Macy (06-15-2019), smartrock (06-15-2019), SoapySophie (06-19-2019), voodoo (06-18-2019), ZoeysMommy (06-15-2019)
On Thursday, Stormy turned 9 months! Today would've been Kimber's birthday; I'm so very, very grateful to have paws in the house again.
I posted a picture of Stormy in the "incredibly shrinking statue" thread in Puppy Pix. She's about 52 lbs, and very long, lean, and leggy. She's channeled that into becoming a champion jumper, sigh. She can clear the 4' fence to our neighbors' from a standstill. (These are the ones who have senior labs, so they find it cute rather than annoying.) Doggie Daycare told me that she has taken to jumping the fence between some of the playgroups. I was worried that was going to get her kicked out but they seemed pretty nonchalant about it: "She's so friendly we just let her visit everybody." They mentioned more to suggest she might be good at some kind of dog sport.
The good:
- She's so sweet and cuddly. Even in our king sized bed, she snuggles so close to me. In the morning, after breakfast, all she wants to do is go back to bed and snuggle for hours.
- She's bright; she picks up new commands quickly and loves to learn. We do NILIF and she's very compliant.
- She walks well on her EZ walk halter.
- She loves to play with other dogs. DDC says they can put her with any group, and when she shows up at the dog park, the regulars call out, "It's Stormy! Now the dogs will play-" because her favorite game is "chase me", so she loves to find a stick and taunt the other dogs until they do indeed chase her, who might otherwise be just sniffing around or hanging out in the shade.
- She can chill. She doesn't demand constant attention and will go for long periods of just snoozing on the couch. She's adjusted to DH's schedule and usually is content to just hang out until he can take a break.
- I hate to jinx it- but her mulch and bark eating is, at least currently, much decreased.
The challenges:
- She does have days and periods where her energy level goes through the roof and no matter what we do, she's wanting more.
- Oh, the jumping. She rarely does it to DH or me, but when she sees someone else she likes she becomes like Tigger. She gets enough height that she can lick people's faces.
- She's not trustworthy enough for free reign in the house. When bored, she'll find a toy and shred it- and eat some of it. When she wants attention, she'll go into a closet and find one of my shoes, bring it to wherever I am, and start to gnaw on it.
- She has a really deep bark and loves to growl. I know that 99% of the time, it's 'Hey new friend, come play with me' but of course strangers don't. (The dogs seem to get it. Humans, not so much.)
- So far, she's not into fetch! We're not pushing it. She'll happily retrieve things half-a-dozen times in the house, but outside, she'd much rather sniff the grass and chase the squirrels and watch the neighbors. I throw a ball, she runs in that direction, then follows a butterfly.
But most of this is normal, 9-month-lab stuff. I'm still looking for a dog trainer we click with, and I think she'll blossom when we do. Meanwhile, we work on our own.
I tell her every morning how special she is to me and how much I love her, and those eyes reflect so much back to me.
Stormageddon, Princess of Darkness, aka "Stormy"
Birthday 9-13-18, Gotcha Day 11-11-18
Hidden Content
Miss Kimber, CGC, 6/15/2005-1/27/2018 forever in our hearts
Macy (06-15-2019), smartrock (06-15-2019), SoapySophie (06-19-2019), voodoo (06-18-2019), ZoeysMommy (06-15-2019)
Those special moments are just the best! This morning I woke up and Thor's nose was about 3 inches from my face. He was awake and just gazing at me with the sweetest softest eyes. I just love those quiet bonding moments.
I love your Stormy update! She sounds so full of personality.
kimbersmom (06-15-2019)
Aw, she sounds like an amazing girl .
kimbersmom (06-15-2019)
Happy 9 months Stormy
kimbersmom (06-15-2019)
Oh, happy day! Stormy took you guys by a storm, that's for sure! So great to hear how she's growing and being such a welcome part of the family!
kimbersmom (06-15-2019)
She sounds like such a sweet dog! You are all very lucky to have each other! Great life together for sure!
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kimbersmom (06-15-2019)
She sounds perfect and so much fun! You could be describing my younger yellow lab, Aimee, its crazy
kimbersmom (06-16-2019)
Sounds like she and Amber could have been litter mates. Almost everything you are saying both good and bad sound like my girl except the low bark. She has this high pitched bark that actually hurts your ears! She fetches some in the house but outside she looks at us like "you threw it so go get it!" She about to get some exercise and attention since my 11 year old twin grandchildren are in town!
kimbersmom (06-16-2019)
Happy Birthday Stormy!
BTW, I always thought Kimber's birthday was June 25th, the day after Thea's the on the 24th. Maybe I am thinking of Kim's little Bailey.
Stormageddon, Princess of Darkness, aka "Stormy"
Birthday 9-13-18, Gotcha Day 11-11-18
Hidden Content
Miss Kimber, CGC, 6/15/2005-1/27/2018 forever in our hearts
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