labrador retriever: Speechless Sunday - Let Sleeping Dogs Lie - 02/12/17 09:34 AM
This is what happens when everything goes right and I get home in time to throw some tennis balls and burn off some of the almost unlimited energy Grover & Lulu seem to possess. When things go wrong, I get two dogs nagging me mercilessly, refusing to be bought off with a treat, unwilling to listen to reason, and dropping various stuffed animals in my lap all night long, even though they know Mommy don't allow no fetch in the house.
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labrador retriever: Wordless Wednesday - Entertaining the Geese - 05/04/16 08:36 AM
Every time Grover, Lulu and I go down to the lake to play retriever, the Geese gather from all over the lake to watch. They seem very relaxed about the interaction, and they frequently come within 6 feet or so of the guys, who couldn't be less interested in them - they're totally focused on the tennis balls. We've had as many as 22 geese on hand for the show.
 
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labrador retriever: Wordless Wednesday - Grover, Framed - 07/01/15 12:32 AM

 
I know this is supposed to be a wordless blog post, per tradition. But if I do that, I don't get any points, and we all know I'm a complete points slut. The best I can do is make this muttered commentary invisible, and hope that none of you sharp cookies stumble upon it.
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labrador retriever: On The Road To Recovery - 04/21/15 01:30 AM
It has been a tough month for Lulu. She had surgery on her knee four weeks ago today for a ruptured ligament. The surgery went very well - she has had minimal pain, and is on the road to a full recovery.
 
But that's not an easy road - she's confined to her crate during the day, and to the main level of our home when we're here. At night, Grover and I are sleeping in the guest room with her on a mattress on the floor, since our master bedroom is upstairs, and stairs are a big NoNo - nobody … (21 comments)

labrador retriever: The Criminal Element - At The Lake - 09/01/14 06:55 AM
I took the guys down to the lake this afternoon to go swimming. It's like only their favorite thing in the whole world, but then Lulu and Grover are Labs. Notice that I'm not calling them Labrador Retrievers - if you watch the video, you'll understand - this is definitely not textbook retrieving, it's more like toddlers splashing around in the tub. And then there's Mario. He loves the shore, but ain't going in the water...voluntarily.
 
 
They do get tired of fooling around eventually and then they bring me the balls to throw, and we go through the whole … (25 comments)

labrador retriever: Remembering Moose - 06/17/14 04:24 AM
This morning I lost my best friend.
 
Moose, our oldest Lab, ate breakfast, led the gang on his last patrol of the property, laid down to sleep on the deck and never woke up. It was a peaceful end to a great adventure.
 
Moose was 13, the son of Guido and Lilly, Grandson of Nell, and great grandson of Augie, my first Lab. He was born in my basement, and I held him just seconds afterward. He was my pick of the litter, and he always lived up to that distinction.
 
A direct descendant of a long … (29 comments)

labrador retriever: The Criminal Element - We Can't Play All The Time - 05/04/14 01:28 AM
Grover had a good day yesterday. The humans were home all day long! Breakfast at 6:30, followed by a big nap back in bed with the food guy, who was sleeping late. Then, tire retrieving at 10:00, followed by a bigger nap on the deck with LuLu & Uncle Moose. Then, after the food guy finished mowing the lawn, the first real swim of the season, retrieving tennis balls for an hour with the other dogs. Following a nice dinner (chopped chicken and kibble, in a nice presentation by the food guy!!), a brief and always unsuccessful rabbit chase, and the … (24 comments)

labrador retriever: In His Element - 04/27/14 12:09 AM
We generally know our dogs from their behavior as it has adapted to our environment. But when they get into a situation where their instincts take over, they show us a side we may seldom see in our daily lives.
 
A dozen years ago, my third Lab, Guido, and I made a two-week trip in northern Canada to above the Arctic circle, camping and hiking as the mood took us. He was very much in his element, using his amazing nose to read the story of the places we visited, and sharing his more interesting finds with me. He was beautiful … (15 comments)

labrador retriever: The Criminal Element - Grover's Bone - 01/13/14 02:47 AM
With Labs, it's always an adventure. Last night, we got in bed - all of us, as is the custom: 2 humans and 4 dogs. Mary & I were just settling down to read a bit and the dogs were off to sleep and dream of chasing rabbits.

But Grover, our 9 month old Lab puppy (hard to call him that since he's now the biggest dog in the pack) was having a tough time settling down. He needed a toy to chew on and toss around a bit, so he got down, dug around in his toy box, … (20 comments)

labrador retriever: The Criminal Element - Grover @ 6 Months - 10/20/13 03:34 AM
From this:

To this:

Grover is 6 months and a few days old now, and we're amazed at how he has turned out. Lab puppies are an adventure - they're all going to turn into wonderful family members, but the journey there can be, uh, interesting.
We have been extremely lucky. Grover has taken a sweet, cuddly and eager-to-please, eager-to-learn path, and has fit into the pack quite seamlessly. Lulu adores him - they're basically inseparable, Moose is his mentor, and Mario is a willing paymate. If he's going to take a nap, it's either at the feet or … (19 comments)

labrador retriever: The Criminal Element - Conehead - 09/30/13 03:32 AM

I was just playing keep away with Grover, like we do all the time, and when the rubber toy broke, I must have swallowed the part I had in my mouth. I know I didn't do it on purpose - I usually make better culinary choices, at least stuff that tastes good. This was just a little round piece of rubber about the diameter of a nickel. Who would have known it would cause so much trouble? Heck, I once swallowed a whole ground squirrel to keep the food guy from taking it away from me and nothing bad happened.
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labrador retriever: Grover's Swimming Party - 07/02/13 01:09 AM
On Sunday, Grover's brother Burt and sister KayC came over to visit. We packed the two big dogs and the annoying small emergency back up dog into a quiet room where they couldn't see what they were missing, and headed down to the lake with the pups for some swimming.

Burt and Grover had already had several play dates, but KayC fit right in - the boys remembered her from the old days.

And they had a few old scores to settle.

The retriever DNA was very much in evidence. Only 13 weeks old and they're all … (12 comments)

labrador retriever: Puppy Report Wrap-up - 06/08/13 11:54 PM
 

 
 
Hi! I'm Grover, and I'm going to be 10 weeks old tomorrow. The food guy said I should write this post and let you know how everything turned out.
My brother Bert left last Thursday - he was the last one to go - so now we're all scattered all over. Three of us went to the Left Coast, to Washington and Oregon, and one to Chicago. And four of us live here in Fort Collins, and I heard the food guy and the NoNo lady talking about how we all went to really good homes. Bert … (16 comments)

labrador retriever: Puppy Report - Graduation Week - 05/26/13 08:15 AM
The Criminal Element is down to three members.
Three of the guys - Flo, Amy & Ernie - left with our friends Mark & Anne last Wednesday, headed for the Left Coast and the beginning of their great adventures. Reports from the road indicated a smooth and easy trip. Yesterday, two more - Wanda & Madonna - were picked up by their new families here in Fort Collins. And next Thursday, Bertha leaves for Chicago. That will leave Grover & Bert. Bert is going to be staying with us until June 5th, when his new owners will return from a … (23 comments)

labrador retriever: Puppy Report - May 19, 2013 - 05/19/13 12:28 PM
There's lots going on with the Criminal Element this weekend.
Our friends Mark & Anne Miller arrived from Olympia, WA yesterday, along with their dogs Brenna and Ty. Brenna is our lab Moose's sister, a litter-mate from 11 years ago, and Ty is the father of the Criminal Element. They're all here to pick out their new puppy.
There has been lots of playing with the dogs, big and small, and everyone is on the edge of exhaustion.
Here are some scenes from today's fun:
Warning: The video contains a couple of scenes of intense savagery - the Criminal … (14 comments)

labrador retriever: Mom & The Kids - 05/15/13 02:28 AM
It's time for some mid-week puppy fun.
Over the last week, since they were weaned, the Criminal Element's time with Lulu has been a bit limited - she needed to be away from them for a while so she could, uh, get back to normal. Now that they're back together, and have mostly figured out that the nursing thing doesn't work so well anymore, they're enjoying themselves learning how to play. Lulu loves her time with them - they all play until they drop, which is about 45 minutes.
We only have about 10 more days with them, and we're really … (22 comments)

labrador retriever: Puppy Report - May 12, 2013 - 05/12/13 08:24 AM
 
This week was a great week for the Criminal Element. They spent many hours a day outside of their enclosure, practicing property damage - a Labrador core knowledge skill - and playing and wrestling. They figured out that balls and squeaky toys and throw rugs are fun, and they even got their first taste of romping around in the yard. Napping on our laps remains a favored activity, for the puppies and for us, and Mary has figured out how to stack them so she can have all 8 sleeping comfortably in her lap at once.
These are happy times … (27 comments)

labrador retriever: Puppy Report - May 5, 2013 - 05/05/13 07:15 AM
This is all going by way too fast, and the Criminal Element is changing every day. They're fully weaned now and Lulu is experiencing a mixture of relief - those teeth are sharp! - and longing for her babies. As soon as she dries up completely, she'll get over the longing part quick enough.
Meanwhile, the monsters think people are really cool - they bring food, are good to chew and climb on, and will pet them to sleep. They're getting lots of visitors and are very well socialized, and life is a lovely cycle of eat-sleep-play. And every day, their … (26 comments)

labrador retriever: Ebony & Ivory - 05/03/13 04:01 AM
You can consider this photo of Grover & Wanda as your late week supplemental Puppy Report - it simply can't wait until Sunday to be shared:

And if you haven't already guessed by now, it's official - Grover will be joining the Greenberg family as our new associate dog. They're all very special, but Mary won't let me keep more than one, and Grover has worked very hard to worm his way into our hearts. Evidence of his specialness is Mary's enthusaistic vote on this, since she has dog-proofed her entire wardrobe against black dog hair.
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labrador retriever: Puppy Report - April 28, 2013 - 04/28/13 06:07 AM
The Criminal Element will be 4 weeks old tomorrow and changes are happening quickly.
The big one is that mid week, the puppies actually noticed us as something other than part of their background environment - they're now playing with us and trying to figure out what we're good for. So far they have us down for petting, gnawing on, peeing on, sleeping on and complaining to. They're now also big enough to climb out of their whelping box, so I cut an opening and now they have a much bigger world to explore - their enclosure is now about 10' … (22 comments)

 
Dick Greenberg, Northern Colorado Residential Real Estate (New Paradigm Partners LLC)

Dick Greenberg

Northern Colorado Residential Real Estate

Fort Collins, CO

More about me…

New Paradigm Partners LLC

Address: 2601 S. Lemay Ave., Fort Collins, CO, 80525

Office: (970) 689-4663

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