Snowy Range Mountains

I was almost named after the Medicine Bow mountains (get it? Bow?). This was one of the first places the mama and the papa took me after I came home with them. We went up again for the weekend while family was in town, and this is what we did:

We saw 5 moose on Highway 130:

Count 'em - 1,2,3,4,5

      

Then we went for a hike on the Lost Lakes Trail. I got to stop and swim in all of the lakes along the way, and there was snow for me to frolic in. Yeah, I just said "frolic":

SNOW!

Then I was exhausted:

But I still had enough energy to pull in the inflatable fishing boat before Uncle John took off for some fly fishing:

Then I had some kibble with blueberry pancakes, then went straight to bed on my very own sleeping bag in the tent with the mama and the papa!

Vedauwoo, Wyoming

My other grandma is in town, along with Uncle John and his girlfriend, Molly! We went to Vedauwoo in Wyoming to play in the rocks and go swimming. I did a 3 mile hike and drank lots of water:

RMNP and Estes Park

My grandma and grandad Alexander are visiting me, and we went to Estes Park and Rocky Mtn. National Park today! First we drove up into the mountains where the temperature dropped to 55 degrees (love it) and rained. At the top of the mountain, I got to meet some new dog friends, including a 4-year-old St. Bernard named Molly, a Yorkie, and a lab. There were also a couple of motorcycle clubs at the top of the mountain and they were in love with me. One guy kept going on and on about how good I smell (it's oatmeal shampoo, by the way, thanks), and several people took pictures with me! I might start carrying  a Sharpie with me so I can sign autographs. For now, I'm just using drool to leave my mark...

Back down in Estes Park, I got to meet ANOTHER beautiful St. Bernard in the stream near town. I got a vanilla ice cream cone, saw a hummingbird, and got lots of pets and hugs from people walking by. I behaved like a gentleman, lying down for kids to pet me and ignoring or nicely greeting other dogs.

oooooh, ice cream....

Where's Bo-dog?  Imma pass my CGC in no time, ladies!

Badass Lifevests and Water Training

Here are some videos of me training for a WD title:

Single Retrieve

Drop Retrieve

Take a Line

Pull a Boat

Swim With Handler (I'm still trying to climb on the mama when I do this one, or I grab onto her lifevest and start pulling her to shore. I'm going to be awesome at rescuing an unconscious victim in WRDX, but might not pass WD because I am so eager to "save" people)

Little Spoon

Grooming Seminar (Sexy and I Know It!)

Grooming had been put on the back burner after a trip to the PetSmart beauty salon where we were told it would be close to 200 bones (for all my people readers, that's $200) for a haircut. Plus, I have a love / hate relationship with my floofy fur -- the papa loves it, the mama thinks I look like one of the Beatles (but not in the making-teenage-girls-faint kind of way). So when the mama heard about the HCNC Grooming Seminar, she signed me up and sweetened up the papa with a trip to Rock Bottom Brewery before the event.

Once we arrived, the mama volunteered me to get on the grooming table first. I was a little terrified, but everyone there gave me hugs and treats and loved on me so I would know that I was in good hands. Mr. Ron Horn, who has groomed show dogs for "a long time," showed the mama and the papa how to trim my hocks, feet, and ears--pointing out all the places where the cuts should start and stop--and which type of scissors to use for each location. He said that trimming the fur on the pads of my feet will help with traction, which is awesome because I like to skid out chasing tennis balls on the kitchen linoleum at home. He used thinning shears to cut around the "leather" part of my ear, which must have been tough for the papa to watch, but I think he was starting to come around near the end of my trim when he saw how handsome I was becoming. Look at this huge head that was hidden under all those luscious curls:

Before

After

I got off the grooming table feeling like a million bucks (or $200, at least) and the best part is that the mama and the papa now have the knowledge to replicate the haircut at home. I even saw the papa checking out the nail clippers and a comb for getting mats out of my fur, so I think I'm in for a lifetime of fancy haircuts and fainting girls.

This song perfectly describes how I feel 

(although the video is a little PG-13, don't let young puppies watch!): 

 

Me @ 18 months

I'm a year and a half! Here's my album through Facebook.

AKC PAL Registration

Since I came from a rescue, I don't know any information about my pedigree. People tell me I'm a Newfoundland, and I believe them because I sure as heck don't look like a Chihuahua. I don't have any proof that I'm a Newfie, except for my stunning good looks, which is a good thing since that's all I need in order for the AKC to register me as a Newf!

The mama sent in an application yesterday to get my Purebred Alternative Listing (PAL) number. Two pictures need to be included, one from the front and one from the side, so the judges can make sure I'm actually the breed I say I am. Here are my photos. I included a head shot since you can't see my face too well in the forward-facing shot.

Teaching My Buddy How to Swim

My buddy, Brody, came with me to Horsetooth Reservoir today so I could teach him how to swim! He loves the water, but only if all four paws are touching the bottom. I let him borrow my life jacket so he would feel safe, and I shared my bumpers with him so he could see how retrieving them in the water is the same game as retrieving them on land. He swam a little bit, which is a good start! We might go again soon. I CAN'T WAIT!

Me in back, Brody in front (did I mention that Brody is a million times bigger than me? He's probably about 160 lbs. and 3 inches taller! Holy cow.)

Me trying to friendly-drown Brody with my orange bumper

Water Work

Today I started learning how to do all of the tests to earn a Water Dog title. I watched some of the dogs who already have their WD titles, then I gave it a try.

Sometimes I didn't know what the mama wanted me to do (there was an awful lot of pointing and splashing), and sometimes I got distracted by these cute little Portuguese Water Dogs who were practicing next to me, but overall the mama says I killed it! I might even be able to test in September if I keep practicing at the reservoir.

Ladies do love a man with letters after his name...

Adequan

I posted about my struggles with elbow dysplasia back in December, and although things got better for a while, my right elbow has been bothering me since mid-May. After loads of the NSAID Rimadyl and rest, my right elbow is still hurting. Mama and Papa decided to start me on Adequan which is supposed to help lubricate my joints and rebuild cartilage.


I had my first Adequan shot on June 28th, and another one this morning. I will have 2 a week for the next 3 weeks, then one per week for a month, then just one a month after that for the rest of my life (or as long as the medicine helps). The mama learned how to give an intra-muscular injection from the vet tech today so that she can give the shots to me at home while I lounge on the couch like a little prince, chewing on treat-filled ice cubes and moaning about how hot it is. Initially, I will probably try to hide from the needle, like this:

Or possibly also like this:

But the mama says I will soon learn to accept my fate...