Doggie Update

It's pretty fun around here with two dogs! Rocky has added such a wonderful element to our family dynamic! He is exuberant and playful, but very sweet and loving! He's also a very quick learner and is a much better behaved puppy than Macy ever was! Macy was such an ornery little puppy, but Rocky has a great desire to please that makes him very teachable. He's grown so quickly and he's about the same size as Macy now...maybe a little taller, but still a couple pounds lighter. He retrieves to hand almost flawlessly, both on land and in water. He also has learned to sit at Jordan's whistle, so he's in the beginning stages of being "steady" (which, in layman's terms, just means he's well on his way to being a superb hunting dog!). ;) Rocky fits really well into the family. He's very easy-going and just loves everyone. He is always curious about what Serena is playing with, and is (thankfully) very patient with her curiosity concerning him (and his tail/teeth/lips/ears/etc!). Sometimes Serena will 'offer' Rocky her toy, and then when he sniffs at it or takes it from her, she waves her hand in his face and screams at him! I'm not really sure why. The same thing happens every time, and I wonder what she thought was going to happen when she put her toy in Rocky's face?! Anyway, Rocky is really funny how he just looks at her like, "You are a very strange little animal!" ;)

Typical Serena & Rocky scene

 Macy is really patient with Serena too. The other day, I was doing dishes and Macy was laying on the rug at my feet. I subconsciously knew Serena was down there too, but I thought she was playing with a toy or something. When I happened to look down there, I saw that Serena was pulling Macy's lips back and giving her a full dental inspection!! Macy didn't seem to mind a bit; she didn't flinch or pull back or anything! She was just totally relaxed while Serena explored the inside of her mouth! Serena seems to like Macy the best. She usually pets her very nicely and doesn't mind if Macy licks her dirty hands or something. Serena's relationship with Rocky is kind of a love-hate! She thinks Rocky is HILARIOUS, and laughs at him all the time. When the dogs are fighting (a daily ritual), Serena will often start belly-laughing at them; mostly because Rocky starts running around like a complete maniac! Serena is easily frustrated by Rocky when he comes too close to her when she's playing or when he jumps up on her highchair when she's eating. But, she loves to get kisses from Rocky (Macy doesn't normally give out kisses to Serena)! On the other hand, Macy has little patience for Serena and gets all in a huff if Serena comes too close while she's trying to take a nap or something.  But Rocky doesn't mind a bit if Serena accidentally trips on him or steps on his tail.  Macy is usually much more conscientious of Serena than Rocky is. Rocky runs into Serena and knocks her over a few times every day, but Macy rarely does. Macy has made great strides in the last month or so in her training. She seems to have finally gotten 'over' the fact that Rocky is now part of the family (she took it pretty hard at first), and is back to her normal self. In spite of the ornery puppy that she was, she has turned into a very mellow, sweet dog. She heels really well, which makes it a pleasure to take her on walks! She is doing really well with retrieving and hunting, and Jordan is working with her to make her 'steady.'  Serena loves to watch Daddy train the dogs and tries to get involved in any way she can!

Helping Daddy water the dogs after training

"Maybe he needs some more water, Daddy!"  Serena takes her watering job pretty seriously!

This was taken back when we were still in Clive. Jordan's family was over to help with some house projects, and they had brought Mia with them. Someone came to the house to buy something we'd put up on Craigslist, so rather than letting them be overwhelmed by English Cocker love (which can admittedly be very overwhelming!), we had shut all three dogs in the big kennel. I just thought this picture was so funny how it captures the personalities of the 3 dogs: Merry Mia, always happy wherever she is; easy-going Rocky, settling in for a nap because you should never waste an opportunity for a nap; and indignant Macy, who refuses to relax because she is too good for the kennel and there must be some mistake for her to be in there!

Rocky finds the funniest places to relax. He's such a big lug of a puppy! Always taking it easy!

Jordan with his doggies!

Jordan & Rocky

Sweet ol' Macy

This is from Sunday afternoon when Jordan took them out for some training. See how big Rocky is now?! Crazy! Two good-looking dogs, though, aren't they? :)