Sunday Morning

We decided that while it is very important that Gypsy and Rim spend a bunch of time together and pal around, it is also important that we both do something "one on one" with each of them. We want them to keep their individuality and rely on us rather than each other. I'm not sure if that is the way to go about this two dog thing or not but that is what we are doing. Sunday morning rolled around and I could tell Gypsy really needed a walk. She (we all) had a big day yesterday that I will fill you in on later. I could just tell Gyp needed to be off on her own with me and time away from Rim. So, what better thing tho do than take a nice walk on Sunday morning. We are having a beautiful, crisp morning. Perfect for a nice walk.

Enough talking. Let's go!

BTW did you notice my matching collar and leash?

So off we went and I could see Gypsy relaxing with each step. We saw people out jogging and met a few other dogs out for walks. We passed by the big farm house that they picked up and moved from one end of the field to the other a few years ago. They have harvested the towering crop of corn so you can see the farm house and barn again.

It was a great morning for a walk. Gypsy had a great time.

Puppy Update

I thought I'd give everyone a quick update on how Rim is doing. We've had him for a bit over 4 weeks now and the time has flown by.

Number one on my list is he is doing great in the crate. No problems at all. He goes right in and sleeps all night long. All the credit in the world has to go to Linda at www.crossbrookpoodles.com for this one. She introduced Rim to the crate prior to him coming home with us. How is that for service?

Nothing seems to bother this little rascal. Sandi has been taking him everywhere. To the store, out to lunch, in the gym, bike rides, and he is willing to meet everyone and does not shy away from anything. He is exactly what we were looking for to potentially get into visitations with Rim.

He is a very quick study. When Sandi talks to him he turns his little head from side to side really focused on her. He usually will come on command and knows his name. Again, Linda started calling him by name before he came home with us.

He has learned not to mess around with the cats. That's a big one.

Rim and Gypsy are becoming very good friends. At first we had our doubts. Gypsy didn't want anything to do with Rim for a day or so. Now they are in the backyard goofing off or resting on the deck together all the time. I truly believe Gypsy is way better off with a little playmate.

I said "little playmate?" He isn't going to be little for too long. He is growing at an alarming rate and is three times the eater Gypsy is. He will be a big one I think.

There paws were touching the other day while they were taking a power nap. I can hardly tell them apart.

A Few Photos

Rim is definitely an eater. He hops around with joy at the sight of the cup of food going to his bowl. Sometimes we give him breakfast on the deck and he leaps out the door like Gypsy. I will try to get a video of this. It's priceless.

 

 This is a very rare photo. A picture of the two of them sitting still, not biting each other or running around like crazy dogs. You can see some of the silver in Rim's ears starting to show.

 

Here they are chilling out while we have some lunch downtown. They are laying around together much more now and Rim's calm personality is a big contrast to tightly wound Gypsy.

 

Gypsy finally figured out on what side of the fan to lay. Rim is a fan hog most of the time.

 

Changes in Gypsy

I think we are beginning to see some changes in Gypsy since the arrival of puppy Rim. For one thing, Gyp is eating much better. She has always been a grazer, eating a bite or two of food at one time. I've tried every solution published and nothing worked long term. Rim on the other hand is a little chow hound. Since his arrival, Gypsy has been eating really much better. Gypsy's number one job in the world has always been knowing where we are at any given moment in time. She hates to be away from us and hates to be alone in the yard. She stands at the door peering inside when she is out. Since the arrival of Rim, she will go out into the yard and play with him. You've seen some of the pictures and a video but they really are playing nice together. Gypsy will get a bit rough from time to time but Rim comes back for more.

They''ve been playing with this stick. Gypsy will pick it up and walk in front of Rim trying to get him to latch onto the other end. When he does, it's go time. Rim is growing at an alarming rate and isn't shy when it comes to some rough and tumble play time.

Dino continues to be a favorite. Gypsy will walk around Rim, holding Dino by the feet daring him to try to get it. I've never seen Gypsy play so much in her life. Especially with another dog. Standards are natural comedians I think. They like to entertain us and make us laugh. These two are doing a pretty good job of that for sure.



More Moose

OK, I know that you are thinking this is supposed to be a blog about my quirky poodle Gypsy. I have hardly mentioned her recently with the addition of Rim. And here I am now blogging about a cat again. Not sure what has gotten into me. Anyway, Moose is very blog worthy. Many people classify themselves as being either "cat" or "dog" people. Not sure why that is but I am definitely a dog AND cat person. The first cat I can remember in my childhood was a kitten my big sister brought home one day. This kitten promptly climbed a pine tree out in front of the house and would not come down. We tried the food at the bottom of the tree trick and the kitten didn't want any part of that. After a few days I scaled the tree, all the way to the top, and saved the kitten. When my girls were young we had a cat named Brewster. Brewster was an inside/outside cat. In his younger years he was quite the hunter and rid the neighborhood of every little rodent known to man. He lived well into his 20"s and lost most of his teeth in the later years. Sandi called him Snaggle tooth.  He was a special cat. Then, we had FURFACE and Cleo that I wrote about earlier. FURFACE was Sandi's cat when we met. He and I had a love hate relationship. He never let me forget he was the main man in Sandi's life. We lost Cleo way to early. She just faded away after FURFACE passed away. We have been lucky to have such great cats along with the dogs.

 

Moose is a great cat with a different personality. He follows us around the house curious as to what we are doing. When I'm in the office, he is usually in the chair behind me, watching what I am doing.

 

When I go into the bedroom, Moose runs in, leaps up onto the bed and rolls over trying to get me to scratch his belly. Who says that cats aren't tuned into their owners? The cats have a calming presence in the house that I like. Gypsy likes the cats too and Rim is learning about them everyday.

Dino Time

Gypsy is getting used to having Rim around more every day. We think Gyp actually likes having him around now. She has started playing Dino with him. she will grab Dino by the feet and walk around Rim jumps up trying to snatch Dino away or nips at Gypsy's heels. They wrestle around and have a big time. Gypsy has body slammed Rim a few times but he doesn't seem to care.

I promise I will work at my video expertice. Not very good so far but you get the idea of how they play.

Poodles in action.

 

After a wild game of Dino, Rim and Gypsy take a break.

Hot Again

We had another hot day on Saturday. Sunday is the first full day of Fall and I hope it cools off. I'm ready for the cooler weather. Rim is also ready for the cooler weather.

Bike Club Poodles

Biking is a big part of my wife's life. She is very involved with a Bike Club here locally and they have participated in many rides. I tag along and ride frequently but this summer I was out of action due to an injury. I'm back on the bike now and trying to keep up with the club. Most of the organized rides are for a very good cause and raise a good amount of money. I took Rim and Gypsy to see the club off at a recent ride.

Here is Rim with a few of the bike club members. With all the the activity going on, there were a hundreds of riders preparing for the ride, he was calm and just took in all the sights. He was very happy to meet everyone.

Gypsy took in the sights from the car. She isn't as quite relaxed in these situations. Many people came up to here and said hello while she was int he car though. They both had a great time and I'm sure we will have them both along with us at many more rides for years to come.

MOOSE

I've talked about how introducing Rim to the family has been a big adjustment for Gypsy but it has also been an adjustment for the cats. A big adjustment. Gypsy has been around for a long time and she knows that she should not mess around with the cats. From time to time Gypsy will try to catch a sniff of one as they walk by.
Yuck, why did I sniff that thing?
The cats are very comfortable with Gypsy. We are starting to get there with Rim too. He sees the cats and tries to hop up to them wanting to play. Sandi usually intercepts him before he can plop down on one of them. I think he has been smaked in the nose a few times by one of the female cats but that has not stopped him from trying to investigate.
Moose is a young, red, male cat that is a total hoot. In the morning he and his side kick run laps around the house until they are huffing and puffing. Moose actually pants he has played so hard. Morning play time was put on hold once Rim entered the scene. The cats kind of backed off for a bit, trying to figure out what was up with the new dog. This morning though, Moose was out, running laps, and raising hell like usual. This is a good sign I think right? Nothing like the pitter patter of cat feet on the hard wood floors in the morning.

Moose is so exhausted from playing tag he has to stop between steps to rest.

DAWG DAYS

We have had a run of HOT weather. I think the entire east coast has been hot and humid. So, being a very resourceful couple, Sandi and I will break out the old box fan in hot weather. I don't really think it does that much good to tell you the truth. It just blows hot air on your feet. It beats sitting around inside the house though. Anyway, Gypsy is not a big fan of the hot weather. She moves a bit slower and searches out a shade spot in the yard. We usually have decent shade in the yard now as our trees are growing at an alarming rate. Still, even in the shade it is hot. Rim, being a young pup, didn't mind playing in the hot weather one bit. For a short time anyway and then he too had to seek some relief. I think he is a pretty smart puppy. He consistently parks himself right in front of the fan.

Ah yes, this feels good!

As you can see, Gypsy is on the wrong side of the fan. Anything to avoid the little pest. A break in the weather is coming and it is going to be great weather for the rest of the week. We can put the silly box fan away and enjoy some quality poodle time in the backyard. Gypsy is going in for grooming tomorrow morning and I will take Rim too. We need to get him used to the sounds and sights of the groomer.

Hot weather makes me sleepy.

Shout Out To Germany

 Technology is really amazing. This entire Blog thing is new to me and I never thought I'd be doing anything like this in a million years. A neat thing you can do is check into the number of pages views and where they are coming from. I have people from all over the world looking at what is going on with Gypsy and Rim. The Blog is being checked out on a pretty regular basis from Germany which is cool since the Poodle originated in Germany. Poodle comes from the German word Pudelhund. Pudel (cognate with the English word "puddle"), They were the original water dog used for hunting and tracking. Most people think of the poodle as being a sissy dog and that is far from the truth. I think Gypsy is the most athletic dog I have ever seen. Strange thing is, Gypsy does not like the water one bit. She will get her feet wet and that is about it. She won't even get into the baby pool. Rim on the other hand, will go right in the water. So I want to say "thank you" to the folks from Germany for checking into the Blog from time to time and thanks for the Standard Poodle breed.

I'm a water dog and the sprinkler ROCKS!
 Dankeschön Germany!

Silver Poodle

So far in the pictures Rim is looking like a Gypsy "Mini Me." Gypsy is about as black as a dog can be and Rim is going to be silver. He was born black and is going to slowly turn silver as he ages. (Don't we all!) If you look at some of the pictures you can see some silver around his ears and nose.

We are told it can take up to a year for them to totally change. It should be interesting to see this transformation.

This is what a silver standard looks like.

Puppy Time

The biggest factor in us getting another Poodle was our desire to get involved with volunteer work down the road. Maybe visiting old folks or reading time with kids? Who knows. Gypsy can be a bit high strung for these activities and so we (Sandi) searched for months for a breeder that could help us and one that we were comfortable with. Again she came across www.crossbrookpoodles.com and struck up a conversation. They did not have any puppies at that time but she knew of an associate in Oklahoma www.kitsuepoodles.com that just had puppies and the parents were wonderful dogs. Anyway, that is how we came to get Rim. We didn't really care about the color or looks as long as he had the right personality. All I can say is Linda really knows her Poodles. Rim is about as rock solid puppy as I have ever seen. Nothing seems to bother him or upset him. I will not bore you with all the training progress we are making. Lets just say that he is a great puppy and shows all the signs of being a great dog. Sandi took him into the gym the other day and Rim calmly met everyone without jumping or carrying on. Gypsy would have been besides herself with excitement. Not to say Rim doesn't have puppy moments.

 

The biggest progress is that Gypsy is really getting into having Rim around. Here they are playing in the back yard. I will try to refine my video technique. They carry on like this for hours on end and then come up on the deck and crash.

My BFF!

Puppy in the House

I apologize to my thousands of followers. Well, maybe not that many but you get the idea. Having a puppy in the house is like having a baby! Not kidding. I took a few days off to help get Rim situated in the house and see how he and Gypsy did together. It has been very interesting to say the least. Gyp didn't really feel very comfortable with a little guy running around at first and we had a day or two where I thought deep down that maybe this was not going to work out. Gypsy was trying her best to be an alpha dog and she just isn't comfortable in that role. She is a marshmallow. I will fill you all in over the next few days. things are beginning to get back to normal, what ever that is, and Gypsy has found a best friend. The cats are beginning to dominate the house again too and that makes Sandi happy. Talk to you all soon.

I'm a good boy!

RIM is Home

The last few days has been a bit of a whirlwind for us. We drove to Ohio and saw my sister, her family, and a few old friends. A very good time. We also met with Linda www.crossbrookpoodles.com and took possession of Rim. They drove him in from St Louis because she is not comfortable putting puppies into a cargo hold of a 747. It was great to meet her and her husband. We could really tell they have a connection with their dogs and puppies. Rim is adorable. Saturday after we picked him up, we went back to my sisters house and played in the backyard with Rim, kids, Gypsy, and other puppies. Rim was not intimidated by anything. He didn't back away from any of the chaotic activity. Gypsy wasn't sure about Rim. She was playing pretty rough with him but he kept coming back for more.  We got an early start home on Sunday morning. It is a 7 hour drive and who knows what will happen with a puppy riding in the back seat. Gypsy has always been a great passenger in the car. It is one her favorite things to do. Linda said she would take Rim with her on errands and things so he would get used to the car and sure enough, he did great.

Riding makes us sleepy!!!

 

When are we gonna get there???

 

We didn't have one issue during the ride home. What a bonus that was. So, Rim is home and we are all trying to adjust with having a puppy in the house. Rim is very different from Gypsy. He is all boy and a ball of energy. He does have an off button and will chill out too. He is very confidant and follows Sandi around like a shadow. We are taking him every where. I think half our little town has met him already. Gypsy, at first, did not want a thing to do with him. This was very concerning to me. She didn't want to be in the same vicinity as Rim. He or course would do his best to be by her side. We had a few wrestling matches and Rim was body slammed a few times. Today they have been playing in the backyard and getting along fine. They even came up on the deck to nap together.

So things are looking good with the new addition so far. I am keeping a close eye on Gypsy with the rough housing. I think she is going to adapt just fine.

 

 

Gypsy was so excited to meet Rim, she breaks out into a spontaneous ZUMBA routine!