Saturday October 25, 2014
Bath Day and preparations for the south
We try to bath Murdoch on a monthly basis but we've been tardy, so he was overdue for a bath (read SMELLY!). He's actually good at tolerating baths, he doesn't try to get out of the tub although the bathroom is a disaster area after each one. We are looking forward to doing it on the road, the RV has an external shower with hot and cold water, we just need to hose him down outside.
A couple of "after" pictures":
A chew treat to keep him outside for a while until some of the water comes off him:
As can be seen he's grown substantially in the last month, he was almost 35 lb. last month at the vet, we are betting that he will be between 45 and 50 at next week's final visit before the trip.
We are still in a training mode, we had another session with our "dog whisperer" to work on Murdoch's biting and we are also taking him on daily rides in the truck to see if we can cure his anxiety when traveling in the back seat. We have an array of items to help, a synthetic pheromone spray that's supposed to mimic how mother dogs smell, an anti anxiety nose drop item and finally some Gravol. These help somewhat but the drooling continues. We recently bought something called a "thunder shirt" that is supposed to wrap around him tightly and make him comfortable.Amazing what you can buy (and spend lots of money on!) for these guys. Chews and stuffed Kongs are also helpful but he devours these in less than half an hour. We may be taking multiple stops on each daily leg of the trip to make sure he's OK.
Tuesday September 30, 2014
The training goes on!
Murdoch continues to grow and develop. He goes to the vet tomorrow for his rabies shot so that it will be one month old when we head for the US in November. We are taking bets on his weight gain since his last weigh in, he probably will be 35 pounds if not more, he's really growing and there's no fat on him.
Below are a couple of pictures taken when he was napping, he has some interesting poses. He's truly relaxed when he sleeps. He's had no accidents at all in the last couple of weeks, if we can get him to sleep completely overnight (and stop chewing on Suzette!) then he will be almost perfect!
Wednesday September 17, 2014
A romp in the Park!
We have a recreation field nearby, it contains two ball diamonds and a number of soccer pitches. We don't have an enclosed pet play facility in the area so the ball diamond comes closest to one for us, it's contained by a fence (except the entrances from the dugouts) and it's grassy, so we've been taking Murdoch to the field daily during the week when there is no other activity there. We are taking him there by truck for rides as he's been nervous in the truck, we found that giving him a "Kong" stuffed with peanut butter and treats has helped greatly, he's stopped drooling and today he actually wanted to get back in the truck after the activity at the ball park - success (we think and hope!).
Some pictures:
Murdoch wasn't chasing thrown balls so we tried a dollar store Frisbee, and he loves it!
Murdoch initially couldn't pick up the Frisbee when it was flat on the ground, but he has now figured it out!
He retrieves the Frisbee but has some resistance to giving it up!
After a few minutes of vigorous activity the tail starts to go down and it's time to head back home where he "crashes" for a while.
Saturday September 13, 2014
A couple more pictures
Murdoch is doing a lot better, he's sleeping overnight (at least until 5:45 am!) and the "accidents" have stopped. His biting is also reduced and he has learned to "mouth" gently. Below are a couple of recent pictures:
He really likes the teddy bears, but he's getting bigger than them!
Monday September 8, 2014
Visit to the Vet
Last week we visited our local vet (where Murdock was born) for Murdoch's 12 week shots. He was OK until he went into the examination room, but he had a couple of accidents there due to his nervousness. The vet had a bit of a tough morning, two litters of puppies were in getting checked and their first shots, it's good that they have tiled floors! Murdoch's accident wasn't all bad though, the stool sample was checked and showed that he had round worms, so he got some medication. These worms are common in puppies, Kasey had them, we noticed them in his stools but we missed them in Murdoch's. The other good news is that he can get his rabies shot on October first. We were worried that he couldn't get it before 6 months of age, and the US also requires that the shot be 30 days old before we can enter the US with him. With our departure for the south in November all things are now good for Murdoch.
Murdoch weighed in at just under 24 lb. so he's going to be a big guy. We are working on training so that he will go down stairs (up is no problem!) as he's starting to get a bit heavy to lift.
The biting problem is diminishing and the training continues. Al has a couple of great pictures of two "sleeping beauties" sound asleep in the rec room after a hard day of activity, but "the boss" won't allow them to be posted!
Tuesday September 2, 2014
Another picture!
Our picture taking has slowed down, but Suzette captured this "Kodak moment" last week. The toy is one of the bears that the kids had when they were small. Murdoch has now "graduated" into humping selected ones. We have had a bit of a tough time controlling his biting, not sure if it's still good for humans but in the old days blood letting (from our hands and ankles) was supposed to be a good thing!
The good news is that the biting is almost under control with a bit of "tough love", maybe the biting is a response to his teeth being sore, or the next set starting to come in.
Monday August 18, 2014
More Pictures Added
We are busy with Murdoch, training and enjoying his presence. He's still having accidents but the frequency is down and he's (and we are!) sleeping better. He's gained a few pounds and is at 15 lb. on the last weigh-in. As shown in the following pictures he has really grown, he can't get under some of the patio furniture that he was able to last week.
We are employing the services of a dog trainer friend to help with Murdoch's training, she breeds Irish Wolfhounds so she should help with the effort.
He still can (just) get under Suzette's chair though!
Saturday August 9, 2014, more pictures added on Tuesday August 12th
Introducing Murdoch!
Murdoch was born on June 8, 2014 and we got him 7 weeks later on August 1. He's a beautiful Golden retriever! The following is some of the pictures that we (and the breeder) have taken. There are another hundred or so to attach, we will add commentary later!
Not sure if this is a yawn or a laugh!
Puppies sleep a lot, and crash just about anywhere!
Murdoch loves being around and under the cedar trees!
He's spying on the neighbours and the cat across the road
He loves chewing on everything, including wood branches
Sometimes he goes through a "crazy puppy" routine, running around and doing laps, he falls asleep shortly after.
Cute or what?
Asleep beside one of his toys
He has digested some fur from the toys, so far without upchucking
These pictures were taken by Ann or Carol early on as the pup was much younger
This picture was taken at the birth. Pepper gave birth to 9 puppies by Cesarian section, she had 7 females and 2 males. They were born at our vets place in Hillsburgh, so Murdoch will be in good hands!
Ann took this picture, Murdoch sleeps in some very unusual poses!
