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February 14, 2002:

Obi  (short for Obi Wan Kenobi) is a cute little fluff ball of golden joy.  He is now 5 months old and came to GRR at 3.5 months of age because his owners found out how difficult and demanding puppy hood could be.  Obi has begun to live up to the "pooping, peeing, shredding machine moniker" that all pups get at this stage.  He is bouncy, healthy, happy and quite a handful - just the way he should be at this age.  Is lots of patience, training and "puppy kindergarten" in your future plans?  If so, consider this little guy but beware, his grin is contagious! 

5/10 Update:

Just to let you know that we had a couple of breakthroughs and one breakout yesterday with Mr. Obie Wan.

Breakthrough #1 - Obie made it through the entire day without a piddle on the floor.  (See how fast I can be trained?  Maybe I should put that on my resume.)

Breakthrough #2 - Obie slept through the entire night in his kennel.  Boy was he hungry this morning.  Boy was I thankful for my first full nights sleep.

Breakout #1 - Since his arrival, Obie has been very interested in the Golden next door.  Well after the sprinklers had run during the night, the ground was soft enough to dig under our fence and go-a-visit'n.  I missed him right away, but decided to let them play next door for a couple of hours.  Obie was one muddy mess but this breakout probably contributed to the success of Breakthrough #2 and Bath #2.

We are having a wild time here.  Obie is into everything and really likes our back yard.  He spends a lot of time sleeping on the back porch.  His favorite past time is killing stuffed animals while lying on his back holding the teddy up in the air.  He eats like a horse three times a day and really wants to tussle with Paddy.  Paddy is much more at ease with this ankle biter and tolerates him quite well.

 

6/05 - Just an update on the Obie Wan.

Obie is at the wild, crazy, jumping, fun stage.  There are times when we laugh until we cry watching him attempt a new skill.  Sometimes his backend just gets out of sync with the front end and he just crashes into the couch or slides off the bed.  His really working on the jumping coordination.

Obie has now been with us about a month now.  He plays till he drops from exhaustion.  He wants to chew on anything that is at his level.  We are constantly amazed at the stuff he will snatch and run off with.  Only Obie can call a crushed Cool Whip container a toy and keep it as his prize for two days straight.   If you have a project on the floor or just want to lie on the floor and watch TV, you have entered Obie's territory and you will be forced to play.  Obie has trained us well.  We do not try planting flowers, working with a rag, mopping, vacuuming, or assembling anything when he is in the room.  Nancy just learned to close the bathroom door when she is in the tub.  It is a struggle, but Obie can now slither over the side -- he loves soapy water and the body scrubber.

Obie is just now figuring out what his name is and how to come when he is called.  Unless it is for dinner...  Then he knows exactly who he is and where to go.  He eats three times a day and you had better be on time with each meal.  Oh, by the way, he gets really hungry over night so his stomach says breakfast time is anytime after about 4:AM.  We are trying to break the 4:AM feeding by doing dinner at 10:PM.  We will see…

Obie has grown six inches longer and taller since he came.  He is almost as big as Paddy and just as strong.  He and Paddy play tug-o-war several hours per day and it really builds strong muscles.   He loves his walks in the park.  He still pulls the lead till he chokes, but that is just the puppy again.

He is a great little traveler.  He settles down to sleep within a mile from the house.  Did I mention before, he only has a 100-mile bladder so he cannot make it all the way to Houston in a continuous drive.  The McDonalds in Giddings has great smelling grass and serves French Fries!

In Houston, our daughter has two cats and Obie does fine with them.  Especially if they will play chase me/chase me!  Obie is crate trained now and also does very well with a baby-gate in the utility room.  We can leave him for up to 8 hours with no accidents.  You do have to pay him to get in the crate but biscuits are cheap.  He does not bark in the house, but will let you know if you are not getting dinner out on time.

Obie will make someone a very special friend.  He is just learning all the social skills and is at the right age now for a family who is looking for a new member that will participate in all activities, love unconditionally and provide years of entertainment.  It will take training and patience but Obie is a great puppy and will make a great dog.  He needs a family who will let their child work with Obie in a puppy class or obedience school and he will be a model canine citizen.

Update 02/14/02 from Adopted Family:

Gold Ribbon Rescue -

We wanted to give you a quick update on how Obi is doing.  He just had
his first birthday and is really settling down nicely.  He is a very
affectionate dog who is a great addition to the family.

Obi is terrific.  We have tremendously enjoyed having him as a member of
the family.  As a six-month old, he was a little too enthusiastic in his
play with the kids early on, so we sent to Any Dog Can for more
"manners" training.  They did a fantastic job helping us learn to
communicate with him better.  He still loves to see and play with the
kids, but sometimes doesn't realize that he weighs more than they do and
bowls them right over.  All in all though, he is beginning to settle
down (at the moment, in my lap... Doesn't yet understand he's too big to
be a lapdog!).  He is just about 1 year old now.  We have recently
started to let him have more freedom in the house when we are not here,
mostly because he doesn't seem to think  toys are quite the delicacy
that they used to be (Legos and stuffed animals were favorites).

He is a total ball hound.  If you have a tennis ball in your hand, you
are the supreme ruler!  He will go for hours.  One of the best things we
have done is to take him to a big field and hit the ball as far as
possible with a tennis racket.  That seems to wear him out a little
faster!

We took Obi to Colorado for a couple of weeks this summer and had the
chance to spend some time in the mountains.  There was even a bear that
had been spotted in the vicinity of where we were camping.  He enjoyed
running up there in the fresh mountain air and letting his nose go wild
with the smells of all the critters in the area.  Thankfully we didn't
encounter any bears of skunks!

Obi also loves our neighborhood.  We have access to a nature preserve
right at the end of our street.  A two mile hike leads us all the way
down to Lake Austin, another of Obi's favorite places.  During the
summer when it was too hot for him to spend  much time outside in the
day, I would come home from work and take him down to the lake for a
swim.  I'd through the ball in and he'd swim after it.  He'd go non-stop
until it was almost dark. 

Down the street there is a female black lab named Ony (short for Onyx)
that is about Obi's age.  The two of them have frequent "playdates" and
will romp for hours in the back yard.  One time Ony escaped from her
back yard and was found sitting on our doorstep several hours later.  I
guess she decided to make a social call, but we weren't home to greet
her.

He is definitely a part of the family and loves to be wherever we are in
the house.  He's laying down next to me right now.  I've attached
several pictures so that you can see him.

Thanks again for a wonderful dog!