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Peaches 12-04

Adoption Date: January, 2005
History: Peaches was surrendered to the shelter because her owners were in the process of a divorce. She was treated for heartworms, then turned out to be pregnant. She delivered seven decidedly mixed puppies in July, 2004, and was the textbook example of a perfect Mama Dog. Her foster mom still really misses her.

2-4-05
Peaches is wonderful...we are constantly finding out new things about her! She is so sweet and loving...learns very quickly what she is and isn't allowed to do here. I am ever so pleased that we adopted her! She seems to be very happy...except when we have to leave her at home alone...she wants to go so bad!! : ) She loves to ride in the truck with my husband!! She has really started to let us see her true personality...silly dog! : ) She is a lovebug! Loves to cuddle!

10/25/2005
Just wanted to let you know that Peaches now has a very large fenced in yard to play in! She loves to run and chase the squirrels!! She is still just as gentle and calm as she was when we brought her home! I think she loves being an only dog...although our son adopted a German shepherd and Peaches loves him! They run and bark as if they are long lost friends! It is very funny to watch! Peaches says hello to all who cared for her before she found her forever home and hi to her puppies! Thanks for such a wonderful doggy!!

3/12/2006 Peaches has learned to play with toys and just recently (over a year after we adopted her) has learned to play with a ball. She will go get it if you throw it and then she wants you to play keep away with it! She is still a silly, loving doggy. She would love nothing more that for us to pet her 24 hours a day!!! And she definately prefers my husband! She minds well and knows several commands.

10/19/04 Danny is doing great. The drive home was fun with him plopped right on my lap. Can't do that too much longer but it was sweet to hold him on the way. He played with Miss Daisy (a GLBCR former foster) for a while before bedtime, met all my coworkers who just think he's the cutest little furball, took a bath with Daisy and hated to get out, snuggled up on my lap while I watched tv and took his snacks ever so gentle. I was prepared to lose my fingers but he was quite the gentleman, you will be happy to know! The cat and Chev are a bit skeptical at this point but I saw some tail wagging action out of Chev this morning. He had a bit of a restless night, maybe because he was on his own with no brothers or sisters for the first time. I can also see the free-feeding action has to stop at my house.... :0)

Danny (Pecan) 10-04

Foster Name: Pecan
Adoption Name: Danny
Adoption Date: October, 2004
History: One of Peaches' puppies; born in foster care. Adopted by a GLBCR volunteer who made the mistake of offering to watch him for the weekend while his foster mom was out of town. (

Check out how big and beautiful my boy "Pecan" has gotten.

1/10/05 Danny is now big enough to pull Daisy in a good game of tug. Funny thing is when you separate them she looks bigger than he does for some reason but he's taller than her by a smidge. They are too cute together, she usually has her head on his back or belly when they're sleeping at the same time, she definitely loves her little brother. He prefers to sleep on the floor (I think because he's so hot with his thick, beautiful coat) but until I fall asleep and as soon as the alarm goes off, he's right there with me. He weighed in at 56 this morning BTW! He continues to be quite talented with his paws, he figured out the Buster cube that Daisy knows what to do with but not worth the effort (maybe he figured it out because it's a TREAT dispenser?) He continues to be a doll and love him dearly.

Boston (Evan) 10-04

Foster Name: Evan
Adoption Name: Boston
Adoption Date: October, 2004
History: One of Peaches' puppies; born in foster care.

10/13/04 The first night was hard for the little guy. He must have missed his brothers. The night before last night he was great, and did not start whimpering until 7:30 am. Last night again, he slept through the night. Whimsy (another GLBCR dog) gets along very well with Boston. She has taken on the role of "Mother," following after him, and keeping him out of trouble. The two play together so well. I have to say that I did not expect the transition to be so wonderful. Boston in now learning to go bathroom on the dog run in the back. I also discovered that he likes to go bye-bye in the car. I took him to the vet, and Dr. Frye said that Boston is a Border Collie - Chocolate Lab mix. The vet even asked if we were willing to sell Boston to him. Obviously we said no. We love having the little guy.

2/24/05 Boston is doing great. He looks exactly like Coco. I don't have a digital pic on hand right now, but I will take one and send it to you as soon as I can. Boston is an absolute lover. He loves to snuggle with the family, and loves to play with Whimsy. He is well mannered, and is learning to shake hands, roll over, and sit up. He already knows how to wipe his feet after coming in from outside, as well as how to shake hands. He like Whimsy, loves to travel and go Bye-bye in the car. Look for the pictures to be coming soon.

9/15/04 Okay, I know Apples's only been in my house a little over 12 hours, but what a GOOD DOG! We are all hopelessly in love with her. She's so sweet & smart. I think we are going to call her Ali, short for Alison, rather than Apple. I hope no one's feelings are hurt; it seems to suit her (and us) better. Besides, I don't want anyone thinking I named my dog after Gwyneth Paltrow's baby : > I think she already knows she is ours and this is her home. Our black Lab neighbor and sometime houseguest, Maggie, wandered into the yard this morning. Ali barked at her, I put the leash on and we went out. She actually chased this 6 year old, 75-pound dog away! Then, of course, we went to Maggie's yard and made friends.

9/27/04 Ali learned her name in a matter of hours, and will 'come' and 'sit' pretty consistently for me. 'Stop jumping on your (human) sister and biting her ponytail' seems to be a little tougher concept to grasp, but we're trying redirection (let's chase the ball! or the rope toy! or the leaf you brought in from the back yard!) We go to the school bus stop together, morning and afternoon. The kids all adore her, and she seems to take the attention very calmly. In fact, when one of the exercise walkers passes without stopping to pet her, she is astonished, and will sit and stare after them. You can almost see her mouth hanging open, "huh?!?"=

10/24/04 We actually went to our 3rd (?!?) vet check-up today. Ali weighed 24.7 pounds. Blackie looks significantly smaller to me- maybe 20 pounds now. It's amazing there's so much variation in the litter. Our vet says if you take the 16 week weight and multiply by 2 or two and a half, that'll give you an estimate of their adult weight. So, (1-2 weeks shy of 16 weeks) we're looking at 50 to 65 pounds. That sounds good to me...
Overall he's very impressed with how happy & healthy she seems. I wish my kids were so nonchalant about getting shots ;- ).
Ali is sort of the rowdy girl of Puppy class. She always broke off playing and came when I called, but the instructors found it necessary to call her off other dogs a few times. They thought she was being too assertive. I don't know if I agree or not. They're supposed to be the experts, and of course they're responsible for keeping all the pups safe.
She is very vocal certainly and 'talks' to the fuzzy bean and the ball while she's playing with them. We'll see how things go next time.

11/09/2005 Ali, and all of us, are doing great. She had her annual check-up at the end of October and the vet is very happy with her. Her adult weight has topped out at 57 pounds; the vet had predicted 50-65, so apparently his formula of multiplying the 16-week-old weight by two to 2 & 1/2 is quite accurate.

She has grown from a wonderful puppy to a wonderful dog. Training classes helped that along immensely. We look forward to an 'off-leash' class in the spring (when training moves back outside again). I also had the light bulb moment of realizing that my actions and behaviors are ALWAYS training her, whether I am conscious of it or not. I try to remember that.

Ali (Apple) 9-04

Foster Name: Apple
Adoption Name: Ali
Adoption Date: September, 2004
History: One of Peaches' puppies; born in foster care.

Ali had her first vet app't on Friday the 17th. He gave her a clean bill of health, and also said he'd known of other pups whose moms were heartworm positive, and has never heard of a case of them crossing the placenta.
Hopefully that bodes well for all concerned. She had her 2nd preventative on Sept 20th, and we have Oct, Nov & Dec doses here waiting for her. She took her vaccines like a champ, and has her next app't this Thursday, the 30th.
She learned her name in a matter of hours, and will 'come' and 'sit' pretty consistently for me. 'Stop jumping on your (human) sister and biting her ponytail' seems to be a little tougher concept to grasp, but we're trying redirection (let's chase the ball! or the rope toy! or the leaf you brought in from the back yard!)
She is also doing well with housetraining; the 1st two nights she slept in my bed, but the 2nd night she got me up three times-12:30, 2:30 & 4:30- and only needed to pee the first time. I put her in the crate after that. She cried an hour and a half the first night in the crate (broke my heart). Since then, though, she settles right down at night. I take her out about 11:00, and then around 5:30 a.m., and she does just fine. Over the weekend when I'm at work, she has more accidents than when I'm with her. I think they all need to learn how to communicate with each other.

We go to the school bus stop together, morning and afternoon. The kids all adore her, and she seems to take the attention very calmly. In fact, when one of the exercise walkers passes without stopping to pet her, she is astonished, and will sit and stare after them. You can almost see her mouth hanging open, "huh?!?"

She has made several doggie friends, and seems to have kept her puppy etiquette skills, although she is trying to push around Chloe, a 2 year old golden retriever. She loves to chase Maggie around the flower beds, although she cheats and cuts across, and Maggie knows she is not supposed to do that.

Here's a photo of 3 of Peaches' puppies all grown up: Brindi, Danny, and Ali:

She has the opportunity to interact with quite a few dogs in the 'hood, and seems to be doing pretty well at reading their signals of who wants to play and how energetically. She does rather pester Murphy the Bernese Mountain dog, rather like a pesky youngster with a big brother. On the other hand, there is Zeke, a 6-month-old Australian cattle dog that Ali has taken, figuratively & literally, under her paw. I think she's done a good job of being Auntie Ali to him. She was rather startled when he walked underneath her as a 3-month-old and seemed to be looking for a spot to nurse!

One of the things I love most about having her in our family is how she responds when someone (usually a preadolescent girl, but sometimes an overcommitted mom) is upset. She MUST lick our tears off, and it's very hard to take yourself or your problems too seriously when there's 57 pounds of wet nose and wagging tail nudging at you. Thank you again for giving her such a great start in life; we can't imagine our home without her!

9/27/04 Coco, now know as Brindi, is doing great. She is a very bright puppy and is learning very fast. She has only had one potty accident in the house so far. She is very quick to do her business when we go outside so she can get right to the playing. Brindi is getting along pretty well with Sadie and Taylor. I think she really enjoys running with the big dogs. Sadie has been teaching her how to play her favorite game of tug mixed with chasing each other. And Taylor is trying to teach her the finer points of squirrel watching. Thomas, the cat, has her completely perplexed. He has been holding his ground with her, he is no scaredy cat. She tries to sneak up behind him, usually around a corner, only to have him turn and chase her. She runs the other way when he does this, sometimes with a yelp or two. Brindi also got a bath last night. I have never seen such a calm puppy during bathtime. She is great.

10/15/04 We absolutely love Brindi. She is so
beautiful, smart, and funny. She has fit into our family quite well. She is still trying to learn about the frisbees, but has a real interest in birds. Man, they really grab her attention. I guess she remembers your bird. Brindi has been great. She has been to the park quite a bit and loves to hang out around us and watch Sadie play frisbee. I think Brindi definitely has an interest, it's just that Sadie thinks that frisbee is her game. We have had to bury a couple of the stuffed animals, but other than
that there haven't been any other issues. She is wonderful. Brindi and I start puppy kindergarten Monday evening. I can't wait. We have been working on sit, lay down, shake, high five, and roll over. We are also working on wait at the back door. It has been raining here for the last couple of days and she has taken to actually wiping her feet off on the rug out on our back porch. She is something else. I have been introducing her to the idea of getting her teeth brushed and having her nails filed down with the dremel tool. It really helps that my other guys aren't scrambling and screaming from having this done. She catches on quick that it may not be fun, but it ain't that bad either. (And they get a treat when they are done). She is very food motivated.

10/24/04 I wanted you to see Brindi's costume for Halloween. We have a dog & disc competition Saturday and they are having a contest for the best costume. I figured we might as well participate. As cute as they all look I may have to take them trick or treating. Ha! Everything is going well. We went to the park this morning. Brindi is completely infatuated with falling leaves. She was in heaven this morning at the park.

Brindi (Coco) 9-25

Foster Name: Coco
Adoption Name: Brindi
Adoption Date: September, 2004
History: One of Peaches' puppies; born in foster care.

11/17/04
Brindi is awesome. She is the star of puppy class. She has the stay's down pat and the instructors can't distract her enough to leave the stay. She is great. The instructors love to use her as a demo dog, however, she has become quite attached to me and has no interest in leaving my side. Once at home though, she is clearly more attached to Jay. She is getting so much from the class. They have kids there to socialize with the dogs and every kind of dog you can imagine there also. Everyone is so intrigued by Brindi, she really rakes in the complements. She really enjoys the socialization, I think mainly because all these people are standing in line to feed her treats. She is so food motivated. She is now playing ball pretty consistently and is still trying to help Sadie carry back the frisbees. Housework has actually decreased since we brought Brindi home. She helps straighten up the living room. She likes all the toys to be in the bedroom instead of in the living room, so there are very few toys in the living room. She has been great. She loves nylabones and has not harmed one thing in our house. (minus the occassional stuffed toy). We are so happy with Brindi. Thanks for raising such a great pup!!

12-5-04 Brindi graduated from Puppy Kindergarten today. She is such a superstar. The instructors just loved her.

1/10/05 Brindi is still doing great. She actually caught her first frisbee last week and has subsequently turned into a frisbee freak. We have had a couple of days where we received snow. She loves snow. I knew she would, since she loves to lay on the ac vents (when we had the ac running), loves to lay on the ceramic tile with her nose pushed up against the door, is always the last dog to come in from outside, and loves to eat ice (the noise the refrigerator makes when we get ice through the door is like music to her little ears).

2/7/05 Brindi weighed in at almost 50 pounds. She has turned into quite the little hunter. She has made it her responsibility to chase off all birds when she is outside. She also has to walk the perimeter and make sure everything is secure. She is hilarious. She also has a real affinity for mud. GEEZ. She can find it anywhere.

6/24/2005 We just got Brindi groomed for the first time and had to share some pictures. She is such a good girl. The staff at the groomers just loved her.

More Pictures

10/23 Wrigley had his second vet check this week and he is all good-heartworm clear and weighing a STURDY 27.5. He is the best puppy and I needed him this morning to be my sweetie as I unexpectedly had to have one of my cats put down. She was overweight and 8 month's ago we put her on a diet plan which we thought was working, but the weight was masking a liver disorder which doesn't have a cure. Her sister is still here and Wrigley is keeping both of us busy.

Our vet is very pleased with Wrigley and credits you, Peggy, with the overall health of the puppy due to your immaculate care of Peaches during her pregnancy. She said she has never seen pups from a heartworm positive mom this hearty. So the satin ball's were worth it!!

2/22 I love this picture of him, and he IS as sweet as he looks. Everyone who sees him, including the vet techs, absolutely love him. When he's happy, he hops 2 feet straight up, and wags like a madman. We are so lucky to have him and I am so glad you decided he fit us. Both of us remember a time without him, and now we have the time with him that's even better.

4/23/2005 Wrigley has been over at my parents at least once a week since we got him, and he has become a neighborhood favorite. (Their dog wants him to go home; she is 2 and defiantly an empty nester's dog. 4 hours is her limit, and then she gets pissy about her naps.) We lucked out last weekend as we had my dad's 70th birthday party and we were able to be outside. One of our guests is my brother's partner, a 40+ (Former Chicago) police veteran, who is afraid of dogs. We got him to the deck and while he doesn't freeze, or run, he's just very leery around big dogs. (By the way, Wrigley's GROWING AGAIN! 65 lbs+ and to my mid thigh in height.) Wrigley came running up and I saw Mike flinch a bit so he got his sit and stay command, but not next to me. He parked himself on Mike's feet and looked up at him like he was in love. Mike gingerly reached to pet him and got the Wrigley hand wetting and lay by him for the next half an hour until the stupid squirrel came out. He was so amazed by this 'puppy's' temperament that he actually got on eye level with Wrigley as he was leaving and learned what a face washing is. I think he has called Tony 5 times this week looking for a picture of my dog.

Wrigley (Harry) 9-4

Foster Name: Harry

Adoption Name: Wrigley

Adoption Date: September, 2004

History: One of Peaches' puppies; born in foster care.

2-3-05
Wrigley is so beautiful. His colors are really coming out and how he and Ali look so much alike.
He is great with obedience, when we are not IN the class. He is fully into his terrible two's as he only works well at home. Actually, this started when I told him he was getting neutered. I think he acts up in class because Ali and Blackie, his siblings, are both in the class. The minute he saw Ali, his whole butt wagged and he couldn't wait to get near her. He was a little more reserved with Blackie, but once he got a good sniff, he was playing with her, too.
He is in great health, roughly 60+ lbs, still on Canidae, and a very long lean dog. He is built like a Shepherd in body, lower to the ground, but he can hop 4 feet straight in the air. We laughed ourselves silly watching him do that in our big snow storm 2 weeks ago, along with the snow drift diving-head first at top speed for maximum burial.

I have arrived safe and sound at my forever home. I got to meet Miko and Ciara, my new kitty step-sisters. I want to play with them, but they are still not sure what to make of me.
I wanted to thank you for bringing me into the world and taking care of me and finding me such a wonderful place to live. Joe and Maggie love me already. And they even bought me toys!!!! They told me you can reach me at this email anytime you want and you can even call me on the phone, too!!

Love, Harry

11/1/04 She is a very smart little girl and is very good for us. She lost her first tooth yesterday. She enjoys chewing on ice and frozen rags and comes to the kitchen and sits when she hears the ice machine on the fridge. She is still not going near the stairs to the basement though...(they are carpeted with walls on each side!) Not even for a treat! She has figured out the doggie door and likes to go outside and sit in her doghouse. She brings her toys outside and either hides them in her doghouse or tosses them all over the yard. I don't think jumping is going to be an issue with her. She won't even try to jump up on the bed or couch! She likes to go for walks and heals very well. She seems to just want to be by my side and not explore too much. I guess she is a bit of a wussy! Yesterday when the trick or treaters rang the bell sunny barked at the baby gate at all of them and Blackie ran and hid under my computer desk each time! In fact, that is where she is right now, taking a nap on my foot!

3/31/05 Attached is a picture of Blackie that I took yesterday in her favorite place outside. She is wearing an Easter ribbon since she went to the groomer last week.

She loves to go in and out of the doggie door and hang out in her house or in the cedar chips in my flower beds when she thinks she can get away with it. Now that the weather has turned, she loves to go for walks and you can t even say the word "go" anymore without her getting excited. She is doing much better in heeling when she isn't so distracted.

She is very gentle with the old dog Sunny but Sunny would love to snap her in the nose when she gets too close in play. Blackie never snaps at her but isn't afraid to stir things up a bit.

She is not a destructive dog except for the digging... She tries to hide bones like her mother, Peaches. She doesn't dig to get out of the yard but randomly all over the yard. Then she flies in the house with dirty paws.
Sunny, our sheltie, has never had dirty paws in her life and just looks at Blackie in disgust when she is rolling in the grass and digging. But then Sunny eats her poo so she really can't talk...

She isn't a runner either. I'm grateful for that since I have doggysat the runner (cocker spaniel) who lives across the street.

She did well this Easter Sunday with a house full of family and she doesn't jump on people at all. Everyone marvels at what a mellow border collie dog she is. Everyone is amazed at how big she is but agrees she is a very good dog.

We love Blackie, she is the best puppy we have ever had.

Blackie (Shannon) 9-14-04

Foster Name: Shannon
Adoption Name: Blackie
Adoption Date: September, 2004
History: One of Peaches' puppies; born in foster care.

9/15 Blackie has been a very good girl. She slept quietly in her cage last night and has gone pee-pee outside every time! She is getting the hang of playing fetch and has played with all her toys. She likes to lie on the cool tile in our kitchen and since that is where we hang out we are pleased. Sunny waited until she was napping and then sniffed her good. They are keeping a respectful distance but there haven't been any problems. She cried a little when she had to say goodbye to Harry and Apple.
Thank you for all you have done for Peaches and her pups. We know Blackie will be a good dog since she has been in such loving hands since her birth. She is going to the vet on Friday so I will let you know what our vet has to say. There is a special place in heaven for people like you!

9/18/04 Blackie is a very smart dog! She loves to have her belly rubbed and kicks her little leg when you hit the right spot. She sees her reflection in the sliding door when it is dark outside and loves to look at herself. She wants to play with the puppy in the glass. I'm sure she still misses her brothers and sisters. She loves to get into small spaces and I didn't realize how dusty the bottom side of my nightstand was until she got under there and "dusted" it for me with her black fir. She took to the leash right away and will be a good walking dog when she learns to heal. Will and I just gave her 1st bath here... I don't know if there is any "water dog" in her since she did not like it! She was a very slippery seal!

9/26/04 Blackie got a good report at the Vet Thursday. The microchip was implanted correctly and they got a reading. She weighed 18 pounds. They took the more advanced heartworm test and sent it off to a lab and she passed it. There is no sign of hip dysplasia or any other problems. She didn't have any fleas or parasites in her poop. She had a shot and goes back in 1 month for some more. She will be fixed in January. They couldn't guess at what she is mixed with but Chow and Lab came up (when the neighbors saw Harry and Apple they thought Chow also) They did assure me that it didn't look like Pit Bull or Rotweiler... They guessed 40-50 pounds some day.

Attached is a picture of Blackie in one of her favorite places, under my feet at the computer. She has found all the air conditioning vents on the floors and likes to rest on top of them. We wonder what she will do when the heat starts coming out of them!

12/3/04 Blackie enjoyed her first snow, like we knew she would! After the snow melted, for the most part, she would run up to any little pile of snow and want to play in it. I think she was relieved a few days latter to see it had returned!

11/14/04
Hi Mom!

Just thought I'd let you know what's going on at the new house. I really like it here. I'm still getting used to all the new sounds and smells; I think it's going to take me a while. I did get a chance to play with the neighbor dog, Holly. She's a 90-lb. golden retriever but she wasn't so tough when I got done with her. You would've been proud!

Food here is about the same as home, but I did get a lot of treats for some reason. There were a lot of people around today, but the kids say that's going to slow down.

Hey, one of the things I forgot to tell you about are these things they call "stairs". I was scared at first and didn't want to do them, so they carried me a few times. Then I realized they weren't that hard after all.

They took me to the pet store, and I got to pick out a bunch of new toys. I thought it was a lot of fun until I got home and I barked at them - for about a half hour. Sound familiar?!!

They've been taking pictures all day - I'm sure you'll get one first thing tomorrow.

I miss you! Tell everyone I said hi.

Love,
Eddie

11/22/04 We are so enjoying him! We've all really bonded with him and can't get over what a good dog he is. When we decided to get a puppy, I really was prepared to chase a dog all day, find chewed up toys, clothes, etc. everywhere, deal with potty messes, you name it, and really there has been so little of that! He has hardly chewed anything he isn't supposed to, and really just carries stuff around rather than chews. He hasn't had an accident since Thursday, and hasn't messed anymore in his crate. He's loving and sweet and just a really great dog. We're all so happy and he's really made our house complete again, since losing our other dog.

12-4-04 Eddie has been busy! He went to the Milford Parade today, and loved it. He barked at all the dogs he encountered and the Leader Dogs in the parade, but paused at the horses. Wasn't quite sure what to make of those, although you could see him really checking them out, wondering if he could take them on. He also went up north with us over Thanksgiving. He's great in the car and loved romping in the snow and woods. He's so good w/o a leash! This is the first time we've really been able to just let him run free and he stayed right with us. Again we can't believe what a great dog he is. He does love the snow, too. He chased snow flakes the other day and keep eating any he could find on the grass. So cute. A funny thing happened up north. My brother started making coffee and he went crazy. (We're not coffee drinkers, so we'd never seen his reaction before.) He was all over my brother and kept sniffing anyone's coffee cup that was close enough for him to get to. I think he would have lapped it up if we'd let him. The whole family got a kick out of watching him whenever that coffee grinder came out!

6/7/2005 Eddie is doing great. He is definitely "all boy", like you originally said! He is getting more and more so as he gets older, which isn't a bad thing, just sooo different than our former petite, very feminine, dog!! He is a lot of fun to have around and is very social. His favorite thing is playing with other dogs, particulary the golden retriever next door. He is very good around people and kids - people are also commenting on how well behaved he is. He is a big boy - Jeff just weighed him and he's a very solid 57 pounds. He is very handsome and gets compliments a lot on how good looking he is! Jeff has also been trail running with Eddie at Highland Recreation area. He LOVES it. Our vet said to start out w/ light mileage and work his way up, and he's up to 3.5 miles. He is very good on the trail and stays right with Jeff, except for the occasional sniffing/pee/poo stop. I'll never forget that story and picture you had of him barking at the pig's ear you gave him when he was little, and I have to say he still does funny things with treats. Unless it's a very small and chewy treat, he has to throw it around and "hunt" it for about 5-10 minutes before he can eat it. It's great entertainment for us.

6/7/2005 He is great with the girls and wakes them every morning with kisses. They love him. There are times he really reminds us of Peaches. Although we only met her once, we have the memories of her pictures, and he has this stance that is exactly like hers. Although he is stocky, his legs are still skinny, like hers. And if he's just standing still looking at you, he can really remind you of her. We have been considering another dog since he really does like being around another dogs. We'll see!

09/05/2005 Eddie has a big day ahead of him! We ended up purchasing an Invisible Fence system because our other fence system (our Home Depot system that worked on our other dog) just wasn't cutting it. He is good about coming back, but we aren't getting very popular w/ our neighbors with him running loose. (Plus it's obviously not safe.) But Eddie loves a cat that lives up the street and a certain dog that lives a few houses down. That's usually where we find him. It's funny how much he loves this cat and how much the cat hates him. All he wants to do is play and the cat is usually on her back swatting at him to save her life. He just doesn't get it.

ANYWAY, I'm rambling. Today is the first day of working w/ the trainer to use the fence. (It was just installed yesterday.) We just finished watching the training video as a family, Eddie included. He LOVES watching other dogs on tv and enjoyed this video. He puts his nose right up on the screen and will follow dogs (or if they throw a ball, he'll follow that) and then just doesn't get it when he can't find them. He sometimes will go to the back of the tv, continuing to look. It's the funniest thing. Hopefully things will go well w/ the trainer and this system will work!

He continues to be such a good boy. He has a great personality and is very well behaved. He's friendly to everyone, settles down quickly when something has him excited, and just continues to be a great fit for us. He is beginning to mellow a bit, and I think he's actually trimming down some. He seemed to be getting so big over the winter, but now seems really trim and lean. He is shedding like crazy - I'm vacuuming quite a bit right now. He remains a HUGE bed hog - that's probably his only fault. His favorite position is on his back, legs spread, which of course means he couldn't take up any more room if he tried. It's our own fault - he was so cute and small when we first got him that we thought it would be fun to have him sleep w/ us. If only we'd been thinking!!!! He does tend to drop interest in things quickly - like he'll have a favorite toy that he'll obsess over for a week or two, then drop and won't have anything to do with. Same w/ a few other dogs in the sub. He used to be good buddies w/ the Golden next door, now he won't give her the time of day.