STAY!

STAY! This is the new command that Sienna learned at her last puppy class. But what does is mean to “stay”. Does it mean to be stagnant and not move forward? No, it means to be still and quiet, be patient while you wait for your next command.

In our fast paced human life, I believe that most of us have forgotten how to “stay”. We are on the go so much of the time that all of a sudden we look back and say, “How did I get here and where was I going?” There are times in my life when God has told me to “stay” and I turned a deaf ear and kept on going. Fortunately God has a way of telling me again and again until I relent and say “OK”, I will ‘stay’ and listen to what it is you’re trying to tell me.” It is in those times when I “stay” that I learn the most. I turn my eyes toward my Heavenly teacher and I wait for my next lesson.

This blog is dedicated to my step-mom, Sue, who learned to “stay” and took the time to love her husband, her children, her extended family; she took the time to stop and listen to the Lord even when she wanted to run and say “la, la, la I’m not listening”. She will be missed.



7-25-1941~4-17-2006

4 legged personalities

Pets are great because you can have such a variety of personalities. I had a cat once, Mr. Holland, who was basically a big mop. He would lie around and let you pet him all day if only you had the time. He was about as laid back as cats come. The reason I picked him was because the second I held him in my arms, cradled like a human baby, he fell asleep. That was all I needed to fall head over heels.



The cat we have now, Alley, is just the opposite. She’s high stung and flighty and will only let you touch her under her terms. But when she feels like being petted, she’s pretty sweet.


My husband brought to the marriage 2 human children, a rottweiller, a turtle and a cat. This rott, was no ordinary rott. He was 150 pounds of pure muscle and about the scariest looking dog I had ever seen. But he turned out to be the nicest, gentlest, dog I had ever met. Yes, he looked the part of the menacing beast but the truth was, he was a wonderful, loving dog that would have died first before intentionally hurting anyone in his family. He is dearly missed.



Now Rudy on the other hand…….there is a Saturday Night Live skit with Mike Meyers and Nicole Kidman where they play kids on a play ground. Nicole is a typical little girl playing with her doll while Meyers plays Philip the Hyper-hypo who is restrained to the play ground equipment with a bungee cord type leash. Rudy IS Philip. He has been hyper since day one and only recently when compared to a puppy does he seem remotely calm. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, he’s our “special boy”.


I did not name Abby but her name couldn’t have fit her any better because it rhymes with crabby and flabby. Now it’s not really her fault, she has a thyroid problem, but she is definitely the crabbiest dog in the house and let’s just say we were a little shocked when we took her to the vet last fall to find out that she was about 25 pounds overweight. Yikes. She’s now on a diet and has lost some weight and we are very proud of her. She also has a sweet side that she pretty much reserves for those that are closest to her and that sweet side makes her a wonderful pup.


Sienna is a lover and a trickster. She actually hugs us and of course loves to give a million kisses to express her affection and it is so sweet, I hope she never grows out of this phase. She is a trickster because she loves to play games. One of her favorites would be “Gingerbread Man”. You know the game where you chase, she runs, and says, “catch me if you can!” It’s cute to be an observer during this game but not so much when you are the involuntary other player.


She is turning out to be so cute and so sweet in so many ways that she balances out our hyper-hypo Rudy and our crabby, flabby, Abby! All of our dogs are special in their own ways and we wouldn’t want them any other way.

Growing pains

Why can’t puppies stay little and cute longer? I picked Sienna out at 5 weeks; she couldn’t have weighed more than 10 pounds, probably less. She was fat and fluffy and had bright blue eyes. When I picked her up at 8 weeks, she had grown so much, but of course was still very adorable, she weighed in at 16 pounds. At 11 weeks she was getting so big that I wasn’t sure how much longer I could carry her and I found myself wishing that she could just stay little a little longer.

When she was about 2 months old my husband taught her to run and jump into his arms while he crouched down. At her 20 pound demure little frame this was adorable. Well now she is more than 40 pounds and even though he can still do it, it takes more effort and gets more difficult with each passing day. I try to pick her up everyday just to see if I can but I really don’t think it will be much longer before she is just too big. When she reaches her adult weight she will be around 80+ pounds. All muscle too! Of course no matter her size, she will always be the baby.

Who needs sleep?

Who needs sleep?
well you're never gonna get it
Who needs sleep?
tell me what's that for
Who needs sleep?
be happy with what you're getting
There's a guy who's been awake
since the Second World War
Lyrics - Barenaked Ladies, Stunt



The games puppies play. Why are puppies so fun? It’s because they are so playful and most of the time that playfulness is very cute. MOST OF THE TIME. But not at 1:17am! Sienna has been doing very well in her crate at night. Most of the time she sleeps through the night, but for some reason last night was different. She woke up at a little after one in the morning, so I got up and we ran outside where she did her business. Unfortunately we have an outdoor cat that has been insisting on coming back inside these days and in the process of getting Sienna outside he came inside. Well catching a cat that doesn’t want to be caught can most likely seem like a very fun game for a young pup. Well I finally caught him, put him out but then Sienna wanted to stay out and play with this funny creature that is until he caught her pretty good with his claw.

So here we are; cat – out, dog – in and relived; time to go back into the crate to sleep. We ran back to the bedroom where I give her the command “Kennel up”. She looks at me and takes off running, down the hall, through the kitchen, back to the garage where now it is time to play “catch the dog”. Not a game I felt much like playing in the wee hours of the morning. None the less I caught the little pill, scooped her up in my arms (not an easy task now that she is close to 40 lbs) and put her in her kennel. Where thankfully she realized that it was still night time and after getting her blankets just how she likes them she went back to sleep. Me, I tossed and turned for a while but eventually feel asleep again only to be woken up by you know 5 minutes before my alarm was to go off…………..

My first show by Sienna

My first show.
By Sienna, AKA Miss Sassfire Star.

You may have noticed that my show name is Star, that’s because that’s what I’m going to be very soon, a STAR! I went to my first show on Saturday, it was fun. My mommy and my daddy and my brother were all there and I met a boy named Jessie and he’s pretty cute and I think I like him but he tried to get a little fresh with me and I don’t think I’m ready for that kind of relationship. For fun my daddy put on my show collar and we ran around the ring. I’m too young to actually be in the show but I think I still would have won because everybody tells me how cute I am. I had to pee like forever but I was too embarrassed to go in front of the big fluffy dog so I waited til mommy and daddy put my in my kennel then I peed for like 10 minutes but it felt so good I didn’t care that mommy and daddy were freaking out. Oh yeah, can you believe that mommy and daddy forgot their camera, what goofballs.

Working Girl

We have attended 2 classes so far. Since there are not a lot of Chesapeake breeders in the Northwest, some how Sienna is related to the other 3 puppies in her class. Not only that, her grandpa lives there with his girlfriend, so really every Saturday feels more like a family reunion then work. But it is work even though right now she is still very much a puppy who loves to play, play, play, she is learning a thing or two and so am I.





So when training a puppy there are words and actions that you use to get them to do what you want. Since I am new at this I have to remind myself what they are each time we “work”. One of the things is when we are walking and about to sit, I am supposed to take 3 steps, ending with my left foot, then telling her to sit while pushing down on her bottom with my left hand, pulling up on her leash with my right hand, then patting her with my left while telling her “good girl”. Then when we begin to walk again, I say “heel Sienna” and begin walking with my left foot (right foot will mean something different – I will learn that later). Unfortunately, I am left/right challenged and have been my whole life. So I realized that there is a good chance that I may have messed up my dog because I can’t seem to remember to take off on my left foot half the time and the other half it probably looks like I too am just beginning to walk on a leash, I’m stumbling and pulling and choking and whining. But luckily my trainer, I mean Sienna’s trainer is very patient with Sienna (and me) and with time, patience, and lot’s of practice I may actually get trained, I mean Sienna might actually get trained.