Reunited with Kingsley & Kirby

A reverse oreo. 3 of the 4 boys reunited on July 29th. Left to right: Kingsley, Karson (me) and Kirby. We are 4 1/2 months old now.

Kingsley and I snuggled for a quick minute.
One of Kinglsey's happy faces.
Kingsley's other happy face. He has "Laker ears". Laker is our daddy and his ears look like they were dipped in caramel just like Kingsley and Kirby.
My brother Kirby has Laker ears too. This is his best smile.
Here is Kirby looking thoughtful.

I had a wonderful night at puppy class in Auburn Hills. It was especially nice seeing my brothers again. In class we did some heeling and stays with distraction. The stays were fun because we had children running around and dogs being paraded in front of us. They were fun to watch.

At class I also met Clare, he is the National Breeding Coordinator for PAWS. He was there to do an evaluation on all of the puppies that are in consideration for breeding. My siblings and I are still being considered for the breeding program as are many of the puppies my age. As we get older most of us will be spayed or neutered and a very select few will be kept for breeding so they can make more Future Assistance Dogs.

On the way home we stopped off at one of my favorite places for a quick bite to eat. I love Steak & Shake. Then we continued the drive home and got home kind of late. It was a long night but I had fun.

Stroke Camp

I am growing into a handsome young boy (so I am told). I went to a Stroke Camp today with my Mommy, Auntie Ellen, Aunt Jackie, Cisco, Aunt Andrea & Aussie. The camp is set up so that stroke victims and their families can go camping for a weekend. The weather was fabulous and the people were great. It was a pretty terrific event.

My Aunt Sara taught me how to snuggle. I do it well. Thank you Aunt Sara.

My half-sister Aussie will be going off to college soon. She was a big hit at Stroke Camp today. Who could resist a face like hers?

Aussie and I posed for a quick picture. I guess pictures do lie because she is still bigger than me (but not for long). This was taken just before the presentation.
Here we all are. This is me, Aussie and Cisco on the beach by Lake Huron. It was a very nice day and the water was wonderful.

This was pretty amazing. Cisco went swimming. He looked like a pro.

Puppy Class - Week 3

Puppy class is getting hard. Over the past two weeks we have been working on "Stay". Well, the first week we pretty much just started to learn the behavior and the command. Apparently, there are 3 Ds in training. They are Duration, Distance and Distraction. So, week #1 we learned the "Stay" and worked on Duration. Week #2 we began working on "Stay" with Distance. Well, tonight... we began working on "Stay" with Distraction. Our trainer, Bridgett, wanted to push me to see what I was capable of so we began putting all of it together. I did 2 sit stays of a minute each. Mommy stood about 10 feet in front of me and another dog was being walked in between Mommy and I. It was tough but I did it.

We also began working on heeling OFF LEASH! We were inside so it was ok for me to be off leash. Well, we didn't work on that for too long but that was a good thing because I was getting tired. I got to run in class tonight too when we were practicing recalls. Mommy called my name so I looked at her. She said, "Come" and I took off running with my leash dragging behind me. I sat in front of her like a young gentleman and she gave me lots of praise and good rubs. Praise is one of my favorite rewards.

Tonight was a lot of work but I had a good time. Mommy will help me with my homework so I will be ready for next week.

Great Lakes Crossing

I went to Great Lakes Crossing Mall with Mommy and Daddy today. We were there to pick up a couple of new pairs of shoes at the Sketchers store. It was a long (but fun) trip for a pair of shoes.

We entered the mall through the Bass Pro Shop. It was really cool. There were lots of people and I got to see my first fish, some ducks and a watemill. Daddy opened an umbrella in the store. I hope we don't end up with bad luck from it.

After we looked around for a bit we moved on to the Sketchers store. The people were nice but shopping for shoes is really boring. There was a really big ladder on wheels that make quite a bit of noise. I was a brave boy and didn't let the noisy ladder startle me.

It was getting late but we stopped at the FYE so Daddy could look around. After about 10 minutes they were closing so we had to leave. After the mall we went to Steak & Shake.

I slept through dinner but I hear the food was very good and the service was fabulous. When Daddy was paying the bill we encountered 3 young ladies at the front of the store. One of them turned around and said, "Look at that sexy dog." Her friends kind of chuckled but Mommy looked at the young lady and stated that she thinks I am pretty sexy too. It was a good way to end the evening.

Puppy Class - Week 2

Mommy and I went to puppy class tonight. We had spent the week working on "Heel" as a position and it showed. When Mommy says "Heel" I know what she means and I move to her side. Sometimes I don't sit squarely but I am becoming more consistent with it. We have also been working on "Stay". I am now up to a 1 minute sit/stay. Mommy stands about 5 feet in front of me and she can dance around or bounce a ball on the floor while I stay for her.

We worked on "Leave It" a lot in class. We used other dogs and treats as a distraction. I wasn't really interested in playing with the other puppies. Mommy had treats and they were much more enticing to me than playing with the other dogs.

I am really enjoying the structure of our weekly training sessions and am looking forward to seeing what we will learn next week.

Sleep Over Pictures

Am I cute or what?!?!?!
I took my first swim while I was visiting Aunt Sara. Well, it was a bit more like wading in the water and I was on a long line the whole time. The cool water felt good on a warm day.



I enjoyed chewing on a stick.

I enjoyed running around with the stick too.

We spent time hanging out in Aunt Sara's room.

I spent time sleeping in Aunt Sara's room.

I got to sit on Auntie Sara's lap in the car. Of course I had to move before we could go anywhere because she was driving. I sure do love my Aunt Sara.

Time with Auntie Sara

I went to spent some time with Aunt Sara last night. It was my second sleep over and I had a wonderful time. Aunt Sara said she would send some pictures from my time with her so I will post some pictures when they arrive. In the meantime, Aunt Sara sent an email to Mommy this morning. This is what she had to say about our time together.

Hi :)

Karson has been doing awesome. I'm amazed that when I take him outside in the back yard or out on a leash he heels perfectly! You guys have amazed me with that... :) His leave its for his dinner and breakfast are very good too... he is an angel!!!

Last night we went and played at the ball parks down town. (deserted) Dumb Auntie Sara forgot a ball to play with so we walked around for a bit.

It was still warm outside and Karson was getting hot, so we walked down towards the damn and waded in the cool water. I think he wanted me to get my suit on and jump in with him to go exploring more. We may do that yet today if we have time...

After that I had a wet puppy on my hands so we walked back to one of the diamonds and played chase in the outfield. We were walking back to the car when Karson discovered the best toy ever -- a stick!! So we turned around and played some fetch for a while. I was expecting a nasty puppy keep away game, but nope not perfect Karson!!! Lol, he brought it straight back to me every time! What a good baby.

Then we went home and took a quick bath. It's amazing how much dirt a black coat can mask!! After this is was close to 9 so we settled down in my room. He was a good baby and chewed on some toys and fell asleep. When he woke up I asked him to come out and snuggle with me... and he did! Idk what you mean no snuggles!! You've just gotta get on the ground and beg! haha

When it was time to go to sleep, he got back in his crate and went right to sleep. Didn't bug me all night until this morning at 6 he woke up and started chewing on the nylabone he took in with him. Probably could have gotten longer out of him, but the bone was realllllly loud!

So here we are, after breakfast, writing home to mom. I knew you'd be happy to hear about your boys adventures. We'll find more fun things to do today. :) I would send you the pictures I took but why would I waste time with a puppy here!!! haha

Thank you so much... I've really missed having a puppy around.

Sara & Karson "woof" who sends lots of kisses for his mom!

My First Puppy Class

I started puppy class tonight. This is Bridgett. She is the trainer of our class. She is smart, patient and very nice. Best of all... She likes me.

Tonight we worked on sit, walking nicely on a leash, heel as a position and eye contact with distraction. I have wonderful eye contact and a pretty good "leave it" - even when there are tasty Cheerios on the floor.

We have both puppy and beginner level dogs in the class. The puppies (me and a really cute Rotty) were supposed to be walking nicely on a leash and the beginner dogs (two Boxers and a White German Shepherd) were learning to heel. I love to do attention heeling. As we were doing our attention heeling our trainer, Bridgett, asked why were taking the class.

Mommy explained that we were taking the class for socialization, added distractions and structure. I guess when you are a working mom of 5 dogs you need a formal class to help keep puppy training structured. I am looking forward to the next several weeks to see how much I can learn.

First Sleep-over

I had my first sleep over last night. I stayed with Aunt Jackie, Aunt Ellen and Cisco.

We went on a walk Saturday night and I got to meet Aunt Jackie's parents. In the evening Aunt Jackie wanted to snuggle with me but I was more interested in checking things out rather than laying around. I wasn't a bad boy, just an inquisitive one.

This morning I slept until 7am and then had breakfast. Aunt Ellen played with and we had a great time. Then we all went on a 2 mile walk. I am really good at walking and I was going to attention heel the whole way. Aunt Jackie convinced me it was ok to just walk nicely beside her without actually doing attention heeling. It took some getting used to but I did it.

Mommy picked me up early this morning and we went home to chill out. Overall, it was a fun weekend followed by a relaxing day.

Stop and Smell the Daffodils

I am now 3 1/2 months old. I am still learning new things and having lots of fun doing it. Mommy and Daddy take me out to all kinds of places and I get to meet lots of different people. With as busy as we are, sometimes you have to stop and smell the Daffodils.

This is what Moxi has taught me. I now run around with with a ball or a Kong hanging out of my mouth all the time.

A wonderful stay. I am such a good boy.

High Risk Puppy

We have determined that I am at a high risk for puppy-nappers. Our neighbor has hinted around about stealing me. I would like to think he is joking but he mentions it every time I see him so it makes me wonder. The good news is that Mommy says she knows where he lives. Then I saw Dr. John again today . Imagine my surprise when he said that he wanted to steal me too. I knew he liked me but I guess he really likes me a LOT.

Well, Dr. John was very happy with me. I am now 29.7 pounds, healthy, happy and sweet. He likes that I have had a slow steady growth so far but did mention that I am headed into a period of more rapid growth. He did my vaccinations today and said I was done with my puppy shots. I guess he forgot that he wanted to do one more Parvo vaccination on me after this. Mommy will have to call PAWS Headquarters to ask what Dr. Jeanne's thoughts are on doing that extra shot.

We were going to go to the park after visiting with Dr. John but it was raining with thunder and lightning. The lightning was not my little Golden girlfriend either. It was the bright lights that fill the sky. Hopefully we don't get the severe storms that our friends in Grand Rapid are dealing with today. Grandma Pat says those storms are really bad and headed our direction.

Our thoughts are with our friends and family in the Grand Rapids area. We hope you are all safe.