Weekend with Sugar and Kassie

Almost a week and a half ago, Sugar and Kassie both visited Kyle and me. I finally found a few minutes to post pictures of our adventure.

I know that Kyle's first raisers had a pet dog. Since he has lived with me, Kyle hasn't had many opportunities to play with other dogs. Sugar is only two weeks older than Kyle, so she and Kyle made great playmates. However, when I first let Sugar and Kyle play together they were pretty rough on each other.

(Kyle is pouncing on Sugar while she bares her teeth at him. They both look pretty vicious.)

After a few corrections for overly rough play, I put them both in down stays with bones to entertain themselves. They did a great job with this one even though neither was on tie down.

(Sugar and Kyle are both in great down stays. Both happily chewed on their bones and ignored the other dog just three feet away.)

The next day my sister Kassie came into town for less than 24 hours. This was Kyle's first chance to meet one of his human aunts. He took to Kassie immediately. She sat on the floor and he pulled one of his typical maneuvers. He curled up in her lap and made her hold his bone while he chewed on it. Anyone who will let him do this is okay in Kyle's book.

(Kassie is sitting with Kyle in her lap while he gnaws away at the bone in her hand.)

My family is full of dog lovers. I have five younger sisters and three younger brothers so we make quite the clan. All six sisters are adults and four of us have homes of our own. That means that four of us have dogs. My brothers also have dog fun with dad's two pet dogs. Needless to say, Kyle was a happy addition to the whole mix.

Kassie wanted to bring Kyle a present when she met him. Boo, Kassie's black lab/chow mix, didn't like her nylabone, so she brought it for Kyle. He loved it and already has it pretty worn out. In return, Kyle and I sent a Kong wobbler back for Boo. She now eats a large portion of her meals in it. Yes, my family spoils our K9 members.

 (Kyle curled up against Kassie's leg chewing on his new Nylabone.)

During all the introductions, Sugar also got plenty of attention. With two humans, the dogs got plenty of love. Of course, they both liked to vie for the same human's attention at the same time.

 (Kyle on my lap with Sugar on the floor in front of us.)

Kassie is 5 1/2 years younger than me, so when I raised Turk she was too young to help much. When Becky and I co-raised Mesa, Kassie didn't help much either. Thus, with two dogs Kassie got a new adventure. We took both dogs to the bank and grocery store, so Kassie got to walk a guide puppy in public for the first time. She loved it! Kyle and Sugar made it easy since they are both so wonderfully behaved in public.

Later in the evening, Kassie and I headed to our favorite hangout spot...a local arcade. Since we weren't sure how the dogs would handle all the noises, strange lighting situations, and other odd goings on, we only took Kyle. He did so well, we really could have taken Sugar too. Kyle didn't even blink at all the fun. He simply curled up at the skee-ball, video games, and basketball hoops. The only event that caught his attention was the air hockey. Kyle put his front paws on the table, but I think that was basically because he wanted to see what was going on

(Kyle and I playing air hockey. I had to get a picture before correcting him and making him stay down. He was too cute!)

When we got home, we let Kyle and Sugar play in my spare room while Kassie and I visited. Sugar got tired and stretched out on Kyle's dog bed. After a while, Kyle noticed that there was enough space for him too, so he joined Sugar on his bed. I was impressed that they wanted to cuddle each other without play fighting.

(Kyle is on the bed while Sugar is half on/half off the bed. Sugar chose her position first.)

Early the next morning, we took Kassie to the airport, and I was left with two dogs and one human again. The day before, my club leader had Kyle, Sugar, and Mara. She walked the three of them for two miles. I'd never walked two dogs at once, but Kris inspired me. I figured that if she could walk three dogs for two miles, I could walk two dogs for three miles.

(Kyle and Sugar both walking on loose leash. Although they are almost the same age, this picture shows that Sugar is a lot bigger.)

My neighborhood is great because it is still zoned for livestock. On our walk, Sugar, Kyle, and I got to see horses, cows, and goats. Even though Kyle sees these animals all the time, Sugar actually did better around them. She didn't even blink at any of the animals, while Kyle backed away from the horses a bit.

(A beautiful white and brown paint horse with the mountains in the background. I love the scenery in our community!)

(Kyle and Sugar in perfect sits while watching the horses. Notice that Kyle is behind Sugar. He didn't want to get as close.)

Kyle and I loved puppysitting Sugar, and she is welcome back any time she wants to visit. Kassie already knows that she has an open invitation to visit whenever she wants. :)

On a final note, here are a couple adorable pictures of the two pups. Their personalities and looks couldn't be much more different, but they are both incredible dogs!

(This shot of Kyle looking at the camera shows off what my mom dubbed the "skid mark" on his lips.)

(Beautiful Sugar! As the only golden retriever in our club, she is adored by all. Since she is on breeder watch, maybe some of us will be lucky enough to raise a Sugar puppy someday.)