dog 3.0

“Despite her regal and majestic appearance, the Great Pyrenees is a keen worker, faithfully guarding her flocks no matter the weather or terrain. With her intelligence, scenting ability and excellent sight, she is an invaluable companion to the shepherd. The breed possesses a beautifully thick, weather resistant white coat that may contain markings of badger, gray, or various shades of tan.”  – American Kennel Club

Our family has had at least one dog since the mid-90s.  First was Winnie, a German Shorthair Pointer.  I traded Dog 1.0 for a kayak when she was a little over a year old, already trained and she was as sweet as molasses and almost the same color.  She was a perfectly well-behaved dog.  We miss her.

Then there was Dog 2.0.  Gracie is a field-bred Black Labrador Retriever.  Semi-rescued from friends, she was supposed to be a temporary placement while the original family figured out what to do (four kids, small house and dad had allergies).  After a week or so we just decided to keep her.  Glad we did.

Dog 2.0 learned to be a great canoe dog from Dog 1.0 and a whole lot of training.  Now almost eleven years old, we wanted an overlap with Dog 3.0.  Looks like we’ll have it.  We will need some training to make her a great canoe dog…and like Roy Schneider said in Jaws more than 35 years ago…”you’re gonna need a bigger boat…”

Having been around sporting dogs for almost twenty years it’s strange to have a puppy that is so laid-back.  Gracie was wired even when she was asleep.  I mean, she’s still a puppy, but she’s not constantly in motion like Gracie was.

And when I say strange, I mean awesome.

The bad news: she may end up big.  Real big.  The hope is that she’s like her mother, a rather diminuitive GP,  not her father, a Newfie the size of a Shetland pony.

For now, she’s a living, breathing teddy bear, asleep on the floor next to Wife 1.2a.

Respectfully submitted,

Canoelover