"Aspen"

Well, Aspen is absoutley fabulous as always, we love her to pieces and she is growing up to be such a wonderful girl. These pictures that I'm sending you are ones that we took in August in Victoria, BC. Yes, that's right, she came on vacation with us. She's also going back there with us at Christmas time. Definitely a member of the family! I'm also considering registering us (Aspen and I) up as a pet therapy team. She just has so much love that I would like to share with others. I'll keep you posted.  Lisa G. Ottawa   Hi Judi, I just thought I'd drop you a line updating you on Tiguak! You wouldn't believe how full of life she is! She is always happy, playful and very adventureous. I took her down to the lake today and she ran straight in for a swim! She loves playing fetch with a tennis ball and a basketball. I can't believe how agile she is..She leaps off of the front steps into mid-air. I think I might check out some Agility training places for dogs. She is very smart and can do a number of commands. We are working on left and right at the moment. She loves the kids and is very protective over the 3year old. If you pretend to chase Ava and growl like a monster - Tiguak will nip at your bum and use her very serious sammy bark. We love her very much and are very happy she has come into our lives. I will send some pictures soon. Cheryl, Ontario Riley is doing great. He weights in at 51 lbs. and the vet says he is in amazing shape and so do our groomers. He is small compared to our 100 lb. Malamute "Liam" but is his equal. He and Liam are amazingly close for 2 male Northern Breed Dogs. They are both totally socialized and also get along with birds, cats, other dogs and any other creature they come across. Neither have a mean bone in their bodies. Darlene McL. Michigan   Just wanted to let you know that we are all doing fine. Matter of fact, I would say we are doing great! Getting the puppy was the best thing that we could have done. Everyone smiles and laughs and the two piglets. Hammer and Ty seem to be joined at the hip. Whatever big brother Ham does, Ty does. We could not have asked for a better personality in a puppy. He is wonderful! They will be going to the groomer here at the end of the week, but I thought I would send you a picture and let you see what they have been up to! Non stop excavating! The two are quite the pair! Talk about being blessed! Kari B, PA   Just a quick note to let you know that Staffa is still doing well. She absolutely loves going for walks in the woods, which she does every day, and this is where we took this picture during the week. Somewhere, once, you called her “a little dynamo”; well, that description still fits! She is a super dog, with a fabulous temperament, and she loves people. (And everybody loves her!) Thanks again for letting us have her. We’ve no regrets Dr. S, New Brunswick   Hi and send some new pics of Storm (redboy). Storm has been great. So easy to train. I'm so happy I got him. We would like to bring Storm to visit some time.  Leona B, Brantford ON   (Buster Brown)Arrived save and sound, and I can see why it was so hard to let him go!!!right after we picked him up at the airport, we took him to our favorite park.  Dan C, Sidney, NS   We had Kira's first B-Day today and thought I'd share the pictures. First she opened her two presents, a plush Tweety Bird and a red soft bone. We then gave her two scoops of black raspberry ice cream in a bowl with a candle.  We sang to her and my son Chase blew out her candle for her. She didn't know what to make of the candle.  She of course lapped up the ice cream in no time!  Kira is doing very well.  She had her "shampoo and cut" as we call it which is basically her trip to the groomer on Saturday, all fluffy and pretty for her first birthday. I take her every 2 months, just like I took my Tara.  The groomer loves her and she said she does very well, full of kisses!  Rest assured one of your babies is doing very well.  Enjoy the pictures!   Thank's, we are very pleased with her (Mistral). She is very nice and her temperament is perfect : no fear, curious and calm (maybe she's a little bit tired after a long trip).  Pierre G, Quebec   Lily passed her AKC Canine Good Citizen test with flying colors this past weekend.  :)  Next thing is going to be agility training we think, she seems to have the right personality for it.  In addition we've been asked by the place we've done our training through to use her for some of their other classes.  She has amazing "dog skills" as the teacher put it.   She breaks up other dogs when their playing gets too rough, and just seems to know how to react to every dog she's ever met.  She'll roughhouse with other big dogs (one of her favorite friends is Abel, a 90 pound Black Labrador) but gets low to the ground and doesn't throw her weight around when interacting with little dogs.  It's actually amazing to watch.  The teacher said she's very unique in this regard and was happy we'd bring her to help out with their other classes.  :) So, she's keeping busy! Jeremy F, NY   Just wanted to let you know that Dakota is doing well.  He is so much fun in the snow.  He is a very strong boy with that beautiful samoyed profile!   Hope everything is going well with you.  I saw that you have had some new litters lately.  I love to look at your website.  Can't believe that Dakota is almost a year old.  Time really goes by quickly. Chris A., WI   Hope all is well with you & Blair.  Sassy is doing fine,  your described her perfectly as a "firecracker"  I do think she is extremely smart,  and not just because she is our dog!  And Personality Plus!!!!  Joanne C, ON   THE CASE FOR PUPPY SUPERVISION <G>   Thought I would let you know that YOUR grandson has been in trouble all day today.   We started off at 6AM this morning with him jumping on my bed ( to my Rottie's dismay, her safe zone is now gone!) and stealing a pillow while I was in the shower.  By the time I got out, I now have 1 1/2 matching pillowcases to the set of sheets on the bed. After remaking the bed, sometime this morning, while we were doing housework in the den, a little boy snuck off to the bedroom again and I now have to repair the dust ruffle which was ripped and chewed off the bed. It wouldn't matter very much except the spread set was less than two weeks old!  So the baby gate has been placed so that the bedroom is off limits unless I am with him.  Strike 1. Cutter and Go-Go went walking with me this morning and when we got back, I laid the leather leashes and White Pine collars on the kitchen bar until I went back out to the grooming room to put them up.  Big mistake.  I now have one less good 6 ft. leather leash.  Cutter has never jumped up on the kitchen bar before, but I guess today is his day to "explore" new areas and see how far he can push his limits.  Strike 2. But the final item (all this took place before noon), was when I discovered that one of my handmade afghans in the den is now non-usuable.  Strike 3! Now Cutter thinks that he has a Correctional Officer watching his every movement.  I guess that today was his day for chewing everything in sight!  This afternoon he has been a complete angel, but I haven't given him any option not to be.  Needless to say, his amount of house that he did have free range in has contracted today.  So Cutter is in the "jailhouse" today and trying really hard to work his way out on good behavior.  In a few minutes, he is going to get his bath which he has always been good for, so we will see if this trend continues.  Hopefully so. So in case you get a email from Cutter saying that he was "wrongfully accused", don't believe it.  He was guilty all three times and caught with the evidence in his mouth!  But he's young, hopefully he can quickly learn the error of his ways.  Lynn G, TX   Chief is certainly living up to his billing. We are so pleased we bought him. Judy M. ON And a new mail from Judy on Chief ... We and everyone who meets him falls in love with Chief who soon will be a beautiful 2.Maybe he is growing out of the the occasional "bratty 'teens ( a red ink pen on the new braodloom). He charms all who meet him and now that he has Chuck ,a stuffed gorilla ,he cons all into play. He has even entranced the friend across the road who was terrified by a group of Samoyeds 40 years ago. She welcomes Chief into her home. I have sent your website to another friend who is very interested in getting a dog just like him. I did not bother to explain that there is only 1 Chief. We thank both of you for breeding such incredible dogs that would brighten any day.   Rosie has arrived and taken over the place.  It was inevitable really. Even though she is a dog, a 9 week puppy at that, she appears to be smarter, happier and more fun than any of the rest of us around here.  She is also fluffier, softer, prettier and so on.  I was thinking yesterday that it is about 133 days since her conception, when she began spinning herself out of the materials that be.....differentiating herself from milk and puppy food.....and now here she is-- integrating concepts like: "I can "Sit"(perfect, and get a treat!), and I can go over to the door and it will open and I can pee out there, got it, everyone stays relaxed if I just pee on the white stuff, I can do that, terrible fuss if I pee on the warm wood, not worth the bother, okay and what is next...I am going to my sheep skin rug for a lovely snooze...All of the other rugs are up in the shelves, I wonder why, those rugs are so much fun to chew on...hmmmmmzzzzzzzzz...." So my life is suddenly reorganized around the Rosiemiester.....and it reminds me of when I got Emily all of those years ago, how my life shifted outside of my own controlled realm of constant work to having to consider a dependent....and what a relief it was.  Already, I am trying figuring out how to stop/reduce all of those trips to St. John's, though I do have one coming up, and instead of flying to all of the northern coastal communties in the spring for emergency/disaster planning sessions(too hard to take Rosie on the plane), I am planning a long skidoo trip for two weeks up the coast.....and my whole team is enthusiastic about coming too......Suddenly the rushing and the franticness resolves and I get that deep peaceful, intoxicated-sunshine feeling of Labrador spring.....The same thing happened to me when I got Emily, and I had to plan adventure trips for her..... off to the Rigolet Dog Team Races, Friday afternoon travelling by skidoo to do clinics in Mud Lake.....not to mention the endless walking and cross skiing, exploring the country side......Life with one dog.....I have to say I am also missing Hannah and her energy, but not her energy that was always poised to run down the street and bite Fred's dog, or Fred's energy that was always poised to run back up the street and bite me.  I suppose the latter is still there, but something tells me Rosie is not the fighting kind, not now, not ever.  This is a relief....As a result, maybe Fred will be diffused or neutralized, left as he is now with no object of his dissaffection, or at least, hopefully that object will no longer be me..... Rosie also loves books.  So far she has begun devouring Ken Wilber's Integral Psychology, Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, and The Big I Am.  It is hard to switch gears suddenly after being a parent trying so hopelessly to encourage the boys to develop an interest in books to suddenly have such an eager girl but have to say "No Rosie!  Where is your bone?"  Where is the justice in that? It is a dull and cold day here.  I have been on the radio this morning telling everyone with the flu to stay home, and am about to join a teleconference as a new member for the Alliance of the Control of Tobacco.....then off to the gym.....(I tell ya, this year I am really going to get in shape!).....well, but first, I have to take Rosie for a walk....and play with her Garfield stuffed toy......oh so much to do, and already past the half way mark of the first month of the new year......   Jane McG. Labrador   As for Osi Tashka…our little Eagle Warrior…she is doing wonderfully. We absolutely love her to death and she’s really fit right in. I’m attaching a copy of the holiday photo we sent out to family and friends. As you will see, Osi and her sister were definitely Santa’s little helpers this year! They get along great and actually spend a lot of time playing together. It’s nothing to see Osi chasing Toksuri one minute and then Toksuri chasing Osi the next! It’s really quite funny. We’ve started agility training with her now. She has 8 weeks under her belt and is doing great so far. Osi got it pretty much right away. So far we’ve done the jumps, tire, a-frame, bridge, box, chute, tunnels and weave poles (although the weave poles are still a straight shot through for now). As usual, it’s training the handler (Al) that takes the longest. P.S. Don’t tell him I said that!! J We return for our holiday break this weekend so it’s back to work. Hope your holidays were nice and that your new year is full of blessings. Please let us know if you’re venturing back to Minnesota anytime this year. Thanks and take care, Sonia & Al C., MN   I love her (Ultima)!  She's beautiful and a very sweet natured puppy.  We have her home safely and are getting to know her.  Thank you so much.  We'll be in touch.  Cherie S., VA   October 12, 1990 –October 29, 2004  ... We are saddened to announce that today Valkyrie lost her battle. She was our Mary Poppins dog “practically perfect in every way”. We were blessed to have had her. Thanks to all of you who appreciated her during her life. Special thanks to Judy & Blair Elford for allowing us to have this wonderful girl. Judy W. DVM, ON   Well I think I can speak for Geisha and say that life is good. She has Rose for an Auntie, tennis balls to toss around and 20 cms of fresh snow to run around and poke her nose into. She stayed up a whole hour later to play in the snow. We really, really want to thank you for allowing us to have Geisha. She is a wonderful addition to our family!!!  Mary K., SK   Just a short note to let you know that old Rockey died in his sleep about 1 1/2 weeks. ago. I know that you would want to know.  I told Alana that when we look up in the sky and see clouds that is Rockey's way of wagging his tail at us now.  Donna L., NS   I thought that it would be nice if I updated you on Kobi's development since he joined our family. Firstly, Kobi is one great dog. He is very smart. At this point in time he can come, sit, give either one of his paws, lie down, roll over and stay when told. He also has an amazing disposition. As Blair pointed out when we were at your kennel - he's a thinker.  It is hard to walk anywhere with him without almost everybody stopping and saying that he is the most beautiful dog that they have ever seen. Even people who normally don't like dogs. I think that his freckles play a roll in attracting peoples attention. He's also great with other dogs. Likes to use those massive paws of his then playing.  Kobi comes with me to my office everyday and the staff all like to walk and play with him. He's always getting allot of attention. He is our mascot.  Dave R., ON   Well here is Johnny Lou 1st Birthday pictures along with his Birthday bath photos. Did you get his beach photos? What a joy he is, he  has us trained very well to his every need. I have never seen such a needy dog. He is now 63 pounds and believes he is a Mac truck, he loves to run by and take your feet out from under you.  Luann L., NY   I have gotten so very many compliments on what a gorgeous girl she {Auna} is.. She is so very beautiful as well as loving.. I feel so fortunate to have her in my life. Karen W., QC   Seven years ago we bought a male samoyed from you...."Cotton". Cotton is doing very well and we are still nuts about him. He is absolutely the best pet we could ever imagine and we continue to be grateful for sending such a great "pup" to us. Grant H., MA More to come ... Thank you to all the great owners of Vanderbilt Sammies for writing and sharing!