A mud puppy

I know I don't hold the monopoly for owning the 'best puppy in the world' but Singer, my curly-coated retriever, was pretty close, if you ask me. She could sit quietly in my lap for long periods of time (through a business meeting) and visit with the person sitting next to me - of course, she ended up visiting herself around the room from lap to lap and had to be collected after the meeting.

She loved field training. At 3 months of age she discovered the joys of "duck" and never looked back. She was such an avid retriever that she took one of my older dog's places when we went training (is there really an unwritten rule that when training with a group you're limited to two dogs?)

She really was a sweetie, but she did have one terrible flaw. She loved mud! This flaw first surfaced when she was a tiny pup. While walking in the park one day, she spied a mud puddle. Being on a leash, she couldn't get to it so she "ordered" me to get close. I wasn't sure what she wanted but followed her pull, snapping her back just in the nick of time when I realized she wanted to do a belly splat into it.

If you've never seen a puppy throw an all out temper tantrum, you missed it. It was so funny. We laughed at her while she wiggled, squirmed and screamed trying to reach that puddle. She pulled to the end of her leash and tried throwing herself at it. Had she been older and bigger that might have worked. The only way to distract her was to put distance between her and the puddle so we moved to dryer ground. She's never really gone for mud as an adult, thank goodness, though she has retrieved birds in some pretty scuzzy water without complaint.

Q & A for the day:

Is there really any harm in giving in to your dog?
Yes! Giving in implys that you made the concession and the dog got what it wanted. The only consistent thing about successful dog training is Consistency. If the dog ever learns that he can wait you out, you have created a larger problem. If you give a command, you must get the action requested - no exceptions. The number one booboo is calling the dog to come to you when you have no way to make sure he comes. If you are going to teach commands, you must have sufficient control of the dog to make sure he obeys the commands you give. A long leash is the best tool for teaching Come. The Golden Rule (or one of them) is "Never give a command you can't enforce".