# Introducing Eden!



## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Formally introducing Sandpiper Celebrate Paradise Garden "Eden"! 

She's my "accidentally on purpose" puppy. I had planned to get a puppy this year, only from a completely different (and fantastic) breeder. Long story short, the first planned breeding didn't work out. I texted a breeder acquaintance a couple months later and asked if I could come play with her litter cause I missed puppies. We got to talking while I was at her house and found out she knew my trainer through agility and is best friends with my trainer's parents. Somehow we got to the topic of what I was looking for in my next puppy. The week the puppies turned 8 weeks, she texts me and says that she has a girl available (her cobreeder was supposed to take 2 girls, but ended up only taking the one) and asked me if I was interested. I am not lying when I say it was an extremely hard decision. On one hand, I had already committed to a breeder and I was (am) VERY excited for the litter(s) she has planned. On the other hand, there is a girl available NOW from a breeder who is much closer. I had already experienced one litter not working out, what if any of these litters didn't have enough girls or what if the whole country shuts down by the time the litter is ready? I thought about it a lot, took advice from pretty much everyone I knew, and spoke to both breeders.

The breeder texted me on a Tuesday, I didn't commit to the puppy until Thursday, and the litter turned 8 weeks old on Friday. Thankfully, I had essentially been nesting since Black Friday 2019 and pretty much had everything I needed to bring home a new puppy. So July 10, I brought home a fuzzy little girl! She did not have a name for the first two weeks I had her, and I eventually just had to force myself to pick a name I liked (I was too busy trying to find the "perfect" name for her). Eden seems to suit her very well though!

Eden is a SPITFIRE. Very feisty (girl screams when she's hot - and we've had a series of 90+ days recently), super spunky, and VERY energetic. She's very smart and picks things up quickly. It's been so much fun to have a dog that's so brave. If something looks new/different to her, she walks right up to it (a welcome change!). She has already shown an ability to settle down despite her surroundings. She comes to work with me and stays in a little x-pen behind the counter and just sleeps/entertains herself for 8+ hours a day. For as much energy as she seems to have, I thought I'd have a harder time getting her to settle, but I haven't had an issue with her at all. I'm sure that'll change as she gets older, but for now I'm grateful for small miracles! Also, her focus at this age is incredible. I started her in a puppy class the week after I got her (Parvo is not so much a concern, and my trainer cleans the crap out of the building every single day), and she has absolutely no issues ignoring the people or the dogs in class. Again, bound to change as she gets older and explores more places, but again, grateful for small miracles. I'll probably end up putting her in another puppy class too as she'll only be like 17 weeks when our current class ends.

Kaizer seems to like her too, which is great. Kaizer has no dog social skills and I wasn't sure how well he'd take to a puppy, but we haven't had many issues. He's not a super great puppy player, he doesn't understand how little she is? Like they love chasing each other around and playing tug, but Kaizer's faster than she is and he'll almost run her over. Or when they play tug, he's much stronger and he'll swing her around. I watch really closely and intervene when necessary, but honestly the two of them get along like two peas in a pod. The best thing I could have asked for honestly. And speaking of Kaizer - two days after we got her, he went and got his CGCA! 

Eden will potentially be my (competition) agility dog and she will hopefully also make an appearance in the ring! I'm very excited to see how she turns out and I hope we go on to do some great things! She's had an amazing foundation, so I just have to continue to build off of that.










car ride home









next day








10 weeks! look how much she grew

































this morning! Excuse the terrible photo quality.


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## windfair (Jul 19, 2008)

Oh my goodness! What a sweet spunky girl! Congratulations on your spunky girl! I loved the pictures. She looks very happy and obviously you were meant to get that girl!


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## Ffcmm (May 4, 2016)

absolutely beautiful! welcome lovely Eden


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Congratulations, Eden is beautiful!

This is so exciting, very happy for you.


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

How exciting! She's gorgeous and sounds like a great girl. Kaizer looks happy too. Congratulations.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

I can see why you caved  Eden is absolutely adorable and I am sure it's going to be lively around your house this summer and fall.  Hope you'll share all the adventures, she really is too cute. I'm sure Kaiser is head over heels for her.


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## Emmdenn (Jun 5, 2018)

How exciting!!! She is adorable, congratulations!


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## 3goldens2keep (Feb 13, 2019)

Wow, she is a cutie pie! Our newest is now 9 months old! Seems only yesterday he was a little cute pup, like you little girl! Enjoy, it is such a short time when they are puppies...


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

She is adorable. And what a great "meant to be" story.

No word of a lie, just this past weekend, I was on the forum and thinking, I haven't seen a post from aesthetic in a while. Now I know why! 😄


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## Kathleen17 (Apr 16, 2020)

How exciting!! She's so sweet and Kaizer looks like a proud big brother! 😍


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## DanaRuns (Sep 29, 2012)

Congrats! She's adorable!

I don't know which person you're referring to as the "breeder," but Patty Pace (Sandpiper Goldens) is a _fantastic_ breeder, and you can't go wrong with a Sandpiper puppy. I love both Vegas and Scarlet, so Eden has some wonderful parents. You done good!


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

Congratulations!


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## Rundlemtn (Jan 16, 2015)

Fantastic! Congratulations! I am hoping my winter girlie will be my competition agility dog too 🤗


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Thank you all! She is so much fun, I really can't wait to see where we go together! I'll make sure to update this thread often. Tomorrow she goes in for her second round of shots, so the "real" fun starts after! I'm excited to finally not have to carry her everywhere lol.



Sweet Girl said:


> She is adorable. And what a great "meant to be" story.
> 
> No word of a lie, just this past weekend, I was on the forum and thinking, I haven't seen a post from aesthetic in a while. Now I know why! 😄


Thank you! And I appreciate you thinking of me too! The whole month of July was pretty much a whirlwind of puppy stuff and work. She was (is) a very easy puppy, but I work dumb hours so between work + making sure Kaizer got his time in + making sure the puppy had time to run around too (she's got lots of energy!).



DanaRuns said:


> Congrats! She's adorable!
> 
> I don't know which person you're referring to as the "breeder," but Patty Pace (Sandpiper Goldens) is a _fantastic_ breeder, and you can't go wrong with a Sandpiper puppy. I love both Vegas and Scarlet, so Eden has some wonderful parents. You done good!


Thank you! Patty Pace was the co-breeder, but the litter was whelped and raised by Celebrate Goldens (MaryAnn Bruton). I believe Patty Pace chose the sire, and she took pick girl home with her (Eden was pick #2). I did NOT intend to get a puppy when I went to visit, I really just wanted to play with some puppies!


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## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

I'm so excited for you, this has been a long awaited arrival. Your kids will do great, golden puppies come rough and ready!! Good choice for an agility contender.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

puddles everywhere said:


> I'm so excited for you, this has been a long awaited arrival. Your kids will do great, golden puppies come rough and ready!! Good choice for an agility contender.


Yes! Almost a year in the making. I've said it again and I'll say it a million times, but the perfect puppy is always worth the wait.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Pretty girl today with her lamb horn! She is 12 weeks old today, and got her second round of vaccines on Wednesday. We are free to walk! I forgot how bad puppies are at walking on leash LOL - she tries to walk in between my feet while I'm walking or suddenly cuts in front of me. My favorite is when she just stops and plops down. Of course she never does that in convenient spots.

The floors at my store are concrete - they really suck on the people feet, so I can't imagine what they must do to puppy joints! I don't walk her around the store much for that reason. Am I being crazy or is that a totally legitimate thing? I don't want to hurt her, and she's already doing much more than Kaizer was in terms of stairs and jumping (all unprompted, but girl's got legs!). He didn't have stairs to go down until he was 5 months old when we moved into our house and he ended up OFA excellent at 5 years. I realize this is one of those "well they ARE sporting dogs, and if this amount of activity makes them develop hip dysplasia, then the joints weren't great to begin with" type questions, but still. I am right in keeping her off the concrete as much as possible, right?

She's incredibly heat intolerant and August is such a hot and humid month for us. Today, she decided peeing on the sidewalk in the shade was better than peeing on the grass in the sunshine. At least it was outside! She seems to understand the idea of outside = potty time (as soon as she hits grass, she squats) and her bladder control has clearly gotten stronger (we can go 15-20 minutes after drinking water vs 10), which is great! The only trouble we have occasionally is when she gets distracted playing and then remembers she has to pee. Usually she has very clear signals, so accidents have always been human error. Unfortunately the rest of my family isn't always great at picking up on those signals, so we haven't been accident free for very long LOL.

I'm grateful for all of the puppy experience I've had after getting Kaizer and before Eden. I think it's just made me enjoy the puppy stage more and not so panicky and overwhelmed about every little thing. I'm truly enjoying this age, sharp teeth, accidents and all.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Eden went on her first (mini) off leash hike today! I took Kaizer along cause I felt bad leaving him. Plus it’s been so long since we went out cause of the heat, he was long overdue.

I hope the pics load OK - on my phone and have no idea how big they are. First 3 pics are from our short walk outside, last pic is both dogs leashed up and waiting to go. I’m thrilled that Kaizer likes her so much. I really thought it’d take him longer to warm up.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I have no idea what she was looking at, but look how pretty she is! 13 weeks old as of Friday.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

For a so-called "dog trainer", I have not actually been doing much training with this puppy! We're just having fun right now learning to play with toys, learning how to learn, and just engaging with our surroundings. We're learning how to co-exist together - how to do grooming, how to lay down and wait for meals. We're learning to love the crate and learning how to go to a mat. She knows sit, down, and stay, and that's pretty much it LOL. We're kinda working on leave it and we're working on loose leash walking too. Sometimes I feel like I'm a little behind with her, but honestly if I give her a solid foundation (and that's the goal), everything else will fall into place a little easier.

She's got amazing focus for a puppy this young and a lot of tenacity/determination too. My trainer love love loves her and thinks she's wonderful (she has a fantastic temperament and she's already very affable). I think it helps that I have an older dog because I've not really had much of a landshark issue with her! She's always been perfectly happy to redirect to a toy. I hope she stays this easy forever (one can hope, right?!). 

Pictured: With a friend's golden puppy who is two days older. She's the puppy from ArkGold if anyone remembers that thread from a month or so ago. Second picture is in the baby pool with Kaizer, splashing together. I hope she will be as big of a water dog as he is.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

She really is a cutie. I laughed at the pool pic - Kaizer really does not look impressed. Would love to know what he was thinking.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Such a cutie! It's too bad they don't like to be picked up and squeezed, because that's the urge!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Sweet Girl said:


> She really is a cutie. I laughed at the pool pic - Kaizer really does not look impressed. Would love to know what he was thinking.


He was splashing with her - that pic was right after he splashed (you can see the water ripple)! He spent most of the time just sitting in the pool with a big dumb happy smile on his face, but eventually joined her in splashing. 

He likes to just sit in the pool and then have zoomies in the yard and jump back into the pool. She either stayed in the pool and played or got out and played in the grass.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

mylissyk said:


> Such a cutie! It's too bad they don't like to be picked up and squeezed, because that's the urge!


If I get her at the right time (aka she’s tired), she’ll happily let me squeeze her. And she is quite receptive to being picked up - sometimes I have to pick her up and get her outside really quickly. 

I have also discovered that she will crawl into my lap to chew something if I sit down. Which is just really cute cause Kaizer NEVER did anything like that, he likes his space.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Eden will be 16 weeks old on Friday! Crazy how quickly time has passed. We graduated puppy class today and we start our next round of classes (a tricks class) next week. Today we went on a hike with a friend and her foster golden. Eden saw natural water for the first time and had absolutely no fears going in! Think it helped that Kaizer is a waterdog through and through, she just followed him right in. The hike was a little longer than I expected since it was a new (for us) place, but she did really well. I went about 2 miles and the dogs must have done more since they were off leash (puppy was dragging her leash, Kaizer was off leash). We got to practice recalls and general good off-leash manners (don't go too far/check in, wait on the side for people to pass/ignore people altogether). Thankfully, we didn't see any other dogs. Eden is very social and we have not yet learned that not all dogs are friends.


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## Ffcmm (May 4, 2016)

oh wow time really flies! Kaizer must be enjoying his older brother role, i love the way he is looking at her while he's in the water.


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## Ivyacres (Jun 3, 2011)

All the pics are great, shows how much she and Kaizer are bonding and loving life.


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

Precious! I don't know how I'm just seeing this thread, but Eden is beautiful. Congratulations! I really enjoyed the photos. They made me smile.


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## Emmdenn (Jun 5, 2018)

Wow she has grown soooo much! I feel like you were introducing her just yesterday. Good to know she follow Kaizer right in. We are going to the lake for the weekend and I’m hoping Addie will love the water as much as Denver does!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Thanks guys! Kaizer and her are a lot of fun for sure.



Emmdenn said:


> Wow she has grown soooo much! I feel like you were introducing her just yesterday. Good to know she follow Kaizer right in. We are going to the lake for the weekend and I’m hoping Addie will love the water as much as Denver does!


She has grown a lot! She's not my tiny fluffy puppy anymore and it makes me sad. She weighed 30.5# at the vet today, she'll be 16 weeks tomorrow. 

Kaizer loves the water too. The only thing I can't consistently call him off of is water - he's ridiculous, it's like the thinking portion of his brain turns off and alll he can think about is water. I hoped Eden would love the water too, but I wasn't sure how she would do. Her only water experiences to date are my little dog pool, a bucket of water I let her splash in, and a pan of water when she was a puppy at the breeder's, but she didn't even bat an eye. Have fun at the lake!! Take lots of pictures.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

The dogs had a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

I worked the weekend, but managed to get to the park before sunset on Sunday. Since we were the only people on the trail, I let both dogs off leash and we practiced recalls. Actually had a scare with Kaizer when him + the puppy were way up ahead of me and some deer crossed right in front of them. Eden came running back to me when I called but Kaizer took off running. Thankfully he came back when I called a second time, but there's nothing like that heart attack feeling you get when you think you lost your dog in a 5,600+ acre park, at dusk, when you're by yourself! I know no recall is ever 100%, but this is genuinely the first or second time he's ever blown me off like that. He's almost always off leash, and I just didn't expect that decision from him. It was the single most terrifying moment of my life. I'm definitely going to have to be more careful in the future.

Prior to that, the dogs had a good time. Eden and Kaizer ran and ran and ran. For a 16 week old puppy, she sure did a good job keeping up! I don't think she slowed down once, and then when we got home, she was still going. I went just under 2 miles total, both dogs easily did 5 miles/each from how much running back and forth they did. I love her energy. I think Kaizer was similar, energy-wise, as a puppy, but I just didn't have the opportunity to harness it like I do with Eden. He's kind of a lump now (unless water is involved, and then his true personality comes out - my friends are amazed at the difference lol), but I think the puppy is good for him. She makes him move! and she's good company for him. 

Needless to say, we went back again on Monday LOL. This time with friends and all the dogs were kept on leash. Eden saw horses for the first time and barely even looked at them lol - she's in the midst of a fear period (I think) but didn't even bat an eye at the horses up close. After being off leash the day before, she wanted to run. But we went at a more normal time, so there were quite a few people around. Plus, after my Sunday night scare, I don't think either dog will be off leash on that trail for awhile. I'm trying to be mindful of Eden's age and make sure I'm not pushing her past what she's capable of, but I'm truthfully not sure how to judge that. My assumption right now is that the approx. 2 mile trail is fine for her because she did that whole thing off leash Sunday and actually did more miles. She usually gets a break at the river anyway for however long (we walk to the river then back to the car). Usually she goes and splashes in the water with Kaizer for a little bit and then hangs out on the shore with me. 

Anyway, pictures! From this weekend. (the rest of them aren't posting but its like 1:30 am so I'll figure that out and post them at a more decent hour)


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Eden and I are doing all the things! Except the name game. Poor girl does not know her name, because I mainly call her puppy. She responds to "Puppy" so well that today when I called her, she decided that jumping over the coffee table would be the fastest way to get to me. One second she's running towards me, the next she's standing on top of the coffee table, looking at me like "please help!". I wish I took a picture, I think both of us were shocked LOL. But I definitely have to get on teaching her her actual name! I got into such a habit calling her Puppy before I named her, it just kind of stuck (which sucks for Kaizer, who also responds to "Puppy"). 

A friend and I were supposed to take a hike yesterday, but then it started pouring, so we decided to take our puppies to Home Depot for some training instead. My friend has a 6 month old golden she's fostering right now. She came home right at the beginning of the pandemic and wasn't exposed to much, so my friend has a lot of training to do! Home Depot had some Halloween stuff out, so the puppies were exposed to huge decorations that spoke, sang, danced, or glowed. Both girls rocked it! Eden is, I think, in the early stages of a fear period, so I was happy to see her recovering quicker.

Picture 1: Eden was not phased by the clown in the box at all. She hit the button, made the clown sing and dance, and just did not bat an eyelid. I was thrilled! Here she is giving me a very nice sit-stay so I could take this picture.

Picture 2: The creepy, motion-activated, doll who spoke and moved. Eden didn't care at first, but did end up getting a little spooked by her (red eyes maybe). We worked through it rather quickly, but here she is staring at the doll before deciding she was scary (special appearance from Josie, the 6 month old puppy).

Picture 3: Giving me some nice eye contact as we walk through the store. This was Eden's first time in Home Depot and her first time in public with another dog she knew. Eden knows Josie solely through our walks - the two of them have zoomies together and just generally follow each other around. There was some FOMO on the puppy's side while she tried to figure out why she wasn't allowed to play with her friend, but she recovered quickly. I am very happy with how well she's doing!

My next step is to go buy some balloons because I realized that she's never seen balloons before!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I've done such a poor job updating this thread! Eden will be 6 months old in a couple of weeks. I just can't believe how quickly its flown by! She gets her trick dog novice title tomorrow.

Some pictures from the last couple of months.









Backyard shenanigans!








Home Depot with some friends! L-R: Spencer, Eden, Chew, and Cheyenne








my two ❤


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## CCoopz (Jun 2, 2020)

aesthetic said:


> Formally introducing Sandpiper Celebrate Paradise Garden "Eden"!
> 
> She's my "accidentally on purpose" puppy. I had planned to get a puppy this year, only from a completely different (and fantastic) breeder. Long story short, the first planned breeding didn't work out. I texted a breeder acquaintance a couple months later and asked if I could come play with her litter cause I missed puppies. We got to talking while I was at her house and found out she knew my trainer through agility and is best friends with my trainer's parents. Somehow we got to the topic of what I was looking for in my next puppy. The week the puppies turned 8 weeks, she texts me and says that she has a girl available (her cobreeder was supposed to take 2 girls, but ended up only taking the one) and asked me if I was interested. I am not lying when I say it was an extremely hard decision. On one hand, I had already committed to a breeder and I was (am) VERY excited for the litter(s) she has planned. On the other hand, there is a girl available NOW from a breeder who is much closer. I had already experienced one litter not working out, what if any of these litters didn't have enough girls or what if the whole country shuts down by the time the litter is ready? I thought about it a lot, took advice from pretty much everyone I knew, and spoke to both breeders.
> 
> ...


She’s beautiful, just from the photos you can tell she radiates happiness and confidence.


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## Ivyacres (Jun 3, 2011)

Thanks for the update and great pictures. They grow so fast. Kaizer doesn't look too happy with all the back yard shenanigans.


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

So cute!


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

There's never as many pictures of the 2nd "child". She's beautiful.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

The time has really gone by fast, Eden is a lovely girl. 
Great pictures.


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## granite7 (Oct 5, 2020)

Good looking pups! I love how Eden is “tuned in” to you with her eye contact. Your backyard shenanigans photo brings back some memories!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

CCoopz said:


> She’s beautiful, just from the photos you can tell she radiates happiness and confidence.


Thank you! She is the sweetest dog, always in a good mood.


Ivyacres said:


> Thanks for the update and great pictures. They grow so fast. Kaizer doesn't look too happy with all the back yard shenanigans.


He was probably the initiator! He loves getting muddy, he just doesn’t like the hosing/bathing that follows!


cwag said:


> There's never as many pictures of the 2nd "child". She's beautiful.


Thanks! I have lots of pictures of her, but I’ve just been slacking on actually posting. 


CAROLINA MOM said:


> The time has really gone by fast, Eden is a lovely girl.
> Great pictures.


Hasn’t it?! I can’t believe she’ll be 6 months in under 2 weeks. I swear she was tiny and fluffy just a second ago!



granite7 said:


> Good looking pups! I love how Eden is “tuned in” to you with her eye contact. Your backyard shenanigans photo brings back some memories!


She’s always had amazing focus and eye contact. I’ve done my fair share of work with that, but she had quite a bit of it naturally.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Miss Eden got her trick dog novice title yesterday!

At 5.5 months old, we’re entering that age where she’s realized there’s a whole world out there filled with exciting, new things. Her mental capacity for training seems to have reached a whole new low too LOL.

Pending AKC approval, she is Sandpiper Celebrate Paradise Garden TKN “Eden”!


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## Ivyacres (Jun 3, 2011)

That's awesome! Honey always had so much fun at those Trick Dog classes.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Happy Thanksgiving all! My dog friends and I went on a walk today - between the 5 of us, we had 10 dogs! 5 goldens, 4 border collies, and a doberman. Naturally I left my phone in the car so I'm waiting for everyone else to send me pictures first.

Hope you are all having good food today!


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## Rundlemtn (Jan 16, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> Miss Eden got her trick dog novice title yesterday!
> 
> At 5.5 months old, we’re entering that age where she’s realized there’s a whole world out there filled with exciting, new things. Her mental capacity for training seems to have reached a whole new low too LOL.
> 
> Pending AKC approval, she is Sandpiper Celebrate Paradise Garden TKN “Eden”!


Oh she is a sweetheart <3 Congratulations!!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

thank you!!! She is the best girl


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Some pictures from yesterday! There's only like one picture of all ten dogs.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I'm doing a terrible job of updating this thread!

Eden will be 8 months on the 15th. I have absolutely no idea where the time has gone. She went into heat on Dec 21 at the grand age of 7.5 months old. Her dam didn't come in until 9 months, which is more what I was expecting. We start her first agility class on Jan 21. 

She's such a great puppy. I feel so obligated to put a million titles on her cause she really is SO solid. Got the best personality ever. The only thing we can't master is potty training (she just doesn't understand how to ask to go out), but I think maybe she has UTI so I'm bringing a urine sample to the vet when I take Kaizer in this week. I'm hoping she has a UTI honestly, I feel like there has to be some reason she isn't reliably potty trained yet! Kaizer was so easy about potty training, he really did spoil us.


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## rosegold (Nov 9, 2016)

Good idea to check about the UTI. Our girl had one that just wouldn't go away for MONTHS when we brought her home, even after numerous vet and specialist visits, rounds of antibiotics, ultrasound, and urine testing. 

We got realllyyy good at catching her urine stream through a kitchen ladle and driving it off to the vet lol. One thing to consider is that the urine sample you get this way can be contaminated by fur/skin. The most accurate way is a cystocentesis where they draw urine out of the bladder with a needle and ultrasound - best for if they do microbiology cultures and sensitivity to direct antibiotic treatment. I did eventually order some urine test strips for home so I could monitor (you can get them on Amazon). 

Poor things, it really does make potty training a big challenge for them. Keep us updated!


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## Rundlemtn (Jan 16, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> I'm doing a terrible job of updating this thread!
> 
> Eden will be 8 months on the 15th. I have absolutely no idea where the time has gone. She went into heat on Dec 21 at the grand age of 7.5 months old. Her dam didn't come in until 9 months, which is more what I was expecting. We start her first agility class on Jan 21.
> 
> She's such a great puppy. I feel so obligated to put a million titles on her cause she really is SO solid. Got the best personality ever. The only thing we can't master is potty training (she just doesn't understand how to ask to go out), but I think maybe she has UTI so I'm bringing a urine sample to the vet when I take Kaizer in this week. I'm hoping she has a UTI honestly, I feel like there has to be some reason she isn't reliably potty trained yet! Kaizer was so easy about potty training, he really did spoil us.


Eight months! That went by crazy fast! I'm also starting agility with my girlie on Feb 5th. Mind you, she will only be 12 weeks old, so it will look very different from what you are doing. Any word from the vet yet? Potty training this time around has been so much easier! When I was living in a condo with Rundle it was hard for her to make the connection to ask to go out, when we would have to go down 26 floors and cross a street to go potty. In contrast, Summit at 8wks old is already starting to go to the door when she needs/wants to go out.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

3Pebs3 said:


> Eight months! That went by crazy fast! I'm also starting agility with my girlie on Feb 5th. Mind you, she will only be 12 weeks old, so it will look very different from what you are doing. Any word from the vet yet? Potty training this time around has been so much easier! When I was living in a condo with Rundle it was hard for her to make the connection to ask to go out, when we would have to go down 26 floors and cross a street to go potty. In contrast, Summit at 8wks old is already starting to go to the door when she needs/wants to go out.


Congrats on the agility classes!! I know you guys will have fun. I did some foundational agility stuff with Eden as a puppy, but not much. 

Kaizer was so much easier to potty train, but we had different living arrangements at the time and less distraction. I can't tell if she can't hold it or if she just forgets she needs to pee til it's too late. Sometimes she's really good at letting us know when she has to go, other times she just squats with no warning beforehand.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I'm doing a terrible job updating this thread! Eden is 9 months old now!!

Eden hasn't had any potty issues since I last posted, guess it was some kind of fluke perhaps due to her being in heat? No UTI per the vet. She's been reliably asking to go out and holding it as needed, so I think we're in the clear!

We go to see her breeders on Sunday, they're gonna give her her first official show groom! She has not made any debuts into the conformation ring yet, so I am sure that will be discussed too.

We are about halfway through her agility class, and naturally, she is quite the little superstar. We hit teenage adolescence hard. Very differently from Kaizer (who was all about the humping and jumping and biting and ripping clothes), but somehow more frustrating cause it's just little things (like pulling on the leash or not staying with me when she used to be so focused on me). She's still a ridiculously sweet girl who tries very hard. Very confident and outgoing, just the most perfect puppy.

Some pictures from this weekend. Sorry to Facebook friends who have seen these already!! My friend is a photographer and took some pictures of my girl for me.


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## goldielynn (Sep 5, 2020)

Look at those teeth!! Haha -- she's so pretty. Good luck on your upcoming show(s)!


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## rosegold (Nov 9, 2016)

Those facial expressions are cracking me up. Great idea to throw a toy during the photoshoot. Eden is lovely and you're doing a great job with grooming her. Interested to hear what they do extra for her during a show groom. I am just a beginner with grooming but have a grooming table coming this weekend. Excited to hear of her potential conformation plans.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

rosegold said:


> Those facial expressions are cracking me up. Great idea to throw a toy during the photoshoot. Eden is lovely and you're doing a great job with grooming her. Interested to hear what they do extra for her during a show groom. I am just a beginner with grooming but have a grooming table coming this weekend. Excited to hear of her potential conformation plans.


I haven't groomed her at all in these pictures!! The most I've done with her to date is trimming her nails and cleaning up her paws as needed. I have no cleaned up her paws in the last month cause I'm nervous of messing them up for her breeders LOL - she does not have a lot to work with so definitely easier to mess up. I have not touched her ears or her ruff. I imagine they'll thin out her ruff a little, neaten her ears a tad, definitely clean up her paws. Maybe trim her tail, as it is super long. She's definitely less fluffy than Kaizer for now (I wish she would stay like that LOL). Kaizer gets long ear fur and the worst grinch feet.

I know when she was 5 months, we talked about entering in some April shows but it depended on how she looked. I think she actually looks pretty OK for a 9 month old, but I admit I have not really worked at her conformation training at all (cause I don't know where to start). She has a stand on cue, but it's not a stack. She has always sat to be pet (that was a natural behavior that I just reinforced the crap out of) so I'll have to work at getting her to stand for the judge. The things I know how to teach her, she has LOL she has a beautiful heel. I'm entering her in a rally trial in mid-March mainly for fun and experience, but I hope it goes well!!


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## rosegold (Nov 9, 2016)

aesthetic said:


> I haven't groomed her at all in these pictures!! The most I've done with her to date is trimming her nails and cleaning up her paws as needed. I have no cleaned up her paws in the last month cause I'm nervous of messing them up for her breeders LOL - she does not have a lot to work with so definitely easier to mess up. I have not touched her ears or her ruff. I imagine they'll thin out her ruff a little, neaten her ears a tad, definitely clean up her paws. Maybe trim her tail, as it is super long. She's definitely less fluffy than Kaizer for now (I wish she would stay like that LOL). Kaizer gets long ear fur and the worst grinch feet.
> 
> I know when she was 5 months, we talked about entering in some April shows but it depended on how she looked. I think she actually looks pretty OK for a 9 month old, but I admit I have not really worked at her conformation training at all (cause I don't know where to start). She has a stand on cue, but it's not a stack. She has always sat to be pet (that was a natural behavior that I just reinforced the crap out of) so I'll have to work at getting her to stand for the judge. The things I know how to teach her, she has LOL she has a beautiful heel. I'm entering her in a rally trial in mid-March mainly for fun and experience, but I hope it goes well!!


I guess I am used to my 3 year old's long ear fur, ha. Hers looks so neat (and natural - since it is!) in comparison. I've been working on trimming ears but it doesn't look quite natural. Ours gets the grinch feet too. I'd been using straight shears to trim paws but I recently got an electric trimmer as I want to get puppy used to it. 

April and March are coming up soon, that's really exciting. We also reinforced the sit for pets, and as a result it was slightly harder to teach her stand-stay. 

A beautiful heel will get you so far, that is great! The rally trial will be lots of fun.


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## Rundlemtn (Jan 16, 2015)

Time goes by so fast eh? I think part of the reason we post less the second time around is we just have fewer questions the second time around. The questions we do have are bigger! Like how to teach a dog to stack properly?

So, glad to hear she is UTI free and that pottying is going much more smoothly now. Good to know that heats could lead to a bit of regression. 

Please keep us updated on your conformation plans. I'm sooo jealous of your agility progression. It was just announced last night that dog classes are re-opening, EXCEPT for agility. Bleh! So, I enrolled Summit in a 4wk tricks class. I think we'll start working on some trick dog titles while we are waiting for her to mature, more classes and competitions to open up again. Should be fun! I know you got your Novice trick dog title for Eden. Plans to go further with that? 

It's great to see her doing so well, and funny that the little ways she challenges you is so frustrating. She's absolutely darling 💕


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I didn't end up entering her for that rally trial, even though I wanted to. I talked through it with my trainer and decided she's just not ready for a trial yet. She knows most of the pieces she's supposed to know, but we're hitting that "teenage" stage where the world is suddenly a little bit more interesting than I am. I think we could trial now and probably get a passing score, but if I'm gonna pay that trial entry fee and drive to the trial site, I want more than just a passing score. So we'll keep working at it.

Conformation - I heard from her breeder that she will be entered in the late April Timonium, MD shows and the early May Bear, DE shows! The Bear shows are literally 10 minutes from my house and actually where I met her breeders for the first time 3 years ago! I skipped my senior prom to go to that dog show LOL. The April show will be her first show experience ever, hopefully that goes well and she doesn't fall apart. She's pretty bombproof, but there haven't been any busy events I could take her to because of COVID. She is more than used to being in a crowd of dogs and people from all her time spent demo-dogging at my training place. We definitely will have to work on standing for an exam.

Agility - we're nearing the end of her fundamentals class. I just got a new job and I'm not too sure of what my work schedule will look like, so I'm hoping I'll be able to continue her agility classes with no scheduling conflicts, otherwise I'll probably look into doing privates. Luckily I have quite a few talented agility instructors at my disposal! I think she'll be a fantastic agility partner one day!!

Eden and I also started a CGC class a couple weeks ago, our test is at the end of the month. I don't really think we'll have any issues passing, but she is really being such a teenage brat right now (not even anything super specific, just not focusing on me the way she was previously). We'll get through it, but I will probably wanna wring her neck in the process LOL.

Jill - I've had no potty issues with her since she came into heat. I didn't realize coming into heat would lead to a regression either! As far as tricks, she really doesn't know very many. Honestly, that's not something I've done a lot of with her, which is such a shame cause it's so much fun. If I ever get my stuff together, I'll definitely get the rest of her tricks titles. I'll probably do the rest of Kaizer's too, he knows enough tricks for at least his Advanced title, I just haven't gotten him tested.


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## rosegold (Nov 9, 2016)

That is so exciting about her conformation plans and her upcoming CGC test! 

It's funny how things come full circle re- Bear. Do you have any more info on the Bear show? I've been keeping an eye out for golden shows nearby to visit and train my eye a bit more in conformation type stuff. She is a great demo dog, you couldn't tell she's in her teenage phase at all. I'm sure that'll translate over wonderfully to the ring. 

Rally during the teenage phase sounds tough. I have my hands full keeping our girl's attention outdoors, and our next class is at a park thankfully to practice with more distractions. It sounds like you're doing a great job with Eden!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

rosegold said:


> That is so exciting about her conformation plans and her upcoming CGC test!
> 
> It's funny how things come full circle re- Bear. Do you have any more info on the Bear show? I've been keeping an eye out for golden shows nearby to visit and train my eye a bit more in conformation type stuff. She is a great demo dog, you couldn't tell she's in her teenage phase at all. I'm sure that'll translate over wonderfully to the ring.
> 
> Rally during the teenage phase sounds tough. I have my hands full keeping our girl's attention outdoors, and our next class is at a park thankfully to practice with more distractions. It sounds like you're doing a great job with Eden!


The Bear show is usually held at Lums Pond State Park (just before the Summit Bridge) by WKC. It’s usually at the end of April, but this year its the first weekend in May (May 1-2). It’s an outdoor show, I don’t know how they’re handling an audience or anything. They (WKC, i think) were having a hard time even getting the show approved cause of Carney’s limitations. InfoDog - The Dog Fancier's Complete Resource for information about AKC Dog Show Events, and Dog Products and Services

She is a lovely girl and her adolescence is really more annoying than anything else. Kaizer’s was brutal and lasted forever, so I got incredibly lucky with Eden. It’s probably not anything other people would notice - she’s just getting bored quicker and losing interest, her focus isn’t as great as it used to be, and her attention span is GONE. She’s definitely a heathen with the chewing and energy level - she’s just bored regardless of what we do and she’s not settling as well as she used to. It’s just small things like that!

But she’s a lovebug and so easy in so many other ways. If I don’t make her an insanely accomplished dog, I’ll feel guilty because she 100% has the potential and ability to be incredible in literally any venue I choose for her.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Eden with my trainer's border collie, Samone. Picture on the left was Eden at 15 weeks, picture on the right was today at 10 months (where did the time go?!). Eden used to be the same size as Sa, and now she's like double her size.
















My two at class tonight! Kaizer demo dogged with me for the first time in forever. While I worked through a lot of his sound sensitivity, the one thing that consistently gives us trouble is the speakers. He'll be fine until there's some mic feedback or something and then he wants no part in demoing. In true Kaizer-fashion, he has also decided that crating up in between exercises is not happening anymore. Since he will down-stay while I walk around and help the class, he gets his way for now LOL. He actually made it through the whole class before deciding he was done (and he WILL tell you he's done, today he walked right out of the ring and stood by the exit). Thankfully I have Eden, who I did a better job raising and therefore does not have dumb opinions like Kaizer does LOL.

Eden got to practice her mat stationing behavior during first night (no other dogs). I've mainly only practiced this behavior at home and we're at a point where I can send her to her mat and do recall games with Kaizer (and then switch them out), but this is the first time we practiced it outside of that context. Not so surprisingly, it wasn't great, but I expected that.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Yesterday was a not-so-great day for us! It was Eden's CGC test and we did not pass. We technically did not fail either, but there was no title at the end of the day, so...

The test was initially going very well. We flew through 80% of the test with limited issues. We had a little bit of a struggle with the reaction to another dog - she was sitting and focusing on me til the other dog got up, and then she got up. I wasn't terribly concerned about that because you do get to redo an item if your dog misses it (only one thing though), and at that point, the only thing we had left was the stay, recall, and the supervised separation, and I am not generally concerned about her behavior on any of those.

EXCEPT right as we went to set up for the stay, someone came in with two very excited border collies heading for the pool and my puppy was GONE. There are a lot of things Eden can successfully work through, but dogs screaming and splashing in the pool, and toys flying through the air is far too much for her right now. I made the decision to stop the test where we were and thankfully my trainer agreed. Maybe we could have muddled through the rest of the test, but I didn't want to put her (or me) in a position to fail and I think I would have felt badly about the passing score especially since I know her performance wouldn't have been to her abilities. 

So we'll have to retake the test at another time! Her excitement of the water is fairly new and I don't want to discourage it or not take her swimming anymore, so I'll have to take the long way around working through her water feelings LOL. "Luckily" I worked through the same issue with Kaizer, who can now at least go through a whole off-leash agility class with me without running to the pool gate at every opportunity.

And I had to take Kaizer to the emergency vet at 3am last night. They held him overnight and will call me in a couple hours to let me know if he can come home tomorrow or if he'll have to stay the night again. I'm glad I have Eden cause I really hate being home without him, but at least I have another dog to occupy me!

No pictures of my bad dogs today LOL


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## goldielynn (Sep 5, 2020)

aesthetic said:


> Yesterday was a not-so-great day for us! It was Eden's CGC test and we did not pass. We technically did not fail either, but there was no title at the end of the day, so...
> 
> The test was initially going very well. We flew through 80% of the test with limited issues. We had a little bit of a struggle with the reaction to another dog - she was sitting and focusing on me til the other dog got up, and then she got up. I wasn't terribly concerned about that because you do get to redo an item if your dog misses it (only one thing though), and at that point, the only thing we had left was the stay, recall, and the supervised separation, and I am not generally concerned about her behavior on any of those.
> 
> ...


Oh nooo! What happened to Kaizer? I hope he's doing better and that you'll be able to take him home tonight.

So funny about Eden and her CGC test. We'll be in classes throughout this year to get him up to snuff for his test, come this fall when he's about 1. Crosses fingers that no collies will come blazing through to distract!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Unfortunately Kaizer has to stay another night. The vet and I will talk tomorrow to see if he can come home or if he needs to go straight to internal med for an ultrasound.

Good luck with CGC testing!!! I really had hopes for her but it was just not meant to be. If it was just out of control dogs, we could have recovered, I think. But water splashing + toys flying through the air is a lot to ask my water-loving, toy-driven 10 month old puppy!! Just something we need to work on!


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## rosegold (Nov 9, 2016)

I'm so sorry to hear about Kaiser. Poor guy. Hopefully he has an uneventful night at the vet. 

Having the CGC test next to a pool with swimming dogs sounds like a whole new level of challenging. Ours for Ella was just in a regular training room. Good for you for making the decision to hold off and set her up for success!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Eden had her first show today at the Chesapeake Golden Retriever Club specialty. And to boot, her first birthday (!) is in three short weeks. I can’t believe how quickly time flew by with my sweet girl.

It was a good day for Miss Eden. We walked away with two ribbons! She was entered in 9-12 puppy bitch sweepstakes and 9-12 puppy bitch “regular” class (?). She walked away with first place in her sweeps class and best of opposite sex puppy sweepstakes! hoping that makes sense LOL.

She did so good today! I was so proud of her. I wasn’t sure how she’d do since she had never been to a large dog event and she’s never been to a handling class. This girl has been practically perfect since the day I brought her home, so I don’t know what I was so worried about. She was calm, focused, and had a lot of fun. Let the judge look her over without moving a foot, wasn’t worried about the dogs in front/behind her, held her stacks. I’m so proud of her!!

My pretty girl free-stacking. She was listening to an ambulance driving by!


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## Tagrenine (Aug 20, 2019)

Yay congratulations!!!


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## rosegold (Nov 9, 2016)

That’s amazing, congratulations Eden!


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Congratulations and Happy Birthday to your pretty girl.


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

That’s so great! Congratulations!


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## Emmdenn (Jun 5, 2018)

Amazing!!! Congrats team Eden!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Thank you all!! We are showing again next week (and by "we" I mean Eden and her breeder/co owner/handler LOL). Then we're taking a break for a month so hopefully Eden grows back all the coat she dropped in the last two weeks (and gains 2 pounds, I didn't realize how little she was til there was no fur hiding her!).


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## Rundlemtn (Jan 16, 2015)

Just catching up here. Congratulations to Eden on her wins!! That CGC environment sounds incredibly challenging! Is there anywhere else that you could take the test? I hope Kaiser is OK. Did they ever figure out what was going on with him?


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

3Pebs3 said:


> Just catching up here. Congratulations to Eden on her wins!! That CGC environment sounds incredibly challenging! Is there anywhere else that you could take the test? I hope Kaiser is OK. Did they ever figure out what was going on with him?


Thank you!! Yes, there are a couple places I could take the test, I just haven't gotten around to re-trying it again. We've started up rally again instead LOL.

Kaizer has an endoscopy with biopsies scheduled for Tuesday, so hopefully we'll have some kind of idea on what's going on with him after those results. Per his chest x-rays, his heart is apparently small, so I have to talk to the internal medicine specialist about re-testing him for Addison's (I do not know if he was fasted for the cortisol level test done at the end of March because that was when he was hospitalized for 2 days). My poor boy has been pretty uncomfortable this whole time, so I'm hoping we'll get some answers soon.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Eden's win picture! (faces blurred to protect privacy).


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

aesthetic said:


> View attachment 882483
> 
> 
> Eden's win picture! (faces blurred to protect privacy).


Beautiful!


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## Rundlemtn (Jan 16, 2015)

So exciting for you/Eden!! Any news on Kaizer?


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

Eden is such a pretty girl. Congratulations.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Great picture, Congrats again!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Thank you all! 

Jill - no news from the biopsy yet. The IMS definitely feels like the biopsy results will definitely tell us something! Apparently his small intestine (duodenum specifically) was a mess. 

His esophagus looked good, but there was still foodstuff in his stomach despite being fasted for 12 hours. His stomach was also moderately thickened. His duodenum had a "cobblestone appearance", was moderately to severely thickened and edematous (fluid-filled). We apparently still can't completely rule out cancer, but his IMS is hopeful it's an IBD type issue. The biopsy results will tell us more about what it is, how bad it is, and what the prognosis is like.


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## Rundlemtn (Jan 16, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> Thank you all!
> 
> Jill - no news from the biopsy yet. The IMS definitely feels like the biopsy results will definitely tell us something! Apparently his small intestine (duodenum specifically) was a mess.
> 
> His esophagus looked good, but there was still foodstuff in his stomach despite being fasted for 12 hours. His stomach was also moderately thickened. His duodenum had a "cobblestone appearance", was moderately to severely thickened and edematous (fluid-filled). We apparently still can't completely rule out cancer, but his IMS is hopeful it's an IBD type issue. The biopsy results will tell us more about what it is, how bad it is, and what the prognosis is like.


Oh gosh! So scary! Keep us posted. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you and your boy!


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