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10/25/2004 - Tank and Growlypants at my feet in the front yard
10/25/2004 - Tank
10/25/2004 - Growlypants
10/25/2004 - Tank and Growly wrasslin'
10/25/2004 - Getting sleeeeepy
10/25/2004 - Snoozin'
10/25/2004 - Tank and Growly romping in the back yard
11/3/2004 - Tank and Growly are morose after the election
2/20/2005 - Growly and Tank, enormous mooses!
2/20/2005 - Tank and Growly, nosin' and smoochin'.
2/20/2004 - We're too innocent to have knocked over that gazebo. I mean, what gazebo????
NEW! 10 month old pictures! POOLIES AND MORE! 
8/7/2005 -Two brothers snoozy schmoozin'.
8/7/2005 - Tank and Growly on their beloved floats in the
pool
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October 25, 2004 We got our two male yellow lab puppies on Saturday, October 23, 2004. They were 7 1/2 weeks old. We drove them the two hours back from the breeder's place in Lodi and plopped them down in the front yard. We decided to name the 9-lb. regular size one Tank, because we like the simple name and it accurately describes the inexorable way he uses his greater weight when wrestling with his brother. We named the other one, the 7-lb. runt of the litter, Growlypants after a wolf cub I saw on a TV special, and because he really is growly. As of now, two days later, they are spending a good 75% of their waking hours wrestling and playfighting. But then they get tired, and then they get sleepy, and quickly they are asleep, and that's how they spend most of their time. Although they will stay awake for attention from interesting guests -- Ross and Betty for example. They really are little babies, and unless they are in their crates they need to be watched fairly closely. No, they're not housebroken yet, and despite constant vigilance, accidents happen. Neither I or my husband are getting much sleep since we haven't quite discerned the difference between the "I'm bored" whine and the "I'm about to mess up my crate" whine. Like parents of human babies, we're looking forward to the time we can all sleep through the night! They may be tiny now, but they will grow fast. Beginning in 2-3 weeks, the vet says they will each be growing by about 1/2 pound per day. And as you can see from how they bound across the yard already even at their baby age, they will definitely be a handful very very soon. They are already, especially given how tiny and young they are. November 1, 2004 Halloween was fun, as we kept the pups near the door so they'd get used to visitors. Many trick or treaters wanted to take them home! November 9, 2004 The pups are growing like crazy. Their growth rate now is about 2 pounds a week, and Tank now barely fits on my lap. As predicted by the breeder and by a couple of things we read, they are so attached to each other that it's tough to get them to bond to us and train them. So, we'll be doing more separation, and taking them separately to 2 different Puppy Kindergarten classes at the local PetSmart. They are good boys and they are learning some things, but now that they are older we really need to start their training in earnest. They are still INSUFFERABLY cute!!! November 21, 2004 MOVIE OF THE PUPS FIRST WEEK! Enjoy!!! November 25, 2004 Verbatim transcript of me with the pups this morning: "Oh, you're both so CUTE! Boojie boojie boojie boojie OUCH boojie boojie OUCH! Fat bellies! Fat Buddha bellies ouch bellies OUCH!! Oh, doggie doggie doggie OUCH! Oh, you little babies OUCH!" February 20, 2005 Long time no write! Well, the pups are a LOT bigger. A couple of months will do that. You can see the dramatic difference-- at some point maybe I'll have a more graded progression of size, but I personally like to see such a "pup-to-moose" transformation. The dogs are still as affectionate as ever to each other, which is a joy to see. Less humping since they got fixed, but lots of wrestling. And CHASING! Since they love to chase each other around the hot tub gazebo, and they are big gallumping mooses, they were able to knock the gazebo completely off the deck during one of their high speed races. The evidence to be seen on the left. Notice the "who, me?" attitudes the dogs have. Innocent, not. Both pups graduated beautifully from Puppy Training School. Although, we should really call it "Young Labrador Playgroup" because the class was mostly labs. There are 2 other yellows and one black lab. The black lab is the sweetest of all, with the odd penchant for humping everything with four legs. When Curtis gets some free time, maybe we can show some video of graduation night, including the usual "puppy rumble" playtime at the beginning, and ending with what must be the most humiliating moment in these young dogs' lives: miniature graduation cap posing and pictures. Yeah, they'll need therapy. August 8, 2005 The pups have pretty much stabilized, and are reshaping into their adult forms. Though they look cute with big bellies, the vet has sternly told us they need to lose weight. So we've cut them down (gradually) from 4 cups to 2 cups of food a day. Growly in particular is not handling this very well, and has taken to eating... well, I'm not going to say. Not sure if you're having lunch, or what. You fellow dog people will know what Growly is going after to supplement his diet (bleh). Though we aren't training them as often as we ought to, Curtis is socializing them nearly every day, either at the dog park or having lunch outside at Rock Bottom. They are now EXCELLENT at new situations and are particularly gentle with children, even when they squeal and pull their ears. This has been a godsend for our niece and nephew, who have been terrorized by local dogs owned by idiots who need a good smack upside the head (long story). Our nephew in particular has been very wary of dogs (quite rightly) but through Tank and Growly gentle playfulness and our nephew's bravery, he's come to realize there are good dogs as well as bad dogs. Our little niece Kaelyn has warmed up faster and giggles madly when Tank slurps her face. Tank and Growly's favorite thing to do lately is swim in the pool. But, even better, ride on floats! Curtis on a whim thought he'd lift the dogs into the floats to see what they'd make of it, but to both of our surprise they both climbed into the floats nearly unbidden! Once in, they either ride around contentedly in their private float or together, OR if they're feeling feisty, play "king of the float" on one of them. |
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March 22, 2006 Still big mooses, but could they be cuter? I doubt it! |
