In keeping with our new Saturday morning ritual, Sydney and I got out of the house early so we could grab some breakfast and head to the park. I'd heard great things about the Starbucks in Coconut Grove so I decided to check it out and asked mom to meet us. I have to say, this time people were right on the money. This Starbucks is located in the shopping plaza where Monty's restaurant is and has a lovely patio with several tables and umbrellas that face South Bayshore Drive. What I enjoyed most however was the crowd. It wasn't your typical Miami latino crowd, rather, very all-American, a nice change of pace. I ordered my regular tall blonde roast and pumpkin loaf and chatted up some of the folks sitting around us that were admiring Sydney. Turns out two of the people we spoke to were from Winnipeg, just like Sydney. What are the odds of that?
After breakfast we headed over to Virginia Street to find a small park someone I ran into the previous weekend at the park told me I should check out. He had said the best thing about it was it was all artificial turf so the dogs don't get as dirty as in other local parks, especially around the water bowl where it tends to get very muddy. Another aspect I liked was when he told me the owners were very responsible and always vigilant. Anytime a dog gets out of control, they are asked to leave by the other pet owners. After our experience last weekend at Tropical Dog Park with a large German Shepherd puppy that wouldn't leave Sydney alone and whose owner's response to me was "I can't do anything about it, that's how he plays", this park seemed a lot more our style.
The day finally arrived! Sydney's last vaccinations. My little guy is now part of the real world. After waiting a little over two months, I think I was probably more excited than he was at all of the new possibilities and experiences that awaited him.
I've lived in Miami over 30 years and never been to the dog park. I can hardly believe it. I guess the reason was that none of my dogs were very social with other dogs so I never took the chance. I wasn't going to make the same mistake with Sydney. We were going to get him socialized.
Like a nervous first time mom, I packed anything and everything (except maybe the kitchen sink). Towels, wipes, ear cleaner, hairbrush, water bowl, water, food, leash and a frisbee. I later changed my mind about the frisbee realizing that toys and food are triggers for aggressive behaviour and didn't want to take any chances Sydney's first time at the park could be ruined.
I suppose a weekday instead of the weekend would have been a better choice for our first time at the park but the weekend is all we had. As I pulled up into the parking lot, I noticed there must have been well over 20 dogs already there. I was a little ambivalent and almost turned around and went home, but decided to tough it out and see how things played out.
The minute we entered the fenced in area, Sydney began pulling on his leash and in less than 30 seconds was surrounded by two dogs that had come to say hello. I released Sydney and the poor little darling tried to run as far away from the dogs that were chasing him as possible. He just didn't understand what was going on. In less than five minutes, he had dogs everywhere.
It didn't take long before Sydney began to feel right at home. I can't begin to express the joy it gave me to see him running around the playground, chasing the other dogs, going up to the people to say hello. After about 25 minutes of running around non-stop, Sydney was all tuckered out and ran up onto one of the obstacle course platforms and just layed down. Not only did it give him an opportunity to rest, it gave him a great vantage point in which to check things out.
Needless to say, Sydney's first day at the park was a big hit. I don't know which one of us enjoyed it more. This will be the first of many, many afternoons spent there. Although I'm thinking about trying out a different one next time just to see the difference. Will keep you posted.
Wow! It's been quite a long time since I posted anything. Life and work just kind of caught up with me and I couldn't find the time. I'm hoping to stay more organized in 2014 and find the time to check in and write something from time to time....
So where to begin? SYDNEY, he's my new little monkey. As I write this, he turns 16 1/2 weeks old !! Hard to believe. But I should start at the beginning and tell you how it all began, and why.
Sydney a/k/a White Velvet Labrador Sweet Nectar
As most of you know, on July 4, 2013 I had to say goodbye to Jax, my beautiful 13 year old Golden Retriever. He was my best friend, the one constant in my entire life, my true companion, my shoulder to cry on when I was down, my joy, my love. Even though he's no longer with me physically, I carry him in my heart every minute of every day and I feel his presence with me always.
Jax
After loosing him, of course I still had my sweet and precious Emma and figured she and I would manage together quite well. How wrong I was. Not only was Emma totally lost without Jax, the emptiness left by his passing was palpable.
Almost as if a higher force or destiny, or even Jax himself knew we needed something to fill the void, my condo association decided it would be passing a new rule allowing each unit owner to have only one dog; however, if you already had more than one at the time the rule was passed, the dogs would be "grandfathered" in. I always knew I would eventually get another dog, but I just wasn't quite ready.
Left with no choice, I began looking for a breeder out of state (too many backyard breeders in Florida). Also, to those that would condemn me for going to the breeder in the first place, and not rescue a dog, let me explain. Both Cody and Emma were rescue dogs. Unfortunately Cody passed away too young. He was only 10. I have been heartbroken each and every time I have had to say goodbye to one of my babies so I just wanted to try to give my new puppy and me, the best chance at a long and happy life together. I know nothing is guaranteed or set in stone, and maybe it's wishfull thinking, but I thought if I knew where the puppy came from and everything that happened to him since the day he was born, it could make a difference. Only time will give me the answer.
In as much as I would have loved another Golden, I felt it would have been unfair to the new puppy, as I'm sure at some point or another I would compare him to Jax. To play it safe, I decided on getting a Labrador Retriever instead, the closest in temperment to the Golden.
As I began looking for available breeders online, I came across White Velvet Labradors (www.whitevelvetlabradors.com) and the wonderful Lois Janz. The only problem was when I looked at their location. They were in Winnipeg, Canada!!! Yes, Winnipeg...in the middle of nowhere. Yet fate would once again intervene and help make my decision an easy one. I quickly remembered that one of my dearest childhood friends, Dana, lived in Winnipeg, Canada and had been asking me for years to come and visit her and her family. Coincidence? I think not.
I quickly contacted Lois on the phone and sure enough, she had just had two litters of puppies and did have a few male puppies available from both litters. After speaking with her, I quickly realized I had found the right breeder.
Lois, her husband and her 8 children (yes 8, it is not a typo) are a small, hobby breeder of the most beautiful cream/white labradors you have ever seen. The entire family is involved in raising the puppies until they are ready for each one to go to their forever homes, and what a wonderful job they do. By the time the puppies go home, they are extremely socialized.
After checking out both sets of parents, I made the decision that I wanted a puppy from their Sire Journey / Dame Mylie litter born September 6, 2013.
Sydney's daddy "Journey"
(photo courtesy of White Velvet Labradors)
Sydney's mommy "Mylie" (photo courtesy of
White Velvet Labradors)
A few weeks later came the almost IMPOSSIBLE task of trying to decide via photos, emails and conversations with Lois, which of the 5 puppies I would be taking home with me, especially given the unbelieavably adorable pictures Lois would send me of the puppies. After a lot of back and forth, the decision was made - White Velvet Labrador's Sweet Nectar would soon be coming home with me, and I couldn't be more thrilled!!
Sydney at 6 weeks old (photo courtesy of White Velvet Labradors)
(photo courtesy of White Velvet Labradors)
A little side note: During all this process, I happen to tel my neighbor about the new puppy I was getting and sent the pictures so he could see them. Right away he fell in love and also decided on getting one of Sydney's litter mates, White Velvet Timber (which was my second choice) a/k/a Bailey.
So on November 2, 2013, when the puppies were 8 weeks old, I, together with my neighbor's friend, flew up to Winnipeg, Canada to meet the newest members of our families...AND as an added bonus, got to visit with my dearest friend Dana and her family as well as Lois and Sydney's daddy - Journey.
The first time I saw Sydney
Sydney and I with proud Papa Journey and Bailey
in the background
November 3, 2013: After one very LONG night with two, eight week old puppies running around a house that is not puppy proofed, it was time for the long airplane ride home. In as much as both puppies were very good on the plane and didn't make a sound, it was quite a different story at the airports where they made sure everyone knew they were not happy campers being shut in those little airline carriers....so my friend Robert and I, with a little extra liquid courage from Don Julio and Jack Daniels, did everything in our power to make sure the puppies stayed as quiet as possible so we would all make it home safe and sound.
(Pssst...don't tell the airline, but I snuck him out of the carrier and put him on the seat next to me. Everytime the flight attendant walked by, we'd cover him with the blanket).
As soon as Sydney arrived, he sniffed around his new surroundings, checked out all of his new toys, and right away decided that bunny was going to be his favorite. (As of today, two months later, bunny doesn't have any ears, is missing one of his little arms, but no matter how many toys he has, he's always looking out for bunny.) About an hour after we arrived, he went right to sleep.
Following is more of a photo / video journey of Sydney's first two months at home and how very quickly he is growing and how much joy he is bringing into my life each and every minute. Even when he's being bad, I can't help but turn away and laugh or smile because everything about him is so darn cute!
November 4, 2013: Sydney and Bailey's first visit at the vet for their second set of shots. They were such good boys. Sydney weighed 14.6 pounds. Everyone fell totally in love with them. One firefighter outside saw us in the waiting room sitting there and came in to volunteer to be their baby sitters if we ever needed one.
Below, Sydney decided that it was more fun for him to be in his toy box, rather than his actual toys...something he did all the time, until he realized he didn't fit anymore.
Sydney loves playing with his toys...here he found Jax's favorite old bone.
After we returned from Canada, I decided to take the first week off from work so that it wouldn't be too much of a shock for the puppies so my place was designated the "day care". Bernie dropped Bailey off everyday and other than to take little 10-minute cat naps, the boys didn't stop playing the entire time. The great thing about that was that they were so wiped out by the end of the day, they slept through the night (most of the time). Here are the boys at nine weeks old.
Sydney and I went to go visit my good friend Luisa one day and she took these pictures of us in the car. Because I live alone, I don't have many pictures of Sydney and I together as it's always me taking the pictures so I'm glad she was able to capture these.
My neighbor Bernie is always telling me that I should stop treating Sydney like a baby because I'm always cuddling him and holding him in my arms as though he were a baby, but darn it, I just can't help it! I know how fast he's going to grow and pretty soon I won't be able to pick him up (sooner than later at the rate he's going).
Here is Sydney's "official" first portrait. Just kidding. I took this the first time he tried coming down the stairs and I just thinks he looks SCRUMPTIOUSLY ADORABLE!!
Sydney's first attempt at walking downstairs
As you may or may not know, puppies should not go outside where other dogs have been before they get all their shots to prevent them from getting sick. (In my case it would probably be around 4 months of age. In the meantime, I came up with the brilliant idea (if I say so myself), to buy Sydney a little stroller so he could go outside and sniff around the neighborhood without actually coming into contact with the ground. At first he was somewhat reluctant, but after a couple of tries, the first thing he did every morning was try to jump into the stroller himself. (He still does it now but he's outgrown it and doesn't understand why I won't take him out on it anymore). The first couple of weeks, the boys were small enough that they both got to ride in it together. It was quite a sight!
Slowly but surely we managed to get into a regular routine. Bailey would sometimes spend the day at my place, and while both Bernie and I were at work, my mom looked after the puppies. They literally spent hours on end playing and rough-housing with each other...so much so that now Sydney has a couple of scars on his nose and a big one on his side to prove it :0(
As they continue to grow, so to do they continue to play together; each trying in their own way to figure out which one is the toughest. Having watched them quite a bit, I frankly can't tell. They each have their moments when one takes charge and asserts himself more over the other. Sydney tends to go for the ears, Bailey for the neck. Bailey always seems to grab the toys first and Sydney spends most of his time running after him trying to take them away and always seems to be the one on top when they have their little wrestling matches; he's also always in control of the water bowl, not letting Bailey drink from it until he's good and ready.
Labrador Retrievers are to water like peanut butter is to jelly, one can't possibly exist without the other. For that reason, I tried to expose Sydney to water as quickly as possible after he arrived. After all, he was no longer living in Canada, but Florida; we are surrounded by water on all sides!
Below is the first time I took him outside to play with the hose. As you can see, he took right to it.
Before bringing the puppies home, I purchased a little kiddy pool at Toys R Us. I remember how much Jax loved his little pool, even when he was 78 pounds and could barely fit in it. In the Summer when it was really hot and muggy, he would go out onto the patio and just lay in the water and splash around with his toys. I'm almost certain that these little guys will be doing just the same.
Below is a short video of their first time in the kiddy pool.
And then there was Sydney's first bath. Obviously that was the first and last time he fit in the kitchen sink. The next bath was in the bathtub and the one after that on the patio with the hose. He loves water so bathtime becomes more of a game and makes for a very wet and slippery situation!!
A big part of bringing a new puppy into your home is figuring out what kind of diet to give them, as well as daily training in order that they can become well-behaved members of our family. Nothing worse than a 90 pound terror running around your house. After hours of research, I finally found a website www.dogfoodadvisor.com that rates the various different dog foods on the market. It was extremely helpful and after reading everything they had, I was finally able to make a decision on what kind of food to give him. Unfortunately, no stores in Miami carry it so it has to be delivered to the house. I use www.chewy.com. They have very fast delivery and incredible customer service.
The day the box of food arrives is one of the most exciting for Sydney. He can't even wait for me to open it and always takes it upon himself to lend me a helping hand. Mommy's little helper.
I must have made a great choice because eating his food really excites him.
As with everything else he does, he turns it into a little game. I could literally watch him for hours.
A BIG part of having a puppy is the training. This time around, I have made it a point to devote a lot of time to doing so. I am amazed at how fast Sydney learns. One month into the training he was already housebroken, knew how to sit, lay down, shake, roll-over, up, speak, fetch, drop and we're in the process of learning stay and heel. Just enrolled him in his first puppy class which begins on January 19th, 2014.
It's incredible just how smart he really is. He's decided to learn a few tricks on his own. One of these tricks (which I'm not so thrilled about) is how to open the front door. I have a lever handle so he jumps up and pushes it down and voila, he's out the door. Now I have to remember to lock it even if I'm just going to the mailbox. There's a good probability he's also learning or learned how to get water from the refrigerator's water dispenser. He just can't seem to reach it everytime he jumps up on it when he sees me getting him his water.
Oh yes, and then there are the famous bells. I remember reading on one of the many websites I researched regarding puppy training, that you should hang some bells on your front door. That way you can train the puppy to ring the bells when he needs to go out. Wonder who the genius was behind that idea???!!! Sydney took to that quickly but as usual, turned it into yet another game. We spend the entire evening like this: Sydney rings the bells, I open the door to let him go out, he comes back in without going to the bathroom, five minutes later he rings the bells again, I open the door to let him out, he comes back in and so on and so forth. You get the picture. I have now become his personal door man and I don't know how to make it stop. One day I decided to tie the bells to the side of his crate and again, another game.
And the next time Bailey came over, Sydney decided to teach him the game.
In the meantime, Sydney continued to grow. It didn't take long before he began to enter that lanky stage. Long snout, long legs, long body.
November 29, 2013: In his short little life, Sydney has become quite the traveler. He was born in Winnipeg, flew by plane to Minneapolis/St. Paul, changed planes, flew to Miami and in November, for the Thanksgiving holiday, visited Savannah, Georgia. Not bad for only being almost 3 months old.
We loaded up the car and together with Emma, made the eight hour car ride to Savannah and my little monkey slept the entire time, except when we stopped for bathroom breaks! He was such a little trooper.
Savannah is a very dog-friendly town and strolling along the squares and parks with Sydney in his baby stroller and Emma alongside, we were the talk of the town. By the end of our stay, everyone at Gallery Espresso knew who we were.
With each passing day, Sydney continued to grow and I continued to baby him.
December 24 and 25, 2013: Our first Christmas together! Even though he was still very much a puppy and had entered the "teething stage", I couldn't let our first Christmas together come and go without putting up a Christmas tree. Of course you may all remember the famous story of Jax reaching up into the Christmas tree and picking out one of the ornaments, eating it, getting a blockage in his intestines from the wires and having to have surgery to remove it (for a total cost of almost $3000). Needless to say I was weiry but I decided to go for it. I am happy to report that except for a few pine needles that he decided to lick off the floor and two instances when he attempted to pick off a couple of the ornaments from the bottom branches of the tree, we ended up spending a very special Christmas at home and also together with my dearest friends, Piloto and Zori who have become Sydney's "official" uncle and aunt.
December 31, 2013
January 11, 2014: Sydney's last vet visit for his final set of shots!!! The vet couldn't believe how big they've gotten. For the first time Bailey out-weighed Sydney by almost one pound. Sydney weighed 41.8 and Bailey 42.7. They are FINALLY out on parole and can begin to investigate the world around them. Yippeeee!!
January 12, 2014: Sydney's first time at the beach. Woke up today and it was an absolutely glorious day. One of those very rare occasions. There was not a cloud in the sky, a cool breeze was blowing from the north and there was no humity. It was the perfect day to take Sydney out on his first visit to the beach and the ocean. I thought about it early enough that we got there before all of the crowds.
The minute we got out of the car, there were a couple of guys with the most adorable Newfoundland puppy, about the same age as Sydney, and was also there for the very first time. At first, Sydney was a little hesitant to get close to the guys or the puppy, which I found weird, after all, he is a Lab and is suppose to love people. I guess it's the fact that his entire world for the past two months has only been me, Bernie, Emma, Bailey, Piloto and Zori, Bella, Robert and his nanny, Nina. The puppy's owner was great. Took Sydney from me and began walking both puppies on the leash together. After about 5 minutes, Sydney was ready to play.
No problems with the ocean. I threw in the frisbee and he jumped right in after it. It was low tide so it didn't give him an opportunity to really swim, but he ran around chasing the frisbee and all of the other dogs on the beach. He even got to see a couple of manatees from the sea wall which caught his attention. It was a great day for monkey!! Hopefully the first of many, many more beach days to follow, and hopefully next time his brother Bailey will join us.
January 15, 2014: Took Sydney and Emma out for a quick walk this morning before I left to work and Sydney managed to get loose. He took off like a speeding bullet. I almost had a heart attack. The words "NO" and "COME HERE" fell on deaf ears. He ran around the corner out of my sight and I had to quickly throw off my high heels and chase after him. Once I turned the corner I caught a glimpse of him again as he darted towards Bernie's house, ran up to the front door and proceeded to sit down and bark. I guess he misses his little brother Bailey, but he knows that playtime with Bernie is on the weekends. Good to know he's already learned his way around the neighborhood.
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