I wish I had had a camera with me when we walked the dogs this afternoon. We ran into Charlie (black miniature poodle) and they were all playing together. It was a perfect illustration of small-medium-large! While they are three distinct breeds, they had such a similarity in color, shape and coat texture that they all looked like a variation on a theme.

PM2 - did the dog you baked the cookies for like them? There are a couple around here that aren't interested in them (Charlie is one of them) but most dogs adore them!

Hi Woody... :-)

Yes, 'Noodles' was very happy with them and so was our son. They were cut in the shape of a Christmas stocking and packed up in a Christmas tin. I was taking a lot of video on Christmas and will have to look and see if I got a still shot of the dog with a cookie. I had it on my mind to get one to post, but such a distracting day...lol. I received permission from DS to post photos of his animals and I hope to find time to do that this weekend.

Thank you VERY much for the cookie recipe...and a healthy one at that!

:-)
pm2

Looks like fun at your house this Christmas Woody. I hope your tendonitis is doing better. Great shot of Phoebe in the reindeer hat...and Misty looks almost the same color as Phoebe in one of those photos.

I found a photo of noodles taking a cookie...following everyone around all day

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And before the day was over she had found a comfortable spot....
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Noodles looks like a cutie - how old is she?

Phoebe was getting a bit rowdy this evening when we wanted to watch a movie. After many (too many!) repeats of Sit! and Down!, Randy had the brilliant idea of bringing her mat that is usually in the kitchen for her to lie on, into the living room and that seemed the help her calm down. Once she calmed down a bit, Misty came over to reclaim her spot. We ended up all stretched out on the floor together watching a silly movie - Randy, Misty, me, Phoebe... We made for a nice cosy heap and Phoebe has been very calmly buddy-buddy with Misty since. Her ability to stay calm and relaxed for more than 10 minutes at a time :-) is better than it was in her previous visits, although once she gets wound up, it takes a long time to quiet down again. I'm hoping soon we'll get her together with Dexter so she can run off a bunch of energy.

Misty repaid Phoebe this morning for Phoebe's trail blazing services of the other day.... it is VERY windy here this morning and Phoebe was afraid to go out in the backyard alone to do her 'business'. The trees, especially the old spruces along the back of the property behind us, were whipping back and forth - I wouldn't be surprised to see a few of those come crashing down this morning.... Misty came out and ignored all the mayhem and went about her business. Phoebe visibly relaxed and did hers too. They both seem calmer with each other this morning - I think last night's coziness helped a lot. Twice this morning I've seen Misty walk underneath Phoebe when Phoebe was between her and where she wanted to go! Phoebe didn't pay any attention at all when Misty did that.

gb - if you find trees down at your place when you get home, they likely came down this morning. In the K-W area, winds have been gusting 70-80+ kph for the past couple of hours. When we were walking the dogs just now, the roads here were littered with pinecones and bits of tree debris. Randy heard a loud crack and watched one of the big white pines in the 'trillium wood' come crashing down.

Today was our actual Christmas day and Indy dog received bones and cookies and is one very spoiled dog. Just now the gang is off for a walk in the ravine, in the balmy -20C temperatures.(That's around -5F) It has been very cold since we arrived, especially when one of the cars broke down on the highway and we had to wait for BIL to arrive and collect us from the side of the highway to take us to a family Christmas dinner on the 25th!
All is well here! Our flights were very delayed arriving here though, so we got to bed at 4AM (6AM our time). Yesterday we attended the children's concert in honour of baby Reed and we believe that over $2000 was collected. The children had a ball with singing, hoola hoops, microphones, dancing, etc.
I'm amazed by the variety of behaviour and interests among 9 & 10 year olds. OYYYY!
'bug

HUGS to Phoebe!
We hear that power at home has been off from 9AM until at least 5PM. Not so great for pets or pipes....

Enjoying hearing all about Misty and Phoebe's time together. Very funny that Misty is able to take shortcuts under Phoebe..lol. BTW, I didn't mean to 'hyjack' Phoebe's thread...just wanted to thank you for the cookie recipe, Woody and the main thread was so packed with photos. Noodles will be two in March.

Glad you are having a great visit, G'bug and I am sure it is going by all too fast.

:-)
pm2

gb - that sounds like it must have been a very uncomfortable and tiring journey on the way out there! I hope the return trip is easier. And a car breakdown in -29 weather wouldn't have been much fun!

SIL sent copies of the Christmas Day photos BIL took - and I accidentally deleted one of the files! I've asked her to resend that one... I like this picture - Phoebe immediately claimed that rope toy as hers and has enjoyed carrying it about and otherwise playing with it.
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I'm on my own today. The dogs were looking for morning walkies so I decided to brave trying to walk the two of them. I ended up turning back at the top of the street because Phoebe was pulling a bit too hard and walking a bit too fast for me. But she was fine walking together with Misty - no nonsense at all. (They've walked together twice a day but usually Randy has Phoebe and I have Misty so I wasn't sure how she'd do with Misty walking very close to her....) They will have to make do with running around in the backyard for exercise until Randy comes home tonight.

PM2 - no hijacking worries - all dogs are welcome here :-) At 2, Noodles is probably a nice sensible dog, right? :-)

AWWW! Phoebe looks pleased with her new toy. She is just a doll and Misty is adorable. Noodles is cute too PM2, you've been holding out on us. I don't remember seeing her before. :)

Jerri

We had about 4" of light, fluffy snow last night. Phoebe loves it; Misty's not so keen and would prefer to stay inside where it's warm and cozy rather than play with her big buddy in the snow!
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Is Phoebe a "roller"? Rex loves to roll in the snow. His favorite though, is when there is a good crust on the snow and he can sort of pull himself around by stretching.

The kind of snow we're getting now is the kind that sticks to his silly face when he's after a ball. I'll bet Phoebe gets "cling-ons" on her legs and belly with all that fluffy fur.

A very funny incident just happened... Allan (a friend who owns Blue) just came over  he and Randy are going out to get my treadmill. Phoebe and Allan were having a great time playing with each other and Misty was clearly feeling left out and miffed. She came into the office and took PhoebeÂs big marrow bone  and wonÂt give it back! MistyÂs had her eye on it ever since she first saw it. ItÂs big and heavy so IÂm not sure how she picked it up and got it up onto the loveseat!

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Yeah Misty! Clever girl!

Woody, that is so cute ...Misty and the big bone on the couch!!! I take it she was laying down some ground rules to Phoebe...growling and showing her teeth???

I like that you provided Misty with a placemat, Woody. And I'd also wager that Phoebe wouldn't dream of taking it away from her. :)

Yes Marian - the reason Misty head is blurred in that picture is she had just snapped at Phoebe! When Randy and Allan returned, Misty was distracted and Phoebe grabbed the bone back. A short while later, Phoebe was distracted and Misty reclaimed it! They traded the bone back and forth like that for a few hours! Now they both seem bored with it and it's just sitting on Phoebe's mat. It was very funny to watch them. I suspect I need to get Misty her own marrow bone once Phoebe returns home. It's amazing that Misty can open her mouth wide enough to grasp it and lift it onto the loveseat. I've seen her do it at least twice now - but didn't have the camera ready to get a picture of it unfortunately.

Well Woody, they are certainly teaching each other a few new tricks. How funny...lol. They have become great new friends I think. I love that.

Just like a couple of children. :-)
At least they have not come to blows!!!LOL

Chelone - I missed your posts earlier...

Yes, as gb has shown in pictures before, Phoebe usually comes in from a trip outside looking like a large snowball - particularly her face! And with lots of little snowballs in her feet...

Placemat...? There's a towel on the loveseat to try to keep the worst of the dirt off - but Misty regularly digs it off so the loveseat is due to be recovered at some point in the not-too-distant future!

Hi Woody, I really like the way you keep us in the loop with Misty and her friends including Pheobe. Our dogs are such a part of our families. We were just telling Rebel this morning that we would be hard put to find another dog as good as he is.

Here are a couple of shots from a cold but sunny day before Christmas. Don't they look like they are longing for spring? LOL
Rebel
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Rebel and Wyatt
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Jasmine
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I hope the treadmill works out for you. I have often been tempeted to get one for inclement weather.

Norma

I forgot I was going to say that we had a toy poodle named Teddy that would come in from the snow so iced up that we would have to put him in a tub of water to melt him off.

Norma

Norma - I assume Rebel is a Black Lab? He looks so much like Jasper did in his younger days. Jasper, like most Black Labs I've met, was a wonderful dog and he's sorely missed....

In that first picture, I think Rebel looks like he's debating the merits of engaging in a little mischief...?

Norma, Rebel is so beautiful! That is a very good picture of him. Jasmine is a doll. Thanks for sharing their pictures. :=D

Jerri

Thanks Jerri. Woody Rebels mother was a full blooded Rottwieler and the father was a full chocalate lab. He definitely has the lab traits. I didn't know the chocalate lab but the rottwieler mom was a real sweetie.
Rebel gets into very little mischief and never did even as a puppy. Norma

If the labs I've fostered were any indication, I think Rebel must have a lot of the Rottie traits. My labs were always into something if we didn't exercise them like crazy. lol I love them though. :)
I love Rotties too. I'm starting to see a pattern here...

Jerri

Rebel is as handsome as a dog can get, Norma. ;)

And Wyatt is a handsome little boy who is obviously well pleased with his playmate. What a great picture.

There's nothing neater than the image of a kitty on a windowsill, either. Princess Jasmine!

What fun this thread has been- I can't help thinking about Ms Phoebes excitement when GB returns to collect her. Will Misty be despondent or relived at her departure ?
Rebel looks like he sports all the most important canine attributes: a beautiful shiny coat, a gentle nature, and an appreciation of napping !

I also admire the rich color of your flooring , Norma.

Kathy in Napa

Norma - interesting breeding because the outcome looks 100% Black Lab - at least in that view of him! Does he have a tail? That Rottweiler trait seems to be highly inheritable; most Rottie mixes I've met don't have tails.

Kathy - Misty always has mixed feelings when one of her buddies go home - she clearly misses them but also likes having our full attention again! We have to make sure we distribute our attention pretty equally when we have canine visitors so one or the other doesn't feel neglected. I've seen a number of reports recently on research indicating dogs have a strong sense of fairness and I'd agree with that! Phoebe clearly thinks it's vastly unfair that Misty has bed priviledges (and loveseat privileges) and she doesn't! We have at least two or three romps a day where she gets up on the bed and runs around on it while I'm trying to get her 'OFF!' Before she makes one of her forays onto the bed, she eyes Misty's position for a while - she rarely tries to get on the bed unless Misty is already there - so it seems to me she's saying' that's not fair; why is SHE allowed up there but not ME?!'

gb - so you're looking at a Saturday pick-up? What time roughly?

Woody, Rebel does have a tail and best beware of anything in its path.

Norma, I'll echo Woody's comment that Rebel looks 100% black lab. Our first lab, Shiny, was one of the biggest labs I've ever seen - he weighed close to 100 pounds and was in good shape, not overweight. Rebel reminds me a lot of Shiny.

Long story on how Shiny got his name - you can skip this if I've told it before. When my son was five and a half, he woke up one morning and told me that he had had the best dream. We had gotten a dog named "Spot Shiny", and he was a wonder dog. He would make DS's bed in the morning, cook breakfast, and if he ran out in the street and got hit by a car, he would pop up good as new. At this time, we had no plans to get a dog. But about two weeks later, my DH heard from a friend of his that he had a lab pup available. The man was a breeder who was hoping for a stud male, but the only male in the litter had a terrible underbite, and at first he thought he would have to destroy the pup. But he was a fighter and showed that he could eat despite the underbite. So for only $100 and a pledge to never breed the dog (avoid passing on the underbite), we got a lab pup. And he had the shiniest coat of any lab we had ever seen. Of course, he had to be named "Shiny" after the dream dog, but many people assumed that he was named because of his glossy coat. And the underbite really didn't stop him from eating - he grew, and grew, and grew! He was a good dog, and a good companion to my kids growing up.

Woody, I've enjoyed your commentary on Phoebe's visit!

V.

Dogs that make beds and cook breakfast and pop back up when hit by cars. What a fasinating dream. Especialy for a five year old. How neat that Shiny came along.
Rebel weighs 130 lbs.

Norma, your Rebel is so big!! Especially across from Wyatt. I forget how old Wyatt is? Handsome boy! This photo reminds me of the many photos Eden has posted of Bella and Bud. They look like very good friends. :-) Are those legos that he is playing with? As Kathy pointed out, Rebel's coat is so shiny...he looks very healthy. Your house looks great to me. Beautiful floors, nice large window. The color on your wall reminds me of Chelone's Salon. Jasmine has such pretty colors. Do they call that a Calico cat? Doesn't it make you wonder what they are thinking when they are looking out the window? [g] We had toy poodles growing up and I had forgotten what it was like when they went out in the snow and came in crusted over with snow...lol.

V....I don't think I have ever heard such an amazing dream by a child or an adult...lol. Great story!

I always enjoy your dog threads Woody. You are such a great observer of 'dog nature'. :-)

What a great thread! Rebel is a handsome fellow. He gives Wrecks and run for his money in the size department.

V., I don't recall that story....what a great dream and a great turn of events that brought Shiny into your home!

Saucy

Chelone - you asked earlier whether Phoebe was a roller - I'd classify her more as a snuffler :-) Here is what she looked like today after we got back from afternoon walkies, which involved much snuffling in snowbanks...

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LOL, Phoebe is so funny! Makes me almost wish I had a dog...LOL

See you soon Phoebe! Probably around 11 or so.

We will be hoping for pics of the reunion. :-)

Sarah has really enjoyed following Phoebe along her first year of life! Thanks for sharing pictures, you two.

I wonder if the snow makes a scent "stay" in it's spot and therefore makes snorkeling (that's what we call it, because of the snorkel noise Zeus makes) interesting to the dog?

I want to see a reunion picture, too....

Saucy

We've always wondered the same thing, Saucy! Rex loves sticking his nose into the snow but his coat is short and doesn't accumulate "cling-ons" or "dingleberries".

Yup, reunion shots would be great fun. :)

Phoebe's holiday here is over and, like most of our doggie guests, while she has a good time here, she's happy to go home.

Here she is waiting for Mummy and Daddy to arrive:
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They're here!
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Mummy!
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Daddy!
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We expect her to visit again in late April or early May. Misty's next big buddy to visit will be Blue for a few days at the end of the month.

And here are a final few shots of Phoebe.... One of the cutest things about Phoebe is her BIG fuzzy feet. My SIL on Christmas Day said they look like nice comfy slippers! :-)
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And another cute thing is her little white goatee! We never got a very good picture of it because she always opened her mouth just as we tried to focus on it and that big pink tongue took center stage instead. But you can see her goatee in this picture:
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And now she is sleeping!

Oh what a great reunion. Thanks for sharing her with us.

Jerri

Woody thanks for sharing Pheobes time with you. It's been fun.

Now Pheobe don't be to hard on mom and dad, like vacationing kids are want to do.

Welcome back Bug. I hope your family time was all you wanted it to be.

PM2 , Wyatt will be 6 this week. He and brother Jake just went home after spending the night. I think they are pretty much ready for school to start again, after two weeks off. Yes those are legos. The old standby for the boys. They never tire of them. I'm trying to come up with an idea for his birthday present. It's really hard so soon after christmas.
Jasmine is a calico.
Norma

What a happy reunion! Thanks for sharing.

V.

Welcome home Marie, and Phoebe too.

Norma, I showed the photo of the dog and Wyatt to TCS (Three Carrot Sticks, which is what he ate at Thanksgifing dinner) who is seven years old, to let him see how big the dog is. His comment: "Hey who's that kid? I see Lego. I see a (something) Lego. I could play with him." No comment on the ddog. *LOL*

He absolutely loves his Lego and would, and does, play with it all day if we allow it.

Julie

Woody, thanks for the final installment, what fun.

Rex is all about "having fun", he'll do ANYTHING you want him to do if you're able to make it fun. Sometimes I don't initially feel like making it fun but his generally optimistic outlook on things tends to be contagious.

I heartily approve of toys that require little kids to think and use their imaginations. While electronic gizmos have their place and can be useful I don't think there's any substitute for good, old-fashioned, self-generated creative play. The kind that doesn't require batteries, electricity, or another expensive add-on purchase!

I enjoyed this thread too, Woody. Welcome back Marie!

:-)

I'm unable to post photos once again..perhaps service from the university will be restored tomorrow? Anyway, I wanted to respond to Chelone's comments on play..through photos. Skyler has an interesting little friend whose story I hope to share soon.

I loved the reunion pics. Great to see all three of you back together. :-)

Woody, thanks for the Phoebe chronicles. I always enjoy them, especially the photos of the dogs.