Ruby Here

[Sydney]

Ruby and Sydney here,

Why thank you very much for the compliment. It was very nice and let us just say you are quite the good looker yourself. After seeing your post, Sydney and I were having a serious discussion last night about which one of us you were referring to. Duncan got tired of the discussion and only wanted to go to sleep, so we have agreed you were probably talking about both of us. Duncan is in the other room and he said he didn't think you were referring to him since, as a big strong male, he can't be pretty. Handsome, dashing, debonair and the most interesting dog in the world for sure, but never pretty.


We are off to our next big adventure. Duncan came across some pictures of the two of us when we were mere pups and he is wanting to post some of them. Oh, and he will include more of his sage advice and Cavalier guidance on preparing to live with a new Cavalier puppy. We admire him for doing it because he's a little bummed. Turns out, since he only came to live with us when he was about 2, Mom and Dad don't have any pictures of him as a puppy. So he has agreed to live vicariously through us and include the very first picture Mom and Dad took of him despite him being about 2 at the time and no longer technically a puppy. See you soon!

Ruby, Sydney, and Duncan in Virginia

[Sydney]

Duncan here,

The other night I was downstairs recovering our Iditarod photo’s. As I sat there watching the little green light on the hard drive blinking away I had time to think “What is some really good Cavalier advice I could provide to humans.” Then it came to me. Many of you seem to really love us when we are puppies. So, having been a puppy myself at one time, I thought I could provide a little invaluable insight. Insight to those who don’t have a puppy but are wondering what life would be like if they were to ever acquire one. Like to practice before making a huge commitment, because it is a huge commitment? A commitment that, if you are very fortunate, can go for 10, 11, 12, or even more years. If you think you are ready, here are few tips to help you prepare. Oh, and I’ve included a few photo’s to keep you focused on the task at hand. Pictures of my sisters Sydney and Ruby when they were puppies. I’d include pictures of me, but I was adopted when I was 2 and therefore am afraid I lack pictures of myself as a very young pup. So let us begin your preparation for a puppy:

- Pour cold apple juice on the carpet in several places and walk around barefoot in the dark.
- Wear a sock to work that has had the toes shredded by a blender.
- Immediately upon waking, stand outside in the rain and dark saying, "Be a good puppy, go potty now -hurry up - come on, lets go!"


Here is Sydney shortly after starting her life with Mom and Dad. Notice she is already looking down the road and thinking, "When will Ruby and Duncan get here so we can start our adventures?" Always a forward thinker our little Sydney.




- Cover all your best suits with dog hair. Dark suits must use white hair, and light suits must use dark hair.
- Also float some hair in your first cup of coffee in the morning.
- Play catch with a wet slimy tennis ball.
- Run out in the snow in your bare feet in the middle of the night to close the gate.


Here's Sydney being forced to pose with some pumpkins by Mom and Dad. She wasn't real pleased because she didn't like Mom and Dad taking her picture. She prefers those spontaneous shots taken by either me or Ruby.




- Tip over a basket of clean laundry, scatter clothing all over the floor. Extra points if you can get some muddy with tiny paw prints.
- Leave your underwear on the living room floor, because that's where the dog will drag it anyway. (Especially when you have company.)
- Jump out of your chair shortly before the end of your favorite TV program and run to the door shouting, "No no! Do that OUTSIDE!"
Miss the end of the program.


Here's a shot of Ruby. Mom and Dad tell her this was how she was delivered to their doorstep. She's highly skeptical.





- Put chocolate pudding on the carpet in the morning, and don't try to clean it up until you return from work that evening.
- Gouge the leg of the dinning room table several times with a screwdriver – no really, go and do it now, I'll wait - it's going to get chewed on anyway.

AND THE MOST IMPORTANT AND CRITICAL PUPPY ATTRIBUTE OF THEM ALL AND MAKING IT ALL WORTHWHILE?

- Take a warm and cuddly blanket out of the dryer and immediately wrap it around yourself on the coldest day of the year. This is the feeling you will get when your puppy falls asleep on your lap






Now get out there and get that puppy and see what love is all about.

Ruby, Sydney, and Duncan in Virginia.

[Sydney]

Ruby here,

The three of us are often light hearted and fun loving but we wanted to share something very serious and special with you. This is the ultimate story of the love between a young soldier and his military working dog, Corporal Kory Wiens and Cooper. Both were killed together in Iraq and were buried together in Cpl Wiens hometown in Oregon. Read the UK Daily Mail story attached and then watch the Youtube video below. No matter what, as dog lovers this story should help remind everyone to remember ALL those in harm's way, even if they have four legs. We think that's what Cpl Wiens would have wanted.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2055235/Army-honours-fallen-soldier-Kory-Wiens-military-dog-Cooper-killed-Afghanistan.html#

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=R_jWCM2VSdg

Ruby, Sydney, and Duncan in Virginia

[ppotterfield]

Rudy, Sydney and Duncan:

Thanks so much for all your wonderful posts this Fall. BudBud and I always enjoy them and so do our Clumber girls. Keep them coming.

[mommytoClaire]

Great puppy buying guide.......

[lucidity]

Love the stories of all you guys' travels!! Can't wait to see more pictures of your adventures

I'm wondering... could you please post one entry describing how all the 3 of you travel around in the car? Did your mom and dad install an extra seat at the back for Duncan? Do the hotels etc. allow 3 dogs? How about when you travel somewhere that you have to fly to? Do all 3 of you tag along or do you go to a boarding place/dog sitter's home?

[Sydney]

Love the stories of all you guys' travels!! Can't wait to see more pictures of your adventures

I'm wondering... could you please post one entry describing how all the 3 of you travel around in the car? Did your mom and dad install an extra seat at the back for Duncan? Do the hotels etc. allow 3 dogs? How about when you travel somewhere that you have to fly to? Do all 3 of you tag along or do you go to a boarding place/dog sitter's home?

Ruby here,

We'd love to explain the logistics of our trips. However, did you want to know how we travel with Mom and Dad on how we travel on our own like our trip to Alaska? Tell you what, we'll gather some photo's to illustrate both. Give us some time and we'll be right back in a few days with a story on how you humans can travel with your pets safely and comfortably. And as a special treat we will also try something we often don't do. We will copy one of our postings from "Human Talk" on the unique way we travel without our Mom and Dad, incognito of course. All your Cavalier's get a big kick out of reading about these trips we post on the web site. And for those humans who don't keep a close eye on their little ones AT ALL TIMES, many of them have replicated our treat store trips on their own. Hope you've been keeping an eye on the odometer. We'll be back with an explanation very soon!

Ruby, Sydney, and Duncan in Virginia

[lucidity]

Ruby here,

We'd love to explain the logistics of our trips. However, did you want to know how we travel with Mom and Dad on how we travel on our own like our trip to Alaska? Tell you what, we'll gather some photo's to illustrate both. Give us some time and we'll be right back in a few days with a story on how you humans can travel with your pets safely and comfortably. And as a special treat we will also try something we often don't do. We will copy one of our postings from "Human Talk" on the unique way we travel without our Mom and Dad, incognito of course. All your Cavalier's get a big kick out of reading about these trips we post on the web site. And for those humans who don't keep a close eye on their little ones AT ALL TIMES, many of them have replicated our treat store trips on their own. Hope you've been keeping an eye on the odometer. We'll be back with an explanation very soon!

Ruby, Sydney, and Duncan in Virginia

That's great!! I would love to hear about how you travel with mom and dad AND how you guys went all the way to Alaska on your own. I'm having trouble figuring out how to transport Cadence and Lyra in the car without having to use crates (Lyra hates being in the crate while we're in the car). Plus the crates are bulky and really hard to fit into my small Mazda. It'll be good to know how to strap the dogs in safely so that they don't try to wrestle in the car while I'm driving!

[Sydney]

Ruby here,

We are finally back but we have definitely not been idle. As requested by Lyra and Cadence (through their human we're sure) we've taken the time while we've been away to gather some information and pictures on how we travel about from one interesting adventure to the other. Now we are back to share some of our valuable insights and tips for you humans who wish to travel more in the company of your beloved pack.

Where to begin . . . . . Let us start with our really long trips with Mom and Dad where we go somewhere for several days .

For long trips, Mom and Dad had to find a way to keep us securely fastened so we couldn't wander around the car or be hurt if we were in an accident. We know that many humans transport their Cavaliers in crates as your first choice. While this is a totally acceptable way of moving us from one point to another safely and securely, it is really beneath Sydney and Duncan and I. Being confined to a crate - never. So we convinced Mom and Dad that a crate was not our preferred method of travel for long road trips. We suggested they purchase us nice comfortable warm car seats that would keep us safe and secure in the event of an accident, while at the same allowing us to watch the scenery as it whizzed by the back seat windows. After a rather arduous search, Mom and Dad came across a company called Snoozer Pet Car Seats. Yes, of course we found it for them after a little late night web surfing. We left the web site up on their computer so they would know about these seats. Sometimes we think our Mom and Dad can be a little helpless. Here is the web site for those who might be interested:

www.snoozerpetproducts.com

They purchased each of us a medium Lookout II car seat. You could probably get away with using a small if your Cavvie is small but we like to really stretch out when we travel. All three fit perfectly in the back seat of the car and its the perfect size for a Cavalier and allows us to stand up, turn around, and lay back down. It also prevents us from playing together in the back seat and being a distraction. They have a simulated lambs wool lining that can be removed and washed and even has a hidden drawer underneath the seat to keep our leashes, toys, etc. Here is a photo:





Each seat is held securely and firmly in place with the seat belts which loop across the back of the seat.




And now for the most important part of all. We are held securely in place by a web belt with a hook that loops around the secured seat belt and then connects to the buckle on our harness. This prevents us from jumping from one car seat to the other or get into other mischief. We are never allowed to roam about the car unbelted whenever the car is moving and we hope you do the same for your Cavvies. Our parents never hold us in their arms while the car is moving because if we have an accident the air bags could hurt us our even worse. So we stay buckled into our seats using this strap. (Oh, and ALWAYS take our leads off once we are buckled in. You don't want to leave the lead connected to our harness and accidently leave part of it hanging out the car door to catch on something as you are driving.)




Now to put it all together, I've asked Duncan to jump up in the car seat and model how it all fits together. Duncan is a little reluctant. Turns out he feels it is not very masculine to be asked to model something. He doesn't think a big strong strapping boy should ever have to "model" anything. He's also afraid this picture will show up on "Human Talk" and the other male Cavaliers will laugh at him. We promised we would not post it except on Cavalier Talk so he was a good sport this one time and agreed.





So now you can see how we travel long distances. But what about short trips around town and where to stay and eat? That will be in the next posting along with some everyday travel tips for you and your pet. After that we'll explain how we travel without Mom and Dad. You don't want to miss that one. Especially the photo's of our luggage. Duncan will explain, but when he tells you about my suitcase, make sure he has pictures to prove what he says. He says I pack a lot for our trips, but I don't think so. Be back soon with more travel tips and more photo's.


Ruby, Sydney, and Duncan in Virginia

[islewriter]

And what a star really adorable.