Meet Petunia

Miss Petunia was born on April 14, 2011 to Eric and Joyous. She is 8 weeks old and weighs a mere 12lbs, making her, by far, the smallest puppy I have raised.

I made it no secret that I didn't want a puppy named Petunia, but the entire way down to Denver I just knew her name would be Petunia. It's kinda weird that I knew it, but I did! When I was handed her is "Lion King" fashion off the truck and told her name I was in shock.

But I immediately fell in love with my little whiteish grey girl.

Right after coming off the truck, Petunia met her big sisters, Betsy and Jorinda.

We also got to meet her sister Precious.

Precious had eye surgery for entropion while at GDB and poor Petunia is scheduled to have surgery on Monday.

See how drippy her eyes are :(

That's all for now. My puppy is calling me!

Maddie, Betsy, Jorinda, and Petunia

She's here!

You'll never ever guess who I picked up today.

Yep that's right, I picked up an 8 week 1 day old PETUNIA today! And although she's exactly what I said I didn't want, I am absolutely in love with her. She is such a sweetheart, but man is she stubborn! 

I'll do a longer post later!

Maddie, Betsy, Jorinda, and Petunia

Name Game!

On June 10 I will be picking up puppy #4! She is a female yellow lab with the letter P! I am very excited to begin yet another puppy raising journey, although I am a little disappointed that I won't be raising a golden or golden cross. I'm kinda jealous that another raiser in my club is getting a golden cross, but oh well, life goes on. I know I'll love Miss P just as much as I would love a golden and that's all that really matters!
I have a few names in mind for this pup, but it sure is hard to come up with good P names. When I got my first three puppies from GDB I used to be very nervous I would get a "bad" name, but now I've learned to just go with the flow. If I can handle Gabrina and Jorinda, I can handle any name they throw at me! But anywaysss...here is the list I've come up with so far:


Paige
Payson
Peyton
Pear
Pam
Polly
Penny
Pez
Pongo
Promise
Pebbles
Ponder
Pixie

That's about all the names I can think of that would be "good" names. So let the guessing begin!

Maddie, Betsy, and Jorinda

I'm back!

Hello there. I'm not so sure there are any of you left out there...but I shall write to you anyways! It has been way too long since my last post. I had an unbelievably busy school year and beginning of summer. To catch you all up on my ((mostly)) puppy raising adventures:

February 15, 2011: Gabrina's  1 year anniversary of graduation!
April 1, 2011: I turned 17!
April 11, 2011: Jorinda went into season.
April 25, 2011: Gabrina turned 3!
April 27, 2011: Jorinda turned 1!
April 28, 2011: Betsy turned 2!
May 11, 2011: Jorinda was released from her "in season" house arrest!
May 15, 2011: I turned in my puppy request for a new puppy.


June 10, 2011: I will get a new puppy!

That's about all I have to report on. I haven't received my puppy assignment yet, but hopefully it will come in the next couple of days. I requested a golden or golden cross, but who knows if that will happen. I know the goldens are usually snatched up fast!
Jorinda and Betsy are both doing incredible, especially Jorinda. After coming out of heat, little miss Jo has been a brand new dog. She is still her usual wiggly happy self at home, but in public, she is calm and focused. She has become so serious about her work. I know she is going to go far in life. We are expecting for her to be recalled in mid August. Betsy is doing awesome as well. She is being..well..Betsy. She likes to sleep and eat and play in her pool. When she wants to make you happy she will come up and shake your hand or give you a highfive. I love my silly girl.

Andddd, my computer stopped working so I don't currently have access to any of my older pictures. Luckily, I have them all backed up, but I don't feel like retrieving them right now.

Here are a few of my girls. ((without ALT tags because blogger won't let me publish with them))

I am going to try to keep this blog more up to date! I have been reading all of your blogs, but haven't had the energy to write up an update. I will definitely let you know my puppy assignment so you can guess!(:

That is all.
Maddie

:)

As Betsy, Jorinda, and I crawl into bed tonight we are watching big fluffy snowflakes fall from the sky! How I love winter :) and busy days!

Maddie, Betsy, and Jo

Fall

Fall has always been one of my favorite seasons. I love the crunchy leaves, the brisk air, and most of all the colors! I have always had my puppies walk through leaves, just to get used to the crunching. Jorinda wasn't too sure what to think. So while there were still leaves on the ground we walking through tons and tons of crunchy leaves. We played games and sat in them. Eventually she stopped noticing them.

Such a little princess!

Maddie, Betsy, and Jorinda

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Halloween

Better late than never right?
And Blogger is done being tempermental for now. I'm beginning to think it's my computer though, not Blogger.
 Either way, Happy Wednesday...halfway there!

Maddie, Betsy, and Jorinda...AKA Mini, a Princess, and the Chicken!

!!!

I'm about ready to quit blogging! Stupid Blogger won't let me upload any pictures!! Is anyone else having trouble?


A very annoyed...
         Maddie, Betsy, and Jojo

A good worker!

Jorinda is so incredibly good in public! She loves to go, go, go! I can take her on all day shopping trips and she doesn't get tired. She is very good about not greeting every person and she is a pro at loose leash..for the most part!
We do have a problem though, after a short outing she refuses to get in the car! She backs up, sits down, and refuses to get in the car! She isn't done working, so she isn't ready to leave! Any advice on how to tackle this bump in the road?

 {{I can't upload pictures again!...Grr!}}

Maddie, Betsy, and Jorinda

Kitty Friend!

This cat, name Kitty, is the best cat in the world! He has put up with all the crazy puppies I have brought into the house. Today Jorinda saw him laying on her bed so she walked right up to lay with him. Best Friends! :)

Maddie, Betsy, and JoJo

Snow!

This past week we got our first snow here in Colorado! This is really late for us! Normally we have our first snow by October 1st so to wait until November 10th was a really long time! I'm a snow lover and all of my dogs always have been too! This was Jorinda's first time experiencing snow, and I don't think she even noticed it! We'll she what she thinks when we get 2 feet of fluffy white stuff! Betsy of course recongized it right away and ran like mad! She loves snow but hates wet grass. So as long as it stays snow she's a happy camper!
Oh my silly girls! <3

Betsy playing in the snow last winter. I swear she wait until I hit the button to stick her tongue out!

Maddie, Betsy, and Jorinda
                    ...walking in a winter wonderland

What's in a name: Jorinda

Remember wayyy back when I did a name for for Betsy? And even longer ago for Gabrina? Well today I was planning on doing one for Jorinda, but I ran into a slight problem. Her name isn't the most common name in the world, in fact, I can't find a origin anywhere! So thus, her name was invented at GDB and I have taken it upon myself to give it a meaning!

Jorinda
Meaning: A spunky little girl with lots of personality
Origin: San Rafael, CA
Nicknames: Jo, Jojo, JJ, Jori, Jay, Joey

All the spunk makes a girl tired! Doesn't she look like Gabrina in this picture?

Maddie, Betsy, and Jorinda

Wordless Wednesday: Sunshine Beauty!

Isn't my girl gorgeous?

Harddd

This 30 in 30 thing is way harder than it was last year! I guess my life just isn't as exciting as it was a year ago! haha
Let's see, today Jorinda and I went to blockbuster and got gas....yepppp that about sums it up! I could tell you all about my personal life, but do you really care? I doubt it! haha. Who wants to read about the life of a junior in high school. I bet you can guess what goes on...friends, boys, school, sports, boys, guide dogs, music, boys, homework....:)

But look....pictues!

Mr. Vernon!

 

Jorinda, Verono, and Betsy!

Hopefully I'll have something more to say tomorrow, but don't count on it! I guess my plan to not bore you guys isn't really working out. Sorry bout that!

Maddie, Betsy, and Jojo

Bye Bye Vernon!

Vernon went home last night. We really enjoyed having him. He is such a sweetheart and fit into our lives so well. He reminded me so much of Betsy. He is calm and loves to hang out at home.
I wish I could upload some pictures of this guy. I'm about to punch blogger! :( I reported an issue so maybe is will be fixed!

Sorry for such a short, super boring post! Jo and I are rushing off to a 4-H meeting! Pray for pictures tomorrow!

Maddie, Betsy, and Jorinda

School Play!

As I mentioned in my past post, Jorinda and I went to a play yesterday. Jorinda did so good for being 6 months old! The production ended up being close to 3 hours and she only got a little bit antsy!
I had never been in the auditorium of the school that was hosting the play so I had no idea about the layout. It turns out they have a very slanted, slippery floor. Jorinda ended up sliding on the floor and getting stuck under the seats in front of us. As expected, getting stuck under the seats was very scary for her, and caused her to whine whenever it happened! My friend and I ended up holding Jorinda up with our legs. She laid behind our legs and we tried not to let our feet slide forward!
After we got this all worked out, Jorinda did great! She slept through most of the play or chewed on her toy. Thank goodness I brought a Goughnut that didn't slide all over the floor!
Next week we will be attending my school's play, hopefully Jo with do just as good as yesterday! :)

Maddie, Betsy, Jorinda, and Vernon

(Still can't upload pictures!!)

Failure already!

This whole 30 in 30 thing is already not working for me! I missed a post on the 6th day...oops! But in my defense, I was home for a total of 3 hours yesterday. It started with a soccer team sleepover on Friday night. I woke up Saturday morning, rushed home, showered, and rushed off to school to help run a debate tournament. When that was over I came home, ate dinner, grabbed Jorinda, and rushed off to see a school play. After the play we came home for the last hour and a half before midnight. Ahh the life of a high schooler, I love it! :)

And Blogger still won't let me upload any pictures, so sorry my posts have been so lame!


Maddie, Betsy, Jorinda, and Vernon.

PS I love my parents who watch my puppies while I run around from event to event :). What would I do without them?

A visitor!

Meet Vernon!


{{Pretend there is a picture here of a male yellow lab with a big blocky head that still has a puppy-look to it. He is absolutely gorgeous, but Blogger won't let me upload any pictures!}}

Vernon's raisers had to make an unexpected trip out of town so he is staying with us over the weekend. He has been playing great with the girls, but always settles down when asked! Vernon is 2 weeks older than little Miss Jo. She has loved having someone her age to play with, but man, it's amazing how much more work 3 dogs is than 2! I'm just glad they are all so well behaved and listen so well! We are loving having Mr. V visit! :)

Maddie, Betsy, Jorinda, and Vernon

6 Months!

On the 27th Jorinda turned 6 months old! I can't believe how old she is getting. I have been slacking at keeping track of my favorite things about her. So here are 6 things at 6 months!

1. She is such a sweetheart that is so eager to please! She will perform any command you ask of her at any moment just to make you happy!

2.When you praise Jorinda, her whole body wiggles. It is so funny to watch her wiggle while holding a sit or a down.

3. Jorinda never chews anything up! She had yet to destroy anything. She sleeps loose all night and new touches a thing.

4. Little Jo still chases her tail! It is the cutest thing in the whole world! I absolutely adore this little puppy antic she has held onto!

5. Jorinda is always so happy to see anyone. She stays in her kennel while I am at school and when I come home for lunch you would think she hasn't seen me in years! Her whole body wiggles and she crinkles her eyebrows. She doesn't leave her kennel until I give her the "OK" command. This isn't something I taught her, she just started doing in on her own, but I love it! Jorinda is always happy to go back into her kennel after lunch though! I love her happy-go-lucky spirit!

6. Jorinda is the best "do-your-businesser ever! She will relieve every single time you ask her to, where ever you ask her to! It makes going on outings so much easier! Sometimes when we are in public she will get picky and only relieve on grass, but she is getting so much better. At home she will go anywhere. Even when she doesn't have to go she will immediately try. This is so nice after having Betsy who only peed if she wanted to.

I love my little Jo! She is such a great puppy! I need to get some updated pictures of her! I guess she has "third child syndrome". I'll get some pictures of her eventually! :)

Maddie, Betsy, and Jorinda

The Joys of a CC

Having Betsy home has been absolutely amazing. I love the freedom of being able to do whatever I want with her. My favorite thing is lifting her into my lap for some good cuddle time!
My parents didn't want her learning to jump onto the furniture on her own, so instead when I want to hold her I just pick her up and put her on my lap. She is small enough to easily be lifted.

It's sleepy time after a long cross county practice!

I don't let Betsy sleep with my at night though. I know this is something that a lot of people love doing with their dogs, but I can't stand sharing my bed. I tried one night and Betsy takes up way to much room! She likes to lay right in the middle and not move! What a stinker! So instead she cuddles with baby Jo!


Maddie, Betsy, and Jorinda