Since You Asked

Here are some Golden Retriever Facts

The temperament of a Golden is what makes them special.  They are kind, friendly, and confident. They are friends to all especially children and really never know a stranger.

• They are extremely intelligent!  According to the ranking in the book "The Intelligence of Dogs" by Stanley Coren, the Golden is ranked 4th.  They are surpassed only by the Border Collie, Poodle, and German Sheperd.
• Very Popular...They ranked 4th as the most popular dogs in the U.S.in 2009
• "English Cream" is a description of the coat color and slight variations in the  U.S.Golden standard.  They are all still Golden Retrievers.

Some Ancestry on Daisy and Moses

Where did You Get your dogs?
Daisy and Moses were both adopted from the Solid Rock Goldens Kennel in North Carolina.  They have the most beautiful dogs in the country in my opinion and certainly the most loving breeding environment that I have ever seen.  Jim and Joy Kramm are wonderful and loving people as well as outstanding breeders! Their website is http://www.solidrockgoldens.com/ and I highly recommend visiting it!  It is guaranteed to make you smile....and want a precious puppy!

Daisy was born 6/30/07 She is AKC registered and OFA certified.  Numbers available upon request. She is essentially half English Cream and half American.
Her Sire was Buddy Boy call name, Websen-Gold Rush.. He is an American Golden ; his bloodlines include 42 champions in 5 generations. The dam is Sheba an "English Cream" and also comes from a long line of champions from England, Norway, and Finland. She has 40 champions in 5 generations!

Moses was born 8/11/08.  He is AKC registered and OFA prelim certified.  Numbers available upon request.  My boy Mo is a full "English Cream" His Sire is Prince, a strong beautiful Golden from Russia.  He is the son of an International Champion.  His dam is Cara/ call name Tara  Mediguard of Romania.  She is a gorgeous "English Cream" from Romania.  She comes from a long line of European Champions and has an OFA Hip rating of Excellent.

Moses and Daisy come from excellent stock and represent our financial and personal committment to the Golden Retriever breed.  The puppies from this litter will be combinations of the traits of the English standard and the American standard.

What is the difference between the two you might ask?
Well, there is a  lot of info. online, but basically there are slight variations,  The primary difference is the coat color.  The Goldens of European descent tend to have a wider and shorter muzzle, a blockier forehead, shorter legs, slightly deeper chest, and a shorter cream colored coat.  A Golden of primarily American stock is normally lankier and less stocky.  They have denser coats and come in varying shades of Gold.  Why? There are some excellent discussions on this online and some interesting genetic articles discussing the origins of the Golden color. I tend to lose a little interest halfway through these discussions because I just love my dogs and am happy whatever their color is as long as they are of good temperament and healthy.  Beware of buying dogs based on color alone!!!

What is OFA certification?
This is an independent x-ray evauluation of the dogs hips and elbows by the Orthapedic Foundation for Animals.  This says that they are not prone to having hip displasia and have good hip joint conformation.  This is an expensive test but very important!  Both Daisy and Moses are OFA certified.

Feel Free to contact me at Mercerbk@aol.com if you are interested in having one of our precious PUPPIES!!!!!
                                       
                                        Kim

Waiting on the Stork!

It Does Take A Village!

The nursery is set up, the cigars have been bought, everyone is on alert, Dr. Lee is standing by and now we wait!  We went to have another x-ray on Friday and we have four puppies.  There is no cause for concern about the size of the litter, it just means that Mose's "little soldiers" only met up with four of Daisy's "call girls" so to speak.  I am undecided about how I feel about this...on the one hand 4 puppies are easier to manage, but that also means that some people including me are going to have to wait for the next litter.

It truly was a family affair setting up the whelping box and as you can see it is pretty cool. The little rails on the sides are called Pig rails and they keep the Mother from potentially squishing a puppy.  This is certainly higher tech than just going in a closet as in days of old.

 I think she likes it... of course I splurged on the fancy pads for the bottom when old sheets would do.  We will see which works better, but after all nothing but the best for Daisy Delilah!

Stay Tuned for further updates! We are waiting with breathless anticipation and a tiny amount of trepidation for the PUPPIES!

Kim...posting for D today :)

My Baby's Daddy

We Don't Need no Maury Povich!

I have been asked this a lot lately soooo The Father or sire I should say to my litter is Moses.  No, it cannot possibly be Hank as some of you have mistakenly postulated because he was neutered long ago and I can assure you there was no reversal.  He does give it a good go once in a while but at 13 years old, it does not work out very well.  It is like watching things in a doggie nursing home, but I digress.  Anyway, Moses is my baby's daddy.    

  

Moses came from Solid Rock Goldens in North Carolina.   Jim and Judy Kramm are the most wonderful breeders! I will write more about them later and their breeding program.  Dad got Moses for my mother for Christmas two years ago.  It was a surprise and he was in his crate under the tree when they got home from church on Christmas Eve!  Our older Golden, Annie had passed away in the Fall  so Dad knew she was missing having another dog.  I mean, afterall, can you really have too many dogs???

Moses is a full English Cream Golden Retriever.  He is from completely different bloodlines than me...we are not into inbreeding around here....(you can see enough of that at your local Wal Mart...lol).  They paid for full registration so that we could have our precious litter. Can you tell I'm EXCITED!  Oh yes, the EZWhelp box came today in the mail.  That name still cracks me up...maybe they should come out with some EZBirth stuff for humans...oh yeah they already have...they are called DRUGS!  Hmm... EZbirth stirrups, EZbirth forceps...EZbirth massaging hospital bed...it really is endless.

Ok, Gotta GO! xoo

Daisy

PS. My Mother is playing with some photoshop thing LOL

More Pictures Of Daisy D

Daisy at THE LOVE SHACK

on AMI

I Love My Girl!

And She Loves Me!

What to buy? what to buy?

Whelping Boxes 101

Who knew that having puppies would be such a big deal?? My Mother is freaking out about something called a whelping box.  Apparently, you can buy a store bought box to deliver your babies in...who knew? Back in the day, you went under the house  found a corner without spiders, dug a little hole in the nice cool dirt and you were set.  They'd try to coax you out sometimes, but most of the time they just left your food for you and there you stayed.  Now, sometimes the fancy house dogs stayed inside and went in a closet and delivered on old towels or an old flannel bathrobe.   Times Sure Have Changed...

This is one of 5 different "whelping boxes" that my Mother has been researching online for goodness sake!  This model is the EZwhelp  box (like they know ha! imagine if they called it "the hurts like hell and is a mess box" ).
Apparently, this is not the cadillac of whelping boxes, but is a good solid medium.  FYI these boxes can be made at home out of wood or bought online out of wood or plastic covered cardboard.  My Mother chose the cardboard because it will be lighter and easier to move around. Personally, I think she was sucked in by the name and the cute website. She says it will be easier to clean, but I'm doubtful.




 She also ordered the "weaning box"  this is so the puppies can move around as they get bigger.... kinda like a rec room for pups. I guess we are in High Cotton  to be ordering all this stuff....she even bought pads shhh I'm definitely not supposed to let Dad know. 

There has been much discussion about all the clean up and about the size of the litter.  We aren't sure yet how many there are yet, but I am feeling good right now.

                                                                Daisy on April 7, 2010             

Talk to Ya'll Soon!

Ciao!

Daisy

PUPPIES!!!!

Daisy Delilah is Pregnant!

Spring Break 2010

Well, it was with much trepidation that I had my pregnancy test today.  Did you know that dogs do not just get to go on a stick like humans?  It is only by blood tests...somebody really should invent something for dogs that we can do at home.  I thought I might be expecting because my family has been making little snide comments about my weight and to be honest I have gained a little.  You know I am a full figure girl but 8 pounds in 4 weeks is a little much.  ( My Mother is putting on a little weight too...I'm just sayin)  Dr. Lee says that I will be due the last week in April. 

Do I look fat to you?

Thank goodness it happened after Spring Break!

I like to spend my days looking at kayakers and fishermen.  My Dad put a light in the water and I also like to stare at fish.  My favorite thing by far is barking at the birds. I own this canal!

Anna Maria! My favorite place to relax is on the dock! 

I just went on my first kayak ride...good thing nobody knew I was pregnant because I am pretty sure that would have been out.

Please keep up with my adventures and my pregnancy!  My Mom is so excited that I'm sure she will be blogging a lot!

An Ode to my Big Green Ball

There are so many great things about Balls!

I really Love balls.  My favorite ones are the big latex ones.

I prefer the ones that have designs on them because it really makes gripping them easier.  It makes me so mad when Daisy or Hank try to steal them.  Sometimes I like them to try but I always win and I never just give up.  Now Hank is not a challenge as he has so few teeth, but Daisy is another matter entirely.  She will try to steal it, but if she gets it she gives it up pretty easily. I find that so interesting...she has no sense of competition.  

The ball represents so much more than a toy.  I guess you could compare it to a man and his car.  In some cases a car is a car, but at other times a car is a symbol of his masculinity, his power, his status.  Just like me and my ball.  It is big and dirty and not girly like the tennis ball that Daisy prefers.  You have to have strong jaws and like dirt.  You can show off your speed chasing it and your hunting ability by finding it.  It is also an excellent excuse to play in the dirt if you are the digging and burying kind.  I of course prefer to dig and hide my  ball.  I always get in trouble but of course, as we all know it is better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission....Right???

MOSES

The Happy Couple

If my calculations are correct, then we are on day 26 of Daisy's pregnancy.

This is an 18x24 acrylic on canvas of Moses and Daisy loosely based on the picture above.  I just had to paint them!

From Daisy:  I think I had a little Morning sickness yesterday.  I normally beg for the crust from my Mother's whole wheat toast and I was just not up for it.  I always stand with my paws in her lap and wait for the crust, but I just did not have the energy.  Everyone in the house took notice of the change like it was some big deal worthy of comment.  My Mother started checking my stomach and calling my Dad over to feel.  I wish she would just take me to Dr. L and stop all the speculation.  If I have to look at one more pregnancy calender then I am going to scream.  I have to say I do feel a little heavier and a little more tired...hmmmm

Ciao,

Daisy Delilah

Drawing Dogs

I love to paint Mermaids, Orchids, Roosters and now Dogs!

I have been wanting to paint my beautiful Goldens for a while, but I have always been too busy painting other beautiful things. I just got some new flourescent paints in the mail and I could not resist.

I also could not resist fooling around with Picnik, hence the postage stamp look.

Love the Picnik collage effect! I think it looks like a before and after beauty shot.

My beautiful Moses...I just love this picture!

Moses is a one year old English Cream Golden Retriever.

From Daisy: I refused to comment on this post because it seems to be all about Moses. I think SHE likes him better because he fawns all over her and follows her step for step. I for one have a life and spend more time on more interesting endeavors like hunting lizards. I will on occassion watch her paint, but really I am enjoying the coolness of the floor of The Mermaid Shed.

xxoo

Ciao !

Daisy Delilah (who was neither painted nor mentioned in this post)

Love is in the Air !

The Happy Couple

We have had a couple of exciting days around here! It seems that once the jitters are over, nature takes it's course. We have had a virtual love shack around here. I expected the B-52s to come popping out of The Ticklish Mermaid Shed....beehives and all!

Moses is feeling quite proud of himself; a veritable "little trotty wagtail."

Daisy Delilah is positively glowing!

The Birds and the Bees need a little work!

Meet Moses!

Moses

He is an English Cream Golden. He was a year old in August so that makes him around 16 or 17 in our years. He's handsome, fun, strong, but, well how do I say it....he is a little inexperienced.
I know we really should not be talking about this, but I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut sometimes.

I just turned two in June and I am ready to be a Mom. My biological clock is ticking and I am giving all the signs, if you know what I mean. My Mother is so excited and she keeps locking us in the bathroom together. I bet I have listened to that same Ipod playlist a 100 times.

Anyway, Moses can't quite figure it out and I am ready to go outside and play.

I will keep you posted and in the meantime the birds and bees could really use a little help!

xxoo

Ciao!

Daisy

Daisy Striking a Pose

I Just Squidooed!!

I just created a new lens on Squidoo. I am also working on a Picnik slideshow. Tons of Fun over here in Daisy land!

Check it out!

http://www.squidoo.com/ticklish-mermaids

Is Hunting Lizards an Olympic Sport?

I really love to hunt next to the dog statue. It came from Savannah made by some SCAD students. Mother thinks it looks like me but I hardly think so. Please note my form...excellent....

I must say.I am truly serious about Lizard hunting. I can only compare it to hunting for the perfect outfit and then finding it at half price. The obvious differences are that you don't roll around on the ground on it after you find it.

Ciao!

Daisy Delilah

Daisy Delilah would be an Olympic Contender if hunting Lizards was an event.
I find it so intriguing how some Goldens are obssessed with catching lizards and others could care less. My girls seem to like to hunt while the boys could care less.

Welcome to the world of Daisy!

Let me introduce myself. I am Daisy Delilah a self-described Diva, and lover of life. I am starting this blog because I just had my 2nd birthday and I think that really is about 21 in human years so I feel compelled to leave my literary paw print on the world. You know things are about to change in my life. I am almost ready to embrace motherhood and based on the vast amount of pregnancy and baby blogs, I guess it is a popular blog topic. So Here I am !

I really don't love the way I look this photo but it does have some creative merit

I regularly sleep in the bed with my parents. I am the only one in my pack who knows how to jump up. Their bed is really high and quite soft. I have to admit that it does make me feel superior to Hank and Moses. Of course, the twins who y'all will meet later have always been able to jump up...they are cats after all.

Ciao!

Daisy Delilah