Last But Not Least of Birthday Week: Kitsap

Welcome to June. We will have another birthday week later this month but today we finish up the Wildflower Updates by catching up with Birthday Boy, Kitsap…

Baby Kitsap (Sage)

Bridget shares:

“Kitsap brings us such joy. While it is hard to compare with our memory, we are pretty certain that Kitsap is the biggest boned and strongest of our four Berners, all boys. He stands about 27” at the withers. I’m guessing he weighs about 95 lbs, our last formal weight was at 9 months where he weighed in at 90 lbs. He’s got a great Swiss cross. He loves to give me a full Berner greeting when I come home. In the attached photo, I am 5’5” tall wearing clogs and he has no problem putting his front paws on my shoulders.

Folks may enjoy the photos in front of and in the bookcase. When first came home he would lay on the bottom shelf, now he is longer than the case.

We were scheduled to take our Novice Trick Dog test as part of our end of our Fundamental Obedience class, unfortunately the instructor certified to administer the test had vertigo that day. We probably have 15-16 of the tricks on the list. Now that the semester is over I plan to get my husband to video and submit to earn the title. Speaking of classes, we successfully completed basic obedience, fundamental obedience and are currently in a novice competition obedience class. He’s great at healing, figure eights, sits, and downs, and has an awesome come. His challenge is stand for exam and distractions more generally. He’s hard to predict one stranger is a great friend, the next one needs to be barked at.

Kitsap went camping for his first birthday. Hanging out at the campsite and sleeping in a tent was just fine. Given it was only 40°F overnight he very much appreciated the insulating interlocking rubber mat squares like Mary-Ann’s that we used to line his portion of the tent floor. You can see how bundled I am pictured with him on the porch of the lighthouse.

Kitsap is an only dog, still he has several playmates. He plays weekly with Hasley, an English Springer Spaniel. When they meet each week best to be out of the way as the run toward each other with serious gusto. He also regularly enjoys playing with Windsor, a standard poodle, Freye and Ellie, both labradadoodles, and Jake, a German Shepherd. He loves to chase a ball and goes through his tunnel with gusto. We have started weave polls and with a set of three have no problem, getting ready to add three more. He loves to table and walk on a retaining wall to simulate the dog walk.

Kitsap is definitely a water loving dog and will jump right in any stream or pond given the opportunity.

He’s a handsome boy who gets lots of compliments whenever we are out and about.”

Kitsap is indeed very handsome and I am grateful for his amazing life — thank you to his wonderful family.

That concludes our Wildflower Birthday Week. I want to thank each and every family for giving all of us the chance to catch up on how well the Wildflowers are blooming.

Please have a terrific day — even if it is not your birthday.

Birthday Week: Pozy Clarkia

Normally I do all the litter before my own dog but Kitsap is off camping and so his update will be forthcoming, making room for Pozy Clarkia today.

Baby Pozy Clarkia

Pozy is (almost) all the dogs I have loved rolled into one. Abra, Maize, Halo, Cadi, Sydney — Pozy Clarkia is their direct descendent. This means Pozy is also related to Asia, Zoey Sparkle, Claire, and Capella.

Pozy with mother, Daisy, and Great-Auntie Harper B

Pozy is treasured for her connections but also for herself.

It is easy to forget that 12 months is still a puppy. Pozy is 84 pounds and filling out, with a lush coat that makes her look even bigger.

But Pozy is still a puppy, and one whose puppyhood was detoured by the pandemic and also with the arrival of the Bright Stars and Moonshadows. I joke that she has gone feral — that is not quite the truth but I acknowledge her first critical year took a hit with the ten plus ten. How could it not?!

I learn things with every single dog, and that knowledge makes me train the next dog in new ways. Pozy’s most recent training accomplishment is that she can be leashed and walked outside without any dramatics. No spinning, barking, joyous but insane drama when it is time to go someplace.

Those with multiple high drive dogs will understand both the feat and the need for such behavior. One of my 2022 Specialty goal is to be able to calmly walk Capella and Pozy together.

Like so many of her littermates, Pozy is in training for various things. Her main thing now is tracking but that will wrap up in late-June as the summer heat changes the green grass to dry fields. She also is working on obedience, agility, and the whole beauty pageant thing; I hope to show her in conformation in the fall

Like her siblings, Pozy is very, very smart. She is also easy to live with, happy, very trainable, and just a bright, charming girl. I adore her.

Pozy Clarkia — born for adventure given her dramatic arrival and amazing survival in the parking lot of a Tractor Supply store, and carrying the name of someone lost to the Covid pandemic when we thought 10,000 dead in the USA was appalling and terrible and unacceptable; now it is almost 600,000.

Unimaginable.

We won’t forget.

Happy Birthday to my beloved legacy girl…

Birthday Week: Kjempe

Birthday Week continues with a happy update from Kjempe (Paintbrush).

Marija sends us this fun report:

“As Mary-Ann knows, this is my first Berner - special gratitude for her, entrusting me with one of her pups. Having researched breeds exhaustively, I would wager that Kjempe not only lives up to all of the characteristics that make this breed so great, but surpasses them in the categories of intelligence, silliness/playfulness, patience, kindness, happiness, and best friend.

Kjempe, ever-observant, is always taking in his environment - a scientist of sorts - putting this world together, rather astutely :-) As detailed in commentary for his littermates, he is highly intelligent, LOVES the snow, an athlete, and can run really really fast! I haven't concluded yet if he likes the water. He'll put his feet in, but never wants to go all in. I think he may take after Daisy.

Our busy year together includes several training classes from puppy basics and obedience to loose leash walking building on dog/owner communication, and currently canine good citizen with the test and certification the first Monday in June.

We moved to a new property where Kjempe has 2 acres to play, and have been busy planting trees, bushes, flowers, watching sunrises, sunsets and the stars, and of course daily chores like getting the mail (Kjempe is always eager to carry something back to the house), training, playing tug and fetch, learning some basic agility, going through tunnels, and herding cats when its time for everyone to come inside ha ha!

This winter I introduced Kjempe to cross-country skiing where he had no concerns around the skis and seemed to enjoy it. Next year we will start training for skijoring.

Every morning Kjempe sits and waits for me to make my latte so he can have a pupaccino. We take walks or hikes almost daily, meet friends at breweries, shop together at places where dogs are allowed, have picnics in the park, and can't wait to attend some outdoor live music hopefully this summer. He loves people and always has a friendly greeting. My nieces especially love to visit, or we will venture to their house for an overnight stay.

This summer we will head up high for some hikes where it is nice and cool to escape the Colorado Front Range heat. We are both early birds, though some days, he prefers to sleep in a little longer than me. Kjempe and the cats do yoga with me in the mornings on the patio, which is very peaceful. He is a good brother to the kitties, though I sometimes think that they just tolerate him as only cats will do. ha ha.

Kjempe is a great side kick, companion, and best friend. He makes me laugh with his silly antics. I think he will do excellent in agility as this past Tuesday on our hike, while I tucked the leash up for him to cross the wet areas while I skipped rocks/used log bridges, he decided to use the bridge ahead of me! Took me completely by surprise. On top of that, he proceeded to jump logs that were across the trail and had a lot of fun doing it. There is a foundations of agility class that we are looking into after CGC.”

I had the pleasure of spending time with Kjempe and Mariya when I was at the Specialty, and I could not be happier with the lovely life that those two have together. Lovely person, lovely dog, perfect match.