Tuesday, June 03, 2008

A New Member of the Family

Puppies
Golden Retriever puppies are cute and cuddly aren't they? The love playing in the water...

Puppies
and chewing on flip-flops.

Grace has loved Golden Retrievers since she was old enough to know what a dog was. She has even had her dream dog named for the past three years. Phillip and I have been talking things over for the last month and today was Grace's lucky day.

Puppies
Pick me, pick me!

Puppies
This one looks perfect.

Daisy
Meet Daisy!

This is our first family dog, so if you have any tips for me, I'd love to hear them! :0)

63 comments:

  1. Soo cute! and what a perfect name! :) You will all have fun with her, I'm sure.

    ReplyDelete
  2. We have a Daisy here also! Get lots of chewies for the first year, it will help save your shoes and anything else she finds:)Have fun!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous11:23 PM

    What a cutie!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous11:46 PM

    she's adorable!
    I had a dog growing up that has passed not too long ago (he was 17, so he did have a good long life). He was one of the best things I remember from childhood, his always-present sweet face. He taught the whole family so much about responsibility and patrience and fun - it was a learning process with him, but he was definitely a family member and a big sweet boss of all of us.

    Beautiful choice, Kelli, goldens are such wonderful family dogs!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Congratulations! Dogs are the best! Have fun with her!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous3:07 AM

    Daisy has the hugest dark eyes. I guess that's why they call them puppydog eyes, eh?

    Congrats Grace!

    ReplyDelete
  7. AWWWWWW! She is just the sweetest! My only advice is to have PATIENCE. Puppies are as much hard work as they are cute, but it is only for a time. THose frustrating potty accidents and chewed up shoes are frustrating, but they DO end. And puppies make up for it all on their cuteness-and grow up to be WONDERFUL companions! I am so glad you got a dog. Your kids are going to LOVE her! Now...your cats, on the otherhand...have they packed up and moved out yet?!? ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. WOW!!!! She is SO... cute! Goldens are the best. We had a golden named Gracie and she was the best family dog ever!!!!! She LOVED my boys and we loved her! Great pick!

    ReplyDelete
  9. a habit you will never want to start is feeding her at the table. She will sit there and beg at every meal if you start it.

    She is adorable, and I'm sure she'll give you many years of puppy kisses and snuggles!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh Congrats!!! I know he will be a much loved pup! How can anyone resist a sweet puppy?! Now, just remember to hide your shoes...hehe ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. oh excuse me, I meant she....LOL

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous7:04 AM

    Oh she's a beauty, and I love her name. We are crate training our puppy who is 5 months now and I wouldn't do it any other way. Those first couple of months are nuts. After that it's great. If you can take her to a puppy training class you will be happy you did. Just to get the basics out of it. We use sit, down, come, leave it, off and stay all the time.
    Have fun and Congratulations to Grace and all. :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Daisy is adorable. Be making plans on where you will keep her when she is in heat. I love female dogs and hate to get them "broke" (most people say fixed). It sure is a mess to deal with when they are in heat though.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I agree with the crate training. When we leave the house, our dog still goes in the crate and he prefers it over being left to roam free in the house.

    My big tip (from our vet) and it works great. Hang a bell from the door the dog will be using to exit the house to go potty. When you are training her to go outside to potty, take her paw and swat the bell with it and say "go potty" or whatever your phrase is. Take her outside and have her go. It took our dog about 4-6 days to pick this up. This is still how he lets us know or if he is out of food too he will ring the bell.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Congratulations! She is sooo cute! When my husband & I first got a dog I wanted to name her Daisy but he said No. I have always thought that was a great doggie name. My only tip for a new pup it to keep anything you love off the floor, or it may just get chewed to smithereens ;)

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a precious, sweet puppy! I'm sure that Daisy will be showered with so much love and attention that she will be a perfect friend for life. :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. What an adorable puppy. I know you'll enjoy her. We had a black lab when our girls were growing up, and I still miss Susie. While we had her, she had puppies - 9 of them - and the girls and their friends had so much fun with those puppies.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Well, our little poodle is Daisy, too! Such a common but wonderful doggie name!

    Goldens are a great choice. My prescription? (advice) LOTs of hugs and kisses. Teach her to sit immediately. She's going to be very big and you don't want her to jump on people. Nip that now. "Off" means get off of me (or anything else)"Down" means lay down. DON'T use the same word for two different things. The dog will get confused.

    Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  19. She is so pretty Kelli!! I can smell the pupy breath from here!!!! They are good dogs!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous9:10 AM

    Dear Kelli,
    Daisy is so beautiful. She will bless your family more than you'll ever know.
    The first few months we had our black lab - Abby, David and I wondered if we would ever be glad that we had her; but she quickly won our hearts. She is so precious to us. She has been crate trained since a puppy and she loves her crate. That is her safe place when little ones come to visit and want to love her too much. : ) We also crate her (and our new puppy) when we eat our meals.
    A favorite toy of Abby's is a Kong. It takes a very long time for dogs to destroy and is a great chew toy.
    Congratulations on your new furry addition.
    Julie

    ReplyDelete
  21. What a sweetie! We once had a golden retriever mix. They are a wonderful breed: very friendly and energetic. Ours liked to jump on you (we probably didn't train him very well), chew on things and dig, dig, dig. He was really precious!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Oh what a perfect name! I had a golden when I was a child. LOVED that dog!!! Chelsea was her name. I have not had a dog in so many years that I am of no use to you, sorry. But I just had to say that I loved your choice of dogs. Goldens rule!
    Jenn

    ReplyDelete
  23. Please look into renting some videos called The Dog Whisperer. I have a friend who is using the ideas from the videos and it is working wonders. Have fun with your new puppy.

    Blessings,
    Amy
    http://homeplatefunblogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  24. We used to raise Golden's - and they are the cutest puppies in the whole world.
    Just give her lots of love - and keep anything you don't want chewed up very high!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous11:04 AM

    Congrats! She's adorable. If only they could stay that cute.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Oh my goodness!! look at that sweet precious puppy face...
    They love to chew so watch out for your furniture (which is usually a typical pup) :-). We lost ours a few years ago. Max lived a long life (15 yrs). It broke our hearts to lose him. But he was a great dog. Did have a bit of mischieveness in him though:-).
    Enjoy and congrats!!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Oh my, a new puppy, how fun!!
    I would second those who are suggesting crate training. She'll need lots of exercise and chew toys.
    Keep the shoes in the closet, lol!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Oooooh, congratulations! I love dogs, I hope all goes well with her training.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous12:17 PM

    If you want a tip here it goes: if you have a problem with the dog/puppy digging holes, try placing their poop in the whole and re bury it, the dog will not dig where their poop is(plus it will help fertilize the yard...naturally)and eventually if the dog gets enough holes to see that their poop is in it, they will stop digging all together(in most cases). This worked for us. Other than that congrats on the newest addition

    ReplyDelete
  30. Awww...how cute! Of course I thought all the puppies in the pic. were cute. :-)
    I think everyone gave you good advice here. :-)

    Enjoy your new furry family member!

    God Bless!
    Dawn

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous12:49 PM

    What a cute puppy! I've had 3 puppies in my adult life so here's what I've learned:

    *Crate training is key!

    *A tired puppy is a well behaved puppy, lots of exercise is a must.

    *Immediately start teaching 'sit', 'down', 'off', 'come', and 'stay'.

    *Think of a puppy as an infant or toddler in the sense that the puppy must **always** be supervised and when you can't watch her the crate is her safe place to be.

    *Schedule food and water. This will make house breaking so much easier.

    *Enjoy your new family member! (o:

    Blessings,
    Michele

    ReplyDelete
  32. Kelli, Crate training is the absolutely best way I have ever found, and I am a dog-lover who has trained many many dogs with varying results. If you don't know much about it, I suggest you get a crate right away, start putting her in it when you are not able to keep watching her constantly, and overnight, of course, WHILE READING THE BOOK which you buy z9or get from the library, in the next 30 minutes. :D (It is critical for her and you that you get started right away.) Give her toys that are hers, even if it is a sock with a knot in it. They love those. Then each time she goes for something that is NOT hers, replace it in her mouth with something that is hers.

    Dogs love the safety and close confines of a crate. They are natural den dwellers. My little Lily comes every night to tell us it's time for bed, then goes into her little crate. We don't even close the door. She likes it in there.

    I hope Daisy is a blessing to you and your family.
    Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  33. Daisy is so cute and Golden's make such wonderful pets!! We have a dog named Daisy as well!!

    ReplyDelete
  34. So cute! We have lab that just turned a year old. Love him and he has given his love back to us ten fold, I can't imagine life without him.

    Blessings Rondell

    ReplyDelete
  35. ooooh a puppy golden retriever! She is so cute, we used to have a dog called duke he was a much loved member of our family, he was a retriever just like those in the photos, we had him from a puppy and he was very lively! They like to chew and pull on things, and shake toys(we used to say 'shake it duke' and he would shake his whole head and the toy!)duke used to carry shoes and socks around in his mouth a lot, the retriever nature! We got toys so we could pull on one end and him on the other, so do get lots of things for her to find as its a game retrievers love!
    Cant wait to hear and see more of her
    Priscilla x

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous1:36 PM

    Daisy is adorable. Makes me want to rethink my no-doggie policy.

    The only advice I have is to take her to obedience school. It is so worth the effort and safer for her too.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Kelli,

    So cute!!! We had a golden retriever who Elissa named Pretty when she was about 3.

    I hope Daisy is a joy to your children.

    Love, Heather

    ReplyDelete
  38. Aww. Daisy is so cute. My children want a dog but I am against it since I will end up nagging them to clean up after it. And hubby is against it because it's one more mouth to feed. I know that you guys will enjoy your new addition to the family.

    When I saw the title I was thinking "Congratulations a new baby".

    ReplyDelete
  39. oh she's adorable!!! The only advice I have is give her LOTS of love! But it looks like you've got that covered already! Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  40. Anonymous2:08 PM

    I love the retrievers too. They are such great pets. So loyal. A great motivator for exercise too.
    I don't have a dog so can't give much advice. Don't read Marley & Me!
    Mama Bear

    ReplyDelete
  41. Oh how precious! Just have lots of patience and be prepared for everything to get torn up! They are worthy it though and she will learn. I love the name Daisy! She is so cute!

    Thanks Kelli for your encouragement about Tuesday's Treasures. I am nervous about it and am still thinking about it.

    Hugs, Sharon

    ReplyDelete
  42. Anonymous2:59 PM

    Cute puppy!!

    Thanks for your compliment on my fruit salad - it's definitely something easy to make and yet make others thing you spend the whole day just coming up with it! ;)

    Have a blessed day!

    ReplyDelete
  43. Oh, congratulations! She's a doll! I know you'll have lots of fun with her; golden retrievers are great dogs!

    ReplyDelete
  44. Ohhh, those eyes--we have an 18-month old Brittany Spaniel. We got her as a puppy. Just be prepared for accidents, chewed things, dog hair and lots and lots of love and wags and laughter!! Good luck. Have a great day!! julie

    ReplyDelete
  45. Yay Kelli! I'm so happy for your family. Dogs are fun, and I've heard Golden's make great pets. I won't give any advice, because I learned quickly that Malamutes are working dogs, and don't really compare well to others. You'll have trying times, and there will be great times, and you will love her as part of your family in no time.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Anonymous4:08 PM

    How adorable!!!! Let us know how the puppy rearing goes. I have always wanted a Golden Retriever. :):):)

    ReplyDelete
  47. Potty train immediately and give him lots of chew toys..treat him when he pottys outside.....you will love him...I think he is a her isnt she?
    LOL.

    What do you have planned for fun things this summer? Madison is 11 so I need some ideas....

    ReplyDelete
  48. What an adorable puppy!! My only advise would be what several others have already said ... crate train. Otherwise ~ just enjoy that cutie! :o)

    ReplyDelete
  49. Oh my gosh, Kelli,

    Are you in for the ride of your life! Our Penny is five now and it has been such an adventure! We first got her when our Lady (cocker spaniel) was getting on in years. Penny bugged Lady quite a bit, but they became fast friends. Then, Lady had to be put to sleep (age 16 1/2). Penny mourned. We were so worried about her we got another pup (Gracie, German short-haired pointer). Gracie has bugged Penny a lot (we tell her it is pay back time) but they are fast friends too. But, oh, how I wish Penny was a puppy again.

    Have a wonderful time with your treasure!

    ReplyDelete
  50. Oh, your puppy is adorable. I would love to have a golden retriever! We have some with allergies here so they can only really have either a poodle, a wire haired fox terrier, or an airdale. Those dogs have more human type hair. Retrievers are such good dogs!

    ReplyDelete
  51. Hi Kelli,
    Enjoy your new puppy - she sure is cute! I have a "Daisy", too! My Daisy is a 10 month old peekapoo - half poodle, half pekinese. I recommend the crate training and making sure she has her own toys - she'll figure out soon what she is supposed to chew on and not supposed to. (I can tell from your pictures that you keep your home very tidy - and that is very helpful with a new puuppy!) Have fun with her - they grow up too fast, just like children. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  52. Oh my goodness! How very cute is your new Daisy! Enjoy!
    I must write about her on Sat. My little Saturday post are titled
    Daisy's Doggie Bloggie Friends.
    Can I post her photo and write about her?
    Congrats on the new baby!
    Love,
    Sherry

    ReplyDelete
  53. What a sweetie, a lovely addition to your family. Enjoy her...I know she will love you with all her heart. Hugs, Linda

    ReplyDelete
  54. Advice?? Patience, patience, patience!!!
    The puppy stage WILL pass, the biting, the accidents, etc....
    my little pup is 4 months old and just getting used to a system here, but worth every minute! We love our little Elizabeth, even if I did find her curled up and sleeping on top of the kitchen table yestrday, :)
    Yikes! haha, I say it was better that I found her then my husband find her, haha!
    keep us posted with tons of pictures and stories!!!

    Love,
    Kelly

    ReplyDelete
  55. Crate train him. It makes it easier if you ever have to leave him with somebody while you go out of town. It's also nice to be able to shut him/her away when you have somebody over that is afraid of dogs. Especially if it's miserable outside.

    The other thing I have found is to allow him inside much of the time. I remember reading something once (when I was considering banning my dog to the outdoors) that said that studies showed dogs were friendly if they were with people most of the time. Also, then you don't have to worry about extreme heat (causing heatstroke) or ice (damaging paws).

    ReplyDelete
  56. One more suggestion. Put in a doggy door. Absolutely the greatest thing since sliced bread!

    ReplyDelete
  57. Anonymous3:52 AM

    Congratulations on the new member of your family !!! Great name I love it.
    Tips, well, I have already seen a few very goods ones, easpecially on the chewing part. Sometimes even chairs and couches aren't safe. You have to watch that very closely and let her know, it's a big no no.
    When we left the house, always not for too long as puppies don't like being alone, we put her in a crate until we knew she didn't chew on anything anymore.
    It's very important to play with her and keep playing with her even when she gets older. This keeps our dog Charlie fit and happy too. Our dog is 8 years old now.
    I want to wish you all lots of luck with her, give her a big cuddle from me, because she looks so very sweet with those big brown eyes !!! Have lots of fun !!!

    ReplyDelete
  58. Congratulations on your new puppy...hope you have lots of fun!

    ReplyDelete
  59. They are all so adorable! Daisy is a little sweetheart - enjoy her!!!

    naturalpaths (Kim)

    ReplyDelete
  60. Anonymous9:31 PM

    I love the name and your new puppy is soooooo adorable!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  61. What a cutie! Our little girl has a stuffed toy golden retriever we named Daisy! She wears a lavender ribbon around her neck and resides on our daughter's rocking chair:)

    ReplyDelete
  62. oh, she is so adorable. we are a golden retriever family. wouldn't think of having any other dog. our brody is our third and he'll be 2 in august.

    they do love to chew so keep ALL shoes off the floor. even if it's not the shoe, it may be the shoelace. and they are diggers. there are things that you can do to deter them, but it depends on how much they love the digging.

    find yourself a book or website specifically for goldens. that should be helpful. goldens are really a good, and fairly easy, breed to have.

    ReplyDelete
  63. Soo cute , a adorable periode, greeting from Belgium

    ReplyDelete

I appreciate you stopping by for a visit and taking the time to say hi! I will try to answer any questions here in the comments.
~Kelli