Happy Holidays 2009

Well, Maggie Mae and I had our pictures taken with Mom and Alex on Sunday at Reber Ranch. Mom said it's our family tradition that started back when Harley was still alive. Harley was Mom's first Golden child.

Oh and we had our pictures taken with Santa too! It was hard for me to sit still....there was so much going on in the store and I got distracted! Sister Maggie Mae was much calmer than me...Mom says she has better manners.

Anyway, we are having a great holiday season and we hope that you and your family are too.

Blessings from all of us to all of you !

Time to Catch Up

Wow, it's almost Thanksgiving 2009. Time has really flown since Milo came to live with us. We love him so much! He is such a clown. He loves to play tug of war with our socks. He and "sister" (our older Golden Maggie Mae) wrestle all the time! They just love to play and are the best friends. I am looking forward to our annual Christmas picture that we have taken at Reber Ranch, the feed store near our house. This will be the 7th year.

To the dog park

Talus, now called Milo and his new sister Maggie went to the dog park at Reber Ranch again today. They got to visit with others and chase the tennis ball I threw with the "chuck it". This dog park is an enclosed area that used to be a large corral that has now been turned into a dog friendly play area - complete with obstacle course type things, a swimming pool, and lots of grass. This has really become popular with the neighborhood dog owners.

We met another beautiful golden today; her name was Alli and she was 1.5 years old. She was absolutely gorgeous. Her favorite toy was the jolly ball. She reminded me of my first golden Harley (passed away March 2007). He loved his jolly ball too!

Anyway, Milo and Maggie Mae had great fun and are now taking a nap!

Talus is welcomed into his new family in Kent

Talus recently joined our family in Kent on August 2nd. His new family is Kim and Alexandra (two legged variety) and a Golden sister named Maggie. We also have two felines: Dexter and Miracle. Talus has already made himself at home and he and Maggie are fast becoming good friends.

We are not sure if Talus will retain his name - we are undecided. "Talus" and "Alex" sound a lot alike and both have been confused when the other's name has been called!

Anyway, we are so excited to welcome him to our home. We lost our first Golden, Harley, March 2007 of cancer. We started looking to fill that gaping hole he left about 3 months ago.

Welcome to a new home

Talus joined our family yesterday and is adjusting pretty well. His biggest challenge has been being aware of his size when interacting with our 13 month old daughter. However, he has been a gem when dealing with her crawling on him, so I think the rest will come.

We had our first mishap this morning when I opened the sliding door, but the screen door was still closed. We'll need to get that replaced. Lesson learned!

My husband, Doug, has already claimed Talus as his work companion. Talus sits on the floor to keep him company while he's on his computer. Then, when Doug goes anywhere in the house, Talus follows him.

It's going well.

buddies

Talus and Tag the cat have formed a new bond in light of the little crazy that is running around our house. I snapped a photo of them hanging out together the other day.

Talus and Talia are getting along great. Talus is as careful as he can be not to step on Talia but he loves to play with her. Today while they were running around in the yard Talus dug up a stick for Talia and brought it to her.

I think they are going to be very good friends. Talia still likes to climb on Talus and jump on him but he just takes that as a sign she wants to play, which he is always up for.

Talus is doing great with his training. We didn't need to do too much of the basics as I suspected. We are working on some of the tasks that are more difficult for him because he is just so excited.

Everyone loves Talus

a giant among us

Talus doesn't seem to quite know what to do with Talia (new puppy). They are very interested in each other but they are so different in size, they can't really be around each other.

Talus continues to be truly the best dog ever.

About Talus

Talus is very smart. He knows his rank in our home. He considers Chris to be Alpha. While he loves attention from Chris, he always cowers in his presence, low to the ground, tail tucked between legs and very obediant of Chris.

Talus also learned quickly that our new cat Tag is above him in rank. I established this quickly since the cat is so much smaller. The cat is allowed on the furniture and is fed before the dog, that kind of thing.

Talus just wants to be around people all the time. He loves everyone. Isn't hard to please him and while he is a little excited making some tasks difficult with him, he tries to obey.

He needs a little more detailed training to be the best dog he can be. I'm sure once I learn how to further his training, he'll learn quickly.

Such a puppy

Talus is still so loving and energetic. He loves going to the dog park and stopping to be pet by every person there. He must stop and sniff every dog we pass too of course.

He loves to run around like crazy and then when you call him back he'll come flying towards you with his ears flapping in the wind. He is excited to be with anyone and everyone.

The kids love to run with him and throw balls for him to fetch. He obeys my hand signs as if he had been through some formal training. I've been asked if he has. (He hasn't) He is a little stubborn but very smart.

He is the best dog ever.