What Are The Odds?

For our big sister's birthday, the whole family (including the pups) went up to the mountain for a hike. Bailey became so excited about the idea of hiking in the snow that she started to howl, cry and squeak in the parking lot. Which in turn influenced other nearby dogs to do the same, whereas Trigger was an angel and waited patiently beside us.

"I am SO happy"

Halfway into our hike we spotted a berner behind us and thought it would be hilarious if it was one of the brothers or sisters from Bailey's litter. And lo and behold it WAS one of the siblings!!! Take a guess who it was...

It's JED!!

Somehow on the mountain we sort of got lost and the hike took us 3 hours! But at least the pups had fun and were exhausted at the end.

Pals

Bailey had some company during the holidays. One of our favourite friends came and joined us for Christmas. In the beginning, Trigger and Bailey didn't seem to hit it off and basically ignored one another. But as they started to get to know each other, they became buddy buddies :) They were such buddies that Bailey wanted to snuggle up to Trigger!

Santa's Little Helper... Not!

So our big sis is packing up and moving into her own little place. And as we help her put her things into boxes, Bailey watches us in the corner. After an hour or two, she decided she would help and evidently this is her way of helping...

"I'm packed up and ready to go to the new place!!"

This pose looks familiar to me... where have I seen this before? Hmm...

Twas the Month Before Christmas

As we ramp up for Christmas, I'm posting a picture of Bailey's costume from Halloween. Guess what she dressed up as...

She's a St. Bernard!! Those of you who have a berner may relate with us when I say that we have had several people approach us and ask us if Bailey is a St. Bernard. So we thought it would be appropriate to make her a barrel. :) You like? What did you guys dress up as for Halloween?

TV Appearance

Two weeks ago, Bailey and I were asked to be a part of Fairchild's tv segment on the experiences of becoming a dog owner. Unfortunately for some of you, the whole tv show is in Chinese... So here is a quick summary of our part in the episode: I introduce myself and Bailey to the viewers as well as take a trip to memory lane stating how shocked I was and still am at how fast Bailey grew when she came home with us. As well as I show everyone the playfulness of Bailey when she plays her favourite game, bottle. In another part of the episode, Bailey's trainer shows off how obedient Bailey is on and off leash as well as accompany the trainer during his interview with the host. If you would like to watch this please go to fairchildtv.com, then under program archive (at the top right corner) click on "other programs". There you will find the video titled "dog experience" (there are 2 parts to the video!) in the Multi-Faceted Leisure Sense and Leisurely Delights the Air.

She's In the Limelight

A couple of days ago, our B.I.L was very nice enough to let us borrow his digital SLR to take some awesome pictures of Bailey in action. And what better way to get interesting and cute photos of Bailey? Taking her to the beach.

She is one odd berner, she loves wading in the water and catching sticks (sort of) but she dislikes getting her whole body wet.

Take a close look at this picture and try to remember this expression, because if you ever see this coming your way... RUN! Or she will come right next to you and shake all that water on you then bolt away as if to say "HAHA I got you!!"

The picture says it all.... awwwwwwww :)

Dog Heaven

Bailey must be in doggie heaven right about now, she just finished playing at the dog park at Mcdonald beach. And a couple of days ago, she went hiking with her friend Trigger at Mount Seymour. Now she's literally passed out on the couch having a very intense dream.

Karma Bites

So a picture's worth a thousand words. In this case, this picture has a story behind it.

It all started last Saturday during a walk on the sea wall. My sisters and I thought it would be fun to take a picture of Bailey in front of the 'on leash area' sign. I should also note that the sign even says "this area is protected for wildlife. Please control your pets." Then, not even a minute later after the photo was taken, Bailey decided she wanted to play with the geese and proceeded to run towards the water. Thankfully, I was able to stop Bailey just in time without her dragging me into the water. But as for her, all four paws were in the water still eager to play with the ducks and geese. So my advice to you is... don't take a picture beside the 'on leash sign' as a joke because you will jinx yourself...

Watch Your Step

They tell you not to run by the pool because it's slippery and you might hurt yourself, but apparently even walking is dangerous!

Choke Much?

This video speaks for it self...

Another video to come!

Bailey's Interpretations

"I'm coming to save you! 1...2...3... WATER!!!!"

"I've got my stick. I've got my stick. I've got my stick... where do I go now?"

"Whoever said I was a bum sinker was WRONG!" :)

"I want to look at you, but I'm so sleepy"

Who Loves to... Fetch?

Another visit to the swimming pool and you can see the difference from when she first started a couple of weeks ago! She's now very eager to start swimming when we arrive at the pool and she'll try and jump back into the water at the end of the session. While in the water, her love for swimming kicks in and she'll keep swimming without having a long break even though she's visibly tired.

Doga

This might seem strange, but I recently read about doga, yoga for dogs. I haven't tried it myself, but given that Bailey loves to sprawl over my yoga mat when I lay it out, why not let her try it out? Especially how well she does the downward dog pose! If you want to read a little more about how doga came to be, visit the New York Times.

Can she swim without a lifejacket?

Uhh... I can tell you for certain that Bailey DOES need a lifejacket. Without it, she's practically swimming vertically because her back legs aren't strong enough to keep her afloat. Plus it's only her second time swimming, so she's still getting used to using her paws to move around in the water. But as long as we keep taking Bailey to these swimming classes, her back legs are getting stronger with every swim! One day she won't need the lifejacket anymore!

If you want to take your pet for a swim, check out K9H2O for more details!

Correction

According to my sisters, the first video of my last post did not quite show how frantic Bailey was in the pool. And in agreement, here is the correct video I should have posted...

Lets Go Swimming!

We've procrastinated long enough and finally brought Bailey to the K9H2O pool in Burnaby for her first swimming lesson!

Here she is sporting a life jacket and an expression of excitement. After a small chat with the swimming instructor of how Bailey plays in the water at the beach, we've found out that Bailey is bottom heavy (meaning her bum is too heavy and will start to sink bum first...).

This video pretty much sums up how Bailey was swimming in the first half of the lesson. She was so frantic and nervous that she kept drinking the pool water as well as refusing to step off the ledge. There was so much splashing that if you stood on the other side of the room, you'd still get hit by the water! By the end of the class I was half drenched...

As Bailey warms up to the deep water, we throw in a squeaky pig for her to enjoy. Watch as she tires to navigate her way around to find the toy! Apparently the splashing is just an indication that Bailey is trying to gain some height so that she can see farther ahead, but when she finds the toy the splashing stops.

As the swimming lesson comes to an end, Bailey shows us how she has improved in 30 minutes! What a big difference compared to the first video! Barely any splashing and it seems as though she didn't need us to cheer her on or walk in front of her as encouragement! By this time, she's figured out how to turn in the water as well as step off the ledge without any anxiety.

One happy and tired puppy is ready to go home and take a nap! Surprisingly, when we got home she didn't take a nap right away... Apparently after such an excitement and a sense of accomplishment, Bailey had the case of the zoomies.

As Summer Ends

The remaining days of summer means lots of fun in the sun! This is the beautiful view we enjoyed during a quick rest on our hike. :)

Walking for the animals

If you haven't heard about it yet, the BCSPCA is having their annual Paws for a Cause walk in September! To find out more, register or to donate, please visit www.spca.bc.ca

We hope to see you there on September 13!

Shhh... she's sleeping

One afternoon at a sale, we came across this twin-sized down bed (in the picture, we've folded in half so that it's more padded for her) and right away our mom snatches it up and quickly buys it. Her only reason for this purchase is that Bailey needs a new bed... At first I thought it was ridiculous, but after taking this photo I've changed my mind.

Stepping up all over the world

YAY!! Dan has posted another video promo for Step Up For the Cure! Check it out:

Another video?

Yes, another video! In a few moments you will witness Bailey unknowingly demolishing our rug while playing with string. For Bailey it's all fun and games with the string, but our poor rug has areas with no yarn because a little someone pulled them out... See for yourself.

Stepping Up

I now present to you the teaser video for step up for the cure, featuring Bailey (we're at about the 1:32 mark)!

Did this video inspire you to climb stairs? To learn more or join the fight against cancer, go to www.stepupforthecure.com. Spread the word!! Thanks DAN! 

For A Cause

Here's a sneak peek of what Bailey was up to for the past few days (video to come soon). 

We're helping a friend put together a video for a special cause called Step Up For The Cure. The organization's goal is to climb stairs for each of the 11 million people who are and will be diagnosed with cancer. If you want to learn more about this please go to www.stepupforthecure.com

Blogger At Work

Here's a look behind the scenes... the brains of Bailey's blog

I Scream For Ice Cream!

A couple of weeks ago, the Three Dog Bakery was giving out ice cream for dogs. And of course being a dog lover, I took Bailey to try some. Watching Bailey eat the ice cream was the funniest thing ever! Eyes fixed on the plate, drooling like crazy, munching (more like swallowing) and licking the treat furiously so that the plate was squeaky clean!

STRING!!

Here is the much anticipated video of Bailey playing with string! 

Stayed tune, because there might be another video coming very soon...

Oh Kitty

I have a theory. I suspect that Bailey might've been a cat in her past life... my evidence lies with string. The video clip will be posted up soon, then you'll know what I mean.

This Is How It's Done!

"I like to help out around the garden whenever I can"

We were emptying our hanging baskets a couple of days ago and Bailey decided to help us out. Well, according to her we were doing it all wrong! Apparently, the right way of emptying the baskets was to get our "paws" dirty by clawing at the soil to loosen it up!

Looking Back

I came across this picture of Bailey at fourteen weeks and wanted to share with all of you.

She's a Bear At Heart

"Who said I can't be a bear rug?"

"See, I make a cute bear rug ya know! The cutest you will ever see!"

Going to the Island

"Are we there yet?"

I don't know how she knows, but leaving the house today Bailey knew that I was taking her somewhere special. We love going to Granville Island to shop and see people. Especially Bailey, she gets so much attention! I think that everyone with a berner can agree with me that when they take their berner out for a walk they get stopped by admirers every few minutes or even every few steps. 

One very happy puppy posing beside the map of Granville Island. I just want to note that it wasn't me who suggested to take a picture beside the map... that was all Bailey's idea! Oddly, I felt like a tourist when I took this picture...

"I want to keep going, but let me just rest for a couple of minutes and I'm good to go!"

After walking around, Bailey plops down in the shade and takes in the beautiful scenery. As a reward for being such an obedient dog, I went to the butchers at the market and bought a beef bone for Bailey to chew on. 

Shopaholic

Well I've already listed two of Bailey's favourite fruits, but here's something I think you would find interesting. Other than fruits, Bailey LOVES to go shopping. Her preferred stores include petcetera, tisol and all dog bakeries. And to prove it, here's a picture of Bailey shopping for some goodies. To think about it, I don't think we've ever come out of a store empty handed... ever! What can I say, how can you say no to those cute, adorable puppy eyes!

Most Loved Fruit

After extensive study and lots of yummy yummy fruits later. We finally have the results to Bailey's number one preference of fruit! In first place is......

STRAWBERRY!

After our experiment, Bailey happily posed with the winner. She did a great job balancing the strawberry on her nose for a couple of minutes while we took pictures. From our last post we asked you to guess what fruit would be number one. So did you guess correctly?

Fruit of the Week

My sister and I became very curious to find out what Bailey's top two favourite fruits were. So we did several experiments. With each experiment, we let Bailey choose which one to eat first from a variety of fruits we give her periodically. From our observations, we've figured out what her second favourite fruit is! So without further ado, second place goes to (drum roll please!)......

 

BANANA!!

We are currently finishing our experiment, so stay tuned for Bailey's number one favourite fruit! In the meantime, can you guess correctly what fruit is the most preferred treat?

Go Green!

Ever since a little puppy, Bailey has been trying to be eco-friendly. Here she is, sporting a new look and promoting the use of cloth bags instead of plastic. 

It's Spring!

Oh what a beautiful day, time for us to let Bailey on the balcony to sun tan and people watch!

"Excuse me, you're blocking my sun!"

-Bailey

My look-a-like

Umm... Bailey I know you're really excited to be me for Halloween, but you're a little early! It's not October for another six months! But you sure do look adorable!! Maybe you can pull of as being me! Just a little hint though... you may want to put your arms through the sweatshirt or it looks like you have six legs!

Model

When my sister and my now brother in law had their engagement pictures taken last summer, their photographer fell in love with Bailey and asked the couple to bring Bailey to their photoshoot. Lucky Bailey got to strut her stuff and show off her prettiness! And the pictures have finally arrived!! The pictures may show you a calm Bailey, but at the time she (given that she was only a year old and a big old puppy!) was full of energy and bouncing around with joy and having fun with the photographers! The photographers did such a great job with the pictures. We're very pleased that they took some pictures of just Bailey, we wanted pictures taken of her professionally! Bailey was such a good girl, she was all smiles when it was her time for a close up!

My Weekend

It was such a sunny day on Saturday and it's been a while since Bailey went on a hike, so we decided to take the whole family up to Lynn Valley. When we arrived at the entrance of the park, Bailey started whimpering to let us know she wanted to get out of the car and start exploring! She was so eager to start our hike up the mountain that she jumped into the first puddle of muddy water! Along the way up, Bailey bravely introduced herself to three enormous and beautiful great danes. 

On the trail, Bailey has a very unusual way of exploring the environment. She would sniff a tree on the right side then run over to the left side of the trail and sniff something else. She would do this the whole way! We call it, Bailey's zig-zag. At some points on our hike, Bailey scared mom by walking along the side of the cliff! Mom would yell, "Bailey be careful! You might fall over the side!"

During our last kilometer hike back to the car, the surrounding area around us was covered in snow! Oh how Bailey loved it! Her face lit up like a kid with ice cream! The hike ended with a nice dip in the creek, where Bailey desperately needed one because she was covered in mud!

Sittin' and Waitin'

"Where are you??"

-Bailey

Shhh... don't tell her they're pills!

Unlike some dogs I've seen with pills, Bailey is very unusual. She LOVES to eat her vitamin pills! She basically eats them like treats. Unusual as she is, it's great news for us!

So Happy!

Looks like someone is feeling a lot better now! :) She was so happy to be out and off leash that she tried to provoke me to play with her!

So Delicate

Bailey really is the most sensitive dog because I noticed her licking her front left paw profusely since Monday morning and as I examined her paw I saw that the skin was red and a bit raw. Then I remembered that on our hike at Mount Seymour on Sunday, she had snow balls stuck between her toes and I forgot to remove them when we arrived at the car. 

Instinctively, I gently wash the area, apply polysporin and bandage her paw so that she doesn't ingest the cream. While I'm doing the whole process, Bailey is quietly watching me in awe then proceeds to take a nap and let me do my thing. 

(I am so sorry Bailey! It will not happen again! I promise.)

The Love For Snow

So we thought it would be a nice treat for Bailey if we took her on a hike at Mount Seymour and let her play in the beautiful snow! Soon enough Bailey was having a blast, hopping and sliding all over the place!

At one point I found a hill of snow and decided to climb to the top and slide down. As I was hiking up, Bailey wanted in on some of the action and followed me up the hill. When we reached the top we both slid slowly down! Oh what fun that was!

Looks like someone's tired. I hope you have enough energy to hike back to the car!