This weeks photo challenge: Beloved
Tag Archives: Winn
Mini road trip
Recently we loaded Maisie and Winn into the car and went on a quick road trip. We were off to visit our daughter who lives about 3 hours away.
It’s pretty obvious that Maisie considers Abigail to be her favorite person on earth. It is always so fun to see their reunions, and this time was no different. Winn loves everybody and responded to Maisie’s energy by wiggling and squeaking while showering Abigail with kisses. A two Newfie welcome can be a pretty overwhelming affair!
We all walked to a little brew pub for lunch and I was so impressed with Winn. She walked calmly and confidently through crowds while staying in a perfect heel. All of our training time really paid off!
We sat down at a big picnic table and our waitress brought a large water bowl for the girls. Maisie loves to sit and watch the people walk by on the sidewalk, but Winn quietly settled right beside me, looked around a bit and ignored the other dog that was barking at us from a table near by. Eventually she crawled under the table and rested her head so that she could see all of the other patio diners.
We tend to get a lot of attention when we are out with the dogs, their size makes it impossible to remain unnoticed and most people haven’t seen a brown Newfoundland so we get a lot of questions about their breed. This usually includes: “What do they weigh?”, “How much do they eat?”, “Do they come with a saddle?”, and my least favorite “Do they shed?”. Yes they shed, Newfoundlands shed! Most dogs shed! There are a few breeds that don’t, but there seems to be an increased assumption that one should have a dog that doesn’t shed.
After lunch we walked back to her house, left the dogs with two of her friends and went to a movie. When we returned, we took the girls out again, stopped and got some ice cream and relaxed by the shores of a nearby lake. As soon as we were close to the water, Maisie and Winn both wanted to wander in, but they stayed close by and immediately came when called when they strayed too far away. I was so proud of both of them, they were so well-behaved!
It was a lovely day spent with our daughter in the town that she loves and has decided to make her home. It’s close enough that we headed back home as the sun was setting and Maisie and Winn slept the whole way after having such a fun-filled day of activity!
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Please don’t smack me in the face
and other things I say to my puppy.
I love Winn’s huge paws, but good grief it hurts when she pounces on me when she’s hungry. She tends to do this in the morning, after she goes outside to do her business. She will come up to me, crawl across my chest and take one paw and hit my face. Then she will get closer, essentially pinning me down and smother me with kisses. It’s very sweet but too much the first thing in the morning and I’m encouraging her to stop with the smacking!
What’s in your mouth? I must say this 10 times a day.
Where did you go? I taught her to bring in the paper which she loves to do because then she gets a treat. She can be very quiet when she wants to be and will sneak off, cruising around, looking for something to bring to me to get my attention and to hopefully get another treat.
I try to give her other jobs to stimulate her working dog desire to bring me things.
And finally, please, please stay out of the paint! We seem to always have a project going on, and often times paint is involved. Her affinity for paint started when we were at my mom’s house and I wrote about painting with a puppy. This summer we have been touching up the paint around our back deck and she found a plastic container filled with paint that had been placed among other paint cans. I had let her out while I was in the kitchen making my breakfast. In just short of 2 minutes, she made a colossal mess!
Do you catch yourself saying funny things to your dog?
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The oldest and the youngest
I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how everybody is getting along and I can easily say that they are all getting along very well.
I never really thought about or wished for a 3 dog household. Last October, we were visiting friends with a new litter and I was clear with everyone around me that we are a 2 dog family and didn’t have room for another. So what changed? In the back of my mind I know Annie is a senior and won’t be with us for a long, long time but I don’t want to predict when that might happen so I just thought seize the day, go with what feels right.
I considered all of the changes that I could think of but my biggest worry wasn’t about logistics (3 crates in one room is A LOT), increased food and care costs or the extra hair and muddy footprints. I was most worried about Annie and how she would respond. I don’t want her to think we are replacing her or that it’s OK for her to start to slow down. I have always felt that Charlie stopped fighting once he saw that we would be taken care of by Maisie. I’m still shocked that he curled up by my feet and then took his last breath. He was so quiet about it but seemed to be at peace.
Annie has changed so much over the past year and a half. She is much more confident, very affectionate and is so devoted to my husband and me. She and Maisie are good friends but Annie still doesn’t play with her. Annie will chase me in the yard and give me a little body slam which will get Maisie very excited. When Maisie tries to join us, on very rare occasions (usually when it’s very cold outside which makes them both more frisky) Annie might give her 20-30 seconds of play but then it always ends with Annie walking away and giving Maisie a scolding if she doesn’t back off.
When we arrived home with Winn, we stayed outside in the yard for introductions. Annie and Maisie were both curious and so, so gentle. Winn was a bit overwhelmed and stayed between my feet as she took in her new surroundings and these two girls. They both gave her some sniffs and then Annie strolled away, keeping a good distance for the rest of the day. Maisie was more persistent and Winn was very clear with her about appropriate boundaries. It was pretty much what I expected from all of them but it didn’t take very long for them to adjust, settle down and accept each other.
It has been so fun watching Winn explore our house and yard and find her favorite spots. She has discovered the tiny bathroom and likes the feel of the cool tile on her belly and the cast iron tub on her back. She loves toys and will rummage through the toy basket when she’s ready for a new one. She’s a crate hopper, she rolls around in all the crates but seems to like Annie’s best. Once she has pulled out a toy, she will frequently drag it into Annie’s crate. Annie doesn’t play with toys but once Winn leaves her crate Annie will quickly go in and flop down without regard to any toy that may have been left behind. Winn enjoys being outside, both in our back yard and on our front porch and like every Newfie I know, she LOVES the water bowl.
The most heartwarming part of all of this has been watching Annie and Winn. Annie really loves her! She actually play bowed to Winn on day 2 and since then I have watched them playing together several times each day and of course she is so incredibly gentle. Annie plays in very short bursts but to see her initiate play and willingly engage with Winn is wonderful, it’s a new behavior that we really have never seen out of her. My husband thinks that for Annie, Winn is the puppy that she got to keep. She gets to love her, play with her and show her the ways of our house and she isn’t a product of Annie’s mothering days which were filled with so much hardship. I’m just relieved to see Annie so happy.
maisiethenewfieandcompany 