You Know You Have a Retriever When...

...sitting down watching TV for an hour in the evening, you wind up with a haul like this at your feet!

Behold the King of Fetching!

This just seems to be something Alfie does when he's bored (guess he doesn't share our taste in movies)...and trying really hard to get your attention.  Last night I was all wrapped up in the show when I noticed his scruffy little face, depositing a shoe ever-so-delicately on my chair.  So I tell him thanks and give him an ear scratch, still engrossed in the show...then the next thing you know, he's disappeared again.  A few minutes later, he's baaaack...this time giving Tim the other shoe of the pair!  Then, he gives Charissa a sock...and on and on.  I do think that last night's 4 matched pairs of shoes, and a pair and a half of socks, is his current record! He ended up being funnier than our movie, I think!

Of course this is only a thinly-disguised variation on one of his favorite games, "I've-got-your-stuff-catch-me-if-you-can!"  (A game we strongly discourage, by the way.) Since we'd rather have him bring stuff to us than run away with it, we always act really excited about his "gifts"... and if you know Alfie at all you know he's a total attention sponge.

Although...note to self:  Make sure the closets are closed before you start the movie next time!

Spring Has Sprung!

Not too long ago, Alfie was enjoying the snow.

But toward the end of January, as his fur got thicker and thicker, I was no longer sure we had a dog!  Perhaps a bear?

All those curls are extremely cute and huggable...but I was getting so tired of brushing all the time. So I took my clipper blades in for a little seasonal sharpening, and once the weather warmed up, I went to work!

Alfie was really quite patient with it all.  Once I got going, I couldn't believe how much he shrank!  He started to look like a puppy again!  The funny thing is that when I got him to this stage (below), my neck started bugging me and I just had to call it a day.  The neighbors must have gotten a good laugh when I let him out in the yard that night.

Umm...this is embarrassing...

Never fear, I got him finished the rest of the way in good time.  Now we know for sure that spring's here:  the daffodils are in full bloom...

...and Alfie looks like himself again!

I'll leave you with this fun video of Alfie at one of his favorite games:  we call it stair fetch.  He uses the stairs to full advantage! (Please ignore rambling voices off camera!)

[video of Alfie at the top of the stairs; Charissa is off camera down the short flight of eight stairs and throws the ball up for Alfie to fetch.  It bounces around into the upstairs bedrooms and each time she throws it, he brings it back, then drops it down the stairs so it'll roll down the stairs to her to be thrown again!]

Rainy Day

Our days have been so full lately...work, school, training...but today, had to take time out for a bit of fun in the rain.

With the rest of his fur plastered down, those long eyelashes really stand out!

Alfie loves to wander leisurely around the yard snuffling when it rains...even when it's really pouring.  He doesn't mind getting wet at all.  He'll even stick his head under the down spout where the water is gushing off the roof...funny to watch!  Everything must smell better to him in a rain shower.  I know for sure one thing that smelled very interesting to him in the rain today:  a dead bird.  Actually what happened was, I saw him with something under a big bush...thinking it was a toad (despite their nasty venom/poison/whatever, he still likes to pick them up)...I asked him to "fetch" it to me.  When he got closer I could see...EWWW, SOGGY DEAD BIRD and involuntarily let out some exclamation about how disgusting it was!  Now Alfie was all set for me to PRAISE him for bringing it and when I reacted negatively his tail went down and he started to back off, like, "Oops, never mind, I'll just keep this since you don't want it and I do!"  I caught myself just in time, squelched the gross-out feeling, and put on a big show of how HAPPY I was, decomposing birds are AWESOME, and GOOD BOY, FETCH IT!!!  ...Which brought him cheerily indoors where he dropped it happily and lay down for a nice treat!   What a good dog, he got lots of liver in exchange for the deceased, which was hastily double bagged and put out in the trash...no pictures, I'll leave that to your imagination! 

Such a thankless job I have!

Mom keeps all my best finds to herself!

As a tropical storm meanders across the state, I understand the rain's not going anywhere soon...we'll definitely have to go for a walk in it this afternoon, a good training challenge! 

Can I come in and roll on the rug now?  Pleease??

A Fetching Personality

...that's what Alfie has!

Guide dog puppies must play a more controlled version of fetch than their pet dog counterparts. First, Alfie has to sit nicely. Then I throw the toy and he must wait until it completely stops moving. Finally, I ask him to "watch me" and only then can he, on my command, "fetch"!

I know, I know, it sounds like we puppy raisers are a bunch of control freaks! But really, by playing the game in this way, he learns to focus on me while at the same time strengthening his self-control. Not only that, he gets a lot of exercise...not bad for a game of fetch!

I read somewhere once that the innate desire to retrieve was a good indicator of a puppy's future success as a guide dog. While I'm not sure of the accuracy of that statement, I certainly hope that in Alfie's case it holds true! What do you think?

I think that after that, I need a drink.

Home Again

We're back from our trip, and so is Alfie!  When Michelle dropped him off this morning my first reaction was:  He's so big!  Amazing how a puppy can grow in just five days.  He's starting to be quite a handsome boy and is built fairly square and sturdy, taking more after his lab heritage in that regard...a good thing for guide work. 

Of course like any parent I was extremely concerned about how my charge did while away from home!  Apparently he was quite vocal -- since he normally doesn't bark much at home I don't know how much I can do about that.  Hopefully it was just due to all the excitement, plus having another dog in the household.  But it did sound like his work was good, even with a new handler...great news!  A big, big thanks to Natalie for puppysitting!

Sadly, we returned to a broken furnace & no heat except for space heaters...so I've been stuck at home waiting for a repairman and can't take Alfie for a walk.  We've played quite a few rounds of fetch though, and done a bunch of obedience work, so all in all the day hasn't been wasted.

How about a walk already?!

Butterfinger Retriever

We had a very merry Christmas!  I'll admit that we were so busy having fun that we took virtually no photos.  Alfie spent his time rushing around getting into things...fortunately my wonderful family, who were visiting for Christmas, are dog-loving people and were pretty understanding about the realities of puppyhood. 

Now that everyone's gone back home, I'm trying to get Alfie back into his routine as I go about my post-Christmas cleanup chores.  Alfie, having a strong fetching instinct, considers that his part in this endeavor is to locate and retrieve every stray item.  Imagine my surprise when he turned up with this!

Look, I didn't even tear the wrapper!

Well, to be honest, he didn't bring it straight to me.  I noticed him prancing around with something yellow and inquired if he'd be interested in coming and trading for a kibble.  The kibble won out right away, of course.  I was  COMPLETELY APPALLED when I discovered what it was because, as I'm sure you know, chocolate is toxic to dogs.  On the other hand...the chocolate lover in me couldn't help but wonder...have I discovered a new use for this dog?  Imagine the possibilities...a dog who can seek out and retrieve chocolate...WOW. 

Okay, back to reality!  We've checked around and to the best of my knowledge there aren't any more dangerous candies lying about for him to get into (if we only knew the truth, the first one may not have been lying around either...I wouldn't put it past him at all to "fetch" it off the furniture!)  

Here's hoping you all had a very merry Christmas...WITHOUT any Butterfinger Retrievers!