Another New Puppy

So, we will have another new puppy around here. Not my own puppy as my landlord still isn't allowing a full time puppy, but another puppy that I will help out with. Much like Frankie and now Quinn. Anyway, I have absolutely no idea when the new puppy will arrive nor what breed the little one is. All I know, is the name.

But I'm not going to tell you the name because how much fun would that be? If you have any guesses though and you guess anything correctly I will announce the winner on the blog. I don't promise any winnings or anything except for pride, satisfaction, and kudos. But a guessing game is always fun!

You can guess;

Gender
Breed
Name

Now, I don't really know all of the breeds they use here in the UK, but I can guess that the new little one won't be one of the experimental or rare breeds. So here are a list of breeds that you can guess;

Lab (Black or Yellow)
Lab/Golden Cross (Black or Yellow)
Lab/Shepherd Cross
German Shepherd
Golden Retriever
Shepherd/Golden Cross
Flat Coated Retriever (Liver or Black)

I will let you know when the new pup arrives! I'm pretty excited to have another baby around so soon especially since I got Dulcie at 13 weeks old. This new one will be 6 or 7 weeks old!

The name starts with "M".

Happy Guessing!

A New Puppy for Erin

The title of the post pretty much says it all. There is a new puppy in the future for me.

There are so many emotions running through my body right now. Excitement is pretty much the most prevalent. I am excited to have a baby again. I am excited to have a full time puppy again. I am excited to really feel a part of the puppy group again instead of just the facebook page moderator or just that girl who used to raise. But, while I am most definitely excited, there is so much else I am feeling.

I am skeptical. Why? Well, I've known about this puppy for months (and let me tell you, keeping that secret was HARD) and for a while it was a sure thing but then it wasn't then it was a possibility then it wasn't. It's been such a roller coaster ride. So, there's a part of me that doesn't actually believes it's going to happen.

Strangely, I'm a little sad. Part of what has made this such a roller coast ride is that my parents didn't want another dog in the house. Understandable. But it meant that I had to find somewhere else to live. Which means that I wouldn't be spending all day everyday with my Gorgeous Golden Girl, Arwen. Now that it's being announced and is definite, I know I won't be spending all day everyday with her. It's hard. I feel a little like I'm trading in my old dog for a young pup. I know I'm not. In fact, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure I get at least a couple of hours of Arwen everyday. But, I still have this little knot in my stomach that I don't think will go away. I know that I'll be spending a lot of time with her this summer, but still...I wish I could do both. But I'll be home often to house sit and the like so it's not like there won't be times where I'll just sit with Arwen.

I'm also nervous. Not living at home...well it's one of the reason I go home isn't it? To be at my parents' and not have to worry. I guess it'll be good practice for next year after I graduate. I'll have the ability to lie with my parents and make it easy on myself, but I'm not going to. I'm going to get out there and try and do something with my life. So...I guess I need to get use to being near but only visiting. And then there's the fact that GDB has introduced a whole lot of new protocol while I've been here in Scotland and what if I can't handle it? It's weird to think that I've been doing this for nearly 5 years and I'm nervous about being good enough.

And I'm feeling a little reserved. As if I don't want to be excited. Or, rather, I'm not allowing myself to be completely excited. Instead of focusing on all the excitement, I'm thinking about the other emotions and then feeling bad for feeling excited because those other emotions are there too and they should get recognition right?

I'm also numb. As soon as I made the final decision we had a puppy swap. Now, I'd been thinking about this puppy since March. So, it was a little like...I went through all of that emotion, all of the thinking, all of the pros and cons lists, all of the worrying, all of the disappointment for this puppy and I'm no longer getting it? It was strange. I've already begun to like my new assignment, so it's not like it's terrible or anything. But that initial shock hasn't worn off.

Talk about roller coaster rides right? But like I said, excitement is definitely the strongest feeling among the bunch. I guess I just didn't think I could feel so much with just the decision to start a puppy over the summer. It's strange. But I think I've made the right decision. I think whatever I ended up doing this summer would be rewarding and valuable. And I think that it ended up playing out the way it did for a reason. I mean, there must be a reason that at the last minute when I thought I was going to have to turn down the puppy I was offered a room somewhere. When it was looking like it wouldn't happen I said that I would let it play out the way it was going to and that I wouldn't push it or try to force it into working. And this is the way it played out. So, there has to be a reason and I'd like to find out why.

Well, after all of that emotion exploring I suppose I should tell you about my new little one.

I will be getting a female golden retriever born on March 19, 2013 to Franklin and Kaylee. Her litter letter is "H". We've already made sure that the puppy raising department knows that I already have a Hilly and that she's the only Hilly I need since she's perfect. She'll be arriving on May 24 via the puppy truck. Mary will pick her up for me and start her for the first 2-3 weeks since I'll still be in Scotland then recovering from jet lag.

So...if you have name guesses I would love to hear them! In fact, we'll make a game out of it. 5 name guesses per person. Winner will get the satisfaction of know that they guessed the name. (Quite possibly something tangible as well but I haven't had a lot of time to think about it.)

The Name Game Begins

I know, I know. It's been a while since I've spoken about the new puppy. I guess it's because there's still a part of me that wants to say no. I guess most puppy raisers go through a series of doubts. It's what I'm going through right now and I don't think these doubts will go away until the puppy is here. I've tried very hard to make them go away and I've been wondering if it means that I'm not ready for another puppy. I've decided that these are natural concerns (whether or not the puppy will mesh with my lifestyle, whether my social life will be ruined, etc.) and I've decided if anything life changing happens before the puppy comes then I can still say "not right now" and if some of my fears happen to be true then I can talk them over with Graham then. But, that's no reason to leave the name game until the last second. These are concerns and doubts that everyone has...right?

Anyway, on to the rules of the Name Game! First, before I give you the rules, let me tell you that there are three things that you can guess about my new puppy; gender, breed, and name.

The Rules:

1. To give a guess just leave a comment on this post (or any posts about the Name Game)
2. You have until the puppy arrives to get your guesses in (really, until I post about the pup)
3. You may guess only ONE breed and ONE gender over the whole game (if you end up guessing more than one each I'll only take your first guesses)
4. You may guess 5 names per comment (I'll only count the first 5 names in your comment if you leave more names)
5. You may only leave a comment once per week (that's one every 7 days and if there is more than one I'll only count the first one)
6. Each feature (name, gender, breed) is worth 1 point and whoever has the most points at the end is the winner
7. For an extra 1/2 point you can guess the colour
8. I will think of a suitable prize for the winner...

Now, since Guide Dogs uses quite a few more breeds than Guide Dogs for the Blind back home I'll make it easier for you. Here are the four breeds you have to choose from:

1. German Shepherd/Lab Cross (sable or black)
2. Golden/Lab Cross (black or yellow)
3. Flat Coated Retriever (black or liver coloured)
4. Lab (black or yellow)

And obviously you can guess either male or female.

Let's see...is that it? Oh no! There's one more thing that I have to tell you before this game goes live. The letter the pup's name starts with is "I".

Good Luck! The pup comes on April 11, 2012.

Bringing in the Holiday Cheer with Puppies

You all know that tomorrow my Leader Mary and retired leader Candie are going up to the holiday luncheon to receive their new puppies. Both are getting female golden retrievers, one Miss N and one Miss M. I won't lie, I know most of the names for the "M" litter, but I'm not telling. Mostly because I don't know all of them, I don't want to ruin the names for other raisers, and because I'm not sure which one Candie is getting. I do have a personal favourite out of the ones I know of, but who ever knows.

But, the two golden girls are not the only puppies that will be welcomed tomorrow afternoon. GDB apparently had a lot of older puppies ready to go to raiser homes, but not enough raisers. So my other leader Nancy said that should would take on a starter puppy to get him out of the kennels!

She's been assigned a male black lab born on September 28, 2011 to Hurley/Genevieve; Litter Letter "H"! So, now we have name guesses for Miss N, Miss M, and Mr. H!!!! Mary said that she would bring little "H" home with Miss N tomorrow so that he could be a part of the Christmas photo.

I really can't wait to get home!

Phase Report

Hermes     46Y1     LAB     M     8

Halette      45Y4      LAB     F      5

Belle puppy EPIC is still hanging out in 8 for his match.

Wow, I didn't notice how many littermates were actually left. I hope Hermes gets matched with his handler soon. I know that he's on the California campus and that there is a graduation tomorrow, so maybe he'll be matched with the new class coming in.

Also speaking of tomorrow. Tomorrow is when PWAP welcomes its newest member to the group. You still have time to put in some guesses for Mr.S's name!


    

New Puppy for PWAP

Hey guys! My group back home is getting a new puppy on Friday. Again, I'm really sad that I won't be there to greet the little guy or really get to know him.

I felt that a lot this summer. I was just getting to know puppies that everyone already knew well. It was a weird feeling as I used to be one of those ones where all the puppies would get excited when they saw me. A few puppies remembered me (Lance, Luther, and Snyder), but it was still weird for me to realise that I didn't really know any of the puppies. By the end of summer they all started getting excited when I came over to see them (except for maybe Schroeder, but it's hard to tell with that boy). It really only took one meeting for the "T" Sisters (that would be Teesha and Tippin) to realise that I like black lab females. They'd both get all wiggley when they saw me. *Smile!* I could have happily stolen one of them. Haha!

But on to the new puppy! The newest puppy member of our group will be a Black Lab Male from the Hurley/Arizona litter that was born on July16, 2011. The litter letter is "E". He'll be arriving this Friday! So, if anyone has any name guesses that would be great! Though, this is not a contest as it isn't my puppy. If (and quite likely WHEN) I decide to get a puppy we'll do a proper "Name Game" contest. This is just for fun!

My Puppy Name Guessses

So, today's the big day! Well...alright, it's still yesterday in California. It's the 9th here though. That's why I waited until after sleep time for me to post these; because I was tired and it's still way before the time of the puppies' arrival. Anyway, I have a lot of guesses, but if one of you guessed the name on the blog here then the prize will of course go to you.

As you can see, at least on the first picture, I successfully guessed that we would be receiving a male yellow lab and a female black lab. The names are written underneath the picture and the ones in BOLD are my favourites and the ones that are underlined are ones that I now know are in use.

My "S" Names

Suilean, Sherlock, Shylock, Slider, Sully, Suliven, Sylvester, Sammy, Socrates, Sailor, Sudney, Sable, Santa, Scotland, Scotty, Saber, Semla, Sanjay, Sancho, Samuri, Scout, Sawyer, Squib, Saturday, Sonny, Serge, Seven, Steve, Stephen, Stevie, Seth, Seamus, Sebastian, Shane, Sherwood, Sheldon, Sid, Sigmund, Shiloh, Smithy, Solar, Sinclair, Solomon, Samwise, Stanford, Spencer, Sparrow, Strom, Skylar

My "T" Names

Tally, Tibby, Tibetha, Tesla, Teslow, Tamera, Tiara, Tweety, Taylor, Tipper, Teal, Tesco, Texas, Trisha, Trixie, Tak, Thanks, Tibble, Tommy, Tallulah, Tallis, Tracey, Tammy, Tangela, Tea, Tennessee, Teressa, Terri, Tina, Topaz, Torah, Tranquility, True, Tuesday, Twilight, Tia, Tilly, Toni, Tonya, Tawni, Taelor, Taffy, Taja, Tala, Talia, Tammie, Tenaya, Tansy, Tasha, Tempest, TaraLyn, Thora, Tiffany, Toilichte, Twinkle, Toshiba

I'm very excited to "see" these new puppies. If you haven't seen it yet, please check out the PWAP facebook fan page. All you have to do is type Pwap: Puppies with a Plan into the search bar at the top and it should come up or click on the link I have provided you. Please "Like" it so that you can see all the going ons of our group.

9 More Days

Alright guys! If you haven't posted on my Name Game for our two new puppies now is the time to do it! They arrive on the 9th of February so that means that you have, including today, 9 days to get your 5 names in (10 in total if you guess for both puppies) to me. I'll make it easier for you so that you don't have to go back to earlier posts to guess, but you can post right here on this post.

5 names for a Black Lab Female, Litter Letter "T"

and

5 names for a Yellow Lab Male, Litter Letter, "S"

Good Luck and Have Fun!

Name Game Puppy Guess

Let me start out by saying that I'm rather disappointed with the guessing going on here. Let's pick things up during the Name Guessing.

E's Puppy: Male Yellow lab, Litter Letter "S"

K's Puppy: Female Black lab, Litter letter "T"

You are allowed to guess 5 names per puppy. Well, really, you can guess as many as you want, but I'm only taking the first 5. These pups are due to arrive on February 9th. Have Fun!!!

Another Puppy Game (K's Puppy #1)

Hey Guys! In place of my normal "Mostly Wordless Wednesday" I am doing another puppy game. Why you ask? Because my club is not getting just one new puppy, but two new puppies! So, I have split the game into two groups; "E's Puppy Game" and "K's Puppy Game". This is the first post of "K's Puppy Game" and my last puppy game post was the first for "E's Puppy Game".

The rules for this post are like the last. You may guess the breed (Yellow Lab, Black Lab, Golden Retriever, or Lab/Golden Cross) once and you may guess 5 different Litter Letter guesses.

If you haven't visited my first Puppy Name Game post then please do and enter! Or just specify, on this post, which puppy you're guessing for with a "E's Puppy" or a "K's Puppy" before your guess. There will be a prize at the end of this for whoever gets the most points. There might even be two...

Puppy Guess #1

Alright Gang! Are you guys ready for another "Good Old Fashioned GDB Name Game"?! Well, I hops so because PWAP is going to be welcoming a new member in just weeks time. Seeing as there hasn't been another new case of Parvo (if you haven't heard about what's going on in the GDB kennels please check out their website to get the latest news on the sudden outbreak) in weeks and those puppies who were not infected went off to Oregon and the ones who were infected and are healthy again are back in California and the kennels and trucks are all disinfected daily and the pups are no longer contagious it looks like we'll definitely be welcoming a new member to the club.

The new puppy will be going to Nancy, Jim, and Alyssa. They are currently raising Danvers, but on the 18th he will be transferred to the new family in our group and they will take on a new starter puppy.

So let's begin this guessing game.

RULES:

1. This Game will be working in TWO posts. This is the first one.
2. On the FIRST post (this one), you are allowed to guess the BREED of the pup and the LITTER LETTER if you so choose.
3. You can only guess ONE breed and FIVE letters.
4. The breeds you may choose from are those used by GDB (aka: Yellow Lab, Black Lab, Golden Retriever, Lab/Golden Cross)
5. On the SECOND post (which will come when we recieve the puppy information) I will tell you the litter letter and then you will be able to guess NAMES.
6. You can guess up to FIVE names.

Does everyone understand the rules? Alright then. :D Get guessing! There WILL be a prize at the end of this when I count up all the points.

Phase Report and Name Game

Ok guys we are so close to my goal of getting at least 100 comments on the Name Game not including mine. I have posted 10 comments myself so we only need 11 more. Head on over there if you have a brilliant idea for an L male name!

Also, anyone out there know what "phase 0" is?

Name Game

Hey Guys! I have a goal now! Rocco and I would like to get at least 100 comments (not including mine) on our Name Game! Please help us reach our goal and head over there. My list is ever expanding. Now added to my board is Liam, Link, Lemur, and Lemoore.

Additions and Pictures

Hey Everyone! You only have 1 week and 3 days left to guess the new puppy's name. Remember to swing by the Name Game and make your L Name Guess. Added to my board yesterday were Lucky and Leopold. I thought you guys might enjoy these two pictures of Rocco and Rockford from yesterday's talk at the Private School.

Rocco(L) and Rockford(R)

This is one of the only pictures you will ever see of Rocco(L) and Rockford(R) being this good while they're this close together.

My List

Hey all! I know that I'm getting really excited about the upcoming Fun Day and I hope that all of you who are able to attend are getting ramped up as well. What I'm very excited about this year is the presentation of Mr.L. He will be (unless I am mistaken) PWAP's first Fun Day puppy (unless you count Royalty who was presented at the last Fun Day, but at that time we had no idea that she would come to us). You guys are doing a great job with the Name Game and I thought you might like to see my list of L Names. I tried to list them in order from most wanted to least, but there are a few that are out of order.

(Lance, Latrell, Lancelot, Lloyd, Lancaster, Laughter, Leader, Lyons, Leo, Lionel, Louis, Lewis, Lebec, Loden, Lester, London, Lucius, Lexington, Lexmar, Larry, Lenny, Leon, Lorenzo, Landmark, Lotto, Lemon, Lime)

I also have a list of girls names going for his sisters, but they aren't important enough for the board. :) Here they are: Lindsay, Lorraine, Lulu, Lorie, Layla, Lila, Lilac, Lassie, Louise, Lapis, Lois, Labour, Leeka, Lor, Lorelei, Lavender, and Lady.

A Good Old Fashioned GDB Name Game

Exciting news Everyone! My leader just got her Golden assignment! She will be receiving a male golden retriever. He is going to be a Mazel and Pebbles puppy (check out the GDB blog to see littermate photos). There are only two males in the litter. She is very, very excited about getting a Pebbles puppy because Pebbles is her last Golden's (before Colorado) "niece." Pretty cool huh?

So, I've been thinking real hard about what the rules of this name game are going to be and I think I've decided. So, here are the Rules.

1. Since he is a Fun Day puppy this game will close on July 30 at midnight. For those of you who are going to Fun Day you will not have to wait to know the name. For those of you who are not going to attend Fun Day this year I will post to winner and the name on July 31 after we get back to the hotel.

2. You can post as many names as you want...but! you can only post one name every 12 hours. Basically once a day, but let's say you post one name at 8 in the morning. You could post another name at 8 in the evening. This can increase you chase of winning. But please, don't stay up till 3 in the morning to post. You have about 3 weeks.

3. You may guess a name that has already been guessed, but you will not be mentioned as a winner. And if I can get the same prize as the other name game the person who first posts the name will receive the prize and the title of winner. So, be creative. We all know that GDB can come up with some weird names.

4. If you're not having fun then you're playing the game wrong.

5. If you guess his brother's name then you too will be counted as a winner and will receive a prize.

6. You can also guess if he's going to be the biggest male or the smallest male if you wish. You can only guess this one once. Since it is only a 50/50 chance what I will do is write down all the people who guessed the size right and attach the pieces of paper to Rocco's toys. Whichever one he chooses first is the winner of the weight. I will do this over and over again if there are more names than toys.

Ok, those are the rules. If you have any questions please email or massage me. Or you can post a comment too. So, now is the moment you've all been waiting for. The litter letter. The new little golden will be litter letter....

L!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ready, Set, Go!

Name Game Closed/List of Names

So, the name game is officially closed. With that said, I have a little bit of bad news. My dad and step-mom have decided that they aren't going to get a puppy from this litter. They're waiting until the litter of smaller labradoodles are born. So, I won't get to help out with the puppy and I probably won't be able to see her past week 1 or so. But, I'm still posting my favourite names and giving away two prizes. So, here is the list of my favourite names posted by you, the bloggers. how it's going to go is it's going to be one big list starting with the girl name then the boy name.

Aspen and Arrow, Blossom and Brutus, Clover and Caesar, Delilah and Digby, Esprit and Epic, Fable and Fritz, Gypsy and Guess, Haley and Hermes, Ivy and Ian, Jazzie and Jett, Klondike and Kermit, Lola and Lancelot, Mystic and Maestro, Nova and Noel, Opal and Onyx, Paisley and Patriot, Quebec and Quincy, Raven and Ranger, Spirit and Sherlock, Tofu and Titan, Utopia and Unagi, Vail and Vroom, Willow and Wrangler, Xena and Xerxes, Yvette and Yuma, Zelda and Zuni.

Great job everyone! I'm sure you were all excited like me because how many of us actually get to name our dogs? Haha! I was uber excited to help name this puppy because I've never named one of my dogs even though two of them were purchased and kept for me. But, I don't think that I'm going to have much say in it now. Oh well, one day I'll have a female breeder dog for GDB and I'll get to name other people's dogs. :) With that said I would like to announce those two lucky bloggers who got the prize!

Those two are....



Meghan with Picassa and Paris

&

Maddie with Betsy and Jorinda



Congratulations you two! The reason that I chose those two is because both of them posted on every single one of the name game posts. Meghan can also boast the most names in my favourite name list. Maddie was also my first follower on my newest blog. (if you haven't checked it out yet you should. http://scotlandforcollege.blogspot.com/ )

Here is what I want you guys to do. I want you to pick you favourite picture of both of your dogs. (Paris and Picassa for Meghan and Betsy and Jorinda for Maddie). Make sure that I can see their faces because otherwise there will be no point in sending me these pictures. Send them to my email address EllaBella2010@gmail.com and if you could send me your mailing address as well that would be great. If you are uncomfortable sending me your address and you're coming to the CA campus Fun Day, let me know and I'll bring the prizes with me. If you're not going to the CA Fun Day and you're uncomfortable giving me your address then, well...you can't have your prize. :)

Thanks Again for playing and Check back soon for an old fashioned GDB Name Game as I find out the litter assignment for my leaders new Golden.

Name Game closing

Hey Everyone. I just wanted to let everyone know that after tomorrow at midnight I will not be looking at the name game posts anymore. Now, I'm thinking of prizes for two particular bloggers who were amazing during this game. But, I'm not sure that it's going to pass. But it'll be a really cool prize if I can get it, trust me. If you know you're not one of those two you can always move up into the prize category. So keep posting until tomorrow at midnight because that's when I stop considering names. Monday morning my list of favourite names will be up.

As soon as my leader gets her assignment for her new Golden Puppy I'll hold a true GDB name game with prizes! So check back soon!

Name Game: Z Names

I can't believe that we're at the end of the alphabet already. You guys have thought of some great names! I have all my favourite suggestions written down and I hope to get a post up of my favourite girl and boy names suggested by tomorrow or Sunday. So, I'm going to be compiling my list tonight and tomorrow morning if I find time to do it then. If you want to see if one of your names will be on my list then you have until tomorrow morning to go back to all the name game posts and post a name. Also, pop over to my Fun Day post and let me know if your going and if your doing a trainer walk.

Today's Letter: Z

Female Names:
1. Zinfandel (This was one of Zack's sisters' names and I really like it! Yes, I do know that it's a wine)
2. Zenon
3. Zafira
4. Zenyatta

Male Names:
1. Zacharias
2. Zipper
3. Zaptos
4. Zaney

Name Game: Y Names

So, my dad and step-mom have been talking about not getting the puppy until after Rocco is transferred. This is probably only be two to three weeks before I leave for school so I might not get to see the puppy at all. :( They might even wait for another litter of smaller labradoodles to be born. I'm really hoping that they don't wait until after I leave because I've been getting excited about have a new puppy around that I can play fetch with and doesn't have all the rules of a Guide Dog Puppy. That and I'm pretty sure that my leader had to convince the all mighty and knowing Jim that it would be alright if we got this new puppy while Rocco was still with us even though they are only 5 months apart, not the required 7 months. And I of course was worried that I wouldn't get to keep Rocco until I left and it just seems like there would have been a lot of fuss for nothing if they don't get one until October. But, seeing as we're at the last two letters of the alphabet we're going to continue with the name game. Honestly, I think they've thought about not getting the puppy until I'm gone because I have insisted that if I'm to potty train the thing (yes, they wanted to help potty train and obedience train the puppy while I was still around) I should get to help name it and they don't want to help name it...sorry, home politics. It's nothing to concern anyone but my own inner voice. On to the name game then?

Today's Letter: "Y"

Female Names:
1. Yiddish (if any of you end up with a GDB breeder female and her litter ends up with letter "Y" you must suggest this name)
2. Yolanda
3. Yollie
4. Yoga

Male Names:
1. YoYo
2. Yadael
3. Yale
4. Yagel