Getting BIG

Here is five month old Rim after visiting with our favorite groomer.

He is getting very big as you can see. I think he has to be getting close to Gypsy in weight. She is such a "bag-o-bones" and he is a load. Not too long ago Gyp would be able to get Rim down on the ground with a body slam. Lately I've been seeing Rim knock her to the ground. (all in fun) He is still a bit shorter than she but getting more leggy everyday. Gypsy is still a quirkey poodle. When I let her out the back door into the yard she still races ahead of Rim, checking every corner of the yard for rabbits or other intruders. When she see's it is all clear, she'll relax. That is until a black bird fly's into our air space. Then she has to run and bark until the bird goes away. Rim has gotten into the habit of racing laps around the backyard with a stick in his mouth. He is getting fast but I doubt he will ever be as fast as Gypsy.

Annapolis

Thought I'd put up a few more shots of Annapolis.

 

Wet Saturday In Annapolis

Saturday we woke up to foggy, damp weather. Not a great day for hanging out in the backyard if you are a poodle. So, we decided to take the dogs over to Annapolis and stroll around for a bit. Annapolis is about the most dog friendly town there is. There are always dozens of dogs walking the downtown area on any day of the week. We first stopped for coffee by the city dock and enjoyed the company of a Mastiff. This dogs head was about as big as Rim. Rim was happy to meet this big guy. Both Rim and Gypsy were greeted by a few dozen people and their dogs. A great day of socialization for Rim and Gyp. Last night happened to be the Christmas Parade of boats in Annapolis. You can see the boats in the above picture getting ready. This boat parade is always a big event in Annpolis and some of the boats are very creative.

This boat caught my eye.

 

 Annapolis is a beautiful town during the holidays. Greens on all the lamp posts and the store fronts are all decked out. Very nice. It was a big day for both Gypsy and Rim. Rim did get a bit excited with all the smells and other dogs on the street but all in all they both did great and had a wonderful time.

Rim (again)

Rim making a new friend.

 

I mentioned before we are going to take Rim to a local kennel from time to time for a few hours. We probably will not do this on a regular basis but just to change things up for Rim every once in awhile. The people that run the place tell us he has a great time with the other dogs running around and meeting each other. In reality, they just about have to say that though don't they? He could be cowering in the corner the entire time and they would probably report that he had a ball!  We do think though that he has a great time and it is a good thing for him to get the socialization.

 

Rim is quickly becoming Sandi's dog. He follows her every where and is always by her side. When Sandi is in the kitchen, Rim's favorite place is on the floor mat in  front of a warm air vent. I expect in the summer he will be hogging the air conditioning as well.

 

When we are outside, Rim is always off playing hard with Gypsy but you can see him stop and look for Sandi from time to time. He always has her in is sights. Not to say is isn't a confident little guy. We have not seen him shy away from anything yet. The more we learn about the personality of therapy dogs, the more we think Rim would excel at that job.

 

 

Rim is growing fast and his personality is exactly what our breeder Linda at (www.crossbrookpoodles.com) said it would be. He has been a great addition to the family. The cats give him a sniff from time to time and they don't turn up their noses anymore. What a plus! Anyway, I'm sure we will have a few puppy drama moments down the road but that is OK. How can you get mad at a face like that?

 



Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving came and it was a beautiful day. Warm for this time of year and perfect for sitting around outside, eating oysters. I think we both have had our oyster fix for awhile. They were fantastic though. Besides eating oysters, another thanksgiving tradition is the changing of the dog collars. At least it has been a tradition with Gypsy and now too with Rim. We change Gypsy's collar with the seasons. She has more collars than I have shoes,

Hey, a girl has to look good!

 

And thanksgiving is the day we switch Gypsy over to a Christmas collar. She had a spare candy cane collar that she donated to Rim.

I tried to get a picture of them both sitting still in the Christmas collars but that was next to impossible.

I did get one of Rim, sporting a fancy little candy cane collar, ready for the holidays.

Here is Rim out in the yard, in search of anything he can find to eat. Pine cones, sticks, stones, you name it.

Gypsy spent a good part of the day up on the deck relaxing but she always had us in sight.

We were lucky as the weather turned cold and windy the day after Thanksgiving. I'm glad we got one more, "poodle day" in before the cold weather hit. I'm sure the dogs were glad too.

Walking with Two

One of the best things in the world for Gypsy is to go for a walk.  It has been that way since she was a pup. She is always on alert during her walks, searching for a rabbit or a squirrel, high stepping the entire way. We meet many neighbors while we are out and they all recognize me as the "poodle guy." I was getting a colonoscopy and the nurse that was helping out came in and said, "hey, you're the poodle guy right?" That was a bit awkward. Since Rim came on board, Sandi has been walking him on his own for the most part. We think it is a good thing that we each have some alone time with each of them from time to time. On mornings that I'm off, we sometimes will walk them together. From the beginning, Rim has done great on a leash. He walks right by her side, never pulling. The other day Sandi was at the gym, as usual, so I decided to take them both on a walk together. I figured it wouldn't be that big of a deal. And it wasn't.

I just grabbed both leashes and off we went, walking the neighborhood.

Here is an action shot, Rim on the inside and Gypsy on the flank.

 

While we are on our walks, I hear all sorts of dogs barking from inside houses as we walk by. Dogs that I never see out walking or getting any kind of exercise. I think most people think that having a fenced in back yard and sticking the dog out there gives the dog exercise. I guess that is better than not doing anything at all but I don't think it replaces a good walk. The dog gets to see different things, smell different smells, and maybe meet another dog or two along the way.  Plus, it tires them out and a tired dog is a good dog.

 

I'm bushed!

 

 



Oyster-Giving

It's Thanksgiving and that means oysters for me and Sandi. We started doing this several years ago. We decided to hold off on preparing a big meal for Christmas and relax as much as possible on Thanksgiving. Especially since it is usually nice out and we can also have poodle time in the backyard. We usually purchase an extraordinary amount of oysters locally and roast them on a wood fire. This time around though we hit the jack pot. Sandi has befriended a few local fisherman. These guys crab all summer and get into the oysters this time of year. The older guy thinks it the best thing in the world to shuck oysters for Sandi. She knocks them down as fast as he can shuck them. We were at a party and he was sitting there, shucking away, laughing the entire time. These were the first true waterman we have gotten to know and they are the salt of the earth, nice people. Needless to say, our waterman friends delivered a pile of oysters yesterday that were in the water that afternoon. They are big, salty, oysters from a local river. We had to give a few of them a test run last night just to make sure they were good. I think this year, we'll offer an oyster to both Rim and Gypsy Gal. I have no doubt that Rim will devour the oyster in a flash but Gypsy might hold off until I put a little bacon on top.