Farmington Valley Golden Retrievers

The 5 dogs and I hopped in the van for a quick ride to return some bottles this morning after our usual walk/run workout.

Solo was first to claim the shotgun seat place of honor today.

Driving home her attentive pose, and doe eyes staring at me, struck a cord. I went back to the email program that I used to send our dog pictures from with prior litters. This was way before our website. All the photos I took would go out as an attachment on the email to whoever was on our puppy photo list. So back I looked, and there, sure enough, was Solo as a puppy riding with me back in August, 2005. Her puppy photos are at the top and bottom of this blog.

As you can see her personality hasn’t changed. These dogs are just so loving and devoted to their owners, that it just has to make you a better person being associated with them.

Hope you enjoyed this flashback. And if you want a chuckle this is what I said back on the email of August, 2, 2005 regarding young Solo’s pose…

“Good morning, Life goes on but with a little less spring in our steps. Believe it or not, with only four dogs now, the house seems empty. Abby’s spirit though is very much alive and well in her offspring. Solo had her first ride the other day visiting my offices. She just loved the shotgun spot in the front seat.

Her expression tells it all. When was the last time anyone looked at you with that much attention and affection? Speaking for myself, about 33 years ago when Barb and I were engaged!! Hah! This is why every simple task shared with a golden retriever can become an adventure unto itself. They just love living in the present. And sharing their happiness with people. I highly recommend living with a golden… for happier will you be. “

A golden retriever has the uncanny ability to make an adventure out of virtually any daily activity no matter how small. Put a few goldens together and you have an unending circus!

As you saw from our prior recent posts, they love mud and water: anywhere and anytime. We lowered the pool from the recent rains that had made out of season swimming with them a daily workout. With the water gone from the top of the pool cover, we thought that would keep them out of the pool. Wrong! Like children, they love to run, chase each other, and jump after their balls on the pool cover. The cover has enough spring that they bounce around, especially if more than one is involved at a time. I tried to capture a few of their antics…

You can all see why we are in no hurry to open our pool this year. With the youngest golden family we’ve had in years, golden adventures here usually means a lot of cleaning and drying of dogs!

The temperature is rising here and it’s not due to the climate. Emma just joined Solo in heat. With two “bitches” in season and both alphas, there are more than a few growls audible when one looks crosseyed at the other. We are both on our guard for physical disagreements between the two.

I am contacting Berna Welch of Pebwin Goldens about her Mulder’s availability for next November when Emma should be ready to be bred again. Will keep everyone updated.

We are no longer taking any names for the fall litters of Riley and Solo. We want to be sure we have enough pups for all those folks who have filled out the questionaire already. Any further interest in a puppy of ours will have to join the people waiting for Emma’s winter litter. Thank you all for your faith and patience in what we are trying to accomplish!

We’ve been getting some great updates from our most recent puppy owners. Here are photos from some of their dogs.

The word on the street from the different vets taking care of our puppies is outstanding.

Reports are that Mr. Green is now the biggest at about 40 plus pounds. We are anxiously awaiting those photos.

It’s also nice to see other dogs getting muddy and swimming! Normal behavior for this breed.

Our Lucy is now over thirty pounds herself. While I was putting this blog together, the four older goldens were keeping me company at my feet. Our puppy though had to go back in her crate. She managed to chew through my computer speaker wires while I was typing. Suddenly it was a lot quieter without the music. I keep forgetting we have a puppy again, and she needs constant supervision.

“But she is so darned cute!” That is Barb and my litany whenever she misbehaves in some way. I think we are getting soft.

Back home from another 24 hour shift, I took my golden friends to the high school grounds again. I wasn’t looking forward to another mud adventure, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that everything had dried out since I had been there 48 hours ago. Everyone got to burn off some of their boundless energy and then walk home in civilized fashion.

The sun burst forth shortly thereafter so some flower bed chores became doable. Since our girls are my constant shadows, they kept me company. They ate their share of flowers and grass, but aren’t yet trained to distinguish the good from the bad.

With this being the final day of April, the promise of May flowers and stronger sunshine is almost here. Lucy the pup followed the trail of the bigger dogs, taking in all the unfamiliar new smells and colors.

As far as our breeding plans go, Mother Nature has forced a change. Riley is all set to be bred with her next heat to Rudder, the gorgeous male in the blog a few posts back.

However, I was expecting that Solo would not be in heat again until after her second birthday in June. We were surprised to find that she has come into season a little early. So this will force her breeding heat to follow this one since she can’t get her OFA clearance until her birthday in June. So for everyone waiting for our second litter from now, this will mean probably no pups on the ground until fall at the earliest. Being an obstetrician I am used to the unpredictability of mother nature. However, I can understand the frustration farmers must feel when their livelihoods are so dependent on events beyond their control. We ourselves are only passengers on this wild ride called life, though we sometimes delude ourselves into thinking we are directing events.

Here is Solo standing with her mom Emma, our five year old. Emma still hasn’t regrown her coat yet from having her pups four months ago.

Today was a beautiful early Spring day here in New England. Balmy, daffodils in bloom, and a green appearance to the landscape that was refreshing after last weekend’s greys, and still gloomy mud season in Vermont. Got home from hospital call and the dogs were rearing to go. Went to our favorite fields at the local high school. Thought the water from the rains earlier in the week were gone but found out differently fast.

The dogs run in a pack a little ways ahead of me so they can really “run free”. The advantage is that they get a lot of exercise, but the disadvantage is that sometimes this leaves me late in arriving at their latest group decision.

They have their favorite spots where they know the water is the last to dry up. Full family participation seems to be required.

I have to admit I was a little disconcerted at the amount of dirt they managed to cover themselves with. And especially what my Barbara would say when we got home. (Click on the photos to enlarge if you want to see what a “two toned” golden looks like)

However, I know a secret that most people don’t know: Golden retrievers have drip and dry coats! So we found a puddle that had clean water and most of the mud fell off.

Then I let them run free on the fields sprinting after each other. That air dried most of their fur.

Then it was a mile walk or so back to home, so they dried a little more…  (never mind the difficulty taking a steady photo walking five)

And voila! At home in the kitchen, after a quick toweling off, they had a community drink and looked darned respectable compared to an hour prior.

Then it was out to the backyard for some quiet time..

Like human children, they seem to enjoy watching their parents work in the yard rather than participate! And I could almost hear them thinking… wonder when the pool cover will be coming off…