Great Gaylan's weekend

What a wonderful time we had visiting Gaylan's Golden Retrievers this weekend! Since I live so far away, I rarely get to head east to visit Devon's cousins and their owners. This trip was worth the 12-hour drive, and we had a jam-packed weekend that I'll remember for years to come.

First, bright and early on Friday morning we started the Game Bird litter's temperament test. These are some amazing puppies, and every single puppy owner is getting a fantastic puppy! Pat McKinney did a fantastic job testing the litter, and I'm glad it's Gayle and Lise's job deciding where these pups will go! I would have taken every one of them home! 

Following the puppy test, we all joined Sandy and Trader's OTCH party. I was thrilled to be able to join in the celebration for this fantastic team! And I think the "OTCH bar" is going to become a hit all over the country!

After a good night's sleep, we headed back to Gayle and Andy's for the Game Bird litter's puppy walk. I think this is a wonderful way to celebrate each litter with a walk in the woods, play time and a pitch in lunch with friends. It was raining a little, but those Game Birds didn't care! They raced through the woods as I carefully picked my way down hills and over trees. 

Our other job is to watch one puppy and note what they do on the puppy walk. Our Game Bird charge loved to carry things in its mouth. The puppy picked up leaves and sticks. It raced through muddy streams and over rocks and fallen trees. The puppy darted around people and trees and looked interestingly at the water before racing back up the hill to the end of the walk.

After the puppy walk and hours of playing with kids, the pups still had energy to play with each other before finally settling in for a nap. I got to see one of Devon's littermate's Spring. This was an added bonus after getting to see her littermate Jerry the day before.

After the Game Birds' nap, we introduced them to birds. I've never seen this done and was interested to see the puppy's reactions. Every one of these pups turned onto the birds and carried one. The adult dogs didn't understand why they had to watch from an upper window!

It was so wonderful to spend time Friday and Saturday with Gayle, Lise and Marcy and hear all about the Game Birds and exchange training tips and plans. I loved talking with Pam Martin and Donna LaHaise in from Canada to see the testing and take Bizzy home. Pam was wonderful to share her field knowledge and encouragement for future plans. Donna was a wealth of information about Bizzy, and I know she was so excited to take her much loved and missed girl home. 

And I bet you're wondering which little Game Bird is coming to Indiana. Well, they still have some more tests to be done before we know the final answer. Check back later in the week to find out more!

We concluded our trip by stopping by the Hudson Valley Golden Retriever Club's All-Breed Agility trial on our way home. We got to see several of the Gaylan's dogs run, including Trader, Tango, Pilot, Juice, Jerry, Brig, Bette, and Kite. If you click on each dog's name, you can see video of their run (unfortunately I couldn't tape Kite's run, because I would have been standing in front of her mom). It was so awesome to watch these dogs run. I saw shades of Juice's mom Abbi in his run. And it was a thrill to watch big, athletic, powerful Goldens handle these agility courses at 24-inches. 

I had a wonderful weekend reconnecting with old friends and spending time making new ones. The Dancing litter has brought so many new and wonderful people into my life, and I'm looking forward to the Game Bird litter doing the same!