Guest Dog Blog -- Sampson's sister, Remy
July 19, 2011 The dog blog has been on a little bit of a hiatus with all the hubbub of J in the hospital (see my Writer on Wednesday post about our amazing home town) and the kids' swim team season wrapping up, not to mention a heat wave in the Northeast that means most of Sampson's photo ops are happening at dawn or are simply him, passed out on the a/c vent in the bathroom.
But I'll take a second to share his stats:
Tomorrow, Sampson (and his sister Remy, who is the guest this week) are 15 weeks old and Samps tips the scales at 43.2 lbs.
Biggest accomplishments are climbing the stairs to our bedroom and solo swimming in the pool. This includes the courage to leap in off the side, which has translated into joining any of his human siblings for a 'swim' when they're in the bathtub. Sampson is 90% housebroken and though he still bounds up to the under-ten set, he (mostly) manages to check himself before chomping. More photos and stories coming soon, but today his sweet sister gets the spotlight. Meet Nicole and Remy, living a parallel experience elsewhere in PA...
My name is Nicole and I am the proud owner of Sampson’s sister, Remy! I was so excited when our breeder informed me about Chandra’s dog blog and was completely shocked at how everything she described about Sampson was identical to Remy. Several quirks that Chandra discussed made me laugh out loud because I felt she was talking about Remy. Running around crazy, nipping at the poor little ones, favorite spot on the cool kitchen tile, hating the heat and running to the door right after going to the bathroom (if I was lucky enough to have it happen outside rather than on my carpet…), just to name a few. Like brother/like sister!!!
I first became interested in Newfoundlands when I graduated from high school and got a summer job on a farm. The owners purchased a Newfoundland puppy and I fell in love with the little guy! Then over the past two years, I’ve been around several adult Newfoundlands and just could not believe their size and how sweet and gentle they were. When I expressed interest in getting a puppy, my boyfriend said he would only agree to a large breed dog…so Newfoundland it was! I discovered our breeder, Sherry Cook with Opening Heaven’s Doors, on the internet. As soon as I began speaking with her over the phone, I knew that the only puppy I would purchase would be from one of her litters. After a few bumps in the road and approximately a year and a half later, we were finally blessed with the arrival of our long awaited black female Newfoundland…Remy Alexa!
When Remy came home with us, she weighed about 14 pounds and was the most calm, quiet and shy puppy I had ever met. For the first few days, she just laid next to her water dish on the tile floor in the kitchen. We actually had to carry her into the living room in the evening to hang out with us as a family. But it was never long before she wandered back to her kitchen spot! And if only I would have known that this was the calm before the storm! Remy Doodle came out of her shell and became a little firecracker with a big attitude! Most often, during her antics, I would try to discipline her and then just start laughing because she cracked me up!
At 12 weeks old, Remy is just shy of 30 pounds! She absolutely LOVES the water and this is by far my favorite trait of hers! My boyfriend has a cabin on Hill Island near Three Mile Island and we can’t keep her from trying to get in the water. She loves to hang out at Sandy Beach with all the kids and the other dogs! Jumping from the pontoon boat into the water is still a little high for her, but once in the water, she just paddles away! We have a baby pool in our back yard for Remy to keep cool and she just climbs right in and lays down whether the pool has water or not. She also has a very bad habit (but quite funny) of putting her two front paws in her water bowl and splashing around in it until all the water is emptied across the kitchen floor! 
Guess we shouldn’t have laughed at her when she first started doing it because now she thinks it’s funny…me, not so much! And just this morning, while I was taking a shower, Remy jumped in and got completely soaked before I could grab her and get her out! Our little Remy is a fruit and veggie freak…among her favorites are carrots, apples, apple peals, watermelon, watermelon rind, orange bell peppers, and of course ice! Remy also loves chewing on piggy ears and bully sticks, which usually keep her occupied for about two hours and gives us all a much needed break!
Remy has actually impressed me with her excitement about exercise! She loves to play tug of war and fetch a tennis ball and Frisbee. Something else that cracks us up is the way Remy retrieves a toy. We call it “Stealth Mode”…after we throw the toy, she sneaks up on it real slow with her head down and her tail straight back. When she gets a few steps away from the toy, then she makes a quick pounce! It’s hilarious! We’re not sure if she’s just too lazy to run after the toy or if she really thinks that she’s being sly! She was terrible with the leash at first, but she is getting much better. When we exercise at night or are just hanging out by the campfire at the cabin on the river, Remy wears a glow light on her collar that changes between five or six colors. Without the light, people trip over her left and right because she blends right in with the dark night!
Overall, I feel that Remy has adjusted quite well to her new family! Since night three or four, she has been sleeping through the night in her crate in our bedroom…no crying or crate accidents at all! She does great in the car. Her first long trip (12 hours) was to Canada last week and she did excellent! Only one accident in our cottage and she loved hanging out on the boat and in the lake of course! 
At home, we’re working on our third straight day without any accidents in the house…I must find wood to knock on immediately!!! Besides housebreaking, the only other issue is the biting…which I’m told will get better with time. We understand that she’s a puppy and it’s just a phase she has to go through. But our little guy Mason doesn’t appreciate getting mauled over when he simply tries to take one step! And those little teeth are terribly sharp…our hands, arms and legs have the scars to prove it!
As a family, we couldn’t be more blessed to have Remy in our lives now! She makes us incredibly happy (most of the time). We are looking forward to a long, happy, healthy life with her! Thanks to Sherry for bringing her into our lives! And to Sampson and his family, good luck and we would love to have a family reunion at some point! We will certainly be following Sampson’s progress on the blog!
Newfoundlands, Opening Heavens Doors, Remy, Sampson 