THIS RIGHT HERE IS THE THREAD WHERE I INTRODUCE YOU ALL TO MY EXCELLENT NEW PUPPY HENRY (Edit: RIP February 2017)

oh hey:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2769/4214778570_46ff7d5ed4.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4067/4214778536_71dd546a6b.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2734/4214009593_f4f84d00e5.jpg

that first picture just crushed my heart.

Henry is pretty much the handsomest dog alive.

tbh he makes that other dog look pretty fugly

What a xmas treat!! Best bookmark I've ever made.
just1n3 otm, and that other dog is totally cute on its own too!

BREAKING NEWS!!!

we decided tonight that Henry needed a middle name, so from now on i would appreciate it if all of you would refer to him as Henry Chubbles Fr33m4n in all formal communication

END BREAKING NEWS!!!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2753/4297217216_6b67cc6bb2.jpg

LOVN

Can someone append the complete aw <3 aw <3 aw <3 thread here please?

love him so much

the great thing here is that he shoved himself into that position, his new favorite thing is to rear up and back into yer arms. goddamn he is a sweet motherfucker.

Papa won't leave you, Henry. (Haven't checked if Nick Cave has other songs on that Henry's Dream album that may fit)

I love Henry soooo much.

I bet he is like #1 hanging-out-with dog.

The other day I saw an old man walking in the park with a burmese that looked a lot like Henry and the old man was kicking this small stick along. Each kick was only like 3 or 4 feet forward, but the dog was going crazy over it and pouncing around it and sort of doing that excited half-bark that dogs do when they're being adorable. Dogs are so awesome.

lonely dog just thinking baot things:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4067/4360486958_4697811380_b.jpg

NO ONE PUTS HENRY IN A CORNER

hahaha so in a second i will be posting pictures that remind me how big this fella is

exhibit one. yes, he is standing on his hind legs.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2727/4361055301_884a70545f.jpg

exhibit two. no, k is not a midget.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4008/4361047513_911ac2d6d0.jpg

<3 <3 <3

exhibit three. forceful kiss catches k off guard. still not a midget.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4011/4361785896_f7c5c65748.jpg

its kind of like that frasier boxing photo

T/F Henry is a Bernese Mountain dog?
What is his temperament like? Is he hyper or chill or a mix of both (plays when you want to but not ornery)?
What is the barking sitch like?
What his his snuggle rating on a scale of 1 to 10?

True

digs playtime, is adorably crazy when enticed, sweet 100% of the time (will never playfight w/o crazy wagging of tail and occassional "I am softly biting your hand is this ok?" lovey-eyed moments). loves to present toys. greets anyone he knows with crazed tail-thrashing action and between the legs running and forceful leaning.

barks sometimes, but has been easily trained to know that a finger to the lips plus "shhh" equals no more of that nonsense.

10/10. invariably will find me on the couch and lay his head on the edge. also has been doing an adorable crossed paws on my thigh sweet "look into my eyes i love you" thing whenever i am available. likes to lie on his back and get hugged. this is rarely accompanied by circumspect humping, but we are working on that.

added cuddle bonus that i forgot to mention: will do his best to walk wherever i am going with his shoulder pressed against my leg. heel has not been a problem.

added bark info: very very loud and low pitched. probably would be scary without the visual reassurance of the smiley tail-waggingness of said festivities.

dear john can you please tell henry i love him.

not only can i do that, but i can share w/you his reaction to your missive in real time. technology is awesome!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2705/4361123471_fdfd0a0e4a.jpg

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww henry!!! <3

oh hey enbb, i would be glad to send a henry greeting to your pup as well. will load yer thread, fill screen with pups, and say name.

oh we dog owners, we are all dorks.

tell henry i now love him even more than i did before.

yes xp

hahahahah YES!! Please do that :D

I think I really seriously want a berner. I want everything that you described, minimal barking (or just at least not incessant), largeness, and cuddles are a MUST. Am just v scared that the lifespan of these things is like 7 years.

the plus side is that current responsible breeding is helping the lifespan - all of henrys relatives have made it past 10 years. it is scary though, and was my biggest concern when picking this breed. at the risk of sounding cliche, however, this is the best most loving dog i've ever had, and frankly this first (less than year) has been so great and so emotionally rewarding that the longevity doesn't really matter to me anymore (i mean obv i would prefer that he lived forever, but you know, i get it.)

something that has stuck w/me is that when henry was 3 months old, we brought him to a bike race in stillwater and carried him around for a while (technically there was some walking involved, but he was pudgy and short-legged, so it was mostly carrying). when we got into the crowd, a dude w/ a berner made his way over and waxed poetic about how you would never have a dog that loved you so much and how it was this deep bonding thing and how we had no idea how much our dog was going to be A PART OF OUR LIVES and a bunch of other batshit crazy dog-obsessive stuff. and now, i am that dude. he is the best dog i've ever had, and it's kind of weird how much i love this guy.

counterpoint: to make this less sentimental and more oogy and gross, he is currently staring at me and captaining the red rocket. the love of dogs is a complicated thing.

oh hey ENBB and benson:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27907798@N00/4361906888/

What is his temperament like? Is he hyper or chill or a mix of both (plays when you want to but not ornery)?

BONUS EVIDENCE: this is an unposed picture of H, dead asleep, w/ the bone we were tussling over before i went all boring and ilxing on him.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4037/4361963816_7642a5e717.jpg

OMG @ Henry video. I will make a reaction vid later <3. He's so great!

lolling at "circumspect humping"

will do his best to walk wherever i am going with his shoulder pressed against my leg.

All our collies did this too. Always assumed it was an attempt to herd us places, but we just sort of ignored. Could be a problem with a 100+ lb creature, though!

also, knowing how tall you and K are, holy wau that dog is hueg

I mean ffs get that dog into basketball camp NOW

John I think I just fell in love with yr dog

But how would he fare in, like, a city apartment and not a house?

Also when he goes ouside is he the "Imma fuckin walk right next to you no matter what" type o pup or the "Imma fuckin run the fuck wherever I want if I gtfo this leash" type o pup?

wow, henry is pretty fucking awesome. i love his coloring.

So I showed Benson and I think he liked Henry's message. Didn't realize the vid was so dark but his reaction was too perfect not to use.

oops: http://s29.photobucket.com/albums/c287/expatrica/?action=view¤t=P2160107.flv

omgomgomg