Farmington Valley Golden Retrievers

My cousin Ron and his Barbara recently sent some photos of their Sandy and Maggie out for a nice stroll along the Housatonic River. Now this is the relaxing sort of walk you can have if you only have one or two Goldens with you. Looks like a nice change of pace I might enjoy sometime.. But I would feel badly about leaving someone behind. They make such sad faces and dejected barks when they are not going with the pack.

Back here in dogville, we have returned to mostly G-rated behavior. Lucy is the only one in heat and that is subsiding. We had been getting up between three and four AM with the puppy still, who would not stop barking until we let him out of his crate, and cuddled him for awhile. This was not a good habit to continue. So with me on call this weekend, Barb brought the fourth crate upstairs and put him in our bedroom with the rest of the gang. And lo and behold, he slept through the night. So we will try this again. Goldens are such social animals that they really pine when they cannot be with their kind or ours. A non interrupted night’s sleep would be a luxury as I am back on call tomorrow. The only downside is that our bedroom is starting to look like a dog crate warehouse…

Unfortunately, this morning I have to write that Rocky was up and barking at 3:30 AM, coinciding with the chimes from our grandfather clock. Then the other five had to be let out at the same time. A fifteen minute interlude that then settled down for another two hours before our dog household stirred again. All this to be expected I guess when your hobby  grows to the point that it has its own special requirements of separate space and another level of commitment.

As I sit down to write this post today, Sunday afternoon, a sense of calm finally pervades our home. Barb and I have just weathered the “perfect storm” in dog adventures. Riley, Emma, and Lucy are still in heat but their mating fevers have peaked. Rocky has recovered nicely from his neutering operation performed last Monday. Riley had two artificial inseminations in the middle of the week that went well. Mulder, the lion sized champion stud has been returned home to the Cape after spending five days with us. The amount of energy expended keeping everyone separate, fed, happy, and exercised was enormous. Both of us now realize that our house is not set up to handle this much dog. As my cousin Ron remarked to me, “we were seriously outnumbered”. Without formal kennels, your home takes a beating. Previously, all our girl’s heats came farther apart, and we never had a puppy, never mind a male in our home at the same time. Our mentor, Berna Welch, expressed some of the same sentiments having lived through three simultaneous litters last year resulting in 35 puppies. She is now puppied out emotionally. Our sense of calm however, arrived just today. As I look back on the week, we were more frazzled than anything else…

Sunday we went to the Cape and picked up Mulder. What a large happy go lucky golden. With all the estrogen floating in the air in our home, he never really sat still for me to get a good profile shot so these two photos were the best I could do.

Rocky did well with his neutering operation on Monday. Unfortunately he had to wear an e-collar for most of the week to keep him from licking his stitches. Never having worn a hood before, he was constantly banging into the other dogs as well as the furniture. The only easy time of it was when I took him out for a solo walk.

Riley had a “natural” artificial insemination on Tuesday and then a surgical insemination on Thursday. She then had to wear a hood for three days so that she would leave her incision alone.

Our walks this week were as complicated as the football plays at the Superbowl. The combinations were 1-1-5 to 1-1-3-2, to 1-5. This morning we saw a coyote about three hundred yards away from us at the High School Fields. It looked very well fed and about the size of one of our dogs. Thankfully it moved off before our girls got too much of a scent. Otherwise I could have been pulled into yet a new crisis.

From the untracked snow, I could see there had been no other dog walkers out to appreciate winter’s charms. Riley, by herself, still had her natural smile on..

With all the mess of the three heats, the dogs going in and out, and keeping the boys separated from the girls, we sometimes lost track of the puppy. Chewing the kitchen footstool was not too bad, but when Barb started putting ducktape on our rather new family room table, I knew we had lost the battle.

But here we are, Sunday afternoon, and all is peaceful. Rocky has his spot on Barb’s chair. The girls are gathered together on the kitchen floor, and I am writing this blog. Barb had a well deserved “girls weekend away” and so it is just the dogs and me.

Looking forward, we wait for about four weeks to see if Riley has conceived. Since there are no easy doggie pregnancy tests, I will do an ultrasound to look for puppy sacs. In the meantime, the heats have to finish, and Rocky has to recover fully before he can resume his play with the other girls. And Lucy still needs her hip Xrays next month to get her motherhood clearance. So lots of adventure to come, but hopefully in smaller, swallowable doses…

Well it has been quite a week and quite the day today. Three of our dogs are now in heat.. Emma, Riley, and Lucy. Despite the added mess, it has been several days without a dog fight. It seems now that their cycles have arrived, their tempers have fallen. A very nice change. We have been taking Riley for her progesterone levels. She is now at 2.7. She needs to be over five before her insemination can be done. Barb will bring her again tomorrow for another hormone level check. Riley has been a very good sport at the Veterinary clinic. Always smiling..

We hope the surgical insemination will occur about midweek. Just about the same time as the next storm!

With the arrival of Lucy’s heat we will have to postpone her hip Xrays for a month. Estrogen has been known to cause ligament relaxation, and so the word on the street is not to take any XRays with a heat in progress. This XRay is all important for Lucy’s breeding career, and so we will wait. Here is Lucy relaxing on a bed with Rocky.

This morning we went to Cape Cod to pick up Mulder the lion hearted champion from Berna and Peter.

We had a very nice chat before the return trip from our mentors and friends. Mulder is nine years old, and spends his time now romancing the fairer sex. When we brought him inside our home, the smells of our three receptive females definitely caught his attention. Rocky got to see his father for the first time, and he accompanied him around the backyard. I don’t know if he was paying attention as he watched his dad mark our backyard by urinating at the boundaries. Rocky has an all important appointment at the vet in the AM to be neutered.

By doing the surgical insemination, we are placing our money and hopes not on chance this time, but science. Barb and I have both agreed that 7 Goldens with three in heat and two who are intact males is a little much for our mental health.

To top off the excitement and overwhelming number of dogs here at the moment, my main computer failed last night. I use that one to process the photos, and run the blog as it has the fastest processor. So this blog is short on photos along with my patience.

Luckily one of our neighbors, friend, and client, Ken had sent us a week ago or so some photos of his Rosie showing her skills with Arctic Frisbee. I have never done this sport, but it appears that Rosie really loves it. I will add Ken’s comments after the photos, so if anyone wants to try this, they will have the basic rules..

“Mike –

Thought you might enjoy seeing how Rosie (Lucy’s sister) enjoys this cold weather. She truly thrives on playing frisbee.  As soon as you say that word her ears perk up and she dashes for the back door.  Autumn (Rocky’s sister) is learning quckly too – – but will need a little more practice before she can leap and catch the frisbee like Rosie in mid-flight.  It’s fascinating to see just how strong the retrieving instinct is in these dogs.  When I noticed just how high Rosie was leaping to catch the frisbee I checked with Dr. Feldman to be sure I wasn’t challenging her hips or legs. He gave me his blessing.  If you should ever use any of these pictures on your blog please point out the importance of not throwing a frisbee at a dog to play catch.  There is even a warning on the package. As you can see – – we throw the frisbee away from Rosie and let her chase after it.  She actually out runs it and then leaps to catch it.  About 15 – 20 minutes of this workout and the girls are ready for a nap !

Ken Muccino”

Here is Autumn learning from her bigger sister..

So this upcoming week Barb and I will again be focused on “everything golden”. We hope these dedicated efforts will pay off in the near future for our very patient waiting clients.

It has been more than a trying week here in dogville. We now have Emma and Riley in heat, along with Rocky, a non neutered male pup getting his first smells of the fairer sex. Our two year old Lucy is no longer passive, and instigates these riots at times. She is due for her own heat very soon. Our dogs are blessed in that they have free reign of our home, and only go in their crates for time outs and to sleep. However, that closeness has turned into quite a burden this week for Barb and me. The added testosterone seems to have hightened everyone’s tempers and attitudes. We are averaging about two dog fights a day now. They can erupt at any time without warning. Everyone is napping at our feet and then suddenly, a cross eyed glance, and chaos erupts. The cold weather isn’t helping as you can only let the girls out for so long. Sheesh.

The good news is that Riley’s long awaited heat has arrived. Preparations are underway for her surgical insemination when she ovulates. We have our first appointment with the Suffield veterinary clinic tomorrow. Dr. Huntington there specializes in canine infertility.  We will do a series of progesterone levels to time her ovulation. Berna Welch of Pebwin Goldens gave us the good news that her champion stud, Mulder, is available and ready. Soon we will be making the three+ hour trip each way to pick up Mulder and bring him to Suffield for his part in these proceedings. We will keep everyone appraised of Riley’s progress as we move forward.

Our son, Michael, sent us an email from Florence where he is now working. It seems that a sportswriter for ESPN just lost his beloved golden and wrote a compelling story. Please see this link if you are interested: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090122. Be prepared to shed a few tears.

On a closer note, I would like to acknowledge the loss of a great neighborhood golden named “Bo”. Despite his valiant efforts including the loss of a limb, a cure was not to be. We send our golden prayers and condolences to his family.

We are thankful that one of our pups from Emma’s last litter was there to make his last few months more enjoyable.

I do not want to have this blog totally filled with sadness, so I will change gears and celebrate some of the life and times of our animals. Just as our blog readers have followed and enjoyed the goings on of our dogs, Barb and I get to hear and see the stories unfolding of our friend’s, client’s, and patient’s animals. Here are a few of them..

Lisa recently sent us a photo of her new golden puppy sitting in the recycle basket calm as can be.

Cindy continues to amaze us with the antics of her golden Kati and her feline sidekick Walter. From holding hands to napping in unusual poses, they are quite the pair.

One of the latest stories is from Teresa, a nurse in the Delivery Room. The other night on call she was sharing with me the interplay of her 9 year old 98 pound golden “Chance” with their newest family member. “Molly”, is a three month old Irish Jack Russell. Teresa has horses and needed a better mouser than Chance. I will let the photos speak for themselves..

Don’t worry about the teeth. I am told it was just pretend.. The proof:

The bow they both took at the end of this sequence. This shot is an award winner somewhere!

And notice Molly’s coat. An unusual color and texture, typical of the Jack Russells from Ireland.

Jessica has been sending us photos of her beautiful Dobie “Hannah”. Unfortunately she has been having serious orthopedic issues, and has fought through a number of surgeries with no end in sight. We will say prayers for Hannah as well.

On a different topic.. On a prior blog in the midst of another storm I wondered about dog sledding. I googled the topic and got caught up in some amazing websites of personal quests and adventure. It was the next day that I went into one of my offices and saw some new photos from my partner Maria. There she was having her own dog sledding adventure with her mixed husky. She actually had gone north and taken some lessons about cross country skiing with her husky helping her along. I just had to share them with you..

Boy that looks like fun. There just aren’t enough hours in the day though for some of us to sample all of life’s adventures..

Finally, I have to announce that Rocky our special little puppy, and golden to our son Michael’s family, has lost his claim to being the “perfect puppy”. Barb claims it is due to the corrupting influence of the pack. I think he is just showing his youthful curiosity and teething stage. In the space of about ten minutes this morning, I found evidence of his presence or caught him in the act.

From paper to rugs to wood, everything seems edible to him!

It is hard to stay angry though when the dust and energy finally settles. Then the goldens look angelic and very very cute.

Who would guess from these poses of Rocky and Lucy that they have any devil in them?

Have a great week!

As I left the hospital this morning after a 24 call, I was greeted by another winter storm. The good news was that there was no one on the roads as this is a holiday weekend. I was greeted by our golden fan club at our back door, one and all restless with the storm, and of course wanting adventure. Although my energy levels were flickering, I couldn’t deny them the highlight of their day. So I changed and out we went.

For those readers expecting to see their photos, I intended a different set of stories for the blog this week, but with only fumes for creative activity, I have postponed them to next week.

In the past week, I have taken a new tack when walking the pack. I take three at a time rather than five and then one. My shoulders are doing much better holding onto only 250 pounds of dog rather than close to 400. With three on a leash there is also less chance of a dog incident. So first the three alphas ventured forth… Emma, Solo, and Riley.

I really love seeing their happy smiles against the white backdrop.

After they had their fill of a couple of miles of snow and hills, it was time to get the other three.

Lily, Lucy, and of course little Rocky are more subdued.

They don’t walk any slower but are easier going in nature. Their wide smiles made me know the outing was worthwhile.

I was happy to find my shoulders felt better at the end of our outing. Now the only problem are my knees complaining from twice the distance I had to cover today. Sheesh, aging is best tolerated in little doses..

Earlier in the week, I had taken Rocky out for some individual attention.

As soon as he saw our little neighbor Kayla, he had to go and make her acquaintance. Both Kayla and Rocky enjoyed this little side adventure.

At last, we have some breeding news to report. Emma is in heat. She is Not the dog we want in heat as she just had the last litter in August.  The importance of this is that Riley and then Lucy usually follow with their own heats a few weeks later. So we may be finally approaching Riley’s breeding adventure. Here is Riley again this week, sitting on top of  her favorite chair watching events unfold in the kitchen.

If Riley conceives, then we will let Lucy’s heat pass untested. After all the work and medical complications of the last litter we had, we decided we can only do justice to one litter at a time. So Lucy, if she passes her XRays later this month will be bred after her fall heat. At least that is our present plan, barring mother nature’s own wishes…