Contest Alert!

Happy New Year!!

And how better to ring in the new year than to get a new collar for your Preppy Pup?!?! To enter post a picture of your Preppy Puppy on Preppy Puppies fan page on Facebook.

For extra entries...

Extra Entry #1 "Follow" my blog, www.preppypuppies.blogspot.com 

Extra Entry #2 Post something about the blog on facebook and tag Preppy Puppies

Extra Entry #3 Comment on this blog post

(Extra Entries 2 & 3 are limited to one entry per day)

The contest will close on MLK day. At that time all entries will be tallied and a winner will be picked using Random.org

Good Luck!

Santa Lab

Merry Christmas!

Who says a Mid-Atlantic Fall is beautiful?!?

 A couple weekends ago I had a wedding event and lacrosse practice free day...so the dogs and I went to Rockville Creek Park for a nice hike in the fall foliage.

 The sun was a beautiful golden color so the pictures were really warm and gorgeous. The dogs had been stuck inside for a couple of days so it was a challenge to keep them from running all around and sit still for pictures.

 But eventually I picked up a leaf and made some crunchy sounds that interested them long enough for me to snap a quick sister pic.

All in all it was a great fall day. While a New England fall might be more beautiful...I can be outside longer in the Mid-Atlantic!!

Tripper Visit

Now that Mike and I are finally settled in our new place in Maryland, I just now got around to downloading pictures from the summer. And obviously the best pictures are from my visit with Tripper and his new family the Clarks. But before we get to that I should fill you in on our summer.

After moving out of our spacious (free) 4 bedroom house at Salisbury (oh the perks of working at a boarding school!) we moved in with my parents for a couple of months to help save a couple of bucks. While we were very excited to move the bills that come with renting were not so exciting. So we moved in with the rents and pups Riley and Maya.

Most of July was spent playing lacrosse and visiting family and friends. The end of July and beginning of August started a very crazy and eventful month for us. We moved into our new apartment outside of DC. Thankfully we hired movers because unpacking our two Pods and lugging all of out stuff into the house ended up being a six hour job for six strong men. But then the next day Mike and I had to rent a truck and repack all of the stuff that didn't fit into our tiny apartment.


After a week of unpacking and getting settled I was happy for a well placed trip to attend one of my best friend's bridal shower in CT.

 But before spending some well needed time with my UConn girls I got to visit Tripper!!

The  Clark Family was nice enough to host me for the day and let me visit with my favorite Guide Dog. They video taped our hello and it was super cute...he might have made my lip bleed from kissing me too hard...but it was worth it. 

After spending some time in the back yard we went to a local park to let him swim a little. Tripper and I went in my car to spend a little alone time. It was clear that he hasn't been on our kind of car ride in a while.

As soon as Tripper jumped in the car he frantically inhaled all of the smells of his long lost sisters. Then he just sort of sat there not sure what to do.  Until he finally remembered about the window...

and the joy of sticking his head out of it.

I forgot to bring my camera swimmies but needless to say he was pooped after.

It was so great to see my big man. Mike and I are really thankful that he's happy with the Clark Family and they are taking such good care of him. He'll be going in for his training pretty soon and then he'll be on the final stages to becoming a real Guide Dog.

Best Treats...EVER

Rocky and I are taking agility from Branchwater Border Collies outside of Baltimore. This is actually the place that Rocky's Mom and Dad were bread so it's pretty cool. But the class we're taking is intermediate agility, and after the first class (video below) Rocky and I learned more that our 8 week class in CT.

 

The other dogs in Rocky's class are another border collie, a boxer and a poodle. Now of course I think Rocky is the best but really...she's the best! She just loves it so freakin' much. If you turn your volume up on your computer you can hear her bark as she goes around the course, it's pretty cute. Aside from her crazy drive one thing that really helps motivate her to work are Natural Balance treats.

They are kind of weird looking...you can find them in the food section of any Petco in the tube pictured above. They come in turkey, lamb and beef. I usually get the 4lb log (the larger one) and cut up the whole thing into little nuggets...or you can use a grater. 

 

The only down side is that once you open the treats they need to be either refrigerated or frozen. Gross I know dog stuff in your frig, but after you've kept raw meat in the fridge (like we did for Tripper) this is nothing. And the great thing is that we keep most of it in a large gallon zip lock bag and pull out only what we need for the day, they thaw super quick. 

So if you're looking for a treat your dog will drool over...check out Natural Balance. It works for Rocky and she's a super picky eater!

Tripper Update

Tripper is all settled in to his new home in Southington, CT with the Clark Family, including dog siblings, Buddy (the golden) and Panda (the Pom). The Clark Family has been so amazing send us updates and stories about their time with Tripper.

Tripper has really taken to the kids, Amanda (who took all of these great pictures) and Matt, pictured above. They have enjoyed teaching Tripper the game of badmiton, where Tripper tries to steal the birdie! But they have found out that he doesn't like the grass being cut...something we didn't have to do at Salisbury. He saw the grass being cut, but by big riding mowers. The Clarks have a had mower and he tries to bit the tires...so now he has to stay inside when they cut the lawn.

 There hasn't been a class that they've been to yet, but a group walk is coming up soon, so I'll be interested to see how he does. But so far he's been perfect for them...or at least that's what they say! He's probably shedding like crazy now with all of the heat. His new house-mates, Buddy and Panda were sent to the groomers for baths and haircuts...and when they came back Tripper barked at them! He's such   a baby!!

 It sounds like Tripper is doing well with the adjustment. I hope he still misses us because we miss him and talk about him every day. Casey particularly misses him, although Riley has been a good temporary replacement. Rocky...I'm not so sure how she feels. I think she might be happy to have her mommy back to her self.

If you didn't hear this story already...it might make you teary eyed so be prepared...

Last week Casey, Rocky, Mike and I were walking along the Delaware River toe path when we saw a person with a dog coming down the path. Obviously we did not have them on a leash so we needed to call them back to us so they didn't bother the dog if it wasn't friendly. Well as the dog came closer...Casey started crying louder and louder. Now Casey loves other dogs and often cries to play with them...but this was like nothing we had ever heard. As they came within 50 yards of us Mike and I could see that the dog was a Shepard. Mike held the dogs while I approached the man, asking if his dog was friendly, explaining that our dogs are very friendly but I think they think your dog is an old dog of ours...Tripper. When we let Casey go she ran as fast as I've ever seen her run straight up to the dog, before she put her breaks on about 5 yards away (when I'm assuming she saw it wasn't Tripper) she stopped dead in her tracks, turned around and came back to us.

It was so sad.

On a bright note, I'm going to be able to see Tripper in August!!! One of my best friends Tori is having her bridal shower in CT so I'm going to go up early and visit with some friends...and Tripper!! I honestly can't wait. But until then I'll continue to look forward to the wonderful updates from the Clark family.

And the Winner is...

Wow over 150 fans!! Since so many people entered the contest I thought we should give away TWO free collars. So congratulations to Jackie Brittain and Emily Snipes!! Keep an eye out for more contests in August!