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





Bray Lake

What defines Bray Lake??

The Blue Jays

The Loons

The Fishing

The Quiet Nights

Cottage country in July.  The sound of water lapping on shore.  The call of the loon.  This, my friends is Bray Lake. 

Now that she's over a year, we thought that it was a good idea to take our Blue up to cottage country.  We weren't sure how she would react to so much 'space'.  But we are so happy that we introduced her to the north country. Zoë absolutely loved it!! 

The lake was a huge, huge hit!  She was in and out of it constantly.  Zoë ran along the shore for some distance, then would leap into the water.  We would like her to swim, but she only went in over her head once - and dog-paddled with no problem, back to shore.  This most definitely was a favorite activity!

The surrounding woods was a playground for Zoë.  We were impressed that she didn't stray too far from us and came when she was called  - well, most of the time. 

She was very interested in all of the furry forest critters - rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels... all with quick getaway strategies!  It seemed like a couple of the squirrels were taunting her.  They would sit just out of reach and chatter away at her, then move to another branch.

  

Although she had her kibble and treats, there are some things a Picardy cannot resist: corn cob husks, lake grasses and raspberries off the bush. 

Night time was interesting.  She was very restless dispite all of the day activities and spent a good amount of time with her nose pressed to the window screens.  Little critters darting about - and maybe some bigger ones as well - peaked her attention until she would finally fall asleep.

When it was time to head home, we had to make a stop at the town dump to unload our garbage and recycle.  This guy, was a big surprise for Zoë.  However, he wasn't the least bit interested in her as he had more on his mind than a little Picardy pup!  Zoë didn't really react to him at all - I don't think she knew exactly what he was!!  Great guard dog skills Zoë!!!

We can't wait for another Bray Lake adventure!