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"FOR THE LOVE OF LABRADORS"
My goal with this blog is for you to enjoy your time here. Most of the posts talk about my experiences raising my two yellow Labrador Retrievers, some are just for fun, and others share the best dog related information and products I have found.

Use the tabs above for quick navigation. I have imbedded links for as much as possible so that you can find the resources easily from this blog. The links in the side bar are for websites that have been helpful to me. I hope that you find them useful for you and your canine "family member"

Monday, November 27, 2006

Home Sweet Home

There's nothing like coming back home to our beloved pets after 5 days away. We were fortunate enough to have a great young couple stay and house sit and care for our pets while we were gone. Even with this in place I was still anxious in the weeks leading up to our departure.

With everything we've worked through with their training, especially with Shelby, I was a darn proud "mom" when, prior to leaving we went to the park with the couple who would be caring for them, and Shelby made a smooth and obedient transition from me giving him the commands to them giving him the commands. I knew this was critical as without the assurance that he would obey them it would have been impossible for them to take the dogs out for good running and exercise at the park. I figured that if the dogs were mainly taken in the evening with there "Fetch & Flash" glow ball there would be very little chance of distraction from other dogs. This would avoid the possibility of Shelby taking off.

Well much to my pride and joy, by the last day our house sitting couple felt so confident with how good the dogs had obeyed they took them out mid afternoon. Despite several other dogs being around our dogs were mindful and obedient. I felt like a parent hearing about their child being named on the honor roll for their straight A report card. All that we've worked for, all the time we've put in had paid off. My dogs had learned the rules so well they were able to enjoy the freedom and fun of extended off leash play time even without me being there. What a huge milestone in their development. Of course it is also very true that they were in the best of hands and all went well.

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