A Day at the Zoo

Aquarium

On Wednesday, the traditional feast of the North American Martyrs, we spent the day at the the zoo with some friends from our parish.

Looking at the Octopus

My two oldest children stayed at home. However, Brendan and Theresa joined us to help out and have fun.

Budgies

Monkey Time

In addition to holding my friend's son, Theresa enjoyed taking photos of the animals.

Arctic Fox

I didn't know that walruses kiss.

Walruses and Seal

We are looking forward to hopefully returning to the zoo with these and a few more families in October.

Group Photo

We all had a delightful time.

Playground Fun

As one of my friends said, "It was a lovely day!"

Good-bye Heidi

On Saturday, June 16, Heidi went to a new home.

We know that we made the right decision, but we still miss her.

Realistic or Heartless Mother

Last July, we bought Heidi, a beautiful red golden retriever puppy. The children and I were very excited to have a dog. We patiently taught her to go outside when she had to relieve herself and to go in only one area of the yard. I didn't want the children stepping in any unexpected dog landmines.

Heidi learned that puppy biting was not appropriate. We crate trained her. We taught her to sit and wait for her food, to lie down, shake, and more. We introduced her to other dogs and were happy to see that she liked every dog that she met. I wish that every dog liked her too. She ran through obstacle courses and alongside the children as they rode their bikes.

Our dog learned that chewing furniture was not permitted and that plants were off limits. She seemed to learn that she should only chew her bones and toys, but occasionally she would chew a child's toy, rainboot, or flip flop. I looked online and read that chewing is typical in golden retrievers between 8 and 13 months, as the dog sets its adult teeth and its molars. I decided that this was not a problem. If I saw Heidi with something inappropriate in her mouth, I said, "leave it" and she immediately dropped the item.

However, once our baby was born, my husband started saying that we could not keep her. He didn’t like it when Heidi started to chew baby items (a bodysuit, a shoe, and a rattle). After she chewed the bodysuit, my husband sent an email to our homeschool group, asking if anyone wanted her. After she chewed the rattle, he asked me to send an email to our homeschool group.

Some of my children really want to keep Heidi and get teary eyed when I mention selling her; although, I think that she is a great dog, and I know that she is very good with all of my children, I feel that I need to listen to my husband. For the past few months, my husband has been telling me that we need to sell Heidi and asking me when we are going to do so. Sometimes, I think that we should never have gotten her because then I wouldn't be breaking my children's hearts.

Dog Product Recommendations

Since getting our golden retriever in July, we have found some things are indispensable. We have also found that we prefer certain products to others.

Thanks to the Monks of New Skete and their book The Art of Raising a Puppy, one of the first purchases that we made was a dog crate. The Majestic Pet Titan 42" dog crate from Costco is great for Heidi. It also happened to be the best price that I could find for a new crate, divider, and mat. Please note, that crates can sometimes be found for less on Craigslist.

After purchasing various collars for our growing golden retriever, we finally bought what will most likely be Heidi's final collar (until it is worn out). Due to the fact that the Red Dingo reflective safety dog collar cost more than most collars at our local pet stores, I hesitated before buying it. However, when my husband commented on the quality of the collar and I saw how well it reflects, I was happy that I had not waited too long to order it.

Our taking Heidi for daily walks was interrupted by morning (aka all-day) sickness, a visit to the hospital and a little time in bed. When I was finally able to start walking Heidi again, I found that she had gotten into the habit of pulling. Her nylon leash, combined with the pulling, caused my hand to hurt for days and made me not want to walk her. After doing a little research, I learned that leather leashes minimize any discomfort to the dog owner's hand. I visited our local pet stores and looked online until I found a 6 ft. leather dog leash that I felt looked decent and would serve my purposes. I definitely recommend Punk Hollow's double-braided leather dog leash.An added bonus of this leash is that it comes with a lifetime guarantee.  The more I consistently walk (5 days so far) Heidi, the less she pulls. I definitely needed something that didn't cause my hand to be in pain for days. We still use the inexpensive nylon leash around the house, but the leather leash is what we use for all of our golden retriever's walks.

I know that some people take their dogs to have their nails trimmed; however, in their puppy book, the Monks of New Skete share that it is easy to trim a dog's nails oneself when done from an early age. We have found the Millers Forge nail clippers to be the perfect tool for the job. In addition, to the clippers, we also purchased Kwik-Stop Styptic Powder to apply to Heidi's nail in the event that we cut it too close. I am happy to say that so far, we have not had to use the Kwik-Stop.

Another grooming tool that we like using on Heidi is the Spornette porcupine cushion brush. It actually isn't a dog brush. I was tempted to keep it for one of my daughters when it first arrived because it is great for brushing long hair, but I am happy that we decided to use it for the dog. It brushes her coat well and is great at removing shedding dog hair. I think that it is cutting down on some of the dog hair that we would ordinarily have around the house. Unfortunately, we have not found a good slicker brush yet. Suggestions are welcome.

When we first brought Heidi home, we fed her Merrick's Puppy Plate, but she did not like it. We decided to buy the Kirkland Signature puppy food from Costco. Heidi ate it and so we mixed it with the Merrick. She seemed to tolerate this, but was not the best eater. A golden retriever owner at dog training saw how energetic our dog was and recommended that we switch her to adult food. As soon as the puppy food was finished, we did so, buying the Kirkland Signature dry lamb dog food. Thankfully, Heidi wolfs it down. However, her energy level has not changed. Heidi also likes the Kirkland Signature dog jerky and will do almost anything for a little bit of it.

I would be remiss if I did not mention some dog toys/distractions that our dog likes. The Kong dog toy has proven to be invaluable. We started with a small Kong and soon purchased a second one in a size large. Heidi is almost eight months old and this size is still working really well for her. We have also found that she will spend hours chewing on stuffed bones. We put peanut butter or plain yogurt on one end of the bone, fill it with dog food and freeze it. She also likes her cotton ropes that we picked up at the dollar store. Like most dogs, Heidi also enjoys catching tennis balls; I just wish that she would bring them back to us.

Unfortunately, Heidi also likes to chew children's toys, rose bushes, fruit trees, rhododendrons, my youngest daughter's shoes, books, and electrical cords. Grannick's Bitter Apple stopped the dog from trying to chew our furniture, but it wouldn't be practical to use it on all of the items that she still chews. Suggestions for teaching our puppy not to chew the above mentioned things would be greatly appreciated.

Winter Wonderland or...

We were all happy to see approximately one foot of snow fall and stick in our neighborhood this week. My husband and I enjoyed looking at the beauty outside, while our children played in their winter wonderland.  Unfortunately, I did not take very many photos.

We still have a lot of snow on the ground. As of Thursday, we also have a large branch, some small madrona branches and three trees down. One of the trees that fell was an old madrona, a favorite of mine.  It came down on part of our fence.

Still, despite the cleanup and repairs that we have ahead of us, I am thankful for the beauty and enjoyment with which God provided us.

A Girl and Her Dog

A couple of weeks ago, as Elizabeth was petting Heidi, I heard her singing, "Oh doggy, there's something special between you and me." (adapted from Charlotte's Web)

Elizabeth is definitely correct. Although we are still trying to stop Heidi's biting (it is pretty bad at times), she tends to be very good with Elizabeth. Heidi is getting better about not jumping up on Elizabeth. She also still lets my little girl pull her tail without reacting (I am trying to stop Elizabeth from doing so). Elizabeth doesn't think twice about putting her food in the dog's mouth and, when told not to do so, pulling it right back out and putting it in her own mouth (ugh). She also likes sharing her water bottle with Heidi...I do mean sharing.

As a character in a movie that we watched recently said, "The outside of an animal is good for the inside of a child."

Heidi: Our Golden Retriever

On Friday, July 29, our lives changed when we purchased a lively, seven-week-old (born June 10) red Golden Retriever puppy named Heidi. There were some lighter puppies in the litter (the mom was red and the dad was light), but most of the children wanted "the red one". I think that red Golden Retrievers are beautiful.

Heidi is very good with the children, especially my youngest. I often find her watching and then trying to imitate what they are doing.

On Saturday, Heidi was watching Elizabeth walk up the stairs (something with which the dog was somewhat unfamiliar) and soon bounded up behind her, trying to get between Elizabeth's legs. On Monday, Heidi watched Finnian climb up the slide and she immediately tried to do the same. She ended up sliding down, but is still attempting to get up the slide. She also climbs in the kiddie pool with the younger children and splashes around with them.

Heidi rarely has an accident during the day, but night time is a different story.  She likes to sleep on a sheet on the floor underneath Bernadette's bed and has never wet it, but she does wander off of the sheet and wet the carpet. She also likes to sleep in her crate. Unfortunately, she will wet in the crate before making any noise. Hopefully, she will be able to hold her bladder for more than 4 hours soon and/or she will start whining or barking before she has an accident in the crate.

The other issue that we are working on is also typical of a young puppy. Heidi is mouthing (or biting) us. We are obviously trying to stop this behavior and Elizabeth seems to have the most success at doing so. She holds a Nylabonewhen playing with Heidi and puts it in the dog's mouth whenever Heidi looks like she might bite.

On Monday night, I thoroughly enjoyed sitting on the couch and watching Elizabeth and Heidi (Finnian eventually joined them) playing sweetly on the floor together. I am amazed when I see Heidi calmly permitting Elizabeth to pet her from her head to the tip of her tail.

In addition to playing with Elizabeth, Heidi enjoys having her belly rubbed and often falls asleep as we rub it.

This is the first puppy (first dog) that we have owned which obviously means we need a little help in the puppy raising and training department. We are receiving this help from the Monks of New Skete's books, The Art of Raising a Puppy and How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend.I highly recommend these titles to prospective dog owners and owners who are having issues with their dogs. I think that we would be lost without these books. Of course, the employees at our local Petco have also been very helpful in responding to questions and I am sure that the Golden Retriever books that I have on hold at the library (per the Monks' recommendation) will also be of some assistance. I am also planning on taking Heidi to puppy training classes when she is around three months old.

We are thrilled to have a Golden Retriever!

Update: The day that I wrote this, Heidi started to whine in her crate in the middle of the night to let us know that she needed to "go potty". She usually runs to the door during the day when she needs to "go potty". So far, we have succeeded in crate training her. She also allows us to do all of the dominance exercises described by the Monks of New Skete. We are progressing with housebreaking, "come", "sit", "stay", "fetch", and leash training. We are still struggling with "NO BITE", despite consistency. In trying to find out when the puppy biting will stop, I discovered All About Goldens which is full of helpful information.

Olympic Game Farm

In addition to visiting the Dungeness Spit National Wildlife Refuge on Friday, we also thoroughly enjoyed going to the Olympic Game Farm in Sequim. The children were thrilled to see llamas, rabbits, peacocks, elk, zebras, horses, prairie dogs, yaks, a rhinoceros, bison, deer, tigers, lions, coyotes, wolves, and bears.

Little Black Rabbit

Prairie Dog

Tibetan Yak

Peacock



Llama



Niece Feeding Yak

Spotted Fallow Deer

Kodiak Bear

Black Bear



Elk



Fallow Deer

American Bison (aka Buffalo)

Buffalo's tongues are huge! Needless to say, I was panicking a little bit as my son fed this big guy. The wheat bread would sometimes slide off his tongue and land on my sandaled foot. I also couldn't help but think, "Don't lick the camera and pleeease don't lick me!"