Basil & Briar...Years Later - All is Good!

Our precious Briar is all grown up...a fluffy 2 year old now! Still as playful and silly as ever - never a dull moment with my sesame street character living inside my doggie baby!

 

 Briar loves to find the biggest stick in the lawn and run ahead of me to show me just how useful and proud he is of his talents! He's picked up much larger branches and carried them for the length of an acre so proud of his abilities!

Briar is a silly baby - he loves his stuffed piggy and never loses his ever lasting smile ~ here he is on a sofa just relaxing and hugging on his bestie - Mr. Piggy.

Here we are this past winter - we were checking in on our plant friends in the greenhouse and Briar decided to pose for pictures on the greenhouse sofa....here I am fixing his hair for his winter pic :0)

 Briar is one class act! To know him is to love him!!

 Oh my goodness, can you believe this guy? He feels so special sleeping in daddy's side of the bed!

So....here we are...no more worries.  Basil and Briar love each other as brothers.  Here they are on the same bed comforting each other while we visit the grandparents this past Christmas.  At the end of the day, they love nothing more than to be close to each other and snuggle in on some soft and inviting bedding.

 

.....for those wondering about Chico...he's alive and well chirping and loving each sunshining morning.  Here we are...a bird, a cat, and a Briar...getting along in a loving home with us. 

Good night :)

Briar at 7 Months Old

Our dear Briar is growing up. Next week, he will turn 8 months! Briar has been enjoying his trips to Posh Pets and getting spiffied up at the groomers. He is in an intermediate class at Pet Smart and I hope he graduates with flying colors. After that, I would like to enroll him in a therapy dog program to futher his training. He has such a great personality that I think he would excel in something like that. Basil, on the other hand, just likes to sleep on his favorite chair - enjoying the kitty life.

Here's Briar just back from the groomers. He had his hair trimmed just a bit and he looks great. His straggly puppy fur was trimmed to the length of his adult coat so he is more uniform all over. He looks like a big round puff ball- too cute.

Briar is good size - he's still growing, too. I can't pick him up anymore but we love to sit on the floor with him and scoop him up and hold him that way. He still loves to be on his back and I can hold him and pet his tummy - he loves that!

Briar Aced his test at Puppy School!!!

So, I'm one proud fur baby mama today!! Last weekend, I took Briar to market days and he was just wonderful. He still pulled a bit too much on the leash but for the most part he was a living doll. Then, I went to Pet Smart to get some bird seed and kitty food. He was doing well but was very distracted when over stimulated by other dogs or attention....in come a pet trainer......"Ahem! Excuse me, miss...has your dog been to obedience training?” Me: "Oh, no...Not formally, but he's very smart and a fast learner." Trainer: "Well, we offer classes and he would be great in the beginner class." Me: thought to myself, why beginner?

So.....being open minded....walk over to the training section of the store....meanwhile Briar is just perfect mind you. So, I take a look-see. $100 for beginner classes $100 for intermediate $100 advanced, and so on.

Beginner...what is that about, I think to myself....
Your puppy ages 6 weeks to 6 months will learn to sit, stay, down, etc. Well, I know Briar already does that so I simply ask the trainer...could he not go into the intermediate class??

Yadda, yadda, yadda...he must test with the trainer....sigh. Okay...so I make an appt. for Thursday at 6pm just so the main trainer can assess my Briar and determine whether or not he is worthy of skipping a grade (so to speak).

Now it’s Thursday….Enter Briar and me after a long day at the office (both of us). We meet up with the trainer with his own dog who he's training. We enter the "class". Trainer says Briar must pass by executing one word commands with no delay, such as sit, down, stay and come. Whew....let's do this!!!

“Briar”, I state: “SIT”...Briar sits. Bravooooo my heart sang! “Briar, DOWN”....Briar goes down. Hurrayyy!!!! “Briar, STAY”.....Briar stays as I keep walking and pacing backwards.....Yes!!!! Even the trainer said that distance stay was more advanced than the beginner class! Hee hee!!! “Briar, COME”....and he came!!! What a special boy! So very smart! I just love this pup!

An all star, through and through! He skipped beginners and advanced right into intermediate. What a delight.

After testing out of the beginners class, Briar and I went into town where pups are allowed and celebrated with a glass of wine. We met some new folks and had a dandy time. Such a wonderful day for our dear Briar! :)

Goldendoodle's First Day at the Groomers

I read that it's a good idea to send your goldendoodle pup to the groomers around six months to establish good habits. It's important to establish a very positive and fun habit with the groomers so they are easy to groom in coming years.

I found a wonderful groomer at Posh Pets! She's fantastic and really took great care of Briar. The only thing I wanted for him this trip was a bath, blow dry, ear cleaning and nail trim - just to get a good rapport going.

I dropped him off at 9am and picked him up at 2:30 - and when I picked him up I hardly recognized him!!! He was so fluffy and soft...such a handsome boy!!

Here we are on our way to a local festival to further his socialization skills. My goal in taking him out is for him to get used to being around people in farmer's markets, outdoor festivals, and the like...without being a total spaz! Briar has a lot of energy and I'm working with him to tailor his energy in certain surroundings.

The outing went very well - we sat and enjoyed a nice glass of wine outside a local wine bistro. He got a lot of attention, mostly from people who were totally shocked he's only six months old! I heard a lot of horse and pony jokes - one person even asked me if I was going to put a saddle on him and ride him home. Geez.

The neat twist on this outing is who we met! Briar sparked a lot of conversation and one of those conversations led us to meeting our neighbor of 9 years - we had lived here all these years and it took an outing with Briar to serendipitously meet! That was neat.

After a long day of making friends and learning how to be a good boy in public, Briar came home and took a very long and restful nap on his favorite spot near the fireplace. He loves the cool tile as he naps.

....speaking of naps.....I think Briar's life style is contageous. Make lots of friends, be cheery, and nap often...now I could get used to that!

Briar Got Neutered

Briar turned six months at the end of April! He's growing so fast! Well, we made the appointment with his vet to schedule the neutering and we scheduled it just after his six month birthday. He did so well! Here he is on the way home - he looked so cute in his cone hat I had to turn around and take a picture. He had so much energy when I picked him up he hardly knew what to do with himself! Getting in the car was a bit of a challenge with his cone hat - but after many bangs and bumps I loaded him in and off we went.

When we got home, he banged into just about every wall (I have a lot of touch up painting to do!). Basil just stared at him and was by his side for the whole day. I think Basil really missed him and really has formed some sort of bond with him. Although they don't play - they certainly spend a lot of time together and really are aware of each other in a familial sort of way.

Briar was never bothered by his cone hat - it's as if nothing could weigh down his very happy spirit! He just keeps on truckin along - cone and all! Here he is showing off his smile.

Although, the back of my legs are very bruised from the run in's we had with his hard awful cone - I'm glad he never hurt Basil with it. Basil watched over him and Briar kept a safe distance when wearing the cone. So sweet.

10 days later, the hat came off! Briar really had a great time playing in the grass without his cone!

Briar being a silly boy in the grass!

Ahhh, no more cone!

Life is good when you're a pup - next up....the groomers!!

Briarrr!!!!

Yesterday, I took off my sneakers and put my socks within the shoes just in case I needed to quickly put them on again. Next thing you know, Briar has a sock in his mouth running around like a goof ball and then the phone rings...I get the phone...forget he had the sock and moved on. Then...I went to get my shoes and find both socks missing and NO where to be found. I think....he ate them. :(

Why would I conclude he ate them?? Well, here are some hints and clues: I found remnants of my underwear on the lawn where he does his business. He also coughed up a whole pair right in front of me after his breakfast. Briarrrrr!!!!!! And...I found a pair on his bed. Geez...I better not have anyone over or surely I'll be mortified.

"Oh goodness...he's just a pup", I tell myself sipping on some pinot. "You'll miss this when he's an adult"...I console myself. But for now - he's a mess! lol!

I think back on my beloved Buddy and try to remember if he used to do this - and of course he did...and of course I miss him and I miss everything about him. With that thought and my fond memories of my beloved Buddy - I giggle and hug my little wily guy. Why not? Life is short - drink pinot and hide your socks and underwear!

Briar's 5 months old!

Time flies when you are raising a puppy! Briar is such a good boy - he has really grown into a beautiful well adjusted pup. He and Basil co-exist with no trouble at all. Briar comes to work with me anytime I can take him. He travels so well in the car - it's so easy. He is very smart and observant, too.

Briar's about 50 lbs now...last time we were at the vet he was 43 lbs and that was weeks ago. I used to be able to carry him, but when I try to now I can really only carry him for a minute tops! Briar loves being outdoors with us while we garden - he loves piles of soil, digging his nose in the soil, running with garden tools in his mouth and loves to play chase. He is a very lively pup that observes and notes everything. Set something down...you risk losing it to Briar's trickery.

Briar's favorite pastimes, chewing his pig ears, his squeaky toys, running, jumping, lounging while we watch TV, and rolling on his back for belling rubs. He's adorable and tends to have a smile on his face. His hair still sheds and we are hoping as his baby hair sheds his newer tighter curled hair will shed less. The curliest part of his fur is on his back nearest his tail...the curls are so dense!

Briar reminds me of a fun loving sesame street character - just a great fun friend to have around. He lightens up any mood and reminds us not to take life so seriously.

I'm eager to see how big he'll get - he seems to have a lot of growing into his paws to do! His paws are very wide and big. He has perfect teeth - they are perfectly straight, aligned and white! His chompers get complimented during vet visits, too.

He still tests me when he has his leash on and over time we will get better on the leash - but for now I'm enjoying him being a puppy...especially when I look back at his pictures and see how fast he's growing up and how fast time flies!

Basil celebrated his 2nd birthday at the end of March. The comfort level between the two is increasing as time goes by. Life is good in the Basil and Briar house :)