She's Home!

Well, Dakota is home. She had an excellent time playing with Ryan and Corinne and made it to the airport thanks to them. She was a little nervous at the airport, but quickly become curious and then frustrated with me for not letting her explore then entire place. Thanks to the kindness of our neighbors on the airplane, she even got to get out and play during the flight! It was a very fortunate event that we had dog friendly neighbors sharing the flight.

I know the suspense is killing them, so I'll mention that Dakota did not sleep in the bed, but slept in the crate in our bedroom instead. She whined for a bit, but then slept for quite some time.

We're having problems posting to the blog at the moment, so I'll just add a few quick pictures and then write again later.

Yes, I think she likes Ryan better.

Riding in the car the first day was not good on her tummy, but since then she has done great!

Mom and I like to play!

Annie

We should also show you the dog that cemented Kyle's desire to own a dog and Dakota's cousin from North Carolina. Annie was kind enough to let me live with her for a while and taught me how to care for dogs. Of course, she was so well trained by Ryan that there weren't too many hard lessons learned, but learning was done none-the-less.

Annie enjoys riding in Ryan's Jeep, and anything water related, especially riding on the waverunner.

Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers

She's a Toller!

We often get blank and confused stares when we tell people that our puppy is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (or Toller), so I thought I should share a little about them and why we chose one. If you want to learn more, please go to the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Club- USA or AKC webpage.
We choose the Toller because we wanted a dog that would live inside with us and be a family pet. Happy to play and cuddle with us, Nicole might even let her sit on the couch! Tollers actually prefer to live inside with the family because they want to be close to their family and participate in life, so that suits us well. They are also a medium breed, so they won't take up the entire indoors without allowing us to also live there! After seeing our first pictures and meeting our first Tollers, we were in love. Just like Nicole and I knew we were perfect for each other the first time we met (Yay Timmy and Sarah!) , we knew Tollers were perfect for us at that moment.
The other factor was that Kyle would very much like a dog that will enjoy hunting and retrieving as much as he does. You see, Kyle comes from a line of hunters feared throughout the duck and goose world. Just ask the next flock flying through about Grandpa Bob and see if they don't get riled up about it. Now Kyle can't claim any greatness like that, but he has spent his share of time out and about and if you have ever sat in the early pre-dawn and watched and heard the birds starting to move, heard the coyotes and foxes chat, dozed 10 feet from a flock of cormorants, had a beaver wake you up to say hello, or watched shooting stars from the boat without annoying lights to dim the view (Yes, all of those were actually in one day, THANKS TIM!) you'll know what his addiction feels like.

Tollers also have a ton of energy and are very smart. So we look forward to matching wits and seeing who has the most energy. Kyle will probably expect Dakota to be proficient at Differential Diagnosis by the age of 1, so it is good to have a smart puppy. As if Nicole didn't have her hands full with one thinker, but she will be able to handle them since they both love her so much.

Anyhow, I suddenly forgot this blog was about the puppy, not us, so I'll leave you with another picture of Dakota.

More about the puppy

So, you may notice that I'm not as adept with computers and blogging as my brother and sister (Wily Jeneric), but I get to claim that is it because I'm so busy with puppy preperations and teaching. Oh wait, they just had a baby and Jenni teaches too. Nuts. Anyhow, forgive me as I play around with fonts, formats, sizing, etc.

But, here are a few more pictures.

Why yes, you are right. She is absolutely beautiful.

Just because you asked nicely, here is another picture showing how cute she is. I was told Wednesday that I acted like a ten year old, so I think this picture shows how much fun Dakota and I will be having playing together. She is busy exploring and getting herself ready for the difficult task of having all kinds of fun with us.

Welcome to the Family!!!

Here is one of the pictures of our newest family member. As you might see, Dakota is absolutely adorable. These pictures were sent to us by the breeder, Phil and Shirl DeVore of Chesagrove Kennels.