We're back!

Hey guys! Long time no bark! We've been really busy here, helping mommy and daddy to renovate the house and exploring our new neighborhood. Daddy has also been away a lot for his job, leaving mommy alone for weeks and she's had to walk us, deal with the builders, clean, cook, and work so she couldn't type for us. Mom said daddy is in Saudi Arabia and that the weather over there is really really hot. It reaches over 40C (over 104F) during the day... I don't know how daddy can cope because we know we couldn't!

We love our new place!We've got a river flowing about 1oo meters from the house! How cool is that! We go swimming a few times a week and mom has just bought us a "Paws Aboard" doggie ladder to help us get out of the river. There is a long path along the river where we can take long walks and there is no road anywhere near so we can run like mad dogs!

We have also made some new friends. Our neighbor is a vet and she loves us! But our new best friends are her chickens! They love our garden and often visit. We bark at them but they it doesn't scare them so we chase them, flatten them and lick them like lollipops! I think they like it because they keep coming back for more. We would never hurt them, we just like to play with them. Mom and dad have even decided to get us our very own pet chickens! Well, they referred to them as their own chickens and they talked about eggs and blablabla but we can't wait to play with them. Mom has warned us that we would have to be very gentle with them at first as they will not be used to be around dogs and I think she might keep them in a pen away from us until we learn to not chase them... Boohoo, BO-RING!

We gotta go eat our dinner but we promise we'll be back soon and we'll try to post some pictures of us. In the mean time, here is a couple picture of us (Domino and her Best Puppy Rosette follwed by Moka and Grizzly in "The Double Decker"!)Love and licks to all xoxo

Merry Christmas!

Hi guys!

It has been such a long time! The last 5 months have been totally crazy. We were supposed to buy a house in Cambridge but it fell through at the last minute so we made an offer on another house. That one fell through as well so we kept looking and found another house at the end of August. We were already out of our rental accommodation and spend the whole of August at friends house while they were on holiday. We then bought a caravan to live in! Lots of friends offered us their guest bedroom but the dogs could not have come with us and it was out of the question to live away from them! We finally took possession of our house on the 12th November but only got internet connected last week. We are so happy to be back on the web and we have a lot of things to tell you!

As you may remember, Grizzly was doing very well at water rescue last summer. He went from not wanting to go in the water to passing his level A and then B in just over a month. In August, he also passed his level C and attempted a D but failed it! He also participated in a water display in Dover where he had to come and rescue me. It was his first time swimming in the sea and he did very well, especially since the waves were very big that day. He actually didn't seem to mind them at all and was the first of 3 dogs to reach its owner despite the waves going over him!

Domino (the black Newfoundland) has also grown A LOT! She is now bigger than her Bernese Mountain dog sister and weighs 41kgs! We have started showing her and although we haven't had any real success in the show ring yet, she has behaved herself and we are very proud of her. Our next show is on the 8th of January 2011 and we can't wait to attend it!

I promise to update very soon with recent pictures of the dogs (as soon as my internet connection gets better).

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Cindy, Moka, Grizzly and Domino

Grizzly passed his section B!!!

We are so proud of our baby boy. He passed his water test section B on Sunday. I can't believe how fast he is progressing! A few months ago, he wouldn't go in the water but when we put our wetsuits on, he followed us and took to swimming. Then last months, he discovered the joy of retrieving objects and he has since passed his section A and B! We now hope he can pass a C before the end of the summer. Here is a list of the elements for each test:

Section A
A1- Swim out 15 meters to boat
A2- Swim out 15 meters to handler or stranger
A3- Retrieve familiar object from 6 meters

Section B
B1- Tow boat back 20 meters
B2- Tow handler or stranger from 20 meters
B3- Retrieve provided object from 6 meters
B4- Retrieve of object from 20 centimeters underwater
B5- Controlled swim with handler

Section C
C1- Jump from boat and tow 25 to 30 meters to shore
C2- Tow stranger from 25 meters
C3- Retrieve object from 15 meters
C4- Controlled swim with handler

We are pretty confident he can learn all the elements of section C before the next tests which are being held on the 21 and 22nd of August.

Thank you Grizzly for being such a good boy, we are very proud of you!

Mommy and daddy xoxo

Domino is growing...FAST!

Hello dear followers,

Now that I have learned to bark...errrr talk, I can dictate my thoughts to mommy for her to type. I am doing fine although it's been really hot lately. Today, the temperature should reach 31 C but it's alright, I have found a way to keep cool. I paddle in my water bowl, make a mess in the bathroom and then lay in the water. It helps me stay fresh. Mommy thinks I'm a bit stinky but I love the wet dog smell...Eh, I'm a Newfoudland! Here is a picture of me and my brother Grizzly. He won't let me cuddle with him when it's really hot but he doesn't mind me in his favorite spot, the toilet room, when it's cool in the house. Mom and dad have told me that we won't be able to enjoy the toilet room much longer as we are moving next week. They have reassured us though, the new place will have tiles in every room on the ground floor! The tiler is coming next week and is also installing underfloor heating for our comfort in the winter.
Enwouf about the house, let's talk about me! My mom says I'm very clever for a 12 weeks old. I know the commands sit, down, shake a paw and roll over. I also wait, when mommy puts my food bowl is down, for her to say "OK". I'm almost perfectly house trained, although I occasionally have an accident. I went to the pub for the first time last week and I was really good. There was another puppy there, a 10 weeks old Cocker Spaniel but she was afraid of me and didn't want to play. I got a a lot of attention and people came to pet me and ask what breed of dog I was. Being from Canada, daddy said I was a "Newfunland" and mommy had to repeat after him and said "New found land". I know the Bristish way is the second one but I quite like the "fun" in "Newfunland"! Here I am at the pub...

I am not afraid of anything. I don't mind the hairdryer, the vacuum cleaner, the car rides, the vet, being washed, other dogs or people. Mom wants to take me to the groomer next week. She wants me to experience being washed and brushed by other people and being left alone. I'm sure I'll love it, I love being pampered. I'm a girlie girl! Love ya, Domino xoxo

Please welcome Domino!

Like most of you now know, our plans to go to America have been postponed. We had to rethink our near future and decided to get a new puppy. We love dogs and it just seemed right to get another Newfoundland since we already do water and draugh work with Grizzly and Moka Bear. We rather spend the little money we have on a dog than on pub meals, nights out or clothes. I share John Grogan's way of seeing things: "We could have bought a small yacht with what we spent on our dog and all the things he destroyed. Then again, how many yachts wait by the door all day for your return?" Our dogs have never destroyed anything though... well not yet anyways!




We love the breed, their temperament is excellent and although they are big, do not require to live in a massive house as long as you're willing to share your space with them! I actually call Grizzly my velcro dog as he is always attached to me (or so it seems)!




Domino has been with us for 2 days and is a very clever girl. We have started obedience training and she already knows the meaning of sit. We intend to show her when she is 6 months old and we will start ring craft classes after she has received all her injections. She will also be taken to obedience classes, water rescue training and will learn to pull a cart when she is older.

An update, at last!

Hi guys,

We're sorry it took so long to update our blog. Our mommy has been sick and a lot of things have happened in the last few months. First of all, the Houston move had to be postponed. The guy who wanted our dad in the Houston office resigned so the plans are on the ice for a couple years. We still hope to get there sooner or later but we don't want to rush things. Mommy and daddy are a bit disappointed but have promised to keep us busy and very active until the move so we now do draught work (pulling a cart) and Grizzly does water rescue in addition to all the training and walks we get. It's a lot of fun and we get to spend our Sundays with other Newfoundland dogs as we train with S.E.W.N. (Southern England Working Newfoundland). I (Moka) am the only Bernese in the group and I am now considered a "small" dog!
We will also move this summer, probably in July. Our granddad has invested in a property and we will live in it. Mom and dad are very excited about this as it means we'll finally be able to get rid of the carpets and replace them with tiles. Carpets make mommy sick as she has asthma.

We're off to Wales this weekend to try to get our Level 1 Draught certificate. We will camp with mommy and daddy and we can't wait to eat Frankfurters on the fire... Well, it's not part of our usual diet but we heard daddy say he was gonna bring some to grill on the fire and we can't imagine him not giving any to us... We will beg until he gives us some!!!

Have a great week everyone,

Moka Bear & Grizzly

Newfoundlands don't swim!

Life is for sleeping on the sofa!

Hi guys,

Hope you had a great week like we did. Last weekend we went for a long walk at the Milton Country park with mom and dad. They said it was to celebrate Moka's 3rd birthday. We paddled in the water but none of us wanted to go for a swim. Mom said I was a silly Newfoundland dog but I'm not sure I understand why she said that.

We are also looking for a roommate. We're so excited: one more human to pet and love us. Isn't that wonderful? We'll let you know how the search goes.

Cheers,

Grizzly & Moka