We had a great weekend - despite the heat and wind near Boone, CO. Arwen passed a tough Finished test, Tory passed his 3rd Seasoned test, and Jazzy got to run two Started tests and passed both!

The Finished test started with a wide-open triple “dove” hunt and a diversion as the dog was coming in with the last bird. Then a blind retrieve with lots of suction to the dike and old falls. Arwen did fabulously! I, on the other hand, “missed” every bird. Afterward we decided to try for ducks. This series was a mind-bender of trying to remember which bird is shot at by which handler and which dog gets to retrieve. It started off with a buddy on the honor bucket with his dog as Arwen and I walked down the muddy path to the pond. On the way, a duck comes sailin’ in from the left. Both handlers take a shot at it, but remembering not to shoot in the direction of the other handler! The honor dog picked up that bird while the working dog had to watch. Once we got settled on a bucket, a duck came in from over our right shoulder and quickly thereafter another duck came in from the left. Both handlers shot at the birds. Arwen picked up the left bird after a long swim and then rooted the right bird out of the reeds. Somehow with all that “shooting” we put down another bird way off to the left. The line to the blind was just off the beach with suction to the shore and to the old fall. Couple whistles and Arwen picked up that bird. Time for a new “buddy.” As he came down the path with his dog, we moved to the honor bucket. But this dog was amped! When he came into sight Arwen must have figured she’d need a headstart to beat him to HER birds and took a few steps toward the water during the double, but luckily decided not to go any further! Good dog!

I came across a great article about a first-timer’s experience at a dog show. He was asked to come out and experience a dog show and then talk with the club members about the threats they were facing from the Humane Society and the rest of the animal rights movement.

The author made some great observations and some suggestions. I guess some people don’t realize yet that the main purpose of the HSUS and PETA is to destroy our right to love and be loved by our pets.

Here’s the link: http://humanewatch.org/index.php/site/post/what_i_learned_at_the_dog_show/

I was dusting my shelves and noticed I have a LOT of books about dogs. Here are some of my favorites:
The Nature of Animal Healing - Dr Martin Goldstein
Keep Your Dog Healthy the Natural Way - Pat Lazarus
The Book of the Labrador Retriever - Anna K Nicholas
The Official Book of the Labrador Retriever - LRC
Peak Performance - M Christine Zink DVM
Mike Lardy’s articles collections 1 & 2
Tri-Tronics Retriever Training by Jim & Phyllis Dobbs
Training Retrievers to Handle - DL & Ann Walters
Training Retrievers for the Marshes and Meadows by James B Spencer
Retriever Training Drills for Marking - James B Spencer
Retriever Training Drills for Blind Retrieves - James B Spencer
The New Knowledge of Dog Behavior by Clarence Pfaffenberger
The New Art of Breeding Better Dogs - Kyle Onstott
Beyond Basic Dog Training by Diane L Bauman
Tracking Dog Theory & Methods by Glen R. Johnson
And of course the classic - Water Dog.

Yeah, some are rather old and out of date, but there’s still good information in them, even if just for starting a discussion! What are YOUR favorite dog books?

Cat’s puppies are growing up - eyes are opening and they’re starting the gecko walk! So much fun to watch!

What a trooper! He took all the noise and dogs and even a pigeon in the ring in stride.

Boomer after his first show

Cat’s puppies are all growing! Still waiting for eyes and ears to open. In the meantime we’ve been doing the Early Neurological Stimulation every day. Watch for more pix soon!

Writing about the animal communicator got me to thinking ‘how long do Labs live, on average?’

If you have an older Lab let me know how old he is and about his health. If you lost one, how old was he and what happened? We’ll compile the results and see.

I had an interesting experience a couple of years ago. I was at a dog show and noticed a booth for an animal communicator. I pooh-poohed it at first, but then thought ‘what the heck.’

At first her ‘communications’ were pretty generic - things like Chip (my dog) wanting to know how long Labs live, that he was glad that I take good care of him, that he wants his granddaughter to take his place after he’s gone, etc. 

Did I really believe she was talking to my dog? Not at first, but something she said turned me into a believer on the way home. She told me that Chip was my self-appointed protector and he wanted me to get a new truck so I could see out of it. It didn’t make much sense at the time. On the way home, though, Chip was in the front seat with me and he was sitting on the passenger seat when I wanted to change lanes. I glanced over and told him, “Lay down, I can’t SEE.” When I realized how often I say that, I became a believer.

Cat and Axle (Justamere Catalyst RA CGC CC and CH Skyfire’s Oughta Be Haulin’ RN CGC WC) announce the birth of quadruplets! Two boys and two girls - all blacks - joined the Justamere Ranch Labrador Retriever family. Bloodlines include:

GMHR Am/Mex/Int’l CH Cook’s Midnight Bandit MH
FC-AFC-CFC-CAFC DB’s Cracker of Clubmead
2x NAFC-FC-2xCNAFC Ebonstar Lean Mac
Am/Can CH Skyfire’s Oughta Be A Law CD JH WC
BISS Am/Can CH Nipntuck Arncha Bold CD JH WC
CH Tabatha’s Drifter at Dickendall JH
CH Naiken Indian Temple MH
CH Guidelines Master Card

Stay tuned for more information!

Inspired by the recent San Diego Safer Pet Vaccination Seminar, two anonymous dogs are making a $10,000 matching gift to The Rabies Challenge Fund. Through the month of April, they will match every dollar donated up to $10,000. Please consider taking advantage of this generous gift to double the amount of a donation.

Tax-exempt donations can be mailed to The Rabies Challenge Fund, c/o Hemopet, 11561 Salinaz Avenue, Garden Grove, CA 92843. Credit card donations can be phoned in to Hemopet (specify they are for The Rabies Challenge Fund) by calling (714) 891-2022, ext. 13 or made with Paypal by following the instructions on our link http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/donate/donate-to-the-fund.