Important Health Study on Golden Retrievers

This is a very important study that has just been released on the effects of spaying and neutering on dogs. It is also great that they used Golden Retrievers as well, so even more solid evidence for our breed as to the issues of interfering with the natural growth development of animals.

http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10498#.URxICxYek-k.facebook

Old Dog Love

Lsa (9 years) and Gemma (14 years)

There is nothing like the love and devotion of an older dog. Gemma has had an important influence in our breeding bloodlines, and since longevity is one element that everyone would like to have in their dog, we are pleased to announce another important birthday. Sweet girl Gemma, has just celebrated her 14th birthday!! Both Lsa and Gemma are living the golden years on a farm nearby with a good friend and her family.

Walk With An Old Dog

Because you will not be forever
Hope against time though I may
I paint your picture in my memory
Eyes blue with age, muzzle gone gray

Because you walked with me in springtime
Puppy clumsy, running free
As we grew, we grew together
You became a part of me

Because you shared with me my sorrows
Not understanding, simply there
Often spurring me to laughter
My friend, you know how much I care.

Because the years have slowed your fleetness
Though your spirit still is strong
I promise I will take more time now
So that you can go along.

Because you do not fear the future
Living only in the now
I draw strength from your example
Yet time keeps slipping by, somehow.

Because the day will soon be coming
When I will no longer see
You rise to greet me, but in memory
You will always walk with me.

Author Unknown

Snow Days!

Even though my dogs and I are all enjoying this mild winter break, there is nothing quite like fresh snow to play in. So in honor of the fact that Isla (Copperluna Three Cheers) is in her first big show this weekend I wanted to share a picture of her at play not too long ago in the depth of winter. Can hardly wait to see her all spiffed up for the show!

Spirit Rider Golden Retrievers!

This is a recent picture of our Golden Retriever Gang taken in the beautiful mountains west of us.
Faith,Ember,Beamer,Kona,Kiss,Loma and Isla in the front.

Stone Cold

One of my smaller lambs was unfortunately tramped yesterday afternoon in the sheep pen. When I found him he was stiffened,stone cold and frozen into the ground. With all the signs of a dying animal, I brought him in the house to pass on peacefully. A very faint flair of the nostrils alerted me there was still a flicker of hope. So after spending the night nursing him, I was amazed to see this little guy awake and hungry this morning and with a little help walking again by this afternoon. He beat the odds. Our girl Ember has claimed this lamb as her own by cleaning it,sleeping with it and depending it from the other goldens.Sometimes hope is all we have, but sometimes that is enough...

The Tim Brothers

So I received 2 wonderful emails today from families who adopted from our amazing Tim/Kiss litter of 13 pups in 2009. It is always so nice to hear what they are up to and I am so proud of both these boys. However they both experienced very different weekends and just thought this was interesting to share.
Spiritrider's Hot Stuff McDuff (McDuff) had an amazing weekend, when he passed with flying colours the testing for therapy dog through the PALS association-(Pet Access League Society) This is exceptional as Mc Duff is only 13 months old! Very young to be calm and well mannered enough to pass their strict guidelines for doing this very special work. PALS dogs are allowed access to hospitals, nursing homes, etc. to give the gift of hope and comfort to those in need. Mary Lou, his owner, is an exceptional lady who will make great contributions to others lives by doing this work with him.
Meanwhile, this weekend, McDuff's brother, Spiritrider's Smoken Hot Duke (Duke) had a very different life experience. Here is how his owner Gina relayed the story.

I love my Dog but….
Duke barked at the back door..perhaps it was a little more of an aggressive bark, but a bark none the less..I opened the door thinking that the neighbor’s cat was once again in our garden. Duke ran to the patio and was accosted and Assaulted by a SKUNK!!!!!
I screamed, the kids screamed….Duke continued to bark and Kelly started throwing things at the skunk, he stared with a milk jug and then picked up the heavy artillery, the wine bottle. The skunk stood its ground. Duke ran into the house when he could safely make a break for it and I hustled him downstairs to the shower…we started with all the V8 we had in the house, moved onto strawberry shampoo and decided that we needed more tomato juice.
Kelly and Logan dashed to the store and came home with 6 litres of tomato juice, that we then bathed Duke in. I rinsed him off only to find that, not only does tomato juice turn to cement on a dog, but it doesn’t do much to eliminated the smell. We continued with shampoo moving from strawberry to oatmeal and then to baby shampoo.
Kelly’s Dad arrived to save the rest of the day. He was dressed in his painting overalls and had his hunting hat on he was ready for business…he was also carrying the box of ‘fix the skunk smell’…also known as Semi Permanent hair curling solution…yup, Duke was going to get a perm. As Bill read the hair styling directions I started to laugh and laugh and laugh…to the point I couldn’t see or breathe. Here was my father in law, outdoorsman extraordinaire about to style Duke with a Perm. Apparently he has used this technique before as he has hunted with his doges since the beginning of time and this has always done the trick.
Well... low and behold it worked.

Duke is now in the garage for the night and we are airing the house out and praying for a BIG rain tonight to freshen the air in the back yard.
Damn skunk...

Summer Bliss!

This is the Nordegg River, which Calum & I came across on a afternoon roadtrip out with the dogs on our way to the Brazeau Dam. This is one of my favorite things to do with the dogs during the summer. They love their trip and swim time. Calum used his life guarding skills yesterday, and made his first save, (although not human)as Beamer did get caught at one point in a some dead wood hanging in the water. Hopefully next trip out we will be able to take our new family addition from our Kiss & Tim litter.

Friends

We had two bottle lambs this year and they bonded with our Golden Retrievers to the point that they would nap together and when they would go running off after something in the yard off the lambs would run too. Wish I'd had a video of that. This is Ember sleeping with the little one. I found a home for both on Sunday where they get a whole pasture to eat down on their own.