Rowan at 17 weeks

I gave Rowan a bath this week and let him lie on the towel to finish drying. Well, to my surprise I have learned that he likes using it for a pillow. And also to my surprise he has no desire to take it apart thread by thread, he just likes having it, so I haven't taken it away from him. It has become somewhat of a comfort item to him.

He goes to the vet next week and I bet he will tip the scales at over 30 pounds.

As Rowan gets bigger he tends to remind me of my 4th puppy "Gonzales", better known as Gonzo.

Gonzo graduated in May of 1999. He was a pup with a sense of humor, he was happiest when he made someone laugh. Rowan is that way, he also has the same good looks as Gonzo.

I learned this week that Gonzo died. In my opinion, dogs lives are so short. Gonzo will be missed.

As you will notice, I do keep Rowan on a leash in the kitchen. That area has become his "spot". I love this because sometimes the leash comes loose from the drawer and I will still find him there. He does like the tile floor. I will have to get a picture of him as a pancake on the floor for next time.

Rowan at 14-15 weeks

Well, tomorrow Rowan turns 15 weeks.

We visited the vet today for his vacs and he weighed 27.2 pounds. I believe the weight is all in his legs and feet (they are huge!).


Yesterday he lost his first tooth. One of the front middle ones.

Today on our walk to school, I attached his leash to his gentle leader. It was like power steering in a car - WOW, no pulling or lagging, it was great!


I have been putting his gentle leader on him at meal times and he is so excited to see it because it means something good is going to happen. Today we actually attached the leash to it. I knew it would help, but it was like a miracle.


While waiting for my daughter to finish soccer practice, my other daughter and Rowan were enjoying the San Diego type weather. I took some video clips of the day - enjoy.

Rowan was watching two boys play ball nearby and I knew if allowed he would play with them - he was so good! As you can see in the videos, he just watched quietly.

Rowan is 12 weeks old now!

Here is Rowan at 12 weeks old. I just love this stage, when they first start wearing their capes and gentle leaders! Before you know it he will be looking to wearing the next size up.

At his time we are just putting the cape and gentle leader on him during meal times. He is so happy to see these items because it means food will follow.

Only this past week has Rowan showed real interest in his food. He eats all of it now. For me that is makes training easier.

He weighed 14.5 pounds at 9 weeks. When I took him in for his next round of shots he weighed 19.6 pounds. What a big boys he is!

Rowan has arrived to Kentucky!

Rowan was picked up last week on Saturday. He arrived in Ohio on the 17th but we were on vacation. We made a side trip to Delaware and picked him up.

It has been a while since we have had a puppy and Rowan just seems small, but when he was weighed, the scale read 14.5 pounds.

He is a good puppy. He listens well and now is on a schedule, which means I get to sleep at night (no potty breaks).

We have named him Rowan "Looking for Trouble" Barker. He is very vocal when he wants something. I am hoping he will out grow that part.

We have had him at home now for 6 days and it feels like he has always been here. He reminds me of my first CCI puppy, Vinnie (Irvine) who was a golden and one of those "One-in-Million" dogs.

My biggest challenge will be his training. This puppy is not a "chow hound". I have never had to train a dog that wasn't driven by food. All my previous puppies loved food!

For updated pictures taken by his breeder caretaker, visit her blog at http://cci-shari. blogspot. com .

New puppy on the way!

I got the call yesterday from Suzzane, the Puppy Coordinator for the North Central Region for Canine Companions for Independence.

For those of you who are familiar with Canine Companions for Independence, Puppyraising program you understand the feeling that comes with given the opportunity to raise another puppy.

My family is going to raise Rowan, born May 21, 2009.

To learn more about Rowan from the view of the Breeder/Caretaker you can visit her Blog.

To learn more about the Breeder/Caretaker program from CCI click here.


What I can tell you so far about Rowan - is he is a golden/lab cross and he will be ready to pick up from CCI on June 17th!

It is difficult to describe how excited we are to raise a puppy, only to return it to CCI when all the hard work is done. but it is. Only other puppyraisers can understand and still not be able to put it into words why we do it.

Bonda