Gertie’s tummy is growing

Today we saw the first signs of Gertie’s puppies growing.  Her belly is finally starting to get bigger and we are so excited to see these pups.  She is sleeping more now and enjoys all the tummy rubs she can get.  Here’s one of our photos of her camping in the great outdoors.

Anxiously Awaiting Puppies (20-25 days to go)

Beautiful, sweet Gertie girl is due soon and we are so excited to meet her puppies! We are praying for healthy lives to be born with a smooth, easy delivery for Gertie. Not too much to ask for, right?! :) Yesterday I got out the clippers and shaved Gert's belly. We are gearing up for these little ones with puppy proofing the home and preparing a warm and cozy whelping box for her pups. I think if Gertie had it her way she would have them on our bed, one of her favorite places to be. Here's a photo of Gertie sporting her new shaved belly, she was too shy to give us a full belly shot.

Photo shots

One of our favorite photos of Gertie. She was happy to sit and watch the boys fish. Each time they pulled one out of the water she would come wagging her tail to see what was on the end of the hook.

We love this photo of Gertie sledding down the dunes. She is so funny! She was at the top of the hill before any of us. Just eager for us to get to the top. We entered this photo in a contest along with some others. The winner will be featured in a doodle calendar. We'll keep all her fans posted!

Half way there girl......

Gertie has been doing so well with her pregnancy. She is now 32 days along and has around 30 to go. She enjoys going for rides in the car while we take the boys to school and loves her jogs at the park. I have to say she is having a bit of a time keeping up with mom. You can for sure tell we are going to have to start walking soon as those pups grow bigger. Lately she has been spending her days right beside me always eager for me to run my fingers through her funny hair. We look forward to the day when her pups enter the world and I'm sure I will have much more to write about. In the meantime we'll make sure to post some of our favorite photos of the golden monster. Remember the troll dolls from the 90's, or was that the 80's? Well that is how Gertie's hair is, we just love playing with it.

Courtship

Gertie met her friend, "Lightening" on October 13Th. He is a Standard white Poodle who his very smart and enjoys most of his days as a service dog. They had fun getting a chance to know one another and bounced around the yard joyfully. Gertie was happy to have someone her size to play with. Below is a picture of "Lightening" with the boys. They had so much fun playing with him and wondered if at all possible would dad allow another pet in the house.

Meet Our Girl!

Meet our Girl, "Gertie", taking a well earned break after hiking the Bruneau Sand Dunes, definitely the most dog friendly country out there. Lots of amazing sandy dunes and hiking paths to run on. Gertie found the water too and got so excited she fell off the dock into the cold, swampy water. Dad had to rescue her as she did not know what hit her. We ended up having to keep Gertie on her leash most of the time as I forgot to tell Dad,(Mike)that she went into heat the day before we left. I just knew if I told him, he would cancel the whole trip. So, we fell asleep listening to the sounds of Coyote pups playing in the night. Boy did we keep her tight on her leash after that! We wouldn't want any coyote-doodles now would we?