Yard Work

Today was a great day...We got to visit Luther! We arrived in NC before 8 A.M. in time to watch Charles work Luther with his daily "yard work". This is about a 20 minute session of obedience, drills and casting. Charles has a special way with the dogs and pays close attention to every detail of the dog's focus and performance. It's been fantastic that Lauren Hall Koch and Charles and Jim Elam use the same Mike Lardy Total Retriever method of training. Everything Luther had been taught prior to coming to Lake Country Retrievers has given him a solid foundation for his work now.

Luther's First Bath

I knew that some day this event would occur but I don't think Luther had any inkling! Luther had gone hunting with Jimmy and spent some time in the mud successfully scouting for ducks that had been shot down. When Luther came home, he brought the smelly mud with him. That was bothering me. But when he went out in the back yard and dragged a dead fish out of the lake, tossed it and repeatedly rolled on it, that was it! Stinky dog!
Matt Carden had shared that Joy was about the same PH as a dog's skin so this was the soap of choice. Jimmy brought our unwilling candidate into the guest bath because this tub has a shower head with a hose. Jimmy looped a short rope around Luther's neck and after a couple commands, he stood still and let me shampoo and rinse him all over. I had expected more of a water fight but he was very cooperative. After a vigorous toweling, off he ran streaking around the house. Goodbye fish, hello Luther!

Loving Luther

Lauren confessed that when she takes a dog in for training, she tries to keep that dog separate emotionally since that dog will return to its family when the training is finished. Luther has managed to worm around that barrier. (He's Mr. Sneeky in more than one way.) The two of them have created quite a bond. She says Luther would do anything for her. The fact that he's been a fast and solid learner isn't the issue (but it helps). Lauren and her husband have been invited to our home and hopefuly, they will come and visit in the near future. And she can be assured that Luther will be here to greet her, too.

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!

Obedience

I think I'm going to need more training than Luther! Our first obedience class went famously. Jody Mountfort was on top of everything. She got Luther's attention immediately and he was literally eating out of her hand. A bump in the nose with a stiff "Off" stopped all the jumping. :-) Luther had a concept of "Sit" but "Down" was new to him as was "Leave-It!". "Come" was reinforced and although he is pretty good outside, the food reinforcement really had Luther's attention. He recognized immediately who had treats. Of course he has an active nose that won't quit.

Luther's potty breaks have been getting longer and longer and drawn out. Jody recommended we leash him and walk him back and forth in one area and keep him moving. It worked. The crating is going fine. He's pretty good and responding to "Kennel".

"Off" on the sofa is still a challenge but I'm committed to not having an 70 pound animal on my white sofa. This will take some concerted effort but we shall prevail.

The Big Journey

Off to Denver to visit my brother. My laptop had a fatal problem (the electrical plug in broke away from the motherboard) so a new computer was necessary. Maybe not the latest 15" iMac, but how could I resist?

Next I landed in Kalispell on Sunday in a storm--it was sleeting and the highway had about 1-1/2" to 2" of sleet. I spent 3 days with my high school buddy, Chyral, and then met up with Lauren and Luther. When Lauren arrived with Luther, all three of us were crying! Lauren had grown very fond of "black collar" Luther and he was also the last puppy to leave the nest.

We spent about an hour or so going over Luther's papers, schedule and so forth. Lauren is such a fine and caring person. It is a tribute to her how happy and balanced these puppies are. I just feel lucky to have such a fine dog out of Tess' first litter. Luther is gorgeous, smart and has a great disposition. When Lauren handed me Luther, he gave me lots of kisses. It was a welcome I had traveled many miles to receive.