Bailey

Our dear Bailey is slowing down. She is a 10 year old chocolate lab. Although she is in great shape, I can see the signs of old age upon her. She moves slower, sleeps longer, and doesn’t hear us so well anymore.
Those that have known me a long time will not believe it when I say I really do love this dog. She was a complete maniac a little hyper as a pup. It lasted 7 years. 7 YEARS!!! We took her to puppy training where she was the worst dog in the class. She bit, jumped, scratched, and destroyed a screen door. The trainer would say, “Squirt lemon juice in her mouth when she tries to bite.” Guess who liked lemon juice? “When she jumps at you, knee her in the chest.” What?? “When she shows aggression, pin her to the floor and stare into her eyes.” Ugh. It felt as though I was abusing this dog. My colleagues would cringe at the training we were advised to do. After reading some training books, we found that you had to go to extreme training with extreme behavior. All I wanted was a cute chocolate puppy that adored me. Oh, and did I mention that we got a pure bred chocolate lab for $200? Warning sign!!! Did I mention that we did zero research before getting a lab? Did you know that labs are really hyper for about 7…GASP..7 years? AND, you can get a field lab or a show lab. A show lab is a bit hyper as a puppy, but mellows with age and is a loyal family dog. A field lab, bread to hunt all day long, is REALLY hyper for about 7 years. Can you guess which type of lab we ended up with?
I’m going to give myself a little credit. I did watch a show that discussed a great way to pick a puppy.
1. Hold the puppy up and stare into its eyes. If it doesn’t move, it is submissive. If it wiggles, it is dominant.
2. Gently pin the pup to the ground. If it doesn’t move….you get the picture.
I picked up one of 13 identical looking puppies and stared into its pretty blue eyes. No movement. Good sign! I picked up pup #2, looked into its beautiful blue eyes….nothing. Hmmm. I started to see some holes in this technique. Gently pinning them to the ground had the same results. Quiet, cute, pot bellied puppies. All 13 of them.
Here’s what they all looked like:

Doesn’t she look sweet, docile, the best? You can easily see how I was so smitten and fooled.
It’s really easy to forget those first crazy years now, though. All 3 of my children have used her as a jungle gym loved her, tortured played with her, and laughed as she caught every single Frisbee thrown. She has tolerated and loved them. She follows me everywhere. Did I say I wanted that quality? It’s really annoying endearing.
Here is Bailey now:

See her tired grey face? She’s such a good girl. We love you, Bailey Girl!