Wednesday, December 28, 2011

The Best Part of Christmas - Neapolitan Lab

Sure, I love presents (who doesn't?), but to me, the best part about Christmas is getting together with the family.  The day after Christmas we went to Uncle Randy's, and Mia (my chocolate lab cousin), and Sadie (my black lab cousin), and I played and played and played.  Mom threw the ball for us, then Uncle Randy threw the ball for us, then my cousin Libbie threw the ball for us.  And we got lots of petting and belly rubs from my uncles, aunts, and cousins.

Last time I saw Mia, she was a little puppy, and she really wasn't very much fun.  In fact, spending time with her was quite painful because she kept trying to chomp down on my ears and lips with her VERY sharp puppy teeth.  But she has thankfully outgrown the puppy stage and is interested in playing something other than the bite-and-terrorize-Garth game.  Now I can romp and play with her like she's a grown-up lab!




Mia kept chasing me because I had the coveted deflated ball.
She sure has grown up since the last time I saw her.

Mia still has much to learn.
Here I'm trying to teach her the eagerly-awaiting-the-ball look.

She doesn't seem to be paying close attention.

Uncle Randy demonstrating the strait-up-in-the-air chuck-it throw.
He sure had us confused -- especially when the ball came down
on the roof and rolled off the other side and no one could find it. 

Eagerly awaiting the ball.

Still eagerly awaiting.

This is right before Mia grabbed the frisbee and we snapped it into 2 pieces.





Mia got the deflated ball.

She has way more energy than I do.

She sure runs like a puppy.



Mia with her super-nasty retrieving toy, which we all love.

I got the tennis ball.

Mia chasing me.

Demonstrating to Mia the art of returning the ball for another throw.

She seems to be paying attention now.

Sadie came and joined in the fun.
Sadie and Mia

Mia wouldn't cooperate and pose for the camera.

Sadie is always happy to pose for the camera.
Sadie and Mia relaxing after a good romp.


Apparently not everyone enjoys family get-togethers.
Granola spent the day hiding on top of the cupboard.
I've never actually met Granola because she's always hiding when I'm around.
But that's okay with me.  I'm not exactly eager to meet her.

14 comments:

  1. Welcome to our blogging community! You will find our "family" to be one of the most caring and sharing and gving groups of four- and two-leggeds on the planet. We look forward to getting to know you better. Visit me and the White Dog Army at www.whitedogblog.blogspot.com

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  2. Thanks Siku Marie! We will check out your blog. As you can see, I'm almost a white dog myself!

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  3. Hey, Garth! Just saw your post on FB DWB and thought we'd stop by... some of our best friends are labs so we won't hold that against you!

    Sam and Pippen

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  4. Saw your post on DWB Facebook and thought we would come say hello. The animal blogging community is awesome and we welcome you to it - and look forward to more of your adventures.

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  5. Thanks Sam and Pippen and the Thundering Herd!!! We've been following the Thundering Herd since sometime last spring and actually checked out some of your favorite hiking spots when we were down near Asheville last spring. The Thundering Herd blog always makes us smile -- I hope my blog will make others smile.

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  6. It's great you all had a nice playful Christmas, but poor Granola. :)

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  7. Hi Garth! It's nice to meet you! My sister and I play tug-of-war with frisbees all the time - but we have cloth ones that we can tug at (we've only destroyed a couple). It's always good times to play with relatives (except my pesky sister NEVER leaves - when she first came home, I couldn't help but wonder when Mom and Dad were going to take her back from whence she had come, but that never happened. Which is okay, because she's always up for a rousing game of bitey-face! We'll try to get back to visit you, but Mom is working full-time now, and has been slacking when it comes to help us visiting our bloggie friend. But we'll keep bugging her - you're our kind of energy level!

    *kissey face*
    -Fiona and Abby the Hippobottmous

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  8. Hello!!! So glad to meet woo! I has several brothers and sisters, with 1 black lab brother and 1 chocolate lab sister. We are a large pack! It is furry nice to meet woo!!!

    Mya Boo Boo

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  9. Looks like fun! You sure have a lot of labrafamily!

    Gummi & the WriggleButts

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  10. Hey Garth! Looks like a real day of labrafun. Plus you had a complete set, one of each kind. Excellent.

    Slobbers,
    Mango

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  11. Nice to meet you Garth! Looks like you get lots of fab exercise with your friends. Happy New Year!!
    Smooches from pooches,
    BabyRocketDog & Hootie

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  12. Well, Garth, I am so envious that you were invited along for the family celebration. I has to stay at home while momma and master went to my human brother's house and they returned two hours after my supper time. At least they brought me some turkey.

    Kisses,
    Dexter

    P.S. That Sadie looks like a fun gal. Do you think she'd like to move to my estate?

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    1. All the doggies are usually included in our family gatherings, because they're usually at my cousin Mia's house or my cousin Sadie's house. And Sadie and I both go almost everywhere with our parents. Sadie is a whole lot of fun, but she might be a little old for you - she just turned 9. Also, she's very tall (I can walk under her chin if she's standing up). But if you don't mind a leggy older woman, I'll be happy to ask.

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