New Pup!

[Bobby Bass]

Duncan is fourteen months old and guess it is time for an update. He weighs in at about 65 pounds and still has some growing to do. I compare him to a gangly teenager with his long legs and big paws. His head is large and he loves carrying a basketball around in his mouth. It took awhile but he finally ignores the house cats but is a pest with the older dogs Bud and Barney. He does not walk anywhere but runs constantly, as he grows older this next year I expect he will put on some more weight and widen out some in the rear end. [img:center]

[reinhard1]

Bobby, my Lucy is now almost 9 month old and weighs in at 75 pounds. vet says she is in good shape and may still grow. i always thought females were supposed to be smaller than males. she is now bigger than my two daughters two male labs. they are over a year old. they used to gang up on her when we visited them and now they tend not to do that very often . Lucy's dad was a big Lab and her mom was about 65. so who knows. she apperantly loves to collect wood a lot. just got done raking the yard yesterday and already i can start a small fire with the wood she brough from the woods. part of my yard has my fence running through some woods. loves to catch frisbee's and chewed up 3 already. two soccor balls and one basketball has bitten the dust as well. good luck.

[tacklejunkie]

RH1, do you plan on hunting with your lab or just a pet?

Mine is the same age as yours and he's about 75 lbs also. I've had the chance to get him on game preserve birds and he did pretty well but also flushes red wing blackbirds, sparrows, chickadees.

[Bobby Bass]

Duncan and the old man Bud sharing some sunshine.

[Bobby Bass]

There comes a time when it happens to almost every dog owner and everyone I knows dreads it. That first time when your pup comes face to face with the most feared animal in the woods, a skunk! Last night Duncan was introduced to a skunk and I am pretty sure that Barney had something to do with it. I let the dogs out the back door, turned on the deck lights and headed for the kitchen for something to drink. For some reason in the back of my mind I was thinking that I have not seen or smelled a skunk all summer so far. I was pouring myself a glass of juice and heard the first bark through the open window and then that first whiff. Hoping it was not in my yard I went to the back door to find Bud waiting to get in and Barney out on the deck barking and looking back at me in the doorway. He had that tattle tale look about him and as I called for him to get in the cabin Duncan came trotting up out of the darkness, head down and I could smell the skunk on him.

This morning finds his collar hanging from a fence post as a reminder and he is prancing around the cabin after receiving his second shower. He smells a lot better and was needing a good cleaning anyway. Surprising how after the wife learned of his encounter with the skunk that he became "My Dog" Bud and Barney I am sure can still smell skunk on him and are keeping their distance. All three cats have come to sniff Duncan and then as only cats can do turn and walk away with that all knowing look and attitude of it would have never happen to them.

[Bobby Bass]

Duncan's first grouse.

[Bobby Bass]

The Duncan Report- Duncan is coming up on his twenty month old birthday and I think he is done growing. His paws actually look like they fit the rest of him now although I am still amazed at what he can carry around in his mouth. A fully inflated basketball is no problem not to mention the feather pillows from the beds that he carries to his hideout behind the big desk in the den. He splits time with the wife and myself but has picked the Bud the old lab to spend most of his down time with. Find one and you will find the other which is a good thing as it seems to have put a little extra spring in Bud's step. The cats for the most part are ignored by Duncan since he has now found out about bird hunting and looks forward to the walks and rides in the truck. I got really lucky with this guy as for me he is everything that I was hoping for. I know we have some other guys following this report as we all got pups around the same time, how are your dogs doing?

[Bobby Bass]

Duncan being fearless.

[Bobby Bass]

Tomorrow is Duncan's birthday, how quickly did he get to be two years old.

He has been excellent with the grand kids and has learned not to chase the cats, unless they run. He shares his food with the other dogs and takes turns at the water bowl. We did spend some time grouse hunting this past season and he did well. Of course he is first a family pet then a hunting dog so as time goes on I expect him to get a little better at the hunting part. For being two he is pretty laid back and well mannered. Still a puppy though as when strangers come to the cabin he will bark but will come to stand behind me looking for protection. I have noticed that he is starting to stand in front of me blocking visitors. I know this because his tail is beating my legs up from wagging so hard. Normally by now he should be done growing but he seems to be having one last growth spurt as he can now look over the kitchen table. Sometimes a little unnerving when eating breakfast and he pops up on the other side looking for my last strip of bacon.

One last thing I should mention on his report card is his singing voice. The other day both my wife and I were gone and the daughter was home but Duncan did not know it. The daughter said Duncan sat at the top of the stairs and howled. That kind of howl that only chocolate labs seem to do, the I am all alone what am I to do blues. The daughter listen for awhile and started laughing, Duncan heard her and sought her out and only as a lab can do made it look like the joke was all on her and there was nothing wrong. Of course five minutes later he was back on the stairs howling, guess he still had a verse left in him,

[Bobby Bass]

Duncan, Bear hunting... He is still such a pup!

[Ufatz]

They get into your soul. I have found that most of the time, after I have had one of my black friends, we can communicate just through eye contact. My Annie and I hardly ever had to use actual verbal commands; a nod of the head, a look, and we were off to do what we wanted to do.

[Bobby Bass]

Duncan Report- Last night the shop door was open and Duncan went in and got the dummy off the work bench and took it outside. He tossed it a few times in my direction till I finally went over and picked it up and tossed it for him. This morning I am scratching my head and wondering if I was throwing the dummy for him to retrieve or was he getting me off the deck to get some exercise...

[Bobby Bass]

Few shots of Duncan working out getting ready for grouse season, if you hum the theme to Rocky you will be in the right mood!

[Bobby Bass]

I don't want to have everyone think that all Duncan does is work out getting ready for Grouse season, he also likes to paint!

[Bobby Bass]

Hunting season is here and I thought I should update everyone on Duncan. I don't have a bird picture to share but Duncan is doing well finding pumpkins!

[Bobby Bass]

Today is Duncan's birthday! three years old but here at Lake Iwanttobethere we keep track in months and he is thirty-six today! Hard to believe that he has been around for so long already, where does the time go. Happy birthday to everyone else pups out there, Bobby

[Bobby Bass]

Duncan report, Guess it has been awhile since I have written anything about the young lad, mostly because he has not gotten into any trouble! Has had a few run in's with a skunk but he learned his lesson well last summer and he keeps his distance now. He will however put on a barking exhibition and if he could pound his chest with his paws I think he would. This summer he has had a running battle with the chipmunks who raid the strawberry bed, he has not caught any but he has made them think about life a few times. He has blazing speed, especially when compared to the old dogs Bud and Barney. With a couple of new grand kids just starting to walk he has taken over Bud's place as the baby sitter. To my surprise he has learned how to point, nothing I have been working with him on but he will throw a point on a fly on the deck and hold it. I know that is not a big deal but now he has been doing it on the chipmunks and on rabbits in the garden. His biggest point to date was on a red fox just last week on the other side of the garden. I had a good vantage point to watch the stare down between the two of them, both were frozen watching the other. At least that is what I thought till I saw the bunny in the garden between them flick his ears, then it was the three of us watching and we were all on point.

[Bobby Bass]

Duncan "Guarding the Garden Gate"

He has lost that Puppy look..

[Brade4]

Got this little guy in May, he's almost 7 months now and weighs 70 pounds. Live on a 6 acre farm and I keep him kenneled up when I'm not home, but let him run like crazy when I'm around. What's the best method as far as teaching him to stay put if I leave him out when I'm at work? Underground fence? Suggestions would be appreciated!

[CaptainMusky]

Maybe I am too much of a worry wart, but I wouldnt leave your dog roam free while you arent home even with a underground fence. I know people whose dogs ended up on the other side of the fence because they chased a cat that wandered into their yard and went right through all the shocking, etc to keep it inside. Well, then when it tried to return it kept getting shocked as it tried to cross the invisible fence.

I think its safest if you just keep him kenneled while not at home. Less chance for worry and mischief that way.

[Bobby Bass]

Duncan trying to get to his treats before we even start to hunt!

[CaptainMusky]

He doesn't know he has to find a bird first? Too funny these four legged creatures are just like kids. Love em to death! My pup discovered a way to escape from the kennel last week. He not only had to flip the latch for the gate but first had to get the bungee cord out of the latch. Quite the feat for something without opposable thumbs. He was out for 4 hrs potentially and when my wife and kids returned home he was just sitting in front of the garage! Pretty dang good in my book for a 6 month old. I wouldn't have believed the escape trick if he hadnt done it again when I was home! Lol

[Bobby Bass]

DUNCAN IS CELEBRATING his fourth birthday today, of course he does not know it as it is just another day for him. At seven this morning he went around the place trying to wake someone up to let him outside. A game we play every morning and I am usually the best at pretending I am fast asleep so he will go and bother the wife who gives in and lets him out. After taking care of business and depending on how cold it is outside he will then check the grounds for any rabbits that might still be on his property. With rounds completed he will go to the back door and jump up to ring the doorbell to let the wife know he is done and ready to come in.

Sooner or later he will find me and wake me up, this is usually done by sticking a cold nose where it does not belong. With me up he then sets out to check up on the old dog Barney and then on to hassle the tomcats who have no right in his mind to be hogging the sunshine coming in through the windows like there is this morning. For the rest of the day he does not let me too far out of his sight which can be difficult for him as he has become the Alpha dog of the house and has to watch everything. A lot of time is spent at my feet with a paw on my foot while he watches what is going on. If I move my foot I get a look from him asking me if I asked him if I could.

Duncan is kind of like your first girlfriend, always wants to be touched, never lets you go anywhere with out him and is always leaning on you. When he runs he has only two speeds, a trot and a flat out sprint that starts off sounding like the Road Runner in the cartoon and even ends up with the Beep Beep and then a small cloud of dust. Since we have a couple of grand kids who visit and have just learned to how to walk he does take the time and allows them to hold on to his collar as he shows them around his place. Pretty mellow and laid back I don't think this dog is ever going to have any stress. Even when Edd and Eddie the squirrels are teasing him his answer is to just lay down on the ground and watch them, no barking no wasted running just him pointing a paw at them and then back at his eyes to let them know he is watching them.

With the passing of his deck bud Buddy a few months ago Duncan was a little lost there for awhile as was I. I don't mind at all that Duncan is always at my side, To be honest I don't let him get to far out of my sight either. In the winter we sit on the couch and watch TV and in the summer we sit on the swing and watch the clouds. He may have a paw on my knee but I always seem to have hand on his back rubbing him. He has taken the place of Bud but he is not quite as good as listening to my stories as Bud was, Duncan from time to time talks back to me but then he is only four and still has a lot to say. I am writing this now with Duncan standing on his hind legs his front paws resting on the desk and he I swear is looking at the screen and watching the letters appear as I type. He just gave me a snort and jumped back down, I think he approves of what I have written or he wants to go outside here at Lake Iwanttobethere

[Bobby Bass]

Duncan is now an adult and you can see in this picture where he is sitting on his end of the couch looking like he is Holding Court.

[Bobby Bass]

Has been awhile since I have posted a picture of Duncan, not that there is any lack of them. Since he has grown up around a camera he thinks the only reason I take the camera out is for him to pose in a picture. Here is one from yesterday

 

 

Has been awhile since I have posted a picture of Duncan, not that there is any lack of them. Since he has grown up around a camera he thinks the only reason I take the camera out is for him to pose in a picture. Here is one from yesterday

 

Four and a half years old and still thinks he is a puppy, I thought he would grow up to be bigger but there is not any fat on him and he is pretty much ripped. If you follow the stories of Lake Iwanttobethere then you know how much stuff he gets into. Turning into a pretty good grouse dog in spite of having to hunt with me!