Abby Clark- a little update

It has been about a month and a half since we gained a new member to our family. Since then I have only done one post about her so I figured I better get on it! Since we've had her she has been to the vet twice and it growing like a weed! Seriously she is worse the the girls. At her last visit which was a couple of weeks ago she was a whopping 14 pounds!

At the moment Abby lives in the kitchen. We have the luxury of closing the door to the dining room and are putting our baby gates to good use in the other openings. This gives Abby plenty of room to run around while also letting the rest of the house adjust to her. And when I say "the rest of the house" I mean Belle, Morgan and Elizabeth.

In the kitchen we have a crate for her to sleep in. She also hangs out in there while we eat dinner. It took her a little while to get used to it, but now she knows that's where she goes when it's time for bed. If it isn't bed time and she is in her cage the girls make sure she has plenty of toys. Elizabeth especially likes to shove Abby's stuffed toys through the slats of the cage.

We are really working on getting the girls used to Abby. Now we chose a golden retriever because they are known to do well around children and we have no fear that over time Abby will mellow out just like Belle. It's been a little tough explaining to Elizabeth that Abby isn't trying to bite her. Just lick her! Abby is sometimes over excited around the girls and they get scared. So we have been working on calming Abby down and giving Morgan and Elizabeth a chance to interact with her.

Elizabeth was especially hamming it up for this photo opportunity!

Elizabeth loves to give Abby her toys.

On a side note, Elizabeth also is really into piggy back rides. So whenever she gets the chance she will climb on your back. So watch out!


We are also working on getting Belle used to Abby. Most of the time they spend together is when they are outside and Belle normally find herself in the opposite corner of the yard. But lately we have been playing ball with both of the dogs and they get a chance to run together. Belle is still pretty quick for a 7 year old dog!


Abby is also retrieving really well. The girls love throwing her ball for her and I think they are amazed that she always brings it back. In a few months we will get Abby her own collar for the invisible fence and she will have full run of the yard. I've also been taking her on warm up runs. We've done a couple ten minute jogs, and she loves it! She can't go too hard or too fast yet because she is still pretty little, but by this time next year she will be a great running partner.

This post was a lot of text and not many pictures. I'll work on that for next time!