Ryder, who was known as Kiwi as a puppy because of his green collar, was born third. From a very early age he
showed definite signs of being very athletic. He was the first to walk, he climbed out of a large laundry basket (where he was
stashed while the whelping box was being cleaned) at one day past 2
weeks, and was the first to make it out of the whelping box at 3 weeks. He pounces and prances instead of walks, and is a cocky and
somewhat vocal puppy. He has gone to live with Summer Lee of Richmond, Virginia, and her two other Goldens, where he is learning rally,
obedience, and agility, and will assist in therapy work when he's old enough not to be rowdy.
News about Ryder, 2008
Congratulations to Ryder, who earned his Rally Novice title February 16, 2008 with his equally novice
handler, Summer Lee. Summer has worked very hard with Ryder, who got the title in 3 straight passes. This
team has great things in front of them! What a Valentine's present!
News about Ryder, 2007
Christmas, 2007
Ryder was not too happy with this gift.
December 16, 2007
We made our way through 2 legs of Rally Novice this past weekend. It wasn't spectacular, but we had fun and managed some
decent scores (I think the judges are very generous in Novice). Ryder had a 96 and a 99 (second place). My goal was to
move fast, get some good attention, and make the ring a happy place, which I think we accomplished. He showed no nerves
at all. We've been going through a bit of a rough patch, with him testing boundaries and showing a slightly stubborn and
very independent mind of his own, so that made his looking to me that much better. Although since you are only in the ring
for about 18 seconds, you would think we could keep it together. But some people didn't. I'll have some pictures to send to
you this week. They had a photographer taking pics -- of course I only picked the ones Ryder was looking at me, but a couple
of them show him in a nice heel position with a very nice stride -- you should be able to get a good feel for his size and frame.
October 22, 2007
Ryder...I love his size. I can still cuddle him up on my lap (much
to his horror). It is very hard for Ryder to be still for more than 4 seconds. I don't think he sees the point
of "settling down." That is what the crate is for! We were at the vet the other day getting our
health certificates for our trip to Canada, and he weighed in at 51 lbs.
I've upped his food a little bit, just to see if we can get a little
more weight on him. He is such a ball of energy I can't imagine him
ever being fat. A friend of mine was looking at him the other day. She said, "I
thought he was really skinny, but when I put my hands on him, he feels
really solid." So I'm not worried at all...he'll grow like he is
supposed to. And at least at this size, Bud can still pin him when
necessary.
August 6, 2007
Happy Birthday to Ryder! He is about 55 lbs at this point. He still appears quite lean...but he definitely gets his two cups
plus treats, so I know he isn't starving. Still working agility and obedience, probably more agility...so we are going
to try to start a better balance as I get more time. Also doing a lot of work on "relationship" and focusing his drive. It's been a lot of fun!
Two pictures of Ryder on his first birthday
July 11, 2007
It is hilarious to watch Ryder play with Bud and Brandy -- he can leap frog over them, which freaks them out. Both will come running
to me when they've had enough as if to say -- can you believe he can do that???
July 6, 2007
I haven't measured Ryder's height, but his weight was 51lbs today at the vet's.
June 29, 2007
For some reason this month, I think he is starting to look more grown up. Everyone keeps telling me how big he is, but for some reason,
I still see him as the same size. We are hanging in there with agility. He loves the tunnels and so far has had no problem with wobbly
boards and about a six inch teeter totter. I've been told that goldens often have trouble with the movement of the boards -- but not Ryder!
Lots of thunder and lightning storms lately, and luckily Ryder shows no signs of anxiety at all. Imagine that!
Ryder, 6/29/07 - 11 months
June 5, 2007
10 months and counting. It's hard to believe this time last year I was waiting to hear if Hilfy
was pregnant! Time passes so quickly. Ryder is doing great. Still a little handful, but very smart and even when he goes over the top, he
can come back quickly. We are still attending agility classes and working on basic obedience commands. I will say it takes a lot to keep
Ryder focused. I'm finding it hard to be more exciting than the brand new stick in the yard, but I keep trying. He really is a very sweet
boy...no bad intentions...very few tantrums...but does like to push the rules sometimes. And why not???
News about Ryder, April & May 2007
I had Ryder on the golf cart with me this afternoon and I remembered the day we got home he could barely reach up to the seat...
now he just walks up on it. We spent this past weekend at a Sylvia Bishop seminar...it was great. Lots of fun ideas on how to train
and play with all skill level of dogs. We did a little bit of fun heeling and recalls and stuff, and Sylvia really liked Ryder.
Someone told me she said..."that little puppy is going to be spectacular." It was very nice to hear. And he behaved himself quite
nicely all weekend...in the hotel, at the seminar, in tight spaces with a lot of dogs. He made me very proud!
We are still playing with agility. Ryder is definitely a fire ball. We are going through a stage of him telling me..."let's play my way"
and me saying "I don't think so." I'm sure we will both live through it...I just keep remember Sylvia saying to me "figure out a way to
always make him correct, so he doesn't lose the fire. You can correct him, but don't break him."
We went to the vet and got a weight on him yesterday. At eight months, he was 43.2 lbs. I'm not sure how that measures up to the rest of
the litter. I'd be interested to know if you've had any feedback from anyone else. He finally seems to be filling in a little bit...but
still A LOT of limbs...and he can really move when he wants to.
Ryder, 5/4/07 - 9 months
News about Ryder, February/March 2007
I've attached a picture of all three. You can see that Ryder isn't much smaller than Bud at this point. I'll try to get
a better body picture. We are still waiting for all his parts to look like they should go together. Right now he looks
like he comes from 3 different dogs. I finally sent off Ryder's paperwork to the AKC. His registered name will be
Fernhill's Wild Ryde. Seemed to match our experience over the last six months plus I couldn't come up with anything golfy.
Hope you like.
Ryder is progressing as you can imagine. We are still on an obedience and agility track. We had a private lesson
today with a lady in Richmond. I stopped watching Ryder for a second to listen to something she was saying, and when
I glanced back for Ryder he was on top of the fully extended a-frame. I do believe he thought he was on top of the world!
Summer's 3 goldens -- Ryder is the shorter one in back.
News about Ryder, January 2007
It is amazing how quickly they change. Right now (at 5 months) it seems like none of his parts go together, but his body is finally
starting to catch up with his legs. We went to our first obedience run thru this weekend and had a great time. Mostly
we played in the ring, we did a few set ups, and a touch of heeling. I'm trying to help him think the ring is a fun place,
which in Ryder's world, at least so far, every place is a fun place.
I was happy with his performance at the run thru. Again, we didn't do much, but there were flashes of attention. Granted
I had a tug toy and food, so if I couldn't get attention with that...I've got no chance in
the future. But he did very nicely with the new sounds and all the new
dogs. He still likes to charge every new dog, so I have to watch that
carefully, but I keep telling myself..."he is just a baby."
Ryder and I are going to start a puppy agility class in a few weeks. I think I had mentioned to you that I
have no interest in agility, but thought I ought to at least give it a try for Ryder's sake. So I will let you know how that goes.
I've attached a few pictures so you can see his size. His coat has started to get a bit of a curl to it, so we will see how long that lasts.
Perpetual Motion
Bud must be shrinking, he's not so tall anymore!
News from Summer, December 2006
All is progressing great with Ryder. He is very smart and picks up things quickly. He has a mind of his own, and
is not afraid to throw a tantrum when things don't go his way, but they seem to be getting much shorter and less frequent.
Mouthing is steadily improving, but I think it will always be a part of him. Ryder is still mostly legs and on the thin side.
It seems he can eat and eat but will only grow up not out.
Ryder is actually spending this weekend at a friend's. We are working on him learning how
to behave when at other people's homes, plus she lives out in the
country with horses and lots of land, so are trying to add to his "life experiences."
Merry Christmas!
It's MINE!
Something's funny!
Ryder with his pal Bud
Ryder and his frisbee
News from Summer, November 2006
It is amazing how long his legs are...although I think I said that the last time.
Ryder had his first trip into the swimming pool yesterday. We have a local canine swimming pool which is awesome.
They do a lot of rehab work as well as recreational swimming. So Ryder had his first lesson yesterday and he took
to it like a duck to water so to speak. No fear whatsoever and after about 4 minutes was in retrieving a toy like
a champ. It even tired him out for a few hours. I didn't get any pictures of him in the water -- I'll try for that the next time.
This puppy has more personality than he knows what to do with. That
special look in his eyes comes out in every picture!
News from Summer, October 2006
Hi, Mom -- let's play! 10/05/06
Bucketing down the stairs -- 10/14/06
October 23: Ryder goes in this week for more shots. We had to stop at the vet last
Friday for something else, so I put him on the scale. He was 17.5 lbs.
Still mostly legs, but you can feel him bulking up.
October 15: 10 weeks old and we are still surviving. Ryder is much more of a handful than my
other two were at his age. Not in a bad way, just more dog. Carol told me that is because this time I
actually have a "dog." He is full go, not afraid of anything. He walked right off the couch yesterday.
Luckily, it's not much of a drop. And he frequently tries to fly off a moving golf cart. I've attached
some pictures of him coming down the stairs in my house. He took one slow trip down, and now it is full
speed all the time. He likes to chase the cat, convinced he will catch her.
We are working on all the basic stuff -- more how to be a nice dog to live with than anything else.
Crates seem to be more acceptable to him now. Not great, but acceptable, especially when you add a
frozen peanut butter Kong. My dogs have gotten used to him. Not a lot of play, but Brandy doesn't
growl at him any more. So I think life is good for little Ryder.
October 5: We went to the vet for our next rounds of shots yesterday, and all was well. Ryder is up to 12.7 lbs
and it seems like you can literally see his legs growing. He is getting to the stage when controlling
limbs seems to be a bit of a challenge. But rest assured the hopping take off is still in tact! In the
last week, Ryder has ridden on a golf cart and run all around a golf course, been to Kings Dominion, but
no roller coasters, been to his first night of puppy class, and chewed more stick and pinecones than any
one puppy should! Not terribly exciting, but at least it seems to wear him out at this age.
News from Summer, September 2006
Ryder bounding through the grass, September 26, 2006
He loves to carry things in his mouth. 9/29/06
Making for the top -- 9/29/06
The takeoff hop! 9/29/06
I'm so sweet when I'm sleeping! 9/26/06
We made it home with no problems...small crying, but seems to like riding in the car...in fact that is
the least amount of crying so far in a crate. He does seem to be settling down in his crate at home --
we've all gotten a decent amount of sleep the last few days.
My other two goldens have had very different reactions to Ryder. Bud, my male, is ok with him. He gave
him some attention, but is far more interested in what treat is coming next. My female, not too keen so far.
She seems to think he is some alien that likes to launch himself at her, so we are taking it slow. But
overall it has been a very easy transition. I'm knocking on wood and typing at the same time.
I took Ryder to the vet on Monday...and all clear. He said all looked good. We will get another round of
shots next week. Ryder has been very good all around. Only a few melt downs on the leash so far, which
is to be expected. But I am bound and determined to have a golden who doesn't pull on the leash, so we are
starting with rules quickly, but with all the cookies coming, he is getting the picture and doesn't seem to mind.
My obedience coach just loves him. She thinks he moves beautifully! I think I've been wearing him out every day,
so it will be interesting to see how he does once I go back to work. Today I started leaving him for small bits
of time by himself to see how he does...so far the house it still standing, but he sure can let you know when he
is not pleased. I'm glad my neighbors aren't too close. Luckily it doesn't last long.
We too have started with the sits and downs, and quite a few self control games. He has no fear, so also high
rewards when he comes to find me. He is VERY different from my male, who would never think to try to escape
anywhere he was put. Today Ryder went through a cat door to see the rest of a friend of mine's house. So he is
going to teach me A LOT!
In the pictures today, I caught Ryder in take off mode...everything starts with a hop...it seems to be what
gets him going. And you were right about climbing. As you will see...he has no fear. I was in my friend's
backyard and he was certain he could make it up the slide. Doesn't he look bigger already?
