Bracken

Remember the new puppy I blogged about in May? He's fairly grown up now (7 months) and has rapidly become a really well trained dog. This is just the breed rather than my skills though. Labs are just so compliant you can't go wrong with them.

He has loads of commands and tricks. The one and only darts command he has is visual; When I point at my darts he gets up off the floor and walks away from the practice oche, well out of bounce-out range.

One command I'm proud of with him though is "other side"; he'll be walking to heel off lead and swaps over to the opposite side. This is really handy on the Derwent Walk when cycles and other dogs approach.

And with Labs they'll stick to the rules you set like sitting calm when a sheep or other dog appears even if you are 40 yards away - he'll just sit and wait for you to catch up with him.

Top dog. I can't wait to see what he can do at a year. Maybe retrieving the bounce-outs might suit his breed - and save my back :o)