Bonnie's Helper

It's been great having Luther home this week. Jimmy's been away building a house 5 hours away and Luther has been a great companion. Thanks to Lauren for teaching Luther not to invade the Kitchen. He says on the outside of the island and observes. That allowed me to bake 5 pies yesterday morning for our Thanksgiving dinner at Scott and Lou's in Charlottesville. Even putting the pies on the porch to cool was no problem with Luther. He didn't DARE get near them. What a good boy!

My Favorite Kind of Day

Wednesday we went and watched Jim Elam train Luther. It was a perfect Autumn day. The leaves are in full color this late in the year and the temperature was around 70 with little breeze. I could sit and watch the dogs run everyday and never tire of it. Luther was in great form and Jim set up one tricky retrieve on a diagonal having to enter the water 3 times to get to the other side where the bird was. I'm not crazy about the above layout--it just doesn't click but it will do for the moment. I'll redo it as maybe a double or completely change the layout later.

The Fine Art of Dog Training

To be a good dog trainer, you need to be able to communicate clearly with a dog. If the dog does good, you reward it with praise or treats. If the dog makes an error, you withhold his anticipated reward. This cartoon appeared last week in the paper and I thought it was funny. If my brother was this dog (he missed the spelling gene--he even misspells my name! But to his credit, he did get ALL the math genes in the family), he'd never get to go for a walk either!

An Email from my friend David!

This has to be one of the best singles ads ever printed. It is reported to have been listed in the Atlanta Journal.


SINGLE BLACK FEMALE seeks male companionship, ethnicity unimportant. I'm a very good girl who LOVES to play. I love long walks in the woods, riding in your pickup truck, hunting, camping and fishing trips, cozy winter nights lying by the fire. Candlelight dinners will have me eating out of your hand. I'll be at the front door when you get home from work, wearing only what nature gave me... Call (404) 875-6420 and ask for Annie, I'll be waiting.....





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Over 150 men found themselves talking to the Atlanta Humane Society.

My Boy

This week Jim Elam has taken the dogs near Emporia, VA to train at Steve Ferguson's farm. Many events are held here including the AKC Field Trial last weekend. It's a beautiful place and he has at least 4 ponds that are designed for dog training. It was Luther's first exposure to this lake with the long narrow swim to a point. His first attempt was awkward but he caught on and improved more every time. Jim Elam has the patience of God and guides the dogs until they get the picture. It was a gorgeous fall day to spend in the country.

Swamp Dog

The layout reads: Hunting Season....

Today is the first day of early season
and Luther is at the trainer's.
No dog to hunt and Jimmy's hunting
buddies finked out on him.
Meanwhile, last night I ran across these
photos taken in the duck blind last year.
Luther loved to get up early and GO!
Can't you tell? There's always next year...

7 Success Stories

This weekend our Tidewater Retriever Club sponsored their Fall AKC Hunt Test. Due to a previous teaching commitment I couldn't be there on Saturday, but I was there bright and early with Jimmy on Sunday. (Jimmy was a "bird boy" both days.) I watched the Master Hunt Test all day. Jim Elam was there with 7 dogs running the Master Test. And to his credit, all 7 dogs passed the test! Job well done.