Farewell Mr. Footlong!

As far as toys goes, Luther has an abundance. I'm not sure if it's the "only dog" syndrome or what but we think if he has a good choice of toys to chewing on, this will help deter his desire to consume the furniture. For the most part, this has been true. I must say that Luther doesn't get much of a chance since I try to always keep an eye on him.

Anyway, Kelly (next door) gave Luther a toy named "Mr. Footlong". Mr. Footlong was a favorite for throwing and retrieving and I think Luther enjoyed how Mr. Footlong felt in his mouth. Mr. Footlong was complete with a squeeker and rope type arms. He was balanced and just the right weight to throw short or long distance with ease with his torpedo-shaped body. We gave Luther Mr. Footlong to keep him company in the crate this weekend while we played in a golf tournament in 105 degree weather. (I wasn't feeling real sorry for Luther in the air conditioning!!!) Come to find out, Mr. Footlong was the most miserable of us all. He lost his stuffing.

So we bid farewell to Mr. Footlong...a good friend. He will indeed be missed!

Monkey Business

When my grandchildren came to visit a couple weeks ago, we took a trip to Target and bought a couple games. Barton wanted the old classic "Barrel of Monkeys". I think he played with it a total of 5 minutes. After they left, I saw something red spread out behind the chair in my bedroom. It was a bunch of monkeys left by Luther who had discovered this fun new game. I scooped up the monkeys and Luther grabbed the barrel and took off. The barrel fits over his muzzle and he looks so comical. He runs around with it at least once a day. I had to take this photo...it's so funny!

Shots--A Necessary Evil

Yesterday Luther had his booster shot, a shot for Lyme disease and one to protect him from Rabies. Dr. Nay gives him a big crunchy treat and Luther doesn't mind the shots at all! Dr. Nay also called for a pedicure, Luther's first, and he didn't like that at all. The two vet assistants had no problem stradling him and keeping his butt glued to the floor while they trimmed his nails. Now he's all pretty!

Dr. Nay complimented Luther on how poised he was. I questioned this and he said you should see other lab puppies the same age in there and most of them are wild! Luther was lying at my feet calm and relaxed. I take this as a compliment. Of course, Dr. Nay didn't see hin get into the garbage for the first time last night and eat corn cobs. I told him about this escapade and Dr. Nay said he'd just operated on a yellow lab that had an entire corn cob stuck in his gut and he had to surgically remove it. I consider myself lucky.

Next week my #1 priority is to see if I can sacrifice one cabinet to house a sliding trash can. My kitchen is limited in space (and I'm a big cook who loves gadgets) but I can see that this is the best and safest solution.

The Guest Room door is always kept closed. Luther didn't even know there was something behind the door until Reagan and Barton came to visit a couple weeks ago. Now he likes to push open the door and walk around in there. Yesterday I caught him in there twice so I pulled the door closed tightly until the lock caught. Last night I was sitting at the computer and heard Luther walk down the hall and then a big thump noise. I peek around the corner real quickly. When the door didn't open with a gentle nudge, Luther threw himself at it and it didn't open. Funny! Wish I could have caught that on video.

Luther is 17 weeks old today!

Can you see Luther's excitement?

Check out Luther's body language....READY! And don't miss Jimmy's right shoe...no tassles! I just had to share these extra photos so you could get a feeling for our excitement. Enjoy!

MORE!

Luther is quite the 'water dog'. On the 4th of July, we went to the cottage on the James River. Jimmy threw the decoys and Luther didn't hesitate--he took off into the water and swam after them. After retrieving, he delivered them into Jimmy's hand. No tug of war! I guess he did this a dozen times.

The next day we took Luther to Neblett's Mill Pond where Jimmy threw the dummy far out in the water. Luther loved every minute of fetching the dummies. The first dummy was thrown far out before they were set up and it drifted away. Jimmy put Luther in the Jon boat (his first boat ride) and Luther was excited at this new adventure. When the boat got up near the dummy, Luther jumped overboard and retrieved the dummy. I called him from the shore and as he was swimming back, Jimmy started talking and Luther did a 180! Oh no! So I asked Jimmy to be quiet and called Luther to the shore and he came. Phew!

Luther was 16 weeks on Tuesday, July 6th!

Jimmy is looking forward to this fall and seeing Luther retrieve ducks. I can honestly say that Luther would be thrilled if he knew what was lying ahead for him. Good dog!

More Photos - Camp Luther

Camp Luther

It's been a big week. Reagan and Barton have been visiting and going to the Sports Camp at the club (Tennis, Golf, Swimming, Lunch). This was the first time they had met Luther. It was exciting for everyone. We had to make sure all the flip flops and toys were out of Luther's reach because he thought they were new treats for him!

Reagan was very good at walking Luther and took him on a walk several times a day. They got to see Luther swim in the lake behind our house. We did a few things without Luther--shopping, pizza, fishing--but it worked out perfectly. Luther took his naps while we went places that dogs weren't allowed. Here is the best photo of the week. I wish I'd taken more photos. All 3 of them are so photogenic. All in all, Camp Luther (as the kids called it) was a success. Luther will miss his buddies when they leave this afternoon.