Visiting friends in Madison

Today we took a day trip up to Madison to visit our friends that live there.Keeley got really excited when we told him that we were going to Romare's house.
Doesn't he look happy?
This was Teagan's first time meeting Romare and his dads.
We thought she'd be scared of Romare because he's so big and she's scared of most dogs, but she warmed to him immediately. Maybe it was because she had Keeley with her that she was feeling more confident.
This is Louie. He stopped by for a visit too.
Arnie is Romare's pal. He lives across the street from him. And soon, he came over for a visit too.
Teagan loves to hide underneath furniture.
Keeley always looks so serious.
The dogs had a great time together.
Teagan was impressed by Romare's wonderful yard and spent a lot of time exploring.
Romare is a great guy. He likes having visitors.
I don't know what Teagan thinks she's doing in this picture. Oh, the things Keeley has to put up with!
After visiting with Romare and his dads, then we stopped for a quick visit with Belle and her moms. It was a lovely day full of dogs. Now I think it's time for a nap.

Playdate with Tara Tru

Today Keeley had a playdate with Tara Tru. She's the Irish Terrier that was in our pictures on the post about Irish Fest from this past summer. She's so cute!
I told Keeley that a playdate with a show dog is like dating a super model.
Keeley tried to impress Tara right away with some marking. Unfortunately we were inside when he did this. I don't think he understands how embarrassing it is for his grandma and me. Tara's parents were really understanding though.
Keeley mostly just wanted to sniff everything in Tara's house. Tara did her play bow and tried everything to get Keeley to play with her but he was totally into sniff mode. However, they did do some running around outside together.
They also demonstrated what tricks they know. Tara knows how to do "roll over". While the best thing Keeley's got is "give paw".

We had fun and we really liked Tara and her parents. Next time we'll have to have Tara come to our house. Maybe Keeley will be more lively if he's on his own turf.

Visiting Romare in Madison

We took a trip up to Madison yesterday to visit Keeley's best buddy, Romare and his dads.
Keeley really loves to play with other dogs.
Romare's pal, Arnie was there too.
Sometimes they played bitey-face and other times they just sat around observing the yard.
All three of the boys were very well behaved and played together nicely.
At some point they must have found some burrs to get into. Romare and Keeley had to be de-burred. Romare was covered in them!
Here's Keeley running with a rope in his mouth. I always think he looks so smart when he's carrying something.
Everyone had a good time, especially Keeley.
And they really tired each other out. Romare put himself to bed in his crate before we had even left. And Keeley slept all the way home.

Romare visits!

Woohoo! Romare and his dads stopped by for a visit today! Romare is always so happy to see us. His butt gets wiggling so much that it looks like he's going to throw out his tail if he's not careful.
Almost right away, the boys got into some bitey face action. Keeley puts forth a good effort but at twice his size, Romare is clearly in control of the situation.
We took a walk to Highland Pies & Cafe for lunch. It was delicious! They have seating outside and they brought out a bowl of water for the boys.
On the walk home, Keeley had to find the biggest stick he could carry.
Romare has a weird little quirk, he's scared of bugs! Really, if he sees a bug, he will put his tail between his legs and go to the door and beg to be let inside.
The boys had a great time together. They act just like brothers. Keeley is the little brother and all he does is follow Romare around, watch him, and copy whatever he's doing.
Last night I went to World Market and got these cute fortune cookies for dogs. Keeley and Romare both enjoyed a couple of them today. They're really cute because the fortunes are written for dogs. Keeley got one that said "Confucius say, Shitzu happens." and another one that said "If you break a mirror, you will have seven years of bad luck - the longest twelve months of your life." Romare ate his fortune.

Trip to Madison Yesterday

Saturday we took a little trip up to Madison to visit Romare and his dads. Romare is a giant airedale and Keeley's best bud.
Romare has an awesome, big yard. Here's Keeley watching some squirrels up a tree. He still hasn't figured out how to climb trees yet.
Romare likes people slightly more than he likes dogs. Keeley likes people plenty but they don't even compare to how much he likes dogs. Keeley thinks Romare is just the greatest. He follows him around where ever he goes just like a little brother would.
Romare loves balls so Keeley's grandma brought a ball with feet for him. Romare loved the way it squeaked.
When the boys are inside the house they can get a little crazy. But when they're outside, they mostly just stand around. What goof balls!

Memorial Day Cookout

We had our normal memorial day cookout today. Keeley got to invite some doggies this year but the only one who could come was Keeley's good friend, Oliver.
Keeley is so social that he would have been content to have just human visitors but having Oliver there too made Keeley's day fantastic.
The two of them are really well suited for each other. They never bark and are both very laid back and submissive. It was so hot (the hottest day of the year so far!) that they both just wanted to find a nice shady spot to lay down. Keeley was very happy just to have another dog near him.

Oliver visits again

This afternoon Keeley had another play-date with Oliver. Keeley pretty much made Oliver play Keeley's favorite games, bitey-face and play-wrestle. I think Oliver would have preferred just to be petted but Keeley was pretty insistent. Keeley likes people plenty but he is wild about his doggie friends! (Sorry, no pictures.... the digital camera is still in NY with Keeley's grandma.)

Madison Weekend

This weekend we went to Madison to visit Keeley's best buddy, Romare and his dads. And we just couldn't wait to see the beautiful renovations that they've done to their house. We had a great time, especially Keeley! He just loves Romare so much. They're like brothers. Keeley follows Romare around everywhere. They love to wrestle and play bitey face. Here's a picture of Romare; he's a giant Airedale:
I've known Romare since he was a puppy. He's the reason that I decided that I could probably get over my fear of dogs if I started with a puppy of my own. That's why I got Keeley. Here's a picture of Romare as just a little baby:
Before we got there, they had a wind storm and a dead tree fell over into their yard. We helped to clean it up and the boys helped too (well, sort of):
Romare's dad, Christopher, showed me how to make ratatouille since I've decided that I need to learn how to cook. Keeley got freaked out by Leeann because she showed up wearing a mask and he spent the whole dinner upstairs, hiding from her. Romare is such a good guy that he went up there and laid down next to Keeley to comfort him. The next morning we went to the dog park together and then said our goodbyes and headed home. All together it was a pretty great weekend. Here's one last shot of the boys together:

Oliver Visits

Keeley had a playdate with Oliver today. They did a lot of wrestling with each other and got a lot of petting from the humans. Oliver put up with all of Keeley's silliness and seemed to take it all in stride.
We met Oliver and his owner, Rebecca at Washington Bark Day last month. He's about the same age as Keeley and is very friendly towards both people and dogs.
Keeley just loves having other dogs over. They had so much fun together.
When it was time for Oliver to leave, Keeley watched him from the sunroom window. Three minutes later, Keeley was sound asleep.

Keeley's cousin, Tully

Keeley had a playdate this afternoon with his cousin dog, Tully. First Keeley had to thoroughly sniff everything in Tully's yard. Then the two boys had great fun play wrestling each other and being fed lots of homemade liver treats from the Dad. Keeley was so tired when he got home that he went to bed 3 hours earlier than normal. Thanks to Tully's mom, Helen, for this picture.