Run Free Barley

It is with heavy hearts we share the news that Grammie and the Big Guy (aka Lady's parents) sweet boy Barley, died yesterday. Barley was diagnosed with abdominal cancer in the late fall of 2015. He was 8 years old.

Barley came to live with my parents through a lab rescue. He was the product of divorce, apparently the new girlfriend didn't like dogs. He was a super sweet cuddly boy, who thought he was a lap dog, loved to drag his blanket around, and loved to tease his co-dog Tendra with a chew. He loved chase, the beach, and swimming. His tragic flaw - he was super, super drool-y, which always added a little gross to the cuddles. He was greatly loved and will be greatly missed.

Run free Barman, Run free.

Home Again - by Lady

After a few days at my parents we have returned home. The drive there is about 9 hours one way and both pups did really well in the car. Phod still doesn't love it, but he wasn't sick in the car (we did give him his pill to help). He was sick when we got home. I think he may have drank too much water too quickly as he threw up water. (It was the hottest July 29 since 1892 at 34.3 C/94F + the humidex). Overall they were great! (We will see how Phod does today in the car as I have to take him for his annual check up later today . . . . . . . )

This is the name of the cottage

My parents live in Point Clark, Ontario. They live in a renovated and winterized version of a toll house that my great grandparents had moved to this sight in the 1930s. The "cottage", as I will forever call it, has been in the family for about 85 years. My grandmother, who is now 93, believes she was 8 or 9 when her parents got it.

I grew up near the cottage and have many fond summer memories (as it was only winterized 10 years ago and moved from true cottage to house).  I love sharing this place with my dogs.

Barley, he really thinks he is a lap dog

Zaphod enjoying an early morning swim 

Tendra, drying off on the deck

Hailey, watching it all happen

BEACH!

We are late in posting this as we had 10 hours of guests yesterday and just didn't have time to get to the computer. Family and friends came in what felt like the droves to see us! It was nice to catch up with everyone.

Even without all those visitors we have been really busy at the beach.

First there was some rolling in goose poop that had to happen.

And some shaking

And some swimming and playing fetch (Tendra left, Zaphod right)

 And some running after the ball that Grandma threw.

Some more fetch (Zaphod and Tendra)

And of course waiting for snacks (Barley, Tendra and Zaphod)

The time at the beach is lots of fun!

Mischief Monday - Beach Edition

For the most part my pups and my parents labs, Barley and Tendra, have gotten along swimmingly and have all done really well with the craziness of having 4 dogs in the house. The boys occasionally make sure the other is in check, but nothing major. As I am writing this post they are having a growling match over a chew, neither wants but they don't want the other to have. That is a little mischief! 

Even though they are mostly good, this doesn't mean that there hasn't been some mischief.

All the following have been taken on phones or iPads. We will get some nice pictures tomorrow (put pressure on me to remember to bring out the actual camera!). Here are some other examples of mischief. 

Example 1 

If you sit on the couch, which is Barley's, he will sit on you. That is me under his 90 lb frame (petting Zaphod who was also on the couch). It is all fun and games until Barley sees a bird out the window and jumps off you. Fortunately he usually give a little grunt sound before the jump so you can protect parts of you. 

Example 2

While we have access to a beach at home, it isn't right out the front window. There is a small fenced area to keep my parents dogs in. During his last visit Phod discovered he could jump the fence and take himself for a swim. There have been several times Phod has clearly thought about going for another swim alone. He has been good and not done it . . . . yet. Here he is looking longingly at the lake. 

Example 3 and the Mischief Winner

No surprise that my girl wins the award for mischief. Our first night at the lake . . . the Man and I were exhausted as we were up before 5 am and drove for 9 hours. We were excited to be going to bed and just as we were settling in when the fireworks started. Hailey became very anxious. We tried all the usual things and nothing helped. She even tried to dig her way into my parents room (fortunately they didn't hear her as apparently they were very tired). Finally, we did the following: Turned on the lights and played classical music.  This seemed to help. After some time we were able to turn off the lights and music. The next day she was very tired.

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For those who had questions about Iceland, I will answer them this coming Saturday on the part 6 of the adventure post!

Tasty Tuesday - A Leftover Picture From Christmas

With the right treat (which is pretty much any treat), 4 dogs will sit nicely!

Barley, Tendra, Hailey and Phod

Phod, Hailey, Tendra and Barley

Mischief Monday - They Work Hard for Treats Here

For some reason I got into my head that I should do agility with all 4 dogs.

First trick (sorry no pictures) was jump over the broom stick. Hailey and Barley excelled. Hailey kept showing off that she could jump over it when it wasn't her turn. Phod did it once and decided it wasn't worth the payment. It took a long time for Tendra to figure it out, she kept trying to go over but she did get it.

Trick 2 was the tunnel. When Tendra and Barley took agility, apparently this wasn't a favourite. Hailey again showed off her mad skills but whipping in and out while I was trying to coach the others through it. Phod went a few times, including a very funny time through the middle to get some cookies. It took some coaxing but Barley did it. It was hard for him as he is such a big boy and it was a little tight for him.  Tendra got quite good at this and was soon running through it.

It was a lot of chaotic fun!

Life with 4

For the holidays my parent's dogs, Tendra (whose name is the last 3 letters of my name and the last 3 letters of my sister's name) and Barley, have been staying with us. My parents have been dividing their time between our place in the country and my sister's in the city. For a few nights the Man and I were alone with the 4.

Getting ready to take 4 out

Having 4 is fine, it is a little more work than 2. It seems whenever we go out, 3/4 are good and one is not. For example: On different occasions Tendra and Barley have both taken themselves for walks, not too far, but far enough.  Phod (who has lost and found precious in the past few days) was a jerk when playing with ball when we were all out and kept taking all the balls. Hailey is always good outside as she is always on leash.

The biggest change has been adjusting our routine to fit our company's schedule. Tendra is a very routined pup and can be very, very annoying when her routine is not followed. She will obsessively bark until she is fed/given her kong/taken out etc. etc. She is probably the most difficult of the pups as she is far more demanding than even Hailey (which is actually hard to imagine!). Barley, is very much like Phod in temperament and is easier.

Three doing tricks for treats, from the back - Hailey, Barley and Tendra

Phod during training time. He is just not that motivated for cookies

The Man is very glad that they are not all perfect and hopes that it stops me from wanting another dog!

Play Time Made Me Laugh

Barley wanted someone to play tug with him. He found our awesome big tug rope made by @kenzieandtroy. Phod did briefly play with him (like for 5 seconds). 

Tendra then found a leg from raccoon and wanted to play tug with it. We had a great game with this little tiny toy (not the lovely tug toy). What silly pups!

In the end, Phod was victorious.

Puzzle Time for 4

First, Lee was sassing me in yesterday's picture because I was trying to make her jump (without a cookie) and she didn't want too. It cracked me up that she sassed me as she got into position to jump (and she did jump but because I was laughing at her, I didn't get a good picture).

On Monday, I worked half a day to spend half a day with my parents. I decide part way through the day that the pups all needed puzzles. Tendra and Barley had never had puzzles before.

It went like this:

Hailey happily played with her favourite puzzle the bottle. 

After finishing his puzzles, Phod went over to show the guest how to do a puzzle. 

Tendra took a few minutes, but started to get the idea of it and without Phod's help would have likely done very well.

Barley, well I realize in the chaos I never took a picture of him (I meant to). He just stood around thinking this whole puzzle thing was stupid and no amount of showing or suggesting was going to make him to it.


3/4 dogs give puzzle time 2 paws up!

Mischief Monday - Living with Four

Barley

On Thursday, The Lady's parents (Grammie and the Big Guy) arrived. They spent Friday with Lady and Man before leaving Barley and Tendra at our house and going to the city to be with Aunt C, Uncle D and cousin Maggie (their house isn't really Lab friendly).

This left Lady and Man the only people in the house with 4 dogs from Friday pm until noon on Sunday.  This is Lady's dream, she wants more pups (don't worry, Man has said no).

Overall, it went really well. The going out during the day is easy, 3 can be off leash and one needs to be on leash. At dawn and dusk, when they need to be on leash due to the wildlife either both people need to go, or the Lady takes them in pairs and the Man one by one. For meal time, Lee and Phod ate in the kitchen and we feed the visitors in the garage.

One of the problems with all four was sleeping. 3/4 are use to sleeping with their people (Phod is a floor sleeper). On Friday night Lee slept at her place at the bottom of the bed and Barley slept horizontally across Lady's pillow, so his butt was on Lady's shoulder all night, pushing Lady to the middle of the bed and crowding the Man. Tendra sleep parallel to him at the bottom of the bed. It was a little cozy. On Saturday, Lady and Tendra slept in the bed, Lee was on and off, Phod took his place on his bed on the floor. Man chose the couch over either of the 2 guest beds, and Barley slept on the one of the guest beds. Everyone was happier.

Sunday, the girl dogs were good but restless. Not sure if it was because they knew Grammie and Big Guy were coming (and Aunt C, and Uncle D, and cousin Maggie and Uncle Chris - next weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving and we celebrated it early as we could all be together), or because they were there, but one of the female dogs were annoying pretty much from 10 am until 6 before everyone settled.

Overall, the girl dogs get a C+, the boy dogs get A+, so our average was B+ with 4 dogs. It is a good thing that everyone gets along and it is doable because the pups will be living together later this year for 2.5 weeks when Man and Lady go away.

Tendra (left) and Barley

Tendra

Black and White Sunday - Jazzi's Tacos

Yesterday was Angel Jazzi's taco day and we celebrated it at dinner. The Man forgot to keep some meqt separate for us, so we had modified tacos (aka shells and maybe some cheese, but not too much as our house guests are on a diet). To make up for our lack of tacos, the Man ate a lot and the Lady did a taco salad (she is weird, she doesn't like taco shells). Tacos are one of the Man's favourite foods, so he made sure to eat extra in Jazzi's honour. 

Four pups patiently waiting - Tendra, Phod, Lee and Barley

The people's spread

Sample of Man's Tacos

Now finally it is our turn:

Hailey

Phod

Tendra

Barley waiting for his (he got some, I just didn't get a good picture of him)

Jazzi, we miss you, but your memory lives on in our hearts and on taco day, in our tummies!

From our time at the beach

Before the post for today, yesterday I came across this article, that as a dog mom, I found very, very interesting. Thought I would share the link with all of you. Click HERE to visit the Globe and Mail article: Mat leave and birth announcements . . . for pets? The rise of four-legged children by Courtney Shea.

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Lady's mom recently sent this picture from last month when Phod and Lady went for a visit.

Lady and her dad had gone to visit Lady's grandmother and Lady's mom was in charge. She decided to have a nap and said something out loud to the pups like  "nap time".  Well, this happened:

Three dogs, Zaphod, Barley (chocolate lab) and Tendra raced to the room and all got up on the bed. There was no room left for Lady's mom. She had a great laugh but didn't get her nap.

New Friends and New Tricks

It took a few days, but Barley and Zaphod have figured out how to play. They like to have play time after their morning swim. Here is a sample of it.

During our morning swim on Wednesday, Phod learned a new trick. It goes like this:

I have one ball, can I get 2?

I have 2 balls can I get 3?

No I can't, but don't worry little ball, I will be back. No ball left behind.

Phod learned he can catch and swim with 2 balls. This was great when the other pups missed where balls went because he would bring them back to shore, and he was good at letting the other dogs get theirs if they were around.

Note: While at times the dogs go out far to get balls, it is not very deep. As far as they go is likely only waist deep on a adult so if someone got into distress (although we watch closely for signs and end play before anyone gets too tired) one of us could run in. 

Phod has had a wonderful time at the beach. He has been his gentle, quiet self, although he has been slightly more dominant (perhaps because there is a second male here) and a bit more confident (he managed to take himself for a second swim).  He has been wonderful with all the kids we have met, but slightly cautious meeting new men (especially a neighbour with a cane, very unsure of him). Overall, he has been wonderful, and my parents are not worried about having him at all in the fall for 2.5 weeks. (The same can't be said for my beloved Hailey, but they will all be fine). There was a little mischief, we will share next week! 

Today we take the long journey back home. Wish us a smooth trip!

Wordless Wednesday - Synchronized Swimming

More News from the Beach

I forgot to share Phod's mischief yesterday. My parents have their deck gated so their pups can go out and enjoy the sun (there yard is not fenced). Phod figured out that the gate at the bottom of a set of stairs was jumpable and he jumped over it and took himself for a swim at the lake. (The deck is out front and from it you can see the lake from it). Steps have been taken to block the stairs so others can enjoy the deck without us worrying about someone jumping.

Chew time

Part of Tendra and Barley's after dinner routine consists of having a kong followed by having a chew. Phod is refusing to eat his kong at this house (he doesn't love them at our house, but will eat them). I assume it is because we use different peanut butter at home. Tendra is loving having 2 kongs a night. Historically, Phod has not enjoyed raw hide either (he is a really picky eater), but Sunday night he stole part of Tendra's and chewed it a bit. When given his own Monday, he wouldn't eat it. He is a silly boy.

Night Two, Phod only slept with me about half the night and around 2 am decided to go back to his own bed (which I brought with me). I must admit, while I love the snuggles, I do enjoy the leg room when he is on the floor.


Yesterday was my whole day away to visit my grandmother. How was my boy while I was out? As you can see from these pictures, he was very stressed:)

Stress pose 1

Stress pose 2
Note Barley in the background and yes my parents bought a couch to match the dog!