We have FINALLY decided on my son's name after his sister Claire changed her mind every 5 minutes and had pretty much used up all the words that start with C in the dictionary. He will be Coley, which is a variant of Nicole in Greek with the meaning of "people of victory". It also sounds like the dog breed "Collie" which Claire is crazy about but graciously gave up for the protective power of a German.
My three girls and I went back to the shop to see Coley yesterday, unfortunately the staff would not let Caitey go thru the door due to health concern (I should have known better).
I have to say that I started to get nervous when a guy, who had two dogs already, also said that if we had not adopted Coley 1st he would have grabbed him in a heartbeat....I hope my son is still there when we are back to pick him up.
Coley was very happy to see us, the way he responded to us made me think that perhaps he remembers us now. We played with him for an hour or so with poor Caitey napping in the car. I was VERY happy though to see that Coley let us pet him and even licked all of us.
He was friendly to people in general, but somewhat hostile towards other dogs who tried to steal his ball. There were 4 dogs on the floor but he monopolized the ball the whole time, at one point he even pressed a much bigger Lab/Doodle mix down under him. I have to say that I had some ambivalence about my son's feisty side -- it was very nice to see that he was fearless, but I also hope its protectiveness can be used in a positive and productive way later.
I could also tell that he was very smart and constantly thinking on his feet. While the other 3 dogs were quite satisfied just playing inside the room, Coley on the other hand tried to sneak out left and right, LITERALLY. A couple of us had to move around fast to block his way out because his paws were too nimble and swift.
Coley got left in the same bin with that super hyper Lab/Doodle mix... poor baby, I hope he does not bother you too much.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
We have found Caitey's husband!
I start to think the match we have found for Caitey is a "God Sent", and I hope it proves to be true after my son joins our family.
I always liked breeds like Collie and German Shepherd but was concerned that they might be too aggressive. I have been thinking of maybe getting another loving caring Golden (preferably British Golden because I love its pure white coat), but the tragic death of Chelsea King changed my mind.
I kept asking myself, would Chelsea still be alive if she had a protective German Shepherd on her side when she went hiking at the wrong place at the wrong time?
I have two little girls who are the center of my world. There is absolutely NO way that I would allow anything even remotely close to that to happen to my children, therefore I made up my mind that I would have to adopt a breed that is intelligent, loyal, but most importantly, PROTECTIVE for the safety of the girls.
With that decision made, we started searching for a German Shepherd. Deep inside I hoped just a tiny little bit for an all white German, which is also called American Shepherd or White Shepherd due to its color variation from its original ancestors, but did not really count on it because it is so few to come by -- it'd be a miracle if we could find a healthy and lovable white German Shepherd male, given how rare this breed is.
Well, God had listened and answered my prayers mercifully twice when I wished for girls many years ago, and this time he graciously granted my wish again.
When Claire 1st told me that there was a German in the puppy shop on March 21st (incidentally spring started on this day), my very 1st thought was "It can't be white"... till I heard Claire screaming "....and it is WHITE!".
Then after seeing the puppy's adorable face I checked with the staff for its sex, almost not daring to hope for a male, but was told that it was INDEED a male!
For someone like me who believe things are often destined (I know, women), I just HAD to adopt him on the spot.
I should also mention that while we were going thru the paperwork, a guy offered me $150 more than what I just paid because he and his fiancee REALLY wanted him but was one step behind us. After I declined his offer with an apology, he went as far as to trying to talk Claire out of it. Nice try, he picked the VERY person who had always wanted a guarding dog in the 1st place (I on the other hand, was the one who actually had tried to hold her back.)
My son was born on Jan 19th, 2010 and was just separated from his parents at a breeder in PA. His sister was adopted the same morning to match a male Lab.
As for his temperament, we spent about an hour at the shop petting and playing with him. He seemed to be very friendly with us and other dogs, and did not appear to be overly aggressive. You should know that the white Germans are bred to be milder and mellower than the traditional black/tan ones. He laid down a couple of times to let us touch his tummy, got too comfy and almost fell asleep on the floor while we were doing it, which was a good sign that he is obedient and trainable.
He did nibble my fingers a little without really biting them, but his teethmarks were all over the little decorative chairs in the "bonding room". Given the fact the Germans have the 2nd most powerful biting power among all the dog breeds (2nd only to the Rottweilers), I sure hope he will put his razor sharp teeth into good use later in his life.
I am bringing Caitey back to meet her hubby tomorrow, maybe I should get a ring for each one of my 4-legged child?
Now the major challenge is to decide on his name. So far we have come up with the following mile long list:
Cade (meaning "pure"),
Cadman (warrior),
Caius (rejoice),
Calbert (shepherd),
Candan (sincerely),
Carlin (little champion),
Carmine (song),
Carney (warrior),
Caicey/Casey (brave/watchful),
Canton (wise),
Chase (hunter),
Ciel (from heaven),
Clarence (clear),
Clyde (heard from afar),
Cyrus (sun),
...and others like Cloudie, Coyote, Creamy, Clearey, Carnegie, CaiKai, Snowy, Ivory.
So, decisions decisions decisions....
I always liked breeds like Collie and German Shepherd but was concerned that they might be too aggressive. I have been thinking of maybe getting another loving caring Golden (preferably British Golden because I love its pure white coat), but the tragic death of Chelsea King changed my mind.
I kept asking myself, would Chelsea still be alive if she had a protective German Shepherd on her side when she went hiking at the wrong place at the wrong time?
I have two little girls who are the center of my world. There is absolutely NO way that I would allow anything even remotely close to that to happen to my children, therefore I made up my mind that I would have to adopt a breed that is intelligent, loyal, but most importantly, PROTECTIVE for the safety of the girls.
With that decision made, we started searching for a German Shepherd. Deep inside I hoped just a tiny little bit for an all white German, which is also called American Shepherd or White Shepherd due to its color variation from its original ancestors, but did not really count on it because it is so few to come by -- it'd be a miracle if we could find a healthy and lovable white German Shepherd male, given how rare this breed is.
Well, God had listened and answered my prayers mercifully twice when I wished for girls many years ago, and this time he graciously granted my wish again.
When Claire 1st told me that there was a German in the puppy shop on March 21st (incidentally spring started on this day), my very 1st thought was "It can't be white"... till I heard Claire screaming "....and it is WHITE!".
Then after seeing the puppy's adorable face I checked with the staff for its sex, almost not daring to hope for a male, but was told that it was INDEED a male!
For someone like me who believe things are often destined (I know, women), I just HAD to adopt him on the spot.
I should also mention that while we were going thru the paperwork, a guy offered me $150 more than what I just paid because he and his fiancee REALLY wanted him but was one step behind us. After I declined his offer with an apology, he went as far as to trying to talk Claire out of it. Nice try, he picked the VERY person who had always wanted a guarding dog in the 1st place (I on the other hand, was the one who actually had tried to hold her back.)
My son was born on Jan 19th, 2010 and was just separated from his parents at a breeder in PA. His sister was adopted the same morning to match a male Lab.
As for his temperament, we spent about an hour at the shop petting and playing with him. He seemed to be very friendly with us and other dogs, and did not appear to be overly aggressive. You should know that the white Germans are bred to be milder and mellower than the traditional black/tan ones. He laid down a couple of times to let us touch his tummy, got too comfy and almost fell asleep on the floor while we were doing it, which was a good sign that he is obedient and trainable.
He did nibble my fingers a little without really biting them, but his teethmarks were all over the little decorative chairs in the "bonding room". Given the fact the Germans have the 2nd most powerful biting power among all the dog breeds (2nd only to the Rottweilers), I sure hope he will put his razor sharp teeth into good use later in his life.
I am bringing Caitey back to meet her hubby tomorrow, maybe I should get a ring for each one of my 4-legged child?
Now the major challenge is to decide on his name. So far we have come up with the following mile long list:
Cade (meaning "pure"),
Cadman (warrior),
Caius (rejoice),
Calbert (shepherd),
Candan (sincerely),
Carlin (little champion),
Carmine (song),
Carney (warrior),
Caicey/Casey (brave/watchful),
Canton (wise),
Chase (hunter),
Ciel (from heaven),
Clarence (clear),
Clyde (heard from afar),
Cyrus (sun),
...and others like Cloudie, Coyote, Creamy, Clearey, Carnegie, CaiKai, Snowy, Ivory.
So, decisions decisions decisions....
Time to find my Caitey angel a companion
Time flies. It has been 6 months since Caitey 1st joined our family last Aug. I find myself in love her more and more each and every day.
She is SUCH a beautiful, sweet, loving and obedient dog.
She listens and responds to our commands, even when she wants the other way. I have heard/read a lot of horror stories about how others Goldens chewing up the house, messing up the garbage can, ripping toilet paper, stealing food, biting people etc etc, but my Caitey is behaving great in our house and does none of such things.
Of course when she first came to our home as a newborn puppy she was curious about everything, but after a short while her nature to please took over and made her a perfect family companion. If I don't want her to do anything, it qukk only take a firm "NO" and I won't have that headache again.
I have a room sized closet which she was not allowed to get int. While her sister Caitlin and I were going thru our things in there, Caitey popped her cute little head in the door and watched us with great interest but did not step in. She was very happy when I said OK, and roamed around the room that is filled with stuff without touching any of them.
She does not go into the piano room, she does not chew our slippers any more, I can leave my shopping bag on the floor and don't have to worry about them getting ripped apart, she can hold up to 12 hours straight without having any accident, and she has graduated her crate and sleeps like angel in my room everynight to be my company.
If I let her out on the patio by herself without tying her up, she won't make a move and will wait patiently outside the door for me.
I think Caitey can even understand what I think. Perhaps because I had wished that she could be just a little less friendly towards strangers and more protective of her family, I think she heard me so all of sudden she started barking at strangers walking outside our house to alert us....thank you good girl!
I am SO grateful that I have the best doggie in the whole wide world, that I feel bad about not being able to play with her all the time.
It is time to find her a good companion so she has someone of her own kind to play with, especially when both are still puppies so they can get along well for many years to come.
So it is our mission to find her a nice hubby out of humanitarian (more like "caninitarian") concern.
She is SUCH a beautiful, sweet, loving and obedient dog.
She listens and responds to our commands, even when she wants the other way. I have heard/read a lot of horror stories about how others Goldens chewing up the house, messing up the garbage can, ripping toilet paper, stealing food, biting people etc etc, but my Caitey is behaving great in our house and does none of such things.
Of course when she first came to our home as a newborn puppy she was curious about everything, but after a short while her nature to please took over and made her a perfect family companion. If I don't want her to do anything, it qukk only take a firm "NO" and I won't have that headache again.
I have a room sized closet which she was not allowed to get int. While her sister Caitlin and I were going thru our things in there, Caitey popped her cute little head in the door and watched us with great interest but did not step in. She was very happy when I said OK, and roamed around the room that is filled with stuff without touching any of them.
She does not go into the piano room, she does not chew our slippers any more, I can leave my shopping bag on the floor and don't have to worry about them getting ripped apart, she can hold up to 12 hours straight without having any accident, and she has graduated her crate and sleeps like angel in my room everynight to be my company.
If I let her out on the patio by herself without tying her up, she won't make a move and will wait patiently outside the door for me.
I think Caitey can even understand what I think. Perhaps because I had wished that she could be just a little less friendly towards strangers and more protective of her family, I think she heard me so all of sudden she started barking at strangers walking outside our house to alert us....thank you good girl!
I am SO grateful that I have the best doggie in the whole wide world, that I feel bad about not being able to play with her all the time.
It is time to find her a good companion so she has someone of her own kind to play with, especially when both are still puppies so they can get along well for many years to come.
So it is our mission to find her a nice hubby out of humanitarian (more like "caninitarian") concern.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Caitey's 1st walk on Nassau Street
After a brutal winter and almost 3 feet of snow, the spring is finally here... well almost. The weather gets so warm all of a sudden and you can almost smell spring in the air.
The girls and I brought Caitey to Princeton University and Nassau St yesterday afternoon. The temperature almost hit 60 and there were lots of people there, many with their pets.
It was Caitey's first stroll down on a busy street so I was a little concerned at first -- my husband was working on our yard at home and I was not too sure if I could handle a dog which likes to jump on people. I kept her on tight leash, and after getting choked back a few times, the naughty girls soon realized that she was not going to chase every boy on campus or sniff every behind she sees on the street... so she gave up quickly. She later heeled nicely with us walking along Nassau, and sat quietly next to us when the girls had their snacks outside Panera Bread.
We received quite a few nice compliments about her and she acted politely when people petted her. Some people were surprised that she was barely 9 months old (you could tell they were not dog owners). A woman let her 7-year old chocolate-colored female Golden socialize with Caitey, and they looked so cute together. Caitey got very attached to the other Golden... almost like a little baby feeling close her canine mommy.
Caitey had a time all afternoon, except when she saw a few balloons dancing in the wind outside a store. She was scared and barked a little. Since she was so well behaved, as a reward I let her have her own way chasing a few squirrels up to the trees before we went back to the car.
I plan to bring her out on the streets more often as the weather improves, and hopefully she will get more comfortable meeting strangers and eventually become a therapy dog.
The girls and I brought Caitey to Princeton University and Nassau St yesterday afternoon. The temperature almost hit 60 and there were lots of people there, many with their pets.
It was Caitey's first stroll down on a busy street so I was a little concerned at first -- my husband was working on our yard at home and I was not too sure if I could handle a dog which likes to jump on people. I kept her on tight leash, and after getting choked back a few times, the naughty girls soon realized that she was not going to chase every boy on campus or sniff every behind she sees on the street... so she gave up quickly. She later heeled nicely with us walking along Nassau, and sat quietly next to us when the girls had their snacks outside Panera Bread.
We received quite a few nice compliments about her and she acted politely when people petted her. Some people were surprised that she was barely 9 months old (you could tell they were not dog owners). A woman let her 7-year old chocolate-colored female Golden socialize with Caitey, and they looked so cute together. Caitey got very attached to the other Golden... almost like a little baby feeling close her canine mommy.
Caitey had a time all afternoon, except when she saw a few balloons dancing in the wind outside a store. She was scared and barked a little. Since she was so well behaved, as a reward I let her have her own way chasing a few squirrels up to the trees before we went back to the car.
I plan to bring her out on the streets more often as the weather improves, and hopefully she will get more comfortable meeting strangers and eventually become a therapy dog.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Caitey is losing her fashionable wavy hair
When Caitey was little, she used to have beautiful short wave hair around her neck, on her back and under her tummy. Now as she grows older , for some reason her curly hair starts to extend longer but straighter -- it still twists here and there but is more like straight than wavy now.
Also the hair on her back feel a lot rougher than it used to be, but the ones around her neck area still feels as soft and delicate as cashmere.
I start to take my favorite blonde girl out for rides in the car, and she LOVES the spin. Every time I go out with my key, the smart girl knows it and will head straight to the door of my car. She is still a puppy and the seat of my SUV is pretty high, I will need to help lift her back legs so she can get in on the back seats. I hope she stays "small" longer -- right now she is "only" about 70lbs, I doubt if I can do anything when she is full grown.
She has been a good girl in the car. She will wait patiently and does not chew anything except sniffing here and there to get familiar with her surroundings..... she is a dog after all. Hope she stays behaved because I would not know how to patch up leather car seats.
Right now she is only out with me on shorter trips, like a ride to the bank or school to pick up her human sisters. I plan to stretch the length of time gradually, so hopefully we can bring her with us on out of state trips soon. I hate to leave her in the kennel -- I miss her so much and often worry that she won't be able to rest well when she has to spend the night with a bunch of barking dogs.
Also the hair on her back feel a lot rougher than it used to be, but the ones around her neck area still feels as soft and delicate as cashmere.
I start to take my favorite blonde girl out for rides in the car, and she LOVES the spin. Every time I go out with my key, the smart girl knows it and will head straight to the door of my car. She is still a puppy and the seat of my SUV is pretty high, I will need to help lift her back legs so she can get in on the back seats. I hope she stays "small" longer -- right now she is "only" about 70lbs, I doubt if I can do anything when she is full grown.
She has been a good girl in the car. She will wait patiently and does not chew anything except sniffing here and there to get familiar with her surroundings..... she is a dog after all. Hope she stays behaved because I would not know how to patch up leather car seats.
Right now she is only out with me on shorter trips, like a ride to the bank or school to pick up her human sisters. I plan to stretch the length of time gradually, so hopefully we can bring her with us on out of state trips soon. I hate to leave her in the kennel -- I miss her so much and often worry that she won't be able to rest well when she has to spend the night with a bunch of barking dogs.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Laugh of the day
If you lock your spouse and your dog up in the trunk of your car for two hours, who is REALLY happy to see you when you open the trunk?
If you are not sure about the answer (most likely you are not a dog owner btw), you can try "her divorce attorney".
If you are not sure about the answer (most likely you are not a dog owner btw), you can try "her divorce attorney".
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