Farmington Valley Golden Retrievers

Hi Everyone. It’s been awhile since I had a few moments to put together a post. Every day is an adventure here when you have this many dogs running free, and some of the happenings would cause your hair to turn grey, but all n all, a busy energetic and mostly tail wagging household. This was a memorable storm. Most of it seemed to happen when we slept, so we all awoke to white surroundings, and drifts of snow up to mid thigh. It is something when you have so much snow all at once that a plow truck  gets temporarily stuck in your front yard.

As soon as it was light, everyone wanted outside. So we started in the background where they had made themselves a path..

Then it was off to the high-school  where I expected things to be plowed and shoveled. Wrong! This turned out to be a very strenuous outing with mid thigh snow. The dogs stayed mostly on top, but I certainly found the going more difficult than my recent stress-test.

When we finally made it to the tree between the fields we all needed a moment to catch our breaths.

Then back on the same narrow trail we had carved out, to get home. Of course, that tuckered everyone out, so they all gathered for a nap..

And I know everyone, wants to hear our updated story of Lexi, our returned three year old puppy, whose mother is here (Riley), and whose father Mulder was a Westminster champion. We had decided to allow her to go to the home of one of our friends and neighbors whose yellow lab has a terminal cancer. But after taking her down for a walk, our neighbor found that she was just too much dog for her. So while we entertained a host of other offers, I took her running with the pack. It was amazing to see her spirit light up from the reserved dog she was when she first joined us.

She seemed like she was home, and Barb and I just couldn’t find it in our hearts to say goodbye to her.. So she now is among her family and doing just great.

And guess who turned One yesterday. Our rascal of a puppy, Gabby. She just finished her first heat, and we are going to have her eyes and heart checked at the upcoming Southern Berkshire Golden Retriever Clinic in March. Let us pray that she passes all her clearances. And she has to be two before we can have her hips and elbows certified for breeding. But what a great looking mom to be!

Hi Everyone, We hope all our friends and their golden companions are safe and sound after yesterday’s hurricane. We were fortunate not to lose power here in Farmington like we normally do, but there are outages all around us. Over the weekend, Lexi, one of our former puppies came back home. Their owners called and said their family circumstances had changed, and they needed to return the dog. This has only happened a few times in the over ten years of breeding, but we are grateful when the owners call us as per their contract. We have no trouble finding another  forever home for one of our animals. So three and a half year old Lexi, who is the daughter of our mother Riley and  father Mulder of Westminster fame, has joined the family.

Here are some photos her prior owners shared with us..

She shared her prior home with a yorkie who had died last year, so coming into our large dog family was a bit of an adjustment for her. But just after two days, she ran with the pack, and now just has to find out how close the others will let her get to me while I am writing this..

Her former owners shaved her, so she now looks like a cross between a lab and a golden. At the fields today, she had a wondrous time, as I don’t think she ever was able to run free like this.

The rest of the family is doing very well. Eight month old Gabby is as big as the rest now..

She still enjoys eating her greens and ignoring the garden fences as usual..

Here is Riley (on the right) mother of Lexi, walking beside Solo.

Then Rocky and Lucy round out our Golden family.

We already have a  special family interested in  adopting Lexi. This family has a seriously ill Lab at the moment, so we will keep her here for the short term. Lexi’s mild temperament and attitude has made her addition here a special blessing instead of the chaos we thought would be the result of a sixth dog. Either that or Barb and I have just lost our minds and don’t know it yet.. hah!

Wishing Golden smiles to all our readers and dog owners.

Here we are almost at Labor Day, and another beautiful, warm and sunny afternoon to enjoy. It goes without saying that the dogs have really enjoyed their summer runs. And Gabby at six and a half months of age now, is close in size to her older family members. The only thing that sets her apart, is her long beautiful tongue and shorter coat.

In July we were visited by a pair of ducks, and early this month a little larger than life character decided to chew on our neighbor, Theresa’s bird feeders. Thankfully the dogs were inside at the time and didn’t get a whiff of his/her scent. The barking would have been deafening I am sure.

Gabby has found her place on our couch like the rest of her siblings..

And another great end of summer activity, sunning on a lawnchair..

And today trying to get a good overall pose for Dodi her breeding mother..

A happy puppy and a simple post that blends in well with the dog days of summer with the hint of fall in the evening air.

These early summer days have been amazing, although a little hot for our dogs with their heavy coats. So we go out early in the mornings before anyone has stirred, and we enjoy the peace and privacy of the fields.

We had a pair of surprise visitors the other day who enjoyed the peace and quiet of our pool. Unfortunately our dogs felt this was a definite invasion of their space, and their clamor caused our web footed friends to make their visit short lived.

The puddles at the high school have dried up, but the irrigation system on the baseball fields still gives the dogs a way to cool off at the most inopportune times..

Some days there is nothing better than just sitting in the backyard, and watching the dogs enjoy the surroundings and the flowers.

After dinner the dogs go out and find their own toothpicks..

Dodi recently sent some photos of her and Walter kayaking with one of Gabby’s litter-mates..  You can see more photos of her dogs and outdoor sports if you go to her face-book page.

Gabby is now about 40 pounds and she is filling out. She is a little harder to pick out quickly from the pack now..

But she still has that mischievous look and streak about her. If she is quiet, then she is up to no good.

And if she can convince Rocky to help, they make quite the pair..

And now to close, and just leave you with a few more photos of everyone relaxed and happy as they well should be on a warm and sunny summer day.

Life has been hectic and busy among the four footed and not so fleet two footed living here in Dogville. Gabby is now over 35 pounds and looks like a lanky colt. This first photo summarizes her activities of late..

Chewing bones and destroying our plants whenever we are not looking. We have double and triple fences in some places trying to protect our flowers

They mostly work, until she really wants something and then she jumps over. sheesh.. Prison height fences don’t add much attraction to our garden beds, but a necessary evil.

We have been busy getting our yard in order as usual. We had lots of storm damage to repair, and thankfully our nice young neighbor Graham has been helping us out as a very able handyman. Last Friday, I was off and Barb was out of state, so of course after working all day, Graham and I had to open the pool to the dogs and Gabby. A great time was had by all. And it appears Gabby will like to swim as 3 of our 4 older goldens already do.

The horseplay between Gabby and Rocky is full of growls and yips when Gabby pushes Rocky too hard. From the size of Rocky’s teeth, you can see that a serious dog fight even among our usually well mannered goldens is no laughing matter.

And after all the activities of the day, a group nap is always nice for Barb and I to try and accomplish what we are really supposed to be doing that day.

And finally a few candid shots of Gabby in her daily routine of play, chew, eat, and schmoozing with her pack.