And Then There Were Three

During 2008 I started getting "broody" again and badgering for another puppy, backed up by a young friend who was living with and working for us at the time.  Between us we broke down Chris's resistance until one day he announced we could have another puppy as long as it was a flat coat.  Yesssss!  I was straight on the net, found a breeder in Annan that had puppies and before 48 hours had passed I had booked her last bitch puppy.  Before Chris could change his mind.....

Is that water I see?.........

On November 4th we collected Ballyriver Flyon to be known as Talulah.  I wanted a water based name as Flat Coated Retrievers are known for their love of water.  Talulah means Leaping Water.  It might as well mean Leap In Water as that is exactly what she does on a regular basis.

Badddooooomph!

Aaaahhhh - that feels better.

The first couple of nights she was with us she was quite unsettled, crying during the night and keeping us awake.  Desperate to get some sleep on that second night, we got her up on to the bed to play with her and tire her out.  She promptly stomped to the foot of the bed, took her position between our feet and curled up.  She never murmered until it was time to get up.  Ah, well, so be it.  We didn't have a problem with that although I know that many people would be horrifed for one reason or another.



She is now three and she still sleeps on my bed along with Tussock. Sisko has a bed on the floor (he gets tucked into his quilt) as he has a habit of taking over the entire bed whereas the girls always leave me my space. Actually Talulah starts off the night downstairs, but comes up sometime during the night.

One of her favourite sleeping places and positions.

Watching me working at the desk

She is known for stealing whatever shoe or sock you are trying to put on, or might have left lying around, taking slippers out into the garden, and for licking. I'm sure she is trying to help sometimes, but other times she is just making me laugh. And she knows it. She also does a good harrier jump jet impersonation, doing vertical take offs if she can't go in a forwards direction. She and Tussock are the best friends with just the odd cross word, but lots of play. Talulah learned to play rough very early on as that is how Tussock plays (a typical hovawart trait)! One other thing she is known for is her love of brightly coloured cuddly toys - her eyes shine when she sees a new one. This particular love nearly had disastrous consequences, however, when she picked up a friend's Yorkshire Terrier in his bright red coat and shook him like she would a toy before realising her mistake, dropping him and running off.

Yaahoooooooooooooooooooo!

She's an affectionate dog, playful, happy, dizzy, mad, and water loving. Of the three of them she is probably the most obedient. And guess what? I love her to bits!  Despite what she gets into......

And if there's no water......

.......then mud will do...............

........isn't this fun.........