Friday, March 19, 2021

What Dog Breed is Best for You?

As you know Barb has been on an ardent search for a new puppy. When we lost Daisy we knew we would someday get another puppy, we both agreed that it would not be right away. What we did not know at the time is how much we were going to not only miss Daisy but just the companionship of having a dog on our laps and in our lives. Yes, we have Dakota but it was just different, our house did not seem complete.

So we talked about it and Barb set out on her search. One thing I have learned about Barb over the past 35 years is that I have to be very, very careful what I say to her about a major purchase like this. Whether it be a camper, truck, heck even a pot or pan, she has to research the heck out of it before she will finally commit to actually pulling the trigger and buying it. So when we finally decided to start the search, I knew I had once again “Released the Beast” and away she went. Practically every waking moment went into her researching for the best puppy that ever existed.

As I said in our last post I could not open Facebook without seeing hundreds of pictures of French Bulldogs (referred to as FBD in the rest of this post as my fingers will get tired typing out the entire name) as she joined every possible group to learn more and find “the one”. But it did not stop there, she also enlisted a friend of her cousin Lori in Alaska who shows, breeds and has 5 FBD's. Last but not least she searched every other website possible continuing to learn about FBD’s and a breeder to buy one from.

So, as she searched I too was learning as I was trapped. I mean, I got the opportunity to listen to her on our 54 hour drive to and from Pennsylvania. Here are some of the fun facts I learned about FBD’s….

  • They are not cheap, you cannot pick one up for free in the classifieds
  • Did you know FBD’s overheat easily and cannot go for long walks?
  • They also do not tolerate the cold well and need to be dressed up in the winter
  • They require a special “raw” diet. Not really sure what that means
  • FBD’s are artificially inseminated and require a C section for delivery. Not sure if that is true in all cases but that is what she read on one site
  • They can be difficult to house break
  • They are brachiocephalic so they have breathing issues
  • They cannot swim, they sink straight to the bottom
  • They can be allergic to many things
  • They can be very stubborn to train
  • And best of all they can be very gassy!

With all these awesome attributes who would not want one of these cuddly little monsters?!?!

As I was learning more and more about FBD’s I knew I had to intervene and sit Barb down and have a come up with a practical approach to what breed of we should get. So when the time was right we sat down and I drew a line down the middle of a piece of paper. On the top of the left side I wrote the word “Cons” and on the right side of the line I wrote the word “Pros”. I then wrote down each of the items listed above on the “Con” side. I then said “Now let’s list the Pros” To which she stated “They are cute and I want one”. With that she got up and walked away.

So without further ado, let me introduce Lyra…..



All kidding aside, although the items listed above may be true in some cases, there are lots of reasons to choose a FBD as a pet. Lyra is a cute little Blue Fawn currently residing in Oregon. Since she is so young, we cannot pick her up for a few weeks but we were able to Facetime with her the other day! At least I was able to answer the question what is the best dog breed from us is the one your wife says you are going to get. Who am I to argue with her? After all, I do still want to eat!

Now that the puppy search is all done we can continue with projects around the house. We have been working on two big projects. The first are the posts and railing in the loft. 

We had bought (3) 6"x6"x8' posts prior to going to Pennsylvania. They have been drying for several weeks so when we got back I cut them to length and notched 3 of them to fit over the loft wall and one to fit around a corner. Barb then sanded, stained and varnished them. Several days later they were ready to be installed!

End of Day 1

The next day we started putting up the actual railing.....

End of Day 2
One more railing section and one more rim board and that project is done! 

One of the smaller projects we did was complete the wood storage are by putting the last of the stained and varnished slats in the back of the wood shelf area. With that complete, this area is completely done! Well, not entirely, I need to put shelves on the right side.

The deer were happy to have us back and even left us a couple of presents! Little known fact.... Do you know what one of the fastest growing bones are? And no Dino, it is not .....never mind. It is the antler! Our whitetails lost their antlers in the past couple of weeks. We are still seeing elk and mule deer carrying theirs but it should not be too long before we can start searching for those as well. 

Here is what we have found so far.....

The other big event of the week was a snow storm that passed through dumping over 16" of snow over 2 days. We just hunkered down, had a fire going and worked on our projects. It was actually quite beautiful and peaceful. 

The deer were hunkered down as well with only 1 or 2 making the occasional visit. 

Frosty Deer!

Once the storm was done they came in droves. The snow was so deep they had to leap to get through the deep snow. Soon enough they had a path worn into the snow and only the little ones had to leap. 

This guy came right up to the window to see what we were up to....

Can I come in? It's cold out here!

When it was time for us to venture out we called Kevin and Cheryl and told them we were on our way over. 15 minutes later we called them back up and told them we were not on our way over as we buried the jeep in the driveway. 

After digging it out I made a couple runs up and down the driveway so we too had a path to get in and out. The snow sure made for some beautiful pictures...



Later that day I went over to Kevin's and went down a road that was not plowed and proceeded to get stuck again! Luckily someone with chains on their tires came by and yanked me out!

I earlier mentioned that we were working on two big projects. The other one is not quite done so hopefully we can unveil that one in our next post!

With puppy search done, Barb has deleted all those Facebook groups except one so our feed is back to normal. But now the beast is researching airline tickets, dog foods, pet carriers and yes, outfits for  Lyra....will the madness ever end?!?!? 

29 comments:

  1. Congratulations! We will have to get out the telescope and show Lyra her constellation!

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    1. You better do it soon as I think her name is about to change!

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  2. You know me well enough that I don't like to give out advice, especially on dogs. Also I am a cat person so I will be as gentle as I can. My mother loved collies so that to also meant that we had collies. My dad hated them because he was the one to clean up after them, feed and water them. That was until I got old enough to take over those duties. I remember my father saying to me, "What every dog needs is a .22 between the eyes." Make of that what you will. Congratulations on the new puppy! I can see you and it having matching outfits and I think that is so adorable.

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    1. Barb has already bought her some piggy pajamas, I wonder if I will get some too!

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  3. Aww Lyra is such a cutie pie!!! How could you not want HER!!! Except yes, dogs are a big pain in the patootie. I swear I am NOT replacing mine when they are gone. Well maybe not. Maybe I'll get a CAT!!

    I feel bad for the deer. WAY too much snow for this time of year!! Maybe a blow torch on the front of your jeep would help!!

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    1. 50 today and 60's this weekend so hopefully the snow will soon be history!

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  4. Congrats on the new puppy...Dakota will be happy to have a companion! You guys have done an awesome job on your place. That’s a good dump of snow! Nice to enjoy it from a warm and comfy country home.

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    1. I think it will take a couple of weeks before Dakota accepts a new puppy into our pack but she will eventually come around!

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  5. I am not sure Barb wants that last railing put in...easier to push you over the top when you embarrass her on the blog! LOL Cute dog...it is going to have fun in that snow...legs stuck in 2" with its belly hung up on the snow.

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    1. We could push her out in a sled with a rope on it then when she does her business we could just pull her back in!

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  6. Lyra will be a cute addition to your family!!

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    1. Thanks, we hope she is a good traveler like Daisy and Dakota!

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  7. Congrats on finding Lyra as your new pet. Kathy likes big dogs personally I like Rescue Mutts. With all the mixed breeds they tend to have less medical issues. Given time Dakota will make friends.
    The House is really coming together.
    Glad you kept that white stuff to yourselves.
    You could make money selling those Antlers and they make great Chew Tows for dogs.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    1. Yeah, I am afraid that this dog will be high maintenance, only time will tell....

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  8. Cute new addition coming to your house soon. Curious though when the T-box Pros and Cons list may have been a little reminiscent of your approval 35 yrs ago? Consider yourself a lucky guy! LOL The house is beautiful - you two have done such an nice job and are a great team. Lyra and Dakota will be good friends and you will be great fur parents. Never a dull moment. :)

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    1. Good point, I never though about it that way! Let's hope she does not update that list, it might not turn out the same!

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  9. Glad to see you understand the strength in your "pro" column. You know I bet Dakota would love to be a lap puppy. Did you try it? I hope Dakota can accept a new friend and not get too jealous with mom giving the new puppy all the attention. It will be interesting to see photos of the two when "Lyra" arrives. Love the new railing in the loft. The new firewood area looks great. Hope the snow melts as fast as it arrived.

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    1. Dakota loves one on one attention but she really hates to be confined and held. We sure hope she accepts the new puppy quickly. We are going to be careful to make sure she gets some extra attention when we get the new puppy so she does not feel left out.

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    2. Good to know Dakota will get extra attention. Now I feel better:)

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  10. Happy day - a new puppy! The wait to pick her up will seem like a long time!

    And good job taking the time to find a good breeder, especially with those popular dogs. Our new pup is 10 months old now. It had been 15 years since our last one. The first couple nights plan on being up with it every two hours. We took shifts. I read a puppy can be expected to hold its bladder one hour for every month of age which I'll say was the case with ours also for the most part.

    It is so fun to watch all their first experiences like seeing a shadow or walking in the rain or snow.

    Ours bonded with Karen during the four hour ride home as she never put him down. It was strange however, the way he shares time with both of us. Unlike our other dogs in the past. I think it has to do with him spending all his waking hours with both of us in the RV. Although he is bonded with Karen, and cries the most when she leaves, he has no problem with leaving her and coming over to sit with me on his own, sharing the love so to speak. It will be fascinating to watch your puppy through your blog to see if it responds differently to both being home with it.

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    1. I am sure ours will bond with Barb as it seems every dog we have had does. I will take what I can get though!

      Good to know about the bladder control, we will have to remember that rule.

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  11. After we lost our first dog, we expected to wait quite a while before adopting again, but we had the same experience - you just miss the companionship and their presence. It wasn't long before we had another dog. Once you get used to them being around, the house feels painfully empty without them. Lyra is cute as can be and will undoubtedly drive you crazy while bringing you incredible amounts of happiness. Congratulations on the new family member!!

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    1. Thanks, we are super excited and a little nervous about raising a puppy again, it has been 13 years since we have had a pup!

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  12. Congratulations on the new addition. We so miss having dogs but just don't feel it's the right time in our lives to have one. We are so thankful we are entrusted with friends dogs to watch occasionally. Can't wait to see the matching outfits.
    House is looking great.

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    1. You must have been binge reading blogs today! We feel like the time is right with us going to the farm so Barb can concentrate on house breaking it and getting the two dogs accustomed to each other.

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  13. Your new pupper is really cute. My nephew has one and while it's not my breed it is a pretty cool dog. The house is looking awesome of course, you two do great work. You definitely had a "snow day"! Your Jeep is a pretty capable unit in mud and snow so getting stuck in the driveway is a bad snowfall. Cheers.

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    1. It was quite the snow storm. By far the biggest we have seen since we have been here. We do not have any snow removal equipment, looks like we might have to get something!

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  14. Jim, you are too funny--but didnt stand a chance! When Barb is on a mission, she never fails! Congrats on having Lyra join the family! And luv that the deer come right to the door!

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    1. I had to give it a shot but in the end it was a futile effort.

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