trying our best though.
In our area, there is a very large Asian community, predominately the Chinese and the Indians. It is very common for grandparents of these two groups to spend their golden years here helping the 2nd generation raise the 3rd generation. The devotion to their youngsters typically does not end even after the cubs grow up and leave the den. It is great the we have such strong family ties, unfortunately, it keeps our children remain latched on... and on... like babies.
When I was at my girls' age, I once watched a Japanese documentary film called the "Story of the Fox". It was reported that the Japanese camera crew followed a family of 7 foxes many years to shoot the movie.
The story was about a male fox Philip and a female one Lena fell in love when they were young and had 5 kids together. But life had been everything but easy for mom and dad.
The youngest one, born blind, died prematurely.
Then mommy got caught during food hunting for her babies while getting chased by dogs. I still remember her sad eyes when she looked at her cubs right before her died.
After losing Lena, Philip hunted and raised 4 kids alone. He trained the young cubs hunting skills, then chased and drove each of them away from home so they could be on their own in the wild.
The end was pretty sad, with 3 out of the 4 remaining cubs dead from hunger, the hunters or the predators. The last cub, after carefully learning from its sibling's losses, survived the longest. He later met his daddy right before getting chased by the hunters, and both fell off the cliff in the end.
We typical Asian parents probably will never be able to kick our children out of the home like what the daddy fox did. We will sacrifice a lot more just to make our children suffer a little less, unfortunately at the same time, lengthen the time needed for them to become mentally strong and physically independent.
I really shouldn't criticize others as I myself am in similar boat. I drive my girls to school every morning just so they can sleep an extra 30 minutes, but I am a little more cold-hearted -- at least I don't carry them off the car and to the door on my back so drivers behind don't have to curse me out.
There is a well known saying in Chinese "可怜天下父母心" which literally means "poor parental love".
Caitey's vocabulary
Caitey is one smart little girl.
It has only been a month and she has learned to understand commands like "sit", "come", "home", "watch me", "leave it" and "take it". Being a puppy, sometimes she will turn a deaf ear to us and insists on going her way but not when she begs for food.
Her favorite spot is right under the stove in the kitchen because that is where the good smell comes from. She knows who to beg from and how to do it. For example, when I am making dinner, without me saying the "sit" word, she will automatically sit on her little cute butt, put her two front paws on the floor, raise her head and stare at me attentively in a "mommy I am good now can I have a little bite?" kind of look. That is when she has the greatest patience and pretends to be a puppy angle.
I think she now knows the word "food" or "eat" as well.
Today was Claire's "Back to School" night so Caitey needed to eat earlier than usual. Seeing she was not interested in her food in the afternoon, I talked half to myself and half to her "Caitey please eat your food, mommy has things to do later". To me greatest surprise, she walked to her bowl and ate some of kibble. I wasn't sure if it was a pure coincidence, so I repeated what I just said, again she ate a little. I know she did it reluctantly because she wasn't too hungry but I appreciated her trying for me very much.
I think pretty soon Caitey will know more English words than her mommy does!
It has only been a month and she has learned to understand commands like "sit", "come", "home", "watch me", "leave it" and "take it". Being a puppy, sometimes she will turn a deaf ear to us and insists on going her way but not when she begs for food.
Her favorite spot is right under the stove in the kitchen because that is where the good smell comes from. She knows who to beg from and how to do it. For example, when I am making dinner, without me saying the "sit" word, she will automatically sit on her little cute butt, put her two front paws on the floor, raise her head and stare at me attentively in a "mommy I am good now can I have a little bite?" kind of look. That is when she has the greatest patience and pretends to be a puppy angle.
I think she now knows the word "food" or "eat" as well.
Today was Claire's "Back to School" night so Caitey needed to eat earlier than usual. Seeing she was not interested in her food in the afternoon, I talked half to myself and half to her "Caitey please eat your food, mommy has things to do later". To me greatest surprise, she walked to her bowl and ate some of kibble. I wasn't sure if it was a pure coincidence, so I repeated what I just said, again she ate a little. I know she did it reluctantly because she wasn't too hungry but I appreciated her trying for me very much.
I think pretty soon Caitey will know more English words than her mommy does!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Caitey's frends in the neighbourhood
There are 12 houses on our cul-de-sec street. If I have counted it right, there are 5 Chinese (2 just moved in), 3 Indian, and 4 Caucasian families. Well if you are yellow like me, you would not be color-blind to such things. It is interesting that by statistics, the racial makeup of our township is 85% white, 2% African American, and 12% Asian American. Somehow it seems like half of the Asian population in our town flocked to live on my street.
It is understandable because Asian families value education highly and our township happens to be one of the best school districts in the state. There are two things that people are not tired of mentioning here: 1) The Fed Governor Ben Bernanke lived in our town when he was teaching at Princeton University before he headed to Washington; 2) Our new state of the art high school cost us local tax payers mountains of property taxes while making our wallets as flat as pancakes. Since most of the district's education budget has gone to the high school, no wonder our elementary and middle schools are still using computers that look like the 1st generation IBM PCs.
Now back to merrier topic: dogs.
Perhaps because of the higher percentage of Asian (especially the Chinese) residents here in my block, we "only" have 4 dogs and a cat in our neighbourhood. No, I didn't mean that the Chinese have eaten all the other dogs, it is just in general we Chinese are more into kids than pets with our busy lives.
Right next to my house, there is a 6-year old white male Bichon Frise named Samoi. This little guy is very cute with a furry snow ball head that looks way too big for his small body. He might appear to be a little girlie at first, but once he starts barking you'd know how fierce he can be. No wonder this breed is used as watch dogs, I mean I doubt if an ant would be able to sneak out of his house. Not only that, Samoi seems to think that he is a lot bigger and taller than he really is, so he likes to challenge people as well as other bigger animals like deers. A brave little guy, he often wonders around fearlessly and gets himself lost often when he is not chained. One winter his parents had a tough time finding him in the snow with his white hair, thanks to his little dark nose he was finally spotted in the white blanket.
The first time he saw Caitey, the little guy jumped up and down, waved his tail fervently, and barked so loud that people in California could hear him. "Yeeeaaah, finally a girl friend of my size!". He wasted no time to sniff Caitey's private part and tried to mount her. My girls were watching this scene with their mouths wide open, and I ran out of hands trying to drag Caitey back and cover the girls' eyes at the same time -- after all at this age, they are only allowed to see things that are G-rated.
Caitey of course fell for Samoi as well. Once Samoi started barking just when she finished her business on the lawn. This naughty girl jumped up, ran to Samoi like a straight arrow and dragged my husband along with her. "Boyfriend, here I come!".
Another dog is Shadow, a black Labrador Retriever who is also 6-year old. She is very tall and elegant, just like her sporty and beautiful parents. She has this most gorgeous black coat that I have ever seen -- so shiny that a blind person could still see it in dark. Don't be fooled by her lean mean looks though, Shadow is a great lady -- calm, courteous, soft, and super tolerant to Caitey. The 1st time they met, Caitey ran straight to Shadow and jumped as high as she could to kiss her. Caitey probably thought Shadow was her doggie mom. As Caitey gets more hyped however, Shadow simply can't take it any more. Once after Caitey harassed her too much, she just turned around and ran straight back to the garage. Wow, a little puppy scared a big lab back home!
You would think Shadow has always been a tame dog, but her mom Lisa told me that during Shadow's puppy years, they almost gave her away because she was too much for them. Somehow I find it very hard to associate the super well-behaved Shadow with an annoying dog.
They say dogs get a lot calmer when they get older, well in that case I have hope for Caitey.
The only cat we have here around the block is a black one, who roams around the street like a ghost, especially when it gets dark. Her human sister, a 4th grader, is a sweet little girl who likes to crawl up on the trees a lot. At first I thought it was the cat's influence, but later she told me that she was mostly hiding from Shadow. "I need a dog like Caitey" she said, "Shadow scares me and drives me up on the trees!".
I guess dogs are like us humans, taking great pleasure in bullying the weak.
It is understandable because Asian families value education highly and our township happens to be one of the best school districts in the state. There are two things that people are not tired of mentioning here: 1) The Fed Governor Ben Bernanke lived in our town when he was teaching at Princeton University before he headed to Washington; 2) Our new state of the art high school cost us local tax payers mountains of property taxes while making our wallets as flat as pancakes. Since most of the district's education budget has gone to the high school, no wonder our elementary and middle schools are still using computers that look like the 1st generation IBM PCs.
Now back to merrier topic: dogs.
Perhaps because of the higher percentage of Asian (especially the Chinese) residents here in my block, we "only" have 4 dogs and a cat in our neighbourhood. No, I didn't mean that the Chinese have eaten all the other dogs, it is just in general we Chinese are more into kids than pets with our busy lives.
Right next to my house, there is a 6-year old white male Bichon Frise named Samoi. This little guy is very cute with a furry snow ball head that looks way too big for his small body. He might appear to be a little girlie at first, but once he starts barking you'd know how fierce he can be. No wonder this breed is used as watch dogs, I mean I doubt if an ant would be able to sneak out of his house. Not only that, Samoi seems to think that he is a lot bigger and taller than he really is, so he likes to challenge people as well as other bigger animals like deers. A brave little guy, he often wonders around fearlessly and gets himself lost often when he is not chained. One winter his parents had a tough time finding him in the snow with his white hair, thanks to his little dark nose he was finally spotted in the white blanket.
The first time he saw Caitey, the little guy jumped up and down, waved his tail fervently, and barked so loud that people in California could hear him. "Yeeeaaah, finally a girl friend of my size!". He wasted no time to sniff Caitey's private part and tried to mount her. My girls were watching this scene with their mouths wide open, and I ran out of hands trying to drag Caitey back and cover the girls' eyes at the same time -- after all at this age, they are only allowed to see things that are G-rated.
Caitey of course fell for Samoi as well. Once Samoi started barking just when she finished her business on the lawn. This naughty girl jumped up, ran to Samoi like a straight arrow and dragged my husband along with her. "Boyfriend, here I come!".
Another dog is Shadow, a black Labrador Retriever who is also 6-year old. She is very tall and elegant, just like her sporty and beautiful parents. She has this most gorgeous black coat that I have ever seen -- so shiny that a blind person could still see it in dark. Don't be fooled by her lean mean looks though, Shadow is a great lady -- calm, courteous, soft, and super tolerant to Caitey. The 1st time they met, Caitey ran straight to Shadow and jumped as high as she could to kiss her. Caitey probably thought Shadow was her doggie mom. As Caitey gets more hyped however, Shadow simply can't take it any more. Once after Caitey harassed her too much, she just turned around and ran straight back to the garage. Wow, a little puppy scared a big lab back home!
You would think Shadow has always been a tame dog, but her mom Lisa told me that during Shadow's puppy years, they almost gave her away because she was too much for them. Somehow I find it very hard to associate the super well-behaved Shadow with an annoying dog.
They say dogs get a lot calmer when they get older, well in that case I have hope for Caitey.
The only cat we have here around the block is a black one, who roams around the street like a ghost, especially when it gets dark. Her human sister, a 4th grader, is a sweet little girl who likes to crawl up on the trees a lot. At first I thought it was the cat's influence, but later she told me that she was mostly hiding from Shadow. "I need a dog like Caitey" she said, "Shadow scares me and drives me up on the trees!".
I guess dogs are like us humans, taking great pleasure in bullying the weak.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Training class for Caitey
Experts recommend training a dog before the 16th week, so things get registered in their little brains early and properly. We signed her up for puppy training at PetsMart. The trainer recommends using a clicker which you should use to click every time a puppy does something good as a positive reinforcement, so you don't have to give it a treat every time.
There are 6 puppies in the class, and 3 of them are yellow Labrador Retrievers. I always thought with golden's beautiful furry hair and cute looks, it should be more popular than the lab but apparently it is not the case. I mean you see goldens in the magazines and on TV all the time. A mom of a yellow lab also commented how Caitey looked like one of those commercial dogs, which I hear quite often from people walking by Caitey. One thing that I did notice is how much more active labs are. They also bark more, while Caitey barely makes a sound.
The 1st time a male lab tried to bully her and she did not like it, so there was a little fight going on in the room and got us all nervous.
The 2nd session went OK with more trainings on sitting and heeling.
Today is her 3rd class for commands like "leave it" and "take it".
Here we have a little problem. Caitey is ALWAYS food/treats hungry. Once she sees something, I mean ANYTHING, from a tree leaf to a tissue, she has to get that in her mouth. Needless to say that we are having quite a bit of challenge for the "leave it" part.
The next problem we have with her is jumping on people. You see we live in a neighbourhood that has a lot of kids around, I mean for adults you can explain that the puppy is in training and they will cooperate with you to work your puppy not to get overly excited, but what can you do with the kids? They will jump up and down more exuberantly than the dog does and get Caitey hyped at the same time.
The 3rd one is something that I have a hard time to comprehend. I mean goldens are active dogs, they are supposed to like playing outside, but not Caitey. Every time I have to drag the leash and pull her away from the house. I got so tired of dragging her and at the same time worried about choking her, so I changed the collar leash to a chest harness which worked a little better but not that much.
The funny thing is that no matter how many turns I have made on the road to confuse Caitey, once I utter the word "home", she will jump up and drag me all the way back with the leash like I was a dog!
Why she prefers coming back than going out? Maybe she is a little timid as a female puppy? It does not make sense because she is not afraid of bigger dogs. Our neighbour has a big 6-year old black lab Shadow, but Caitey chased and scared Shadow back home quite a few times.
I also noticed that at the end of the training session when the trainer asks every dog to be released for them to socialize with each other, other dogs would busily play with each other but Caitey will quietly grab a toy and run back to the side to play with the toy herself, but not with other dogs.
Incidentally, we named Caitey after her 2nd sister Caitlin, who was a very shy girl at younger age and preferred not to socialize with other kids as well.
I sure hope Caitey does not grow up to be a solitaire golden wolf.
There are 6 puppies in the class, and 3 of them are yellow Labrador Retrievers. I always thought with golden's beautiful furry hair and cute looks, it should be more popular than the lab but apparently it is not the case. I mean you see goldens in the magazines and on TV all the time. A mom of a yellow lab also commented how Caitey looked like one of those commercial dogs, which I hear quite often from people walking by Caitey. One thing that I did notice is how much more active labs are. They also bark more, while Caitey barely makes a sound.
The 1st time a male lab tried to bully her and she did not like it, so there was a little fight going on in the room and got us all nervous.
The 2nd session went OK with more trainings on sitting and heeling.
Today is her 3rd class for commands like "leave it" and "take it".
Here we have a little problem. Caitey is ALWAYS food/treats hungry. Once she sees something, I mean ANYTHING, from a tree leaf to a tissue, she has to get that in her mouth. Needless to say that we are having quite a bit of challenge for the "leave it" part.
The next problem we have with her is jumping on people. You see we live in a neighbourhood that has a lot of kids around, I mean for adults you can explain that the puppy is in training and they will cooperate with you to work your puppy not to get overly excited, but what can you do with the kids? They will jump up and down more exuberantly than the dog does and get Caitey hyped at the same time.
The 3rd one is something that I have a hard time to comprehend. I mean goldens are active dogs, they are supposed to like playing outside, but not Caitey. Every time I have to drag the leash and pull her away from the house. I got so tired of dragging her and at the same time worried about choking her, so I changed the collar leash to a chest harness which worked a little better but not that much.
The funny thing is that no matter how many turns I have made on the road to confuse Caitey, once I utter the word "home", she will jump up and drag me all the way back with the leash like I was a dog!
Why she prefers coming back than going out? Maybe she is a little timid as a female puppy? It does not make sense because she is not afraid of bigger dogs. Our neighbour has a big 6-year old black lab Shadow, but Caitey chased and scared Shadow back home quite a few times.
I also noticed that at the end of the training session when the trainer asks every dog to be released for them to socialize with each other, other dogs would busily play with each other but Caitey will quietly grab a toy and run back to the side to play with the toy herself, but not with other dogs.
Incidentally, we named Caitey after her 2nd sister Caitlin, who was a very shy girl at younger age and preferred not to socialize with other kids as well.
I sure hope Caitey does not grow up to be a solitaire golden wolf.
What can dogs teach us about relationships?
In the book "Marley & Me", John Grogan said "A dog doesn't care if you're rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his."
Why is it a lot easier for a dog to bond well with someone in his whole lifetime with only basic care while a human struggles in his/her relationship on regular basis even with high maintenance?
We are the most advanced "animals" right?
We have the smartest brains, yet our talents are wasted in busily calculating how much we should put in and get back.
We are ultra sensitive with our well developed nerves, which are often utilized to detect things that we THINK can hurt us.
We are supposed to be the best communicators in the world, yet even with modern technology we either don't communicate enough or miscommunicate to people we care about.
We are the most driven species on earth. We constantly seek things better than what we already possess and never seem to be happy for too long about the grass in our side of the fence. Our satisfaction and excitement get worn out easily, and then we are left with disappointments and boredom fairly quickly.
So we humans fail to maintain meaningful relationships over a long period of time just because we are blessed with the best brains, sensitivity, communication skills and motivations?
Why we lack the willpower to remain committed or disciplined despite our religion and education?
There is a word in Chinese 恸 that means extreme sadness or crying one's heart out. Like 90% of the Chinese words, it is a typical phono-semantic compound character (形聲字) that one side offers hint for the meaning of the word while the other side shows its pronunciation. In 恸's case, the left side means "heart", the right side means "touch" or "move" which also gives clue to the sound of the word.
One Chinese scholar once explained this word from a philosophical standpoint. He says in a relationship, a person is like standing in a thorny field -- he is safe if he stands still and does not make a bold move, but once he changes his "heart" position and falls for someone, he is bound to get pinched all over and feel the pain of getting hurt.
This reminds me of Taoism that preaches the values of being neutral, indifferent and inactive. Positive attributes in the western world like persistence and devotion are viewed as drawbacks of character because they make a person harder to get detached from this materialistic and chaotic world that is overflowing with desires, which are often the very source of sin, evil, dissatisfaction and unhappiness.
In a practical way, this philosophy also emphasizes on the importance of self-protection and satisfaction for a person to live with minimal desires. When one does not hold his hopes too high, he is not disappointed by the outcome and thus can stay easily satisfied and happy.
Similarly, a Chinese "chicken soup for the soul" I read the other day also concludes that "one is happy not because he possesses much, but because he cares less".
How our dogs get excited to greet us every time we come back home, jump up and down, wag their tails fervently, and never get tired of following us like shadows from room to room day in and day out?
Why dogs can consistently offer so much to humans without hoping to get adequate love, care and attention back?
It is said that in our human world of "give-and-take", our one year is equal to 7 dog years. So could it be the combination of their ignorance, insensitivity, single vocabulary of "arf", and 3-second memory makes dogs appreciate 7x more and demand 7x less, and thus happier than us humans?
Kyra Sedgwick once said this about her Golden Retriever: "He taught me about commitment and showing up for someone even if you are not feeling in the mood. I think that having a pet can really do that for you and can teach you about being in a relationship and giving and receiving love."
Perhaps we should try a bowl of kibble everyday, maybe that can help improve our attitude.
Lastly, I have a friend who has an unusually long but profound Chinese I/M name: "记住该记住的，忘记该忘记的" ("Remember what you should remember, forget what you should forget").
Perhaps we should also learn from our dogs to " 改变能改变的，接受不能改变的" ("Change what you can change, accept what you can not").
Why is it a lot easier for a dog to bond well with someone in his whole lifetime with only basic care while a human struggles in his/her relationship on regular basis even with high maintenance?
We are the most advanced "animals" right?
We have the smartest brains, yet our talents are wasted in busily calculating how much we should put in and get back.
We are ultra sensitive with our well developed nerves, which are often utilized to detect things that we THINK can hurt us.
We are supposed to be the best communicators in the world, yet even with modern technology we either don't communicate enough or miscommunicate to people we care about.
We are the most driven species on earth. We constantly seek things better than what we already possess and never seem to be happy for too long about the grass in our side of the fence. Our satisfaction and excitement get worn out easily, and then we are left with disappointments and boredom fairly quickly.
So we humans fail to maintain meaningful relationships over a long period of time just because we are blessed with the best brains, sensitivity, communication skills and motivations?
Why we lack the willpower to remain committed or disciplined despite our religion and education?
There is a word in Chinese 恸 that means extreme sadness or crying one's heart out. Like 90% of the Chinese words, it is a typical phono-semantic compound character (形聲字) that one side offers hint for the meaning of the word while the other side shows its pronunciation. In 恸's case, the left side means "heart", the right side means "touch" or "move" which also gives clue to the sound of the word.
One Chinese scholar once explained this word from a philosophical standpoint. He says in a relationship, a person is like standing in a thorny field -- he is safe if he stands still and does not make a bold move, but once he changes his "heart" position and falls for someone, he is bound to get pinched all over and feel the pain of getting hurt.
This reminds me of Taoism that preaches the values of being neutral, indifferent and inactive. Positive attributes in the western world like persistence and devotion are viewed as drawbacks of character because they make a person harder to get detached from this materialistic and chaotic world that is overflowing with desires, which are often the very source of sin, evil, dissatisfaction and unhappiness.
In a practical way, this philosophy also emphasizes on the importance of self-protection and satisfaction for a person to live with minimal desires. When one does not hold his hopes too high, he is not disappointed by the outcome and thus can stay easily satisfied and happy.
Similarly, a Chinese "chicken soup for the soul" I read the other day also concludes that "one is happy not because he possesses much, but because he cares less".
How our dogs get excited to greet us every time we come back home, jump up and down, wag their tails fervently, and never get tired of following us like shadows from room to room day in and day out?
Why dogs can consistently offer so much to humans without hoping to get adequate love, care and attention back?
It is said that in our human world of "give-and-take", our one year is equal to 7 dog years. So could it be the combination of their ignorance, insensitivity, single vocabulary of "arf", and 3-second memory makes dogs appreciate 7x more and demand 7x less, and thus happier than us humans?
Kyra Sedgwick once said this about her Golden Retriever: "He taught me about commitment and showing up for someone even if you are not feeling in the mood. I think that having a pet can really do that for you and can teach you about being in a relationship and giving and receiving love."
Perhaps we should try a bowl of kibble everyday, maybe that can help improve our attitude.
Lastly, I have a friend who has an unusually long but profound Chinese I/M name: "记住该记住的，忘记该忘记的" ("Remember what you should remember, forget what you should forget").
Perhaps we should also learn from our dogs to " 改变能改变的，接受不能改变的" ("Change what you can change, accept what you can not").
Caitey is on hunger strike!
Houston we have a problem: Caitey is not eating.
It all started from the moment I gave her some of the pork and chicken my husband had cooked.
Now if you are one of our friends and know his culinary talent, you would know what happened. I mean the guy has this passion that takes place in the kitchen. His famous dishes like Szechuan style water boiled fish, ribeye steak and wine marinated chicken are frequent requests from friends who dine in our place. His food not only spoiled us and made us complain about regular chain restaurant food, looks it is doing the same thing with Caitey as well.
Can you blame me? I only gave her a few pieces of his pork ribs, chicken wings and drums for her to grind on the bones, and when I turned around there was absolutely nothing on the floor -- not only she chewed up all the meat and bones, she even licked my floor squeaky clean!
...and she gave up kibble altogether!
Worse, she starts to follow me everywhere I go with this pathetic begging look in her eyes that is making mommy feeling very guilty. Sometimes she will put her front legs on the kitchen cabinets trying to see where that good smell is coming from. Give her a month she is going to steal from the pot on the stove and get her burnt.
Caitlin and I are the soft mushy ones in the family so we are really concerned and want to give her some good treats just so she would not get starved. Claire and her dad however, are very good at being cold-blooded -- "Let her stay hungry, then she will eat anything", "you can't let her get into this bad habit".
Oh well, I do know dry food is better for Caitey's teeth so I have decided to refrain from feeding her home cooked food... for 10 minutes.
While I go duck in a dark corner of the house trying to stay away from Caitey (I just can't look at those sad begging eyes), I start to pray that she is not going to starve herself into a flat picture!
So Caitey good doggie, paw-lease eat something so mommy does not have to get so worried.
It all started from the moment I gave her some of the pork and chicken my husband had cooked.
Now if you are one of our friends and know his culinary talent, you would know what happened. I mean the guy has this passion that takes place in the kitchen. His famous dishes like Szechuan style water boiled fish, ribeye steak and wine marinated chicken are frequent requests from friends who dine in our place. His food not only spoiled us and made us complain about regular chain restaurant food, looks it is doing the same thing with Caitey as well.
Can you blame me? I only gave her a few pieces of his pork ribs, chicken wings and drums for her to grind on the bones, and when I turned around there was absolutely nothing on the floor -- not only she chewed up all the meat and bones, she even licked my floor squeaky clean!
...and she gave up kibble altogether!
Worse, she starts to follow me everywhere I go with this pathetic begging look in her eyes that is making mommy feeling very guilty. Sometimes she will put her front legs on the kitchen cabinets trying to see where that good smell is coming from. Give her a month she is going to steal from the pot on the stove and get her burnt.
Caitlin and I are the soft mushy ones in the family so we are really concerned and want to give her some good treats just so she would not get starved. Claire and her dad however, are very good at being cold-blooded -- "Let her stay hungry, then she will eat anything", "you can't let her get into this bad habit".
Oh well, I do know dry food is better for Caitey's teeth so I have decided to refrain from feeding her home cooked food... for 10 minutes.
While I go duck in a dark corner of the house trying to stay away from Caitey (I just can't look at those sad begging eyes), I start to pray that she is not going to starve herself into a flat picture!
So Caitey good doggie, paw-lease eat something so mommy does not have to get so worried.
The Venza
I still can't believe that I bought YET another Toyota.
Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying Toyota is a lousy car....far from it.
I have owned two Toyotas in the past and both were very smooth, reliable, fuel efficient, and user friendly cars. Yet something else was missing, like a little character or attitude.
I had my eyes on the Acura TL for a while. While some people are not huge fans of its redesigned sporty looks, I for one like its unique sharpness and adequate power under the hood. I was SO going to get one......
....but there is one problem -- Caitey.
With 4 people and a car without open cargo space, where in the world that we are going to put her?
Actually a minivan would be the most practical choice, but I had one when the girls were little and I am DYING not to get into something that unsexy for a change. So very reluctantly, I started to search for a wagon or a crossover type of car.
After crossing out Audi, Volvo and Subaru for reasons from low ground clearance to unappealing design, we got stuck with our last candidate -- the Toyota Venza.
As much as I don't like another Toyota, its right mix of a sedan, a wagon, a lower SUV and a mini minivan does serve the right purpose for us....well at least it is not another Camry.
The Venza reminds me of Peter David's Deer which Chinese name is 四不像 because it looks like a deer, a horse, a cow and a donkey in certain ways but is not exactly any one of them. The Venza has a car kind of head, a wagon/minivan's cargo space, and an SUV's height and wheels. It is a brand new breed from Toyota and just came out in 09. I heard Toyota has been paying people $50 just to get them to test drive this model so it can get more exposure in the market.
In general, I have to say that if you like roomy interior, sporty exterior, elevated seats with good visibility on the road, high ground clearance (especially for our kind of winter), and typical Toyota's driver friendly details ... you should go no wrong with this one. Also if you are like me who can drive without gas but can't remember which pedal is gas without music on, your might like its JBL 13-speaker premium sound system.
The few drawbacks that I can come up with are perhaps its typical Toyota's lack of power (even for our V6), the unToyotaish jittery ride (in part because of its monstrous 20" wheels), and a chubby body that is way too wide for a wagon -- trust me, unless the driver is well over 6' or 250 lbs, he will have a tough time resting his left arm on the door.
In the end, we decided to go for the fully loaded model with all the bells and whistles pre-installed, simply because I will need them. I am sure you have heard about such things like "women are bad drivers" or "the Chinese are terrible on the road", well I happen to be a lousy combination of both! Hopefully the technology package will save me from cruising in your neighbourhood exterminating deers as well as people with sirens chasing me from behind. Of course the fancy packages come with a pretty hefty price tag that totals as much as an Acura TL, if not more.
They say a dog will cost its owner $25k in its lifetime, so adding on the Venza Caitey has become a very expensive dog.
I hope you will give me lots and lots of your therapeutic licks as payback Caitey -- your mommy is human so she demands mundane returns.
Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying Toyota is a lousy car....far from it.
I have owned two Toyotas in the past and both were very smooth, reliable, fuel efficient, and user friendly cars. Yet something else was missing, like a little character or attitude.
I had my eyes on the Acura TL for a while. While some people are not huge fans of its redesigned sporty looks, I for one like its unique sharpness and adequate power under the hood. I was SO going to get one......
....but there is one problem -- Caitey.
With 4 people and a car without open cargo space, where in the world that we are going to put her?
Actually a minivan would be the most practical choice, but I had one when the girls were little and I am DYING not to get into something that unsexy for a change. So very reluctantly, I started to search for a wagon or a crossover type of car.
After crossing out Audi, Volvo and Subaru for reasons from low ground clearance to unappealing design, we got stuck with our last candidate -- the Toyota Venza.
As much as I don't like another Toyota, its right mix of a sedan, a wagon, a lower SUV and a mini minivan does serve the right purpose for us....well at least it is not another Camry.
The Venza reminds me of Peter David's Deer which Chinese name is 四不像 because it looks like a deer, a horse, a cow and a donkey in certain ways but is not exactly any one of them. The Venza has a car kind of head, a wagon/minivan's cargo space, and an SUV's height and wheels. It is a brand new breed from Toyota and just came out in 09. I heard Toyota has been paying people $50 just to get them to test drive this model so it can get more exposure in the market.
In general, I have to say that if you like roomy interior, sporty exterior, elevated seats with good visibility on the road, high ground clearance (especially for our kind of winter), and typical Toyota's driver friendly details ... you should go no wrong with this one. Also if you are like me who can drive without gas but can't remember which pedal is gas without music on, your might like its JBL 13-speaker premium sound system.
The few drawbacks that I can come up with are perhaps its typical Toyota's lack of power (even for our V6), the unToyotaish jittery ride (in part because of its monstrous 20" wheels), and a chubby body that is way too wide for a wagon -- trust me, unless the driver is well over 6' or 250 lbs, he will have a tough time resting his left arm on the door.
In the end, we decided to go for the fully loaded model with all the bells and whistles pre-installed, simply because I will need them. I am sure you have heard about such things like "women are bad drivers" or "the Chinese are terrible on the road", well I happen to be a lousy combination of both! Hopefully the technology package will save me from cruising in your neighbourhood exterminating deers as well as people with sirens chasing me from behind. Of course the fancy packages come with a pretty hefty price tag that totals as much as an Acura TL, if not more.
They say a dog will cost its owner $25k in its lifetime, so adding on the Venza Caitey has become a very expensive dog.
I hope you will give me lots and lots of your therapeutic licks as payback Caitey -- your mommy is human so she demands mundane returns.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Caitey's 1st swimming experience
They all say that Goldens LOVE water, they are born to be great swimmers.
Not my Caitey.
2 weeks after she got home, we set up a little pool for kids so she could have some summer fun with splash!
The girls and I were very disappointed to find out that every time we tried to put her in, she would nervously try to jump out. Her body would be shaking and her eyes were filled with fear.
Wait a minute, is she a REAL Golden Retriever or a Golden Chicken?
Not my Caitey.
2 weeks after she got home, we set up a little pool for kids so she could have some summer fun with splash!
The girls and I were very disappointed to find out that every time we tried to put her in, she would nervously try to jump out. Her body would be shaking and her eyes were filled with fear.
Wait a minute, is she a REAL Golden Retriever or a Golden Chicken?
The Chinese and the dogs
Someone once commented that he had never seen a Chinese family raising a dog. Come to think of it, none of my Chinese friends have a dog or a cat or any kind of pet. Our family is standing out like a sore thumb!
Why is it then that we Chinese don't like to keep pets, especially dogs?
Maybe it is because that lots of us don't really view a dog as a family friend. If you go somewhere like south and northeast of China, you'd still see people eat dog meat like pork there. Like the Koreans, the Chinese believe that it is better for the humans to eat dogs during winter season. An American would look at a dog and drools about how cute or beautiful it is, some of us Chinese do that as well.. although we drool for a totally different reason.
Or could it be that we are too busy with our lives that we just don't have another minute for a dog? Most of us are SO absorbed in our professional life busily trying to get ahead, get promoted and get paid more. At home, we over-educated chauffeurs drive our kids crazy by driving them from Kumon to piano classes, like our kids are not smart or busy enough.
Or maybe getting a dog is too much work for us overly hardworking people. It is sure a lot of work from walking the dog to cleaning up its mess.
I remember when I told my dad about my decision to get a puppy, he raised two questions right away: 1) how I was going to keep the family from getting a "disease" from the puppy; 2) where the dog would spend the night -- outside or in the garage. When I said that as a family member, Caitey would HAVE to stay inside the house, the other side of the line went quiet.
I hope those dogs slain for hot pot on the dinner table could rest in peace in dog's heaven.
Why is it then that we Chinese don't like to keep pets, especially dogs?
Maybe it is because that lots of us don't really view a dog as a family friend. If you go somewhere like south and northeast of China, you'd still see people eat dog meat like pork there. Like the Koreans, the Chinese believe that it is better for the humans to eat dogs during winter season. An American would look at a dog and drools about how cute or beautiful it is, some of us Chinese do that as well.. although we drool for a totally different reason.
Or could it be that we are too busy with our lives that we just don't have another minute for a dog? Most of us are SO absorbed in our professional life busily trying to get ahead, get promoted and get paid more. At home, we over-educated chauffeurs drive our kids crazy by driving them from Kumon to piano classes, like our kids are not smart or busy enough.
Or maybe getting a dog is too much work for us overly hardworking people. It is sure a lot of work from walking the dog to cleaning up its mess.
I remember when I told my dad about my decision to get a puppy, he raised two questions right away: 1) how I was going to keep the family from getting a "disease" from the puppy; 2) where the dog would spend the night -- outside or in the garage. When I said that as a family member, Caitey would HAVE to stay inside the house, the other side of the line went quiet.
I hope those dogs slain for hot pot on the dinner table could rest in peace in dog's heaven.
Caitey's 1st night in the crate
I don't think that I will ever forget how sad Caitey was when she spent her very 1st night in the crate... it was even harder than her 1st night at her new home but out of the crate.
To discipline her properly, we hardened our hearts, made her get into the crate, locked the door, said good night to her and turned off the kitchen lights with only two little wall night lights on.
Having realized that she was left alone, Caitey started to whimper, and it got louder and louder as she became frustrated and scared. It sounded so sad that I had to return and talk to her to calm her down. She would stop once she saw me around, then after I left the same cry started again.
After having failed to keep her from crying for quite a few times, I gave up. I mean even if I could not hear her whimpering from upstairs, I would still be worried and have a hard time going to sleep any way. So I moved her big cushion pet bed over next to her crate, jumped in to spend the night next to her. I also let my fingers slide thru the bars of the metal crate for her to nibble on to comfort her.
Seeing mommy around and feeling safe, the very tired Caitey finally lied down and fell asleep quickly.
We all had a good night's rest.
I need to add here that Caitey the good girl has not cried again since that night. I think she is well aware of her family's love towards her now.
To discipline her properly, we hardened our hearts, made her get into the crate, locked the door, said good night to her and turned off the kitchen lights with only two little wall night lights on.
Having realized that she was left alone, Caitey started to whimper, and it got louder and louder as she became frustrated and scared. It sounded so sad that I had to return and talk to her to calm her down. She would stop once she saw me around, then after I left the same cry started again.
After having failed to keep her from crying for quite a few times, I gave up. I mean even if I could not hear her whimpering from upstairs, I would still be worried and have a hard time going to sleep any way. So I moved her big cushion pet bed over next to her crate, jumped in to spend the night next to her. I also let my fingers slide thru the bars of the metal crate for her to nibble on to comfort her.
Seeing mommy around and feeling safe, the very tired Caitey finally lied down and fell asleep quickly.
We all had a good night's rest.
I need to add here that Caitey the good girl has not cried again since that night. I think she is well aware of her family's love towards her now.
Caitey's Vet Visits
Caitey's 1st vet visit was on Aug the 28th, 3 days earlier than I originally planned.
She always had hearty appetite and ate a lot more than what Science Diet suggests for puppies of her size. Somehow the day before the visit, she lost her interest in food, appeared to be in low spirit, and "seemed" to sneeze a lot to us.
I got so worried that I had decided to bring her in right away and four of us all went along to the vet's office with her. I don't think it happens very often because people in the office were kind of amused to see a train of people come in just for one puppy.
After carefully examining her, her Vet Dr. Stechroat declared that there was nothing wrong with Caitey. "You think so?" questioned my husband. The vet chuckled and explained in detail that to him, everything from her lungs to ears all seemed to be doing just fine.
Whewwww, needless to say that we were all very relieved...so long as she was healthy.
She was almost 11 lbs that day.
Her 2nd visit took place a month later, and Caitey had gained 6 full lbs already in just one short month!
That was not the only surprise for me that day. Dr. Stechroat declared that she could reach 90 lbs in her adult life.
"Ninety?"
"POUNDS?"
"Like Marley?"
I think my eyes almost popped out when I heard this. I mean by average, a female golden is somewhere between 55 to 65 lbs so I really wasn't prepared for something that is 1/3 bigger than statistics.
"Look at her feet, those are bear paws!" Dr. Stechroat said.
So she will grow into them. Oh well, in a few short months, Caitey will become my biggest daughter in size. I hope she can scare the deers that have been nibbling my plants in the yard away.
She always had hearty appetite and ate a lot more than what Science Diet suggests for puppies of her size. Somehow the day before the visit, she lost her interest in food, appeared to be in low spirit, and "seemed" to sneeze a lot to us.
I got so worried that I had decided to bring her in right away and four of us all went along to the vet's office with her. I don't think it happens very often because people in the office were kind of amused to see a train of people come in just for one puppy.
After carefully examining her, her Vet Dr. Stechroat declared that there was nothing wrong with Caitey. "You think so?" questioned my husband. The vet chuckled and explained in detail that to him, everything from her lungs to ears all seemed to be doing just fine.
Whewwww, needless to say that we were all very relieved...so long as she was healthy.
She was almost 11 lbs that day.
Her 2nd visit took place a month later, and Caitey had gained 6 full lbs already in just one short month!
That was not the only surprise for me that day. Dr. Stechroat declared that she could reach 90 lbs in her adult life.
"Ninety?"
"POUNDS?"
"Like Marley?"
I think my eyes almost popped out when I heard this. I mean by average, a female golden is somewhere between 55 to 65 lbs so I really wasn't prepared for something that is 1/3 bigger than statistics.
"Look at her feet, those are bear paws!" Dr. Stechroat said.
So she will grow into them. Oh well, in a few short months, Caitey will become my biggest daughter in size. I hope she can scare the deers that have been nibbling my plants in the yard away.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Caitey could stay, thanks to Annie!
"That is IT!", my husband announced after he felt he had had it with Caitey's pee and poo in the house. He gathered a family meeting only about a week Caitey was here and basically told us that dog had to go.
The girls cried instantly upon hearing the news. We tried our best to argue with daddy, but we did not know how to change the situation around either.
I barely slept that night feeling sad about the upcoming departure of Caitey. The next morning, I got up early and sat on the floor next to Caitey. I gently touched her hair while she was still sound asleep. I think I shed enough tears to flood Lake Carnegie that morning.
The girls woke up early as well and Caitlin had puffy eyes obviously from too much crying before she went to sleep.
At about 10am, I had no choice but to call two puppy stores to see if they were willing to take Caitey for free, hoping that she could find a nice family after us. Both stores said that they would only take puppies from breeders. I tried Puppy Barn where we got Caitey from a week ago, luckily I was told Big Ralph the manager was out till the afternoon.
That bought me a few extra hours to try one more time to keep Caitey with us. I had no choice but to beg a great friend of mine Annie for help.
Annie became a friend of our family 6 years ago when we lived in Chicago. She is an incredible warm-hearted, kind, radiant and funny Scottish/Irish redhead who can always crack me up and make me feel better whenever I need her. She does not have any kid of her own, but she and her Italian husband Sal poured all their parental love into their two dogs. She sure knows a lot more about puppies than I do, so I asked her to call my husband, give him some suggestions and encouragements hoping that could give us a few extra days.
Then I rushed out to PetsMart and got two minivan loads of goodies including a large metal crate for a golden inside the house, a table customized for that crate, a portable crate for Caitey to travel with us, and a fenced play bin for Caitey to stay outside on the patio.
This time I was determined to start things anew. Obviously we had been doing it wrong by not using a crate and that was the root of the problem. I also had decided that I was going to work Caitey regularly during the day to make her tired thru exercises and walking. As they say, a tired dog is a good dog. Then I would lock her up -- this way she could rest and we could all get on with our day without having to worry about her flooding the house or chewing up the furniture, especially my brand new 7' Steinway!
I think my pray had been heard and suddenly things looked up dramatically from that day.
First, Annie's conversation with my husband worked like a charm, I don't know exactly what she said but that convinced him to set up the crate and table for Caitey to give her another chance. It also just happened that the next day Caitey started to use her cute little nose to knock on the Chinese gong that I hanged up at the patio door whenever she needed to go. Life became much easier after she was potty trained, finally.
The girls and I were SO relieved that the little crisis was over and Caitey got to stay us. I can't imagine what our life would be if we let go of her that day.
Thank you dear Annie, and all my other friends who had given us precious tips to help raise Caitey -- if only you could know how grateful we are.
Warm hugs from me and slobbery kiss from Caitey.
The girls cried instantly upon hearing the news. We tried our best to argue with daddy, but we did not know how to change the situation around either.
I barely slept that night feeling sad about the upcoming departure of Caitey. The next morning, I got up early and sat on the floor next to Caitey. I gently touched her hair while she was still sound asleep. I think I shed enough tears to flood Lake Carnegie that morning.
The girls woke up early as well and Caitlin had puffy eyes obviously from too much crying before she went to sleep.
At about 10am, I had no choice but to call two puppy stores to see if they were willing to take Caitey for free, hoping that she could find a nice family after us. Both stores said that they would only take puppies from breeders. I tried Puppy Barn where we got Caitey from a week ago, luckily I was told Big Ralph the manager was out till the afternoon.
That bought me a few extra hours to try one more time to keep Caitey with us. I had no choice but to beg a great friend of mine Annie for help.
Annie became a friend of our family 6 years ago when we lived in Chicago. She is an incredible warm-hearted, kind, radiant and funny Scottish/Irish redhead who can always crack me up and make me feel better whenever I need her. She does not have any kid of her own, but she and her Italian husband Sal poured all their parental love into their two dogs. She sure knows a lot more about puppies than I do, so I asked her to call my husband, give him some suggestions and encouragements hoping that could give us a few extra days.
Then I rushed out to PetsMart and got two minivan loads of goodies including a large metal crate for a golden inside the house, a table customized for that crate, a portable crate for Caitey to travel with us, and a fenced play bin for Caitey to stay outside on the patio.
This time I was determined to start things anew. Obviously we had been doing it wrong by not using a crate and that was the root of the problem. I also had decided that I was going to work Caitey regularly during the day to make her tired thru exercises and walking. As they say, a tired dog is a good dog. Then I would lock her up -- this way she could rest and we could all get on with our day without having to worry about her flooding the house or chewing up the furniture, especially my brand new 7' Steinway!
I think my pray had been heard and suddenly things looked up dramatically from that day.
First, Annie's conversation with my husband worked like a charm, I don't know exactly what she said but that convinced him to set up the crate and table for Caitey to give her another chance. It also just happened that the next day Caitey started to use her cute little nose to knock on the Chinese gong that I hanged up at the patio door whenever she needed to go. Life became much easier after she was potty trained, finally.
The girls and I were SO relieved that the little crisis was over and Caitey got to stay us. I can't imagine what our life would be if we let go of her that day.
Thank you dear Annie, and all my other friends who had given us precious tips to help raise Caitey -- if only you could know how grateful we are.
Warm hugs from me and slobbery kiss from Caitey.
Caitey's 1st week at home
When Caitey 1st came into her new home, she looked tired but remained curious. She sniffed all over the kitchen and we let her roam around the house a bit with proper introduction from her 2-legged sisters.
After we let her eat and take care of her business outside on the grass, she sprawled her limbs wide and fell asleep on her tummy on the hardwood floor in the kitchen. She did not seem to like her crate so we did not make her go inside. I moved her upstairs with me later, she maintained the same position and slept under my bed.
That night, I got waken up quite a few times. It was always the brief walking sound of a dog and then flap she was on the floor sleeping again. Poor baby I thought, first night without mommy and siblings and having a hard time finding a comfy spot to rest.
I found myself restless that night also. I kept looking down under the bed to see where she was, how she was doing, and worried at the same time that she was going to flood my house... which she did numerous times. It was OK for me, she was new to the house and babies are supposed to have accidents.
Over the next few days, we started to struggle with her. Partly because of our ignorance about puppies and not using a crate, Caitey did the same thing over and over again -- roaming around the house, and peeing and pooing whenever she felt like it.
At times it was quite a funny sight, with a dog sniffing around the house and 4 humans followed her behind her wondering and talking: "what is she doing?", "you think she is going to pee again?", "nah, looks like she is going to poo again" etc etc... then my husband started to get a little uneasy and raised the question of if we should have a pet at all.
I was not willing to get Caitey up but I did see his point -- we don't have time to follow her cute little butt 24/7, school is starting soon and the girls are getting distracted from their studies, the originally shining spotless brand new Bazillion cherry hardwood floor gets soiled constantly... and even if when she does things right on the lawn we will have to put aside our pride momentarily, bend over and clean up her mess right away. Most importantly, my husband started to feel that the dog was taking away his time from his girls and work.
The three females in our family tried to turn deaf ears to him... after all, we searched high and low for her, but the same situation continued. Worse, Caitey started to chew on everything that she could lay her mouth on and we had to assign at least 1 person to watch her all the time, she is a golden after all. Now even the girls and I were getting a little tired.
After we let her eat and take care of her business outside on the grass, she sprawled her limbs wide and fell asleep on her tummy on the hardwood floor in the kitchen. She did not seem to like her crate so we did not make her go inside. I moved her upstairs with me later, she maintained the same position and slept under my bed.
That night, I got waken up quite a few times. It was always the brief walking sound of a dog and then flap she was on the floor sleeping again. Poor baby I thought, first night without mommy and siblings and having a hard time finding a comfy spot to rest.
I found myself restless that night also. I kept looking down under the bed to see where she was, how she was doing, and worried at the same time that she was going to flood my house... which she did numerous times. It was OK for me, she was new to the house and babies are supposed to have accidents.
Over the next few days, we started to struggle with her. Partly because of our ignorance about puppies and not using a crate, Caitey did the same thing over and over again -- roaming around the house, and peeing and pooing whenever she felt like it.
At times it was quite a funny sight, with a dog sniffing around the house and 4 humans followed her behind her wondering and talking: "what is she doing?", "you think she is going to pee again?", "nah, looks like she is going to poo again" etc etc... then my husband started to get a little uneasy and raised the question of if we should have a pet at all.
I was not willing to get Caitey up but I did see his point -- we don't have time to follow her cute little butt 24/7, school is starting soon and the girls are getting distracted from their studies, the originally shining spotless brand new Bazillion cherry hardwood floor gets soiled constantly... and even if when she does things right on the lawn we will have to put aside our pride momentarily, bend over and clean up her mess right away. Most importantly, my husband started to feel that the dog was taking away his time from his girls and work.
The three females in our family tried to turn deaf ears to him... after all, we searched high and low for her, but the same situation continued. Worse, Caitey started to chew on everything that she could lay her mouth on and we had to assign at least 1 person to watch her all the time, she is a golden after all. Now even the girls and I were getting a little tired.
Aug 22nd 09 -- Caitey came home.
With lots of help, I packed a minivan load of supplies for Caitey from crate, feeding bowls, toys, treats, to collar and leash...you name it.
I was very excited, and dead nervous at the same time. I had the exact same uneasiness before Claire came back home from the hospital. I never had a puppy before, and other than the few pages I read and the invaluable suggestions from those benevolent friends of mine who were dog owners... the only thing that I was sure about was perhaps that dogs come with no more than 4 legs.
It did not matter though, when we got into the store and I carried her again in my arms. She might have recognized us when she saw us again, at least she came forward to me and put her front legs up to greet me -- that was very sweet and reassuring for me.
Again, the staff at Puppy Barn came to our rescue. Big Ralph, the manager of the store, had a motto of "a puppy is not a used car". A very nice lady gave us a 10-minute lesson about the most important things that we should do at home for a new puppy, and patiently answered all our nervous questions. We were also told that we could call them anytime when we have questions.
With another pack of supplies and Caitey on my lap, we went home. My husband made sure that his drive wasn't too fast and bumpy to scare Caitey.
I was very excited, and dead nervous at the same time. I had the exact same uneasiness before Claire came back home from the hospital. I never had a puppy before, and other than the few pages I read and the invaluable suggestions from those benevolent friends of mine who were dog owners... the only thing that I was sure about was perhaps that dogs come with no more than 4 legs.
It did not matter though, when we got into the store and I carried her again in my arms. She might have recognized us when she saw us again, at least she came forward to me and put her front legs up to greet me -- that was very sweet and reassuring for me.
Again, the staff at Puppy Barn came to our rescue. Big Ralph, the manager of the store, had a motto of "a puppy is not a used car". A very nice lady gave us a 10-minute lesson about the most important things that we should do at home for a new puppy, and patiently answered all our nervous questions. We were also told that we could call them anytime when we have questions.
With another pack of supplies and Caitey on my lap, we went home. My husband made sure that his drive wasn't too fast and bumpy to scare Caitey.
Aug 20th 09 -- We have found Caitey!
While I was calling the world high and low, Caitlin already named her puppy sister Caitey... and thus added more pressure on my search.
Desperate, I wrote to the previous owner of our house for help. She was very kind to write back with a full list of suggestions from what to consider before getting a puppy (aka warnings), where to do research for the right breed, what to look for in a puppy, to where she got her yellow lab and golden mix Sidknee last time.
So I have decided to try the pet store named "Puppy Barn" for luck as she had suggested. It is a lovely pet store with cute puppy signs and pics hanging inside and outside the store. The manager Ralph was a somewhat ragged looking big guy, but soon you would find out that he was really very helpful and considerate.... especially for us puppy dummies. He took time to show us around, and explained in detail of what breed would suit our situation and what's not, for instance, getting a Border Collie or two goldens at the same time perhaps would not be too wise for us new parents.
As we approached the Golden Retriever bin, I could not help but gasp when I saw three of the most adorable Goldens, 1 girl and 2 boys. We were told that they just came in last night and the 8-week little girl had passed her vet examination and got her 1st round of shots today.
She appeared to be a little sleepish and tired, could be because of the hardship she had experienced from getting separated from her mommy and those shots, or it could because of her timid nature. An expert once said in a book that you should always pick that puppy which picks you, meaning it should be active, cheerful, confident and comes forward to you.
Only I did not care, at that moment. I wanted a female golden and that was that. If you are one of my friends, you'd know that I absolutely adore girls and am not much a boy person....I just can't picture myself with boys or male dogs. I actually prefer girls to a little shy, after all a girl should be feminine with her rightful girlie merits.
So I picked the little golden furry ball up, who had been stepped on and pushed left and right by her brothers. She seemed quite contented and rested comfortably in my arms. She was quiet and obedient, nothing like the lab that I saw in another store the other day... just the way that I pictured a perfect puppy. I made up my mind on the spot -- this is going to be MY Caitey.
... besides I don't think my two 2-legged girls would allow me to go back home without getting her any way.
So we paid for her, Ralph explained in details of the adoption procedures and put a paper collar that bore my name on Caitey. We would pick her up 2 days later after we got all our supplies.
Now it is official -- I am Caitey's mommy from now on.
Caitey, you WILL have a long, happy, healthy and fur-filled life with us -- I promise you this.
Desperate, I wrote to the previous owner of our house for help. She was very kind to write back with a full list of suggestions from what to consider before getting a puppy (aka warnings), where to do research for the right breed, what to look for in a puppy, to where she got her yellow lab and golden mix Sidknee last time.
So I have decided to try the pet store named "Puppy Barn" for luck as she had suggested. It is a lovely pet store with cute puppy signs and pics hanging inside and outside the store. The manager Ralph was a somewhat ragged looking big guy, but soon you would find out that he was really very helpful and considerate.... especially for us puppy dummies. He took time to show us around, and explained in detail of what breed would suit our situation and what's not, for instance, getting a Border Collie or two goldens at the same time perhaps would not be too wise for us new parents.
As we approached the Golden Retriever bin, I could not help but gasp when I saw three of the most adorable Goldens, 1 girl and 2 boys. We were told that they just came in last night and the 8-week little girl had passed her vet examination and got her 1st round of shots today.
She appeared to be a little sleepish and tired, could be because of the hardship she had experienced from getting separated from her mommy and those shots, or it could because of her timid nature. An expert once said in a book that you should always pick that puppy which picks you, meaning it should be active, cheerful, confident and comes forward to you.
Only I did not care, at that moment. I wanted a female golden and that was that. If you are one of my friends, you'd know that I absolutely adore girls and am not much a boy person....I just can't picture myself with boys or male dogs. I actually prefer girls to a little shy, after all a girl should be feminine with her rightful girlie merits.
So I picked the little golden furry ball up, who had been stepped on and pushed left and right by her brothers. She seemed quite contented and rested comfortably in my arms. She was quiet and obedient, nothing like the lab that I saw in another store the other day... just the way that I pictured a perfect puppy. I made up my mind on the spot -- this is going to be MY Caitey.
... besides I don't think my two 2-legged girls would allow me to go back home without getting her any way.
So we paid for her, Ralph explained in details of the adoption procedures and put a paper collar that bore my name on Caitey. We would pick her up 2 days later after we got all our supplies.
Now it is official -- I am Caitey's mommy from now on.
Caitey, you WILL have a long, happy, healthy and fur-filled life with us -- I promise you this.
Monday, September 14, 2009
The Desperate Search for a Golden
Well, it all s tarted with our new house... with enough rooms inside and a sizable yard outside, people (my two girls to be specific) started to have ideas. It just happened that previous owner of the house had a beautiful, sweet and tame golden and lab mix Sidknee, so putting 1+1 together, those two little devilish minds start to tick....
"Mommy can we have a puppy? I promise I will take care of it". I mumbled yes while I wasn't thinking or even paying attention to my younger one's usual whining. I mean look at the time she asked -- I was busy with chores and I thought she was grouching about the usual stuff... Before long I realized with a chill on my back of what I have done, wait a minute, a PUPPY? A four-legged one that can't talk in either English or Chinese?
What can you do, a promise is a promise. Even after my husband and I have listed all the pros and cons of raising, it did not matter -- the girls drove me crazy every day with their "we are going to get a puppy, wright? WRIGHT?". If you think it is easy to say no to kids, you don't know my girls -- the sweetest, cutest, wittiest, and the most mischievous ones who are as good as professional guilt makers!
To make a long story short, we (more like I) started to dig around for a puppy. I did not know exactly where to start so I called the shelters first. Obviously nobody would abandon a cute golden puppy to a shelter, so I moved on the breeders on the internet with the suggestions from a friend but did not had much luck there either. No only those puppies are expensive ($2k to $3k+), you will also have to wait. Most of the puppies are long booked before they reach the 8 week mark to be separated from their mommies, and the ones that are left often have defects like allergies. The only one available was from Missouri! After 2 weeks of digging, I became desperate, so I started to drive around and sniff thru the puppy stores near my neighbourhood.
The 1st one did not have any goldens. I got startled by some active puppies jumping up and down to "greet" me in their bin and I had to quickly hide behind someone's back. The 2nd store had a 3-month old female yellow lab, who acted like she had waaaay too much coffee in the morning. The puppy chased my younger one Caitlin around till she almost cried and wished she could dig a hole in the ground and hide there. It also scratched my older one Claire's finger and made it bleed.
I seriously started to have 2nd thought about this puppy thing. Can you blame me? I am already having just 4 hours of sleep on average each day. They say a pet will add years to your life but I am sure a puppy like that yellow lab will sure send me the graveyard... QUICK!
"Mommy can we have a puppy? I promise I will take care of it". I mumbled yes while I wasn't thinking or even paying attention to my younger one's usual whining. I mean look at the time she asked -- I was busy with chores and I thought she was grouching about the usual stuff... Before long I realized with a chill on my back of what I have done, wait a minute, a PUPPY? A four-legged one that can't talk in either English or Chinese?
What can you do, a promise is a promise. Even after my husband and I have listed all the pros and cons of raising, it did not matter -- the girls drove me crazy every day with their "we are going to get a puppy, wright? WRIGHT?". If you think it is easy to say no to kids, you don't know my girls -- the sweetest, cutest, wittiest, and the most mischievous ones who are as good as professional guilt makers!
To make a long story short, we (more like I) started to dig around for a puppy. I did not know exactly where to start so I called the shelters first. Obviously nobody would abandon a cute golden puppy to a shelter, so I moved on the breeders on the internet with the suggestions from a friend but did not had much luck there either. No only those puppies are expensive ($2k to $3k+), you will also have to wait. Most of the puppies are long booked before they reach the 8 week mark to be separated from their mommies, and the ones that are left often have defects like allergies. The only one available was from Missouri! After 2 weeks of digging, I became desperate, so I started to drive around and sniff thru the puppy stores near my neighbourhood.
The 1st one did not have any goldens. I got startled by some active puppies jumping up and down to "greet" me in their bin and I had to quickly hide behind someone's back. The 2nd store had a 3-month old female yellow lab, who acted like she had waaaay too much coffee in the morning. The puppy chased my younger one Caitlin around till she almost cried and wished she could dig a hole in the ground and hide there. It also scratched my older one Claire's finger and made it bleed.
I seriously started to have 2nd thought about this puppy thing. Can you blame me? I am already having just 4 hours of sleep on average each day. They say a pet will add years to your life but I am sure a puppy like that yellow lab will sure send me the graveyard... QUICK!
Before it is too late!
Caitey is my 3rd daughter, an 11-week old Golden Retriever. When I first laid my eyes on her, that little furry golden ball made my heart melt -- I fell in love with her instantly.
I have decided to start a blog that is dedicated to her growth exclusively, and by doing so hopefully I get to record the sweet and sour experiences of our family as well. I wish I had done the same for my other two girls...but late is better than never.
Since I am one month behind so there is going to be quite a bit to catch up, but I'd better do it while the memories are still fresh.
Meanwhile, I invite you to step into our family virtually, and share our passion for everything that life has to offer.
I have decided to start a blog that is dedicated to her growth exclusively, and by doing so hopefully I get to record the sweet and sour experiences of our family as well. I wish I had done the same for my other two girls...but late is better than never.
Since I am one month behind so there is going to be quite a bit to catch up, but I'd better do it while the memories are still fresh.
Meanwhile, I invite you to step into our family virtually, and share our passion for everything that life has to offer.
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