Haircut!

Today, I got  grownup haircut!  They loaded me up in the car and we traveled to Putnam to our groomer friend, Joanne.  Of course, it was snowing pretty hard, so we could only travel at 35 miles an hour!  We saw at least 10 accidents on the way, one of which had traffic at a standstill for a while.  We finally arrived to Joanne's beautiful house in the woods and went in to warm up before begining the big cut.  And I mean a really big cut.  At times, I looked down on the table and could not believe the amount of my beautiful black hair that lay there...but when I finally got a look at myself I was SO excited!  The curls on my back are gone at last!  I have been hoping someone would hack those suckers off for weeks.  I mean, they are beautiful...but I just don't see any other Newfie friends wearing their hair that way these days.  Straight is in and I am a fashion diva again!  Thanks to you Joanne...I hope Mary was listening to all the instructions you were giving her and I am sorry if I seemed to be inpatient after an hour or so of standing there...but a girl has to take a break at some point!  Happy New Year!

It's Play Time!

I just love this white stuff!  I beg to go out just about every hour and I really don't want to come back in.  They call and call my name, but I pretend like I do not hear them and keep running through the woods kicking up the white fluff.  The only problem I am having is that it does get stuck to the hair in between my toes and makes for a wad of snow balls on my feet.  It's not a problem until I try to come into the house...then I slide all over the floor.  Oh well...a small price to pay for a load of fun and excitement!

Snow...I love snow!

Okay...I am taking over this blog!  Yes, this is me, Scarlet and I have had enough of Mary posting pics of me wearing hats, collars and posing in compromising positions!  From this point forward, I am running this blog content and I am starting off by telling you just how much I love snow!  Yesterday, I played in it for hours.  We got almost 2 feet of this white fluffy stuff and while Mary and Sylvia spent most of the day shoveling and snow blowing, I was romping around in the cold chasing squirrels and my tail and getting snow stuck to my coat, even between my toes.  It was so much fun.  I didn't want to come in.  Of course, Mary knows I can't resist the call to have a biscuit...so she tricked me into the house a few times, but not until after I had run through the woods, sticking my head down into the snow over and over again.  After a good night's sleep, I awoke to do it all over again today!  Snow and me...that is a great combination!

Dog Show Mind Games

Scarlet's head is bigger than mine!

This is the contraption we use to keep the curls flat...it works better on some days than others!

Getting the "Game Face" on....

It was a pretty good weekend.  We learned a lot this weekend, had a little meltdown over some mistakes and then came back on Sunday and did a spectacular job.  A few ribbons to add to our collection.  Just wish there would be more competition in our class so we could see how we would really stack up.  We are having a LOT of fun!

Weekend Excitement!

Scarlet went to another show in Fitchburg on Saturday and Sunday and showed off her beautiful self again.  This was the first show that Mary handled her in the ring.  Mary AND Scarlet survived!  In this picture, the judge is giving her the once over.

Then, if that wasn't enough...we headed to the Putnam Christmas Parade with 22 other Newfies and our good friend Monica and her Newf, Missy.  We had a blast!

This is Missy decked out for the parade!

And here is Scarlet and Mary waiting to start the parade walk.

It was a great time for everyone.

My second show...finally some competition!

Scarlet is the first dog and she is being handled by Monica de Reus.  She finished Second, which is terrific considering both of the competing dogs are only a week away from turning 1 year old and Scarlet is only just 9 months this past Thrusday!  We are very proud of what she has accomplished.  She really improved from 2 weeks ago.  She stacked better, let the judge touch her rear and looked happy in the ring.  She did spend a lot of time sniffing the ground...but there are a lot of smells in there to distract an active puppy!  So, we are off to a great start and have back to back Saturday/sunday shows over the next two weekends.  By then, we should really know how bright our "show" future is looking.  We are very excited!

Fashion Queen I am!

Well, Sylvia couldn't resist dressing her up!  All this time, she has been just holding herself back from putting clothing on this dog!  She made such a big stink about "no bibs" and then she has been slowing putting human clothes on her now and then...first it was that silly hat with the roses, then the collar for Halloween and now it is a scarf!  Good thing she didn't try this yesterday when we returned to Crossfields to meet up with Scarlet's sister, also named Scarlet and her other canine relatives.  Who knows what the breeder, Evelyn, might have had to say about it!  :)  All kidding aside...she turns 9 months old this week...and we love her more and more everyday.  What a gift she is in our lives....

Scarlet's First Show

Here we are in our first show in Fitchburg, MA being handled by Monica de Reus.  We did pretty good and had a fantastic time.  We entered in the 6-under9 month class and our nerves got the best of us, so we were very lucky that we were the ONLY dog in the class and took the Blue Ribbon anyway!  Then we moved onto the Winner's Class, were we did much better, but the judge was right to award the ribbons to the other dogs!  We just had a terrific experience and Monica and Andrew made it all possible.  They came and helped us to groom Scarlet on Friday night and then got up very early today to ride with us to the show and get her ready all over again.  This was a terrific experience and we plan to do it again!  So...keep your eyes posted, more good news in the future for sure!

My new chew toy!

I would just love to understand an animal's interest in toilet paper!  I guess it is the soft texture and the fresh smell that attracts them...after all, in this house, we only buy the expensive stuff!  The interesting thing is that Scarlet must know that she is not supposed to be chewing it because she brings it to you as if to say..."Look what I have!"

Halloween 2009

We had a lot of fun giving out the candy tonight.  Everyone stopped to give Scarlet a little pat on the head.  A few actually even knew she was a Newf!  It was a great exercise in socialization for her and she did terrific.  And she even did some tricks for treats, which impressed the kids and adults alike!

Can't get enough of the Water!

Scarlet just loves the water.  It was 55 degrees outside today and very cloudy, but I thougth i would try taking her to the lake and seeing how long she would last before wanting to dry out...I learned the answer....she could care less about getting dry.  She wants to stay wet and would still be swimming if I hadn't gotten cold and wet myself!  It is so terrific to see her having so much fun!  She gets to shore and begs for me to throw the toy again.  She must have made 50 trips in and out to retrieve the plastic dummy.  I love this dog!

Scarlet and her big brother, Tyler

So, this is a picture of the two of them. Tyler is our 9 year old yellow Lab and Scarlet is our 8 month old Newf. Tyler didn't particularly like having a new sister when she first arrived, but he has gotten used to not being the only dog again and tolerates her wanting to play all the time. He doesn't have near the energy he did a few years ago and there were times when we thought we made a mistake by bringing a puppy into the family at this point, but things have worked out. Scarlet likes to play with him and that includes biting him in the neck. I guess it is a dominace thing...he would rather roll around on the floor with her...It's cute to see the two of them together. We are blessed to have both of them in our lives!

Today, Scarlet is 8 months old. We haven't been able to weigh her for a while, but we estimate she is close to 115 pounds. She loves to have her belly rubbed and has found that liver is her favorite treat. We have her in class on Monday nights where she is learning new tricks and skills every week. She loves to chase the deer in the back yard and tennis balls! And, of course, she loves the water. We are so lucky to have her in our lives.

Scarlet gets her AKC Puppy S.T.A.R. Award!

On October 3rd, Scarlet passed the test for the AKC Puppy S.T.A.R. Award! She received her medal in the mail today and she is proud to wear it! Congratulations little girl! We are so proud of you!

The first real swim

Today, we took Scarlet to Gardner Lake in Salem, Ct for her first real swim. She loved it. She kept jumping in the water to retrieve the toy and bring it back to shore. The first time the water was over her head, she retreated quickly, but after a few reassurances, she had not problem getting completely submerged. We will definitely go back there a lot. We will also go better equipped next time. We were not as well prepared as we could have been, but we didn't let a little sand and water get in the way of a great time!

Our Newfie Scarlet turns 6 months old

Yesterday, Scarlet, our first Newfoundland, turned 6 months old! She is just a beautiful dog and has made such a wonderful addition to our family. We are going to use this blog as a way to share her with others and hopefully connect with other Newfie owners who feel the same way about their dog as we do. This is a picture that I took on her birthday. Yes, her tongue spends more time out of her mouth than inside...but we love that about her.