An Impromptu Baby Shower...Picardy Style

Our friends, Christine and Matt welcomed a new addition to their family in May, William Crawford.  He is such a sweet little guy!  We recently had parents and baby (and Pug!) over for a BBQ.  It was Zoë's first experience with a baby.  She has been around little kids at our place, but never a baby on 'home turf'. We had complete confidence in her with William - she's just so sweet with kids. 

Anyway, after dinner, we were sitting outside and William was on Christine's lap.  'Wills' was being such a good boy - just sitting quietly and observing his surroundings.  At this point, our Blue decided to make her move.....



Zoë cautiously approached William for a welcome 'sniff'....  

and proceeded to give him a welcome that only a Blue could give.  Follow the link for a look:

A Picardy Welcome

Once again people, could there be a dog with a more lovely temperment?  Highly unlikely!
I guess the BBQ ribs weren't the only thing that were 'finger-lickin' good!!!!!

Home Alone?? Not!!

Well, this has been a hard two days.  I've started a short term contract downtown and our little Blue is now in charge of the house.  It's been brutal leaving her in the morning, but she's been absolutely fantastic!  Kypros and I are both so proud of her.  Now, she goes for a nice walk in the morning and has her Yaya (Greek for Grandmother) come in during the day to let her out for a potty break and to spend some time playing in the backyard.  Another bonus of having 'Yaya' come over is that, well, being a Yaya, she can't stop cleaning our house!!!  Wohoo!!  Coming home to a happy Blue, ironing done, kitchen clean - it really can't be beat.  House-sitting and puppy-sitting in one! Thank you Christina for all of your help - you've been a life saver!

When we come home, we're off to the leash-free for a romp.  Some of Zoë's best buddies are at the park after work - including CJ, Rocky and her new buddies: Alice, Louis and Charlie.  Zoë needs to let loose at night and once we're back home, she plays with her toys and chewies and around 8:30, she's crashed out, ready for another day.  What a super girl!!

It's been a real transition, but so far, so good.  (Just don't ask Gus for his opinion!!!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

What can I say about Thanksgiving long weekend 2010?  We've had amazing weather - something to be truly thankful for.  With the fall colours and the sunny bright skies, Kypros and I thought it was a perfect day to take Zoë to Erindale Park for a nice, long, leisurely walk. 

The Credit River

With our new, retractable 16 ft leash, Zoë had a blast exploring the forest paths and the Credit River.  Except for one roll in something fishy, the venture was a complete success!  After a full 2 hours, our little Blue opted for a siesta on the sofa for about 4 hours. Sounds like a perfect day to me!! 

Good bye Summer!

Rhys and Zoë

Tonight is the first home game of the Toronto Maple Leafs people!!  That means that Summer is really over.  Now, we can look forward to hockey (and more hockey and even MORE hockey), football (Go Bengals!!), dark mornings and early nights, hot chocolate and all the fluffy white stuff you can shovel.

Au revoir Summer, see you next year!

Crabby Blue

What do you mean it's still raining?!?!?!

Wet, cold days....Picardy style



What channel was The Dog Whisperer on again?

Even an active breed like the Blue Picardy needs some down time.  And what better way to spend a wet, cold and rainy day??  Crashed out on the sofa with the remote!!

Rocky II

Rocky

Well, I've written about the love affair between Zoë and Rocky, the American Bulldog.  It's fair to report that the relationship is still going strong.

Rocky's parents, Tracy and Rob say that our Blue is THE ONLY dog that Rocky lets jump on his back.  Once closer in size, Rocky has been steadily packing on the muscle and now is about 100 lbs to Zoë's 55 lbs. He could easily steam roll right over her, but doesn't.  That's not to say that an American Bulldog cruising at full throttle has a great breaking system, but he sure does try his best.  He is a wonderful, friendly dog and a great Ambassador of his breed.   Congrats to Tracy and Rob for a job well done!! 

Together, these two are non-stop action - wrestling, running, playing with sticks, tug-of-war, etc.. The really are the best of buddies.

Just take a look at some of the action. 

Picardy Picnic 2010

On September 11, 2010, everyone who is anyone was at the Picardy Picnic.  Our breeder-hosts, Vicki and David Duncan started this 1st Annual Picnic with a bang!  The BBQ was great as where all of the delectable salads and delicious desserts brought by all Picardy families.

The Duncans organized an obstacle course - we were all timed of course.  Zoë didn't win, but put in a respectable time of 44 seconds.  The winner was "Superdog", Truman.  Truman happens to be Zoë's uncle (and brother to Suede).  I think he finished the course - leash-free, in 29 seconds. 

Vicki and Dave have a beautiful property for this type of occasion.  'Picardy Park' is the perfect leash-free paradise for all of the Blues.  I think that there were about 25 Blues present along with all of their lucky families.  It was so great to meet and greet pups and adult dogs from all of the different litters.  Vicki later estimated that she had about 56 pups come out of Brighthope Kennels.  That is quite a few pups!!  Vicki has much to be proud of.  It was most definitely a beautiful group of dogs.

For Zoë's litter (parents Suede and Nola), there were a couple of her brothers and sisters there - including Henry.  He and Zoë were the last two pups to be picked up by their new families.  There seemed to be recognition by each of them and they got along quite nicely.

Zoë also won the prize - awarded by the Duncans for her "Hollywood Tail".  Vicki was very impressed with our Blue's beautiful, feathery tail.  The absolutely prettiest Picardy tail that they had ever seen.  The funny thing is that we let Zoë select her own prize from the table.  She choose a tough, squeeky toy.  How long did this last?  Well, lets just say that the drive home from Hanover lasted longer!!!!  Figures.  (Aside: Hey, Kim - we should've taken the towels!!!!)

The picnic ended wth great swag compliments of Bark & Fitz.  Zoë's swag included a savory knuckle bone, some dee-lish doggie cookies (the squirrel cookie was the favourite), a jar of peanut butter treats and a plushie (she hasn't been given this yet).  All in all, we had a great time getting reacquainted with old friends and meeting new ones.  This Picardy family is looking forward to next year's picnic. 

Picardy Picnic 2010



The newest Brighthope member:  Baby "Coullah"



"Suede"



"Copper" (yes, he is brown)



Those crazy tongues!!



Getting ready for competition

Posing in Picardy Park

Just a few Blues

"Justy"

Brighthope Best Friends: "Marne" and "Ciron"

Delicioius cake for the two-legged guests - thanks to Vicki's Granddaughter and her BFF

Naptime for little Coullah