Well, the youngster turned one on Halloween. We’ve marked this date as his birthday. According to the shelter, he was approximately 2 months old on Christmas 2010.

He’s been a wonderful and challenging companion, a best friend. The breed description was a mixed breed but he was chosen by the sons because of his resemblance to a Labrador Retriever. He certainly has the traits of a Lab. He’s a steadfast companion, he’s energetic, he chases objects including the neighbor’s feral cats and he retrieves well.

He is learning to obey commands. This is the challenging part as his pup inattentiveness certainly shows up frequently. He knows what to do but according to the on-line expert trainers, he practices his con artistry a lot especially when people visit the house. Barking is wanting and needed by Bev, however, the desire to jump on people is intolerable. Hence, the need for extra help.

For a birthday present, Bert received a stimulation collar. He’s now the vogue and high tech dog in the neighborhood, he’s wireless. The proper terminology for it is a wireless stimulation collar. When the collar is on him, he’s the obedient dog. For this training period he will wear it frequently.

Bert helps out around the house. He is leash trained and does very well in the morning walks. We circle the neighborhood early morning to not only exercise but the practice his security training. In the early evening, we do our free walk in the sewer right of way. There, he plays fetch, sniffs for wildlife and plays in the water.