Chocolate Is A Girl's Best Friend.

"Wow some day I want to do that!"

"Really dear? Are you going to hunt it too?"

"No but you can in the fall. But I get to come and handle the dog myself."

When you're married to a professional dog trainer, watching a Retriever Trial and like to hunt, that discussion has the potential to be virtually orgasmic.

Let me back up and set the scene. It's the spring of 2010 and I've just finished my turkey hunting course at the Toronto Sportsman's Show. Alissa trains service dogs for a living and they have a booth set up over where all the dogs are hanging out. What we're doing when she utters these word is watching the Golden Whistle Retriever Trials. It was part of several days of various dog competitions and I can tell you I was glad she said it during the trial and not while we were watching those nutty agility people or the long jump into the pool. Not that I mind the nutty agility dog stuff I just don't want a dog who would rather pole bend around my decoys instead of a straight line retrieve.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and I'm sitting looking at a puppy add. Two hours of puppy testing on  9 puppies and a selection was made, JJ came home..

Does he look motivated or what? I can see the feathers sticking out of his mouth already.

You'll notice how he's preparing himself for the rigors of the duck marsh in the frigid conditions of late December. I'm sure I'll be able to find some cammo blankies for him somewhere...