Bonnie and Cooper

This is our first Christmas with our two-footed pack persons and we wanted to let you know that we are happy and doing very well down here in Southern Maryland! Well, if you don't count our female person's large upset about the small wool sheep figurine that Cooper chewed up yesterday after he got it off the fireplace mantle. He sometimes acts like a little puppy and doesn't come the first time he's called. I have to discipline him then - I usually just bite him on the ears or neck. Nothing too hard, though - just enough to let him know that I am mad at him too.

This year we learned to swim in the creek and even retrieve floating throw thingies ... we are RETRIEVERS after all! Cooper will swim and swim and swim and... as long as our peoples will throw it. But he's not very good at bringing the thingies back that last 6 or 8 feet, and usually drops it in the water instead of next to the person throwing. So I usually have to go out and take it from him and bring it to our person. But that's OK because I don't like to go too far out anyway. My persons have even learned to throw my thingies not very far out.

I have been getting LOTS of exercise, mostly from chasing Cooper. Gosh he's fast - there is no way I can keep up, so I have to ambush him when he runs by. I grab his collar if I can, or one of his back legs and down he goes. Then we wrestle. He didn't like to play with me much when we first got here, but we do our chase thing almost every day now. Anyway, I like to play a lot longer now, because I've been getting more exercise and have more energy.

Of course, my favorite part of the day is the dinners. Every morning we go on a mile-long walk the very first thing. Our peoples get us up REALLY early most days, and we return the favor on the other ones. Anyway, after our walk we get breakfast. Our male person usually mixes up some white creamy stuff I think I heard him call 'yakgut' in our crunchies. I REALLY like it and I dance to show how much.

Evenings are pretty much the same. Our female person usually gets home first and lets us out of our crates. They were leaving us out of our crates when they left for a while but that Cooper chewed a couple of things and re-arranged the peoples bedding so now we are crated. It's not too bad a deal, because we get treats when we go in. Anyway, we get a shorter walk in the evening and then, after our female person puts out bird seed (Yuck! but, of course, that Cooper will eat it if I don't watch him!) then we get dinner. It's good and I dance again to show how much.

After dinner, Cooper usually goes to his bed in the sleeping den, but I like to lie on the rug between my two peoples so then can reach out and pet me when the mood strikes them. I help them get in the mood by putting my chin on a chair and looking pitifully at one of them. Works every time!!!

Anyway, we can tell our peoples are getting really excited lately. I think there may be some other peoples coming over to pet us soon. I hope so! I like to greet visitors. Cooper sometimes barks at first, but it's just because he's a big scaredy puppy at heart. The peoples know he doesn't mean anything, especially after I go up an kiss their hands. Then that silly Cooper will finally come up - with LOTS of enthusiasm, of course.

Sometimes our peoples take us to a place called a "kennel" and leave us there for a few days. I prefer my home, of course, but this is pretty good place, too. There are lots of other dogs there - Cooper barks at most of them. My nose tells me there used to be a lot of other Labs there. Anyway, we figured out when our peoples are coming to get us because we get a bath that day. Then we go home and get treats and I chase Cooper.

I hope everyone at LRR - with tails and without - have a very happy Holiday! Cooper and I certainly enjoyed the time we spent with you (though we're really happy to have our OWN place and routines).

Bonnie

But I like my crate! I feel very safe in it. And I never get yelled at when our peoples come home and we're in the crates. To show how much I like my crate, in the mornings when my peoples get ready to leave, I put myself in and wait for them. I like the treats we get then, too!

My favorite thing is guarding the bird feeders - I get to chase away all the birds! Most times though, the birds are sneaky and all I can see are their shadows on the ground. So I chase those instead. And butterflies and their shadows, too. This is hard job and it takes me all day to do it. It's easier when there are clouds and no shadows, though.

I do like to play with Bonnie, though, no matter what SHE said! I just had not played with other dogs a lot before, and I didn't know how she liked to play. Sometimes she's rough, though, and I'm glad I can just run away from her because she's so SLOW!!!

I like the food too - but I don't remember any stuff in it. 'Course I don't look at my food really closely - or for very long, either.

And we both like to take the stuffing out of those soft thing with the funny fur that make a squeak when I bite them. I'm better at taking the insides out than Bonnie is.... Nyah, nyah, nyah - Hey Bonnie, why'd you bite me???

I do like my bed in the sleeping den. I never had my own bed before. And it's away from all the doors so I feel really safe when I nap there. Sometimes at night, Bonnie and I will trade beds. Don't tell our peoples, but we do it just to keep them wondering.

I am learning to keep my enthusiasm under wraps. I don't jump up in the air anymore - except when my peoples are throwing the water thingies. I REALLY like that. They did it a lot before the water got cold. I'd still do it, but our peoples just tell me 'no'. Maybe later on...

Anyway Bonnie does chase me and sometimes catches me if I run too close by her. She likes to grab my collar and wrestle me to the ground. That girl really knows how to leverage her weight! She has made the clip on my collar come open a couple of times - causing my peoples to go find it on the ground. I heard something about new collars sometime soon. What's 'soon'?

I can jump the gate into the vegetable garden! I really LOVE the green tomatoes and potatoes I sometimes can find. My male person seems to get a little upset when he finds me there. He has to come let me out because I can't get back out. He just shakes his head and pats me though...

I just recently figured out what Bonnie is doing by sticking so close to our peoples - she gets petted and fussed over. It took a while for that to sink in, but now I do the same thing and get lots of petting.

That's all for now. Oh... Bonnie says that some of our recent pictures are attached. I think I take a better picture than Bon... Hey Bonnie STOP that!

Have a merry Christmas.