Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Retirement Life

  The dogs are loving my retirement as much as I am!  Since I am home almost every day, they get to play in the yards all day long.  The ones who need to lose weight (Phoebe) are less chunky, the ones who need some toning (Sadie) are less flabby and everybody is getting groomed and nails filed on a regular basis.  Ben, at 11 1/2, has a new lease on life!  I make sure he doesn't over do and yesteday's rain seemed to aggravate his arthritis, but most days he has a spring to his step and is interested in the kennel happenings.  I'm spending much more time playing with the dogs and giving them one-on-one time.  Gibson seems to be benefiting the most from this, he's very relaxed and has become quite mischevious!  Even Dixie has settled a little bit, showing flashes of a sweet girl that will walk calmly with me and come when I call her.  But don't worry, "Bad Baby" is still her dominate character trait!
  I also get to spend much more time with the puppies and am marveling at big changes in a short amount of time.  When I was working, I wouldn't see puppies for 9-10 hours at a time and didn't get to see the little milestones or how quickly one development leads to another.  With this litter, I've seen how much can happen in just a couple of hours!  One eye opens, then the other, followed by the ears--suddenly, the same noise I made an hour earlier scares them.  Just as quickly though, they recognize my voice and scent and are eager for me to pet them.  They manage to stand up, start walking in no time and within a day are running!
  Yep, life is good!

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