Kristen and Bailey *Family Photo 12/22*

[RubyJeansMom]

Aww, Bailey's having the time of his life.
Your parent's place is very nice. It sounds similar to mine, seven acres surrounded by fields and horse farms, and I just love it. That had to be a culture shock when you moved to the "big city".

You can really see the difference in the photos from the different cameras too. Yours takes great shots.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Bailey looks like he's having the time of his life, romping around in the wide open spaces! I also grew up in the country, in the middle of nowhere, and I found when I went home, I always slept better because it is so peaceful at night. I'm sure you and Bailey had a lovely time and that your parents were delighted to have you.

Great pictures!

[snifferspommom]

It looks like Bailey is having a grand time! Freedom!!!

[Molly&Hudson]

Kristen,..well posted,..all lovely pictures,..i do fancy the "Tired Puppy",..picture,..but then there are so many other really great shots,..Bailey in the Bar or outdoors,..well taken,..thanks for sharing those,..loved them.

Philip

[Deerie me]

Beautiful pics of the lovely Bailey pupster. I love the house. If I ever lived in the USA I would have to have a house with a porch like that. I'd refuse to live in anything else.

[Kristen&Bailey]

So I got the great idea from Mary's thread for Mina and Upendi (viewtopic.php?f=14&t=4889&start=105) to put some of Bailey's favorite toys (some small squeaky balls) inside a bigger ball. He loved it and it entertained him for a good 30 minutes trying to get them out before he finally stopped.

http://craigandkristen.shutterfly.com/bailey/683

Towards the end of the video, Bailey looks up at me twice with the saddest eyes as if saying "I can't get them out, mommy" Poor puppy. Its ok. Daddy came to the rescue now and took them out and is playing with him with them now.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Kristen, I am so glad you caught that on video! Bailey is so sweet, and trying so hard, to get his toys out of the ball. He did become frustrated at one point and was just giving the ball a little "what for" to no avail. When he looked up at you the first time, it said it all. "Mummy, please help me!".

I also had to watch the video twice because I just adore your rugs!!! They are lovely. They are most certainly my taste.

Bailey's little bottom is quite adorable as well as he works and works at the ball. The bandanna is just icing on the cake that is sweet Bailey. He looks so cute!

[Molly&Hudson]

Nice one Kristen,
oh that expression,..." i cannot get that ball,..help",...good training as well,...top marks to you and Bailey,..oh i also like your rugs,....i try to buy one when abroad,...if small enough to carry home,

[Kristen&Bailey]

Our place is all hardwood floors covered by many really nice rugs. They all came from abroad and were bought by Craig or his parents (who travel a lot) and are the real deal.

They were our biggest concerns when we first got Bailey. For the first couple months that we got Bailey, he was not allowed on them. We blocked off the kitchen and hallway area which belonged to him. He was allowed in the other rooms but he had to stay on the furniture. He was really good though and knew his boundaries and never jumped off when he was placed on the couch.

Even though he was house trained extremely quickly, a large fear was him chewing on the tassles of the rugs. After a while, we slowly started giving him access to the rugged areas. We thought the tassles would be really tempting to him, but he never once showed an interest in them.

Now, he has free roam of the house. Craig's parents are always worried about Bailey ruining the rugs, especially a large silk one in our living room, however Bailey has never shown to be a problem. He is a very good puppy

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Kristen, those rugs are exquisite and it's quite obvious they were not acquired at your local discount store. Each one is a work of art, and I can understand Craig's parents being "concerned". My parents had similar concerns when my brothers were younger and the odd party might have been thrown!

Good for Bailey for leaving them alone. The tassels are just begging to be chewed.

[Molly&Hudson]

Kristen,... like you and Craig and his parents,... i also worried about Hudson,...she did tend to chew when a very small pup,..but with training in the first few months all chewing other than on what was permitted to chew on ceased,...Bailey took to his training pretty quick as well,...a dog with a brain, ,...i wonder are there dogs that you just can not train,..or is it just the bad owner?.
Yes i like those rugs,..some of mine came from India,..Turkey,..Jerusalem,..and Morocco,..and yes tassels to tempt wee puppies,..lol.

[Stewie'sSlave]

She seems so serious lol.

[Kristen&Bailey]

Bailey was always good since day 1 about not chewing on things he wasn't supposed to. He learned very quickly what was his and what wasn't and he respected those boundaries. The only damage that he caused was he chewed on the molding on the bottom of the wall at a corner in the kitchen. I left him out of his crate when I went to take a shower and he did it during that short time. Its nothing too big though, and we counted ourselves pretty lucky that that was only thing he ever "destroyed" (I use that word loosely)

I do agree that in so many cases it is the owner and not the dog. Luckily, we acquired Bailey during the summer when I wasn't working so I was a stay at home puppy mom for the first 3 months of having him which allowed me to give him constant supervision, consistency and routine, which really helped in him getting settled so quickly.

[Molly&Hudson]

Oh i wish your words could be heard by all those owners i have met over the years,..they blamed the dog!,...i have watched dogs starting to chew on bed covers,..pillows,..anything in sight,..alerted the owner!,..who would give a pathetic,..instruction to stop,..you would laugh,..."the dog seemed to laugh as well",
You were lucky to have had the summer to be close to Bailey,...even were you not i imagine you would have got down to his training,...its essential,..and satisfying to both dog and owner,..and friends,..makes life with dog,... bliss.

[Kristen&Bailey]

I've learned a lot about dog ownership since having Bailey. While always having dogs growing up, I was never really responsible for them. Also now with my life pretty much revolving around Bailey, I have met many of those types of owners as well. Therre is even a guy who works at Craigs company who has 3 dogs. They are all crated and only let 1 dog out at a time, as I guess they are crazy when they are out together. Instead of taking the time to train the dogs, they keep the dogs crated the majority of the time. It's horrible. Those are the types of people who shouldn't have any dogs, let alone three.

I just had Craig give me a lesson on where all the rugs are from.

The rugs we have range from China, Turkey (quite a few from there), Armenia, Iran, Tibet, Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Egypt. I think that is all of them.

and Bailey is now whining at me to come to bed. Lately he has been weird and not happy if Craig goes to bed before me. He will get his bunny (like he always does when its time for bed) and carry it around in his mouth and whine as he paces back and forth between the bedroom and the living room where I am until I come to bed. So I am off. Goodnight DP people.