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Ryley's Page
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Fern Hill Living the Life of Ryley SR500760/03
Sire: Trifectas Repeat Performance *** MH,UD,CCA,VCX,WCX,OS,CGC,Can CD
Dam: Adirondac Hilfy of Fern Hill CDX OD CCA TDI CGC ASCA-CD SR017085/01
Born June 5, 2008
Ryley at 9 months
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Ryley was the smallest boy at birth, but caught up soon, and at 7 weeks was right in the middle of the pack.
He was the first to open his eyes at 10 days old, and also one of the first to master the art of walking like a drunken sailor
rather than wheelbarrowing around the whelping box. He's sweet, athletic, and loves people. He has gone to live in east
Knoxville with the Bruntons, their three sons and two other Goldens, Rusty and River. Nancy is training him in obedience and hopes to try
agility and maybe field work one of these days. We are pleased that he is nearby, and that she is training this spring at our home kennel club so that
we can see him weekly! He is turning into a lovely boy and is doing extremely well in his early obedience classes -- well mannered,
cheerful, and attentive.
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News About Ryley 2009
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April 18, 2009, Editor's Note: Nancy and Ryley came to a training lesson that Lorie Jolly (Owner of the illustrious Mr.
Speaker) gave at her place. It was a huge thrill for me to see Hilfy and four of her puppies all together at the same place! In addition to
Ryley, Paxton, Chilli, and our Penny were all there. Pictures below are
of Ryley, Nancy (blue shirt) and Lorie during this session. In addition, Nancy and Ryley were training at our home club, the Oak Ridge Kennel Club
during the spring and we enjoyed seeing them weekly till classes ended in May.
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February 17, 2009:
Ryley is doing great!!! No more potty issues since we finally finished the last go-round of antibiotics. He is growing fast and he is more gorgeous now than when he was a puppy. :)
Unfortunately, the next level obedience class keeps getting canceled. It is so frustrating. He is so smart. In spite of my
lack of training knowledge he does some really neat things. For instance, at night we head out for his final business and then
head upstairs to bed. I no longer need to use a leash, he follows me pretty well with just an occasional "lets go"
to remind him what we're doing/where we are. I just open the door, step out with him and say "go potty" and he will
walk off and do his stuff. When he is through he comes right back to the door and heads up the stairs. He will jump up on
the bed and get comfortable and 'visit' with Emma our cat and with me and Jim. When time is up for that I just say "Okay Ryley,
Say goodnight"... He gets up jumps off the bed and gets in his crate. He and Emma are so funny together... first thing in
the morning, they have to have time together. Emma waits at the door for him to be let out of his crate and they nuzzle and play
for a few minutes, then Ryley runs down the stairs waiting at the door to go out. He ALWAYS comes when I call and like a bullet too.
Sometimes it just takes a whistle. He loves the creek and outside but loves to be inside where people are too. In the evening,
he will lay down next to where I'm sitting and many times right on my foot. I see so much potential and feel like time is just
wasting... I need the structure of class to stay on top of things.
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News About Ryley 2008
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November 2, 2008:
This is Karen from Fern Hill. We took our Penny to a dog show in Knoxville today (she won first place
in her Open Obedience class!) and the Bruntons came to watch. Afterwards, they invited us to drop by their house to visit with
Ryley and meet their other dogs as well. We went -- it was such a treat to see how Ryley is growing up. After he got enough
medication to lick the infection (and who knows where that came from!) he is doing well and is happy, bouncy, and growing. He
and Nancy have developed a real rapport and he is doing wonderfully in his training. We should have gotten some pictures, but we
had forgotten to take our camera along that day --- rats! Next time....
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October 7, 2008:
Ryley has been doing much better. He is off the antibiotic and his stools are still firm. I am keeping him on the EN food for a
little while longer before mixing back in the regular food this time. The first time his diarrhea returned within just a couple of
days after ending the antibiotic. This last time he was on the antibiotic when everything just hit him. So since everything is
stable right now I am keeping the status quo. He is doing fantastic on his training.... even with just his food as a treat. His
'Ryley, Come' command is one of his best. He races towards me like a bullet. Even when River plays blocker he finds a way to get to
me. It is almost like watching a football game sometimes with the moves he puts on River to avoid her and get to me. Most the time
he gets tackled at least once. :) We look forward to our Tuesday...as we have class again this evening. We get to see his brother
Jed then too and he is such a handsome fella.
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September 22, 2008:
Just to let you know....
Had to take Ryley to the Emergency Vet last Thursday(as our vet is closed on Thursday)...
He was throwing up and had diarrhea. He had to spend the night as he had become dehydrated and needed fluids and rest.
They did yet another fecal test and blood test. Ruled out Giardia and coccidia again. Determined he has some kind of systemic
bacterial infection (unidentifiable unless we opt for a $200.00 + testing). They put him on a stronger antibiotic, a de-wormer
series (which is supposed to help with diarrhea as well as support the antibiotic) another diet change, and gave us some meds
for diarrhea if it should return.
The general feeling is that this infection is causing a sensitive GI condition. Then the puppy class last week along with the
'new' treats he was getting caused a big issue for his GI system and basically got out of control. All is stable now and he is
once again on a special food. We are to begin adding in *normal* puppy food in about 2 weeks.
He is doing great right now and can even go back to puppy class this week. He seemed to do well last week and we got to play with
Jed. Jed is a little larger than Ryley but with all of Ryley's issues that is not surprising. Ryley did weigh 22.2 pounds at the
vet Thursday which is still a gain. We will do a follow up with our vet on Wednewday. He is also due for his last series of shots
at that time.
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September 8, 2008:
Ryley is doing much better.... It is not a food allergy! We now have him back on the Eukanuba and have also stopped the pumpkin.
He is back on an antibiotic and all is well while he is on it. The vet wants to keep him on it for another couple or more weeks.
We have increased his food to 3 cups a day per the vet and she wants us to keep our dogs on the puppy chow for at least the first
full year. He was 18.1#'s at his visit last Wednesday. :)
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August 29, 2008:
Update on Ryley -- Guess what? the diarrhea has returned. He is still on the RX food and pumpkin but the antibiotic completed about
Monday. Wednesday evening it started back up. We are trying the antibiotic again to see if the stools firm up again. We are to let
the vet know after the weekend. At this point we do not have a clue what may be going on but it would appear it is not a food allergy
as the food has not changed in the past two weeks and he still is not getting any other type of treat or food (other than the odd pillow
or blanket or rug... ugh... which has been coming out in his stools). It could be the blanket he ate this past week causing some issues
but it already appears most if not all of it has already left his system.
You will love this story... He woke up about an hour and a half before I needed to get up to get the kids ready for school. So after I walked
him and he did his business, I opted to lay down on the sofa for the hour or so. Well I covered up with a fleece-type blanket and he lay
down on the floor next to me. He seemed to be quite happy and content just to lie there, so I didn't put him back in his crate. Well, a few
days later I found him chewing on the corner of the blanket and I removed it. He nearly had the corner bit completely off but I saved it.
That is when I noticed the OTHER corner of the blanket and how much had disappeared. My best guess is that when I was dozing on the sofa
and he was lying so good and quiet on the floor he was really EATING my blanket. It is really interesting because I usually have an old
towel in his crate and he has not eaten any part of it. But, he seems to love material from pillows and blankets.... ????
He attacks his food like its been days since his last bowl. He loves the food as treats too. His down is getting better but still much
placement and luring. If he thinks there is a treat (food) in your hand he sits very prettily, expectantly without even being asked to sit ;)
On the day it rained so much (Tuesday), I had to go to my first day of class and so I put the dogs in the Kennel. You should of seen them
when I got back... luckily, Jim came home early that day and was able to help me get River and Ryley all cleaned up... I believe we are
going to go ahead and put Bluestone (a type of patio stone) on the floor of the kennel. Hopefully that will keep some of the dirt level down.
They slept well after their baths and the next day I made up a contained area in the house ( I had to displace the cats stuff) so they wouldn't
have to be out there in the mud.
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Aug 19, 2008:
It took forever to find a name for our little guy. with 7 people putting in suggestions it really became difficult to narrow it down. After a
couple of failed attempts we arrived at Ryley (Living the Life of Riley -- with a twist).
3-1/2 weeks have come and gone... and three brands of dog food ughhh! He was disinterested in his food the first week and had potty issues. A change of food
saw a big appetite return and better, but still some potty issues. We are now on a prescription food and Pumpkin (which he loves). Possibly a food allergy, but
could be something else going on, still working it out. His weight doesn't seem to be affected as he weighed in at 15# 2 at his last appointment.
Ryley is so charming and easy going with people but he definitely holds his own among other dogs. He plays every day with River (that is Matthew's pup) and
gets some time in with Rusty too (our 10+ yr old Golden). Ryley will follow Rusty around the yard and when he gets distracted Rusty will just wait for him
to look his way and then proceed again; and off they go in tandem. Rusty often plays referee to Ryley and River's many wrestling matches too. Every now and then
Rusty will even join the fray.
Training has been just a little bit of a challenge as the vet has restricted him from all treats till we work out this digestive issue. AND. I am such a beginner
too. Ryley has been working on sit and does very well with that. Down is still by luring and sometimes placement only. He follows well and has begun walking
with a leash and doing heel for just a few paces at a time. Praise works a little slower than that bite of cheese. Now that some of the potty issues are
showing improvement, the housetraining is coming along as well (no more messes in the crate).
He has the most wonderful leap; from stairs, the couch, etc. I am really excited about getting his obedience training going so I can see what the agility
stuff is all about. We have sent in the application for a puppy class at Diane's and understand that his brother Jed will be there at
the same time -- looking forward to seeing them together.
Ryley is also a grass-ripper like Hilfy. He also loves to eat bugs, sand (the sand box is one of his favorite places to
play), leaves, trees and just anything that catches his interest. He often checks out the office garbage can, the edges of carpet, and the piping on the
couch cushions along with the occasional pillow. He is such a persistent little bugger.
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Now here's the plan....
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Sandbox Play |
Supervised Play
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Ryley at 10 weeks |
Pictures at Fern Hill
New owners Jim and Nancy Brunton with Ryley, leaving Fern Hill on 7/25/08
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7-week portrait, 7/24/08
Asleep in the feeder ... 7/18/08
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Kelly's 6 week portrait, 7/18/08 |
7/10/08 |
7/10/08
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7/2/08 (Photo credit: McKenzie Pearce, FTW Photography) |
07/01/08
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Kelly and the Rabbit 6/24/08
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06/17/08 -- EYES! |
6/12/08 |
Kelly Green Boy, 1 day
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254 Babbs Road, Lenoir City, TN 37771
Tel: 865-300-7607; text or leave message for callback
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E-Mail:
edwardskc@gmail.com
This site © 2001-2009 by
Fern Hill Farm All rights reserved.
Revised July 22, 2009
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