Weekend at Grandma's House

This weekend, we took Gibbs to my hometown and alma mater for the annual homecoming parade, football game, and other festivities. It was the perfect opportunity for a variety of socialization and he got to spend some time with my parents' goldens, Bea & Casey. If it weren't for Casey, I would not know how special, in-tune, attentive, loving, and snuggly a golden retriever could be. Because of Casey, I have Gibbs. Casey is such a wonderful dog, he's 12 years and 2 months old. I don't know what the future holds for Casey or how much longer we'll have him here on Earth, but I hope and pray that it is a long, long time.

At the parade, we couldn't believe how mellow and low-key Gibbs was for the entire thing. Marching bands, cheerleaders, loud music, cannons being shot off, people, kids, candy being thrown into the street- you would have thought that he went to a parade everyday. He met a lot of people and got a nice helping of pats on the head.

Gibbs stayed with my Mom and Dad while we went to the football game. He was a little goofy but was well behaved, even for a 4 month old puppy. My mom still said she doesn't want a puppy anymore, Casey and Bea are enough work.

What a grown up puppy Gibbs is becoming. He is getting some tail feathering and some butt feathers. Hard to believe that he's growing so quickly. It won't be long and he'll look like an adult.

Dogtoberfest 2010

The local humane societies and radio stations of Pittsburgh hosted DogtoberFEST at the Southside Works today from 10 am- 6 pm. What a perfect time for some socialization and to buy some goodies for our little guy, so off we went this morning. We arrived at about 11:30 am, and I needed to stop into the bookstore to buy our niece a book to go with her birthday present next week. I love the books by Mo Williems, so I purchased I am Invited to a Party... The best part was that the bookstore allowed us to bring Gibbs inside- I felt as if I was breaking an unspoken rule, like when I run in the hallways of the school when the kids aren't looking and I'm in a hurry.

Off we went to the Dogtoberfest, which was mainly an adoption event for local humane societies and breed rescues. We attended so that we could buy a few goodies for Gibbs and for the socialization that a young puppy needs. Well, there was lots of people and dogs to sniff and meet. Gibbs had a great time. I honestly don't think we even made it to half of the booths, people stopped us ever 3 feet to pet our little man. It was great and we certainly didn't mind. You can't make up for this again, so it was good to soak up all of the strange, new people and smells. We met two other goldens. It was hilarious, there were all were in the middle of the parking lot event and all three goldens were rolled on their sides waiting for a belly rub. So typical and such a reminder of why I love this breed SO MUCH.

Once we were through most of the booths we headed to the trails that run along side the Monongahela River, which along with the Allegheny river, forms the confluence of the Ohio River at the Point State Park of Pittsburgh.

Gibbs and his people were getting tired and it was much warmer than expected, so we took a little break, ordered some lunch from the Cheesecake Factory and ate it on the wonderful benches at the Southside Works.

A beautiful way to spend this fall day.

Wild Weekend of FUN

We took Gibbs to a cookout on Friday night with friends from work. There he got to meet 5 other dogs and about 15 people. What a perfect time for socialization, since we just had him to the vet for his second distemper on Friday, too. The fun didn't stop there...

Saturday off to the camper to meet Mike's parents and extended family. Who knew tenting with a puppy could be so easy? We set up a small soft-sided crate for Gibbs during the night. It was perfect. 12 dogs and many, many people later... Gibbs was a tired boy and slept through the night. He smelled lots of smells, watched some ducks, and mooched for fire-food.

Sunday and Monday we were off to see my parents, grandparents, and extended family for the holiday. Gibbs also got to meet my parent's goldens, Casey & Bea, who weren't too interested in our little wild child. My aunt and uncle's golden, Zoe, thought Gibbs was AWESOME and chased him through the yard. They had a great time! Not to mention that Zoe's 3 human boys were a bunch of fun to play with.

Needless to say, Gibbs is still recovering from his BIG weekend of dogs, people, and FUN! See, socializing your dog is easy... and it is just as enjoyable for the people, too.

Tomorrow we observe our first puppy class and then we may begin at the Thursday class. I'm anxious to see what Gibbs does. He's very smart... he knows sit, down, stand, shake, bang, and we're in the process of learning roll over and twist. He will also sit and wait for us to go through the door first. So far, so good.... until adolescence hits.

Gibbs' human,

Melissa