From service dog to SURFice dog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGODurRfVv4

Couper update (pic)

Hello Don,

Greg and I wanted to wish you Merry Christmas and a great new Year! Couper is adjusting very well to his new home in Moncton. He's quite the character already and very intelligent! Everybody that meets him wants to take him home for their own, he always gets compliments on how a good looking dog he is, and of course we agree! He loves playing in the snow, fetch and sits and lays down on command. We can tell he will love the outdoors, when he is outside he's totally in his element! He loves sleeping in the tighest of spots and scrunched up, it is cute to see. As well, he is great and playful with the other dogs in our immediate family!

I attached a few pics for you to share if you wish! Again, Happy Holidays

Marcy, Greg & Couper

Indy (pics)

Hi Don!

It's been a while since we last talked. Since then Indy has grown and grown!! She's coming along great, and we are still so pleased with our decision to get a lab puppy from you.

Attached are a few pics of Indy .......

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

*Jenn, Nick and Indy

Angus update (pics)

Hi,

Angus helped Liv make a snowman today.

Theresa

Ruby update

Hi Don,


Ruby has been looking good with some high activity play/fetch sessions lately and it's been 8 weeks, so following Don Rushton's advice I took her for a short hunt to see how she holds up. So today I took the afternoon off and drove out to a tiny little patch of cover that I have been saving untouched just in case I got the OK to give her a go before the end of the season. Well, we hunted 34 minutes and got a limit. I shot twice, and one of those shots was a MISS! I am so proud of this dog! We headed down into the cover and I reminded her of a few whistle sits, whoas, come-arounds and our other standard commands. I was thrilled that she was hunting perfectly, and basically thought to myself that if my last day for '09 ended like this I'd be satisfied and excited for 2010. Not long into the hunt a rooster flushed wild, but just went to the edge of the cover, not across the river. I heeled Ruby and after checking that the river was ice-free we circled downwind and I kept her at heel until we were 30 yards from the tip of the cover (inside bend of the river). I released her and the rooster flushed IMMEDIATELY across the river. I fired once behind him and then swung out front with my second shot and he went down on the far side of the river. The bank is high there so I could not see how hard he went down or where he went etc... I knew that he wasn't hit very hard though. Two hens and another rooster had also flushed and Ruby was distracted by those and didn't see the fall of the rooster. I cast her across and told her to Find It Fetch Him Up. She went to work. I could hear her panting as she quartered back and forth, so I knew that she didn't have the bird in her mouth. Each time she came to the bank to look at me I cast her Back Find Him Fetch Him up. Finally I heard her coming back. She was not panting. She was snorting like a Mac truck with the jake brake on! She swam across the river with a very annoyed looking rooster in her mouth.

After congratulating her enthusiastically I laughed when I noticed that she'd plucked every feather out of that poor rooster when she was trying to get hold of him - his bum looked like a chicken at the grocery store - plucked clean!




Pleased as punch we headed back to the car, deciding not to push our luck on her first hunt in two months. A couple hundred yards from the car she got birdy again. SUPER birdy. I got ready to shoot and let her do her work. This pheasant was holding like CRAZY. She started to "pounce" with both forelimbs locked in the snow-flattened mats of yellow grass. I kept waiting for the pheasant to come up. Well, it came up allright - in her mouth! I took it from her and contemplated throwing it up in the air and shooting it, but figured knowing me I'd miss. She has a soft mouth, but he still looked like he was not doing so well, so I opted to take him out of the gene pool instead. Won't be surprised if he's got a few of someone's late-season long-shot pellets in him somewhere when I clean him. Still, I could not be more proud of Ruby. There is quite simply no better way to finish the 2009 season.

Don, I know you've got some decent dogs in that kennel, but let's face it, none of them can hold a candle to my Ruby! Haha! All the best,

-Dave

Rain (update)

Hi Don,

Great to hear from you. Rain is doing just great. She is a perfect citizen except for one minute when any guest arrives and she wants to lick them to death and sometimes jump up. After the minute is up, she calms down perfectly. Although we are in town, she gets to play a lot with the young dog next door and she gets out frequently to my parents or Rob's parents farm (which are both just outside of Ottawa) for lots of exercise. The holidays will be fun as we will spend a few days with my brother Greg and Teal (one of your pups).

Rain is really such an easy, happy dog that does everything she can to please. She is so calm and thankfully not a chewer! We were thinking of you this summer as we spent a few days in Halifax. Unfortunately, we were a little pressed for time and did not get a chance to call you to arrange a time to stop by and say hello.... one of these days we will!






Hope you are doing well. Merry Christmas!

Lisa

Ollie Update (pics)

Hi Don,

It's been quite a while since I saw you last and with Christmas closing in we thought we would drop a note to say Merry Christmas to you and Pierrette and to send along a couple of pictures of our now almost 2 year old Ollie. Hard to believe we have had him for nearly two years. He is all grown up now of course however he still has his puppy "good looks" (and energy level.) He sure brings us a lot of joy. We wonder if you are still breeding Bella and Storm? Not sure if we would want to make the leap into a 2 lab family but it sure is tempting. We check doindogs website from time to time and always enjoy the pics and notes from your "fans". All the best,

Ed, Anne and Ollie

Ayce update (pics)

Don,

Thought I would send along some pics of Ayce. He will be eight months on the 24th I guess (time flies!). He has grown well and he loves all the room on the farm to run and explore. Kids, parents and everyone who stops by adore him and whenever we are out with him we hear lots of compliments on what a good looking dog. He has been a great pup and a fantastic addition to the family. Hope you are well and stop in next time you are up in our area of Nova Scotia. Take care!

-Andrew

Charlottetown Shows

Hello Don,

Ch. Doindogs Chelsea Marie competed on Saturday Oct. 31 in the Royal Canine sponsored Atlantic Top Dog Awards show. She was entered in the Sporting Group with 14 other Champions. In order to be eligible to be invited to compete in this show a dog is required over the preceding 12 months to have won Best Puppy in its Group. Chelsea did that three times. although one of the youngest to compete, Chelsea finished 4th overall in the Sporting Group and was the top female in the Sporting Group.

On Sunday Chelsea competed in the Lab Specials class at the Island Dog Club Show in Charlottetown against 10 other Champions as well as the all the other Lab winners of the day at the show and won Best Opposite (Top Female).

It was a successful weekend for Doindogs and Don Bates!

Stoke (pics)

HI Don,

My name is Annie and I bought a pup from you in January 2005 - a yellow male from Roo's second litter with Jett. I live in Vancouver now, bu will be in the Maritime in April or May of 2010 for several weeks before heading back to BC. I'm thinking about getting another pup at that time - do you know if you'll have any ready to go home around then?

I've attached a picture of Doindogs Take Me Home Revelstoke ("Stoke"). He's wonderful!

Cheers,
Annie

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Count DracuLAB

Oaka (pics)

Molly O (pics)

Kilo (pic)

Just thought I would send you a picture of Kilo @ 6 and 1/2 months. Thank you for your help with Kilo yesterday. We are going to try him on his bone today.

Have a great day.
Gary and Susan

Tate (pics)

Hi Don,

Here are some recent pictures of Tate enjoying fall. She's doing great, she's in her second heat now and very healthy. Hope your fall is good.

Leigh Ann

Just a Dog...

This post will obviously bring about different feelings from those who know all too well what it is that I will be writing about. These are the days when having good bird dogs loses much of it's luster. It is the day we OWE to our friend, our partner, our pet.


It dawned on me the other day as I told someone that I soon had to say goodbye to my girl of 15 plus years, that it was O. K., "she's just a dog".

At first, I was a little offended, I mean come on, give a little compassion here. I just smiled and agreed and carried on my way... Thinking the whole time, "it's just a dog".


Hmmm, just a dog.


The mom to 4 litters of pups with owners that cannot believe the gift they were given. Yep! 37 happy families. Could of easily been 10x that. She sure gave the world good pets, great friends and fabulous hunting partners... yep! Just a dog...


She was my son's best friend growing up. We had acreage and friends needed to be shipped in for play time. But Breeze was always available to play with Hunter. A couple hours in the sand box... a little time running under the sprinkler, sharing lunches outside, sleeping on the front porch for hours while Hunter napped waiting patiently for him to come back out... yep! Just a dog...


She stepped up in a big way at 5 years old to be my lead 'go to' dog after having to put 2 titled kennel mates down in the previous 2 years. I gave her little credit for her hunting abilities as my other dogs were incredible... well she showed me what 5 years of pent up desire looks like. Her waterfowl skills were superb on her first real day out hunting. She laid on a floating bog for 2 straight days and completed some amazing retrieves. Her upland skills while utilized minimally in the past, came through like a polished all-pro... and I never had to use a collar or correct her. She knew what it was that made me happy... yep! Just a dog....


She so eloquently slipped into old-age. Still hunting at 12

Kai (pics)

I have a Male Chocolate Lab from a litter between Mutt & Teddy. His 1st birthday was Sept 6th and I have only good things to say about him & Doing Dogs. He is and has been a lot of work, as all labs are, but he is definitely been worth it. He is good dog with a sweet and friendly temperament. He gets along well with other dogs and has been good with every person he meets.

In regards to training he has always done well. Physically he is in amazing shape. He is lean, muscular and well proportioned. I cant tell you how many times people have and still do ask me where I got him and comment on how beautiful his features are. I have attached a variety of pictures for you to look at from a pup to current

Sable and Zoey (pics)

Hi Don,

Last week, my good friends stopped by with their Grand daughter Zoey. She is 18 months old, and was not afraid of Sable...at all.

They ran around, played with toys, and basically entertained the 'grown ups'.

At one point Sable was up on her ottoman with the toy in her mouth... Zoey walked up to Sable, tilted her head and said "share?" with that Sable dropped the toy. It was something special.

I thought you might like to see them.

Ruby Update

Hi Don, Hope that all is well. Have you been to your daughter's wedding yet? Did you get a new lens? Sorry we haven't been able to connect about that - things have been very busy at work this fall. I have been working on the LaHave a lot and then up on the St. Mary's. Now I'm off to Cape Breton tomorrow for the rest of the week.

Rob and I went out on Saturday and he got one. I missed an easy shot at a crossing bird over the river and then we put up lots of hens for the rest of the morning. I managed a quick hunt with Ruby the other morning and out on Saturday and he got one. I missed an easy shot at a crossing bird over the river and then we put up lots of hens for the rest of the morning. Packed it in at noon - too damned hot! Have you had a chance to get out much yourself? I'll be in touch as soon as things calm down a bit with work. Here's a pic from the other day.





Cheers,
Dave

Storm water retrieve (pics)

Teal (update)

Hi Don,

I am very pleased with this girl. She shows a great deal of potential in the field - good nose, lots of drive, and a willingness to work in close. I shot a grouse that she flushed for me on opening day much to her delight and amazement.

We still have lots to work on, of course. Teal is remarkably confident that she knows better and that commands really only amount to suggestions. It's good thing that I've got some experience with this sort of thing because I'll bet that she would run circles around someone new to the game.

By the way, I never did ask you how big you expect her to be when mature. How tall and how heavy are Bella and Storm?

Hope you see lots of birds this season,

Greg

Our Visit to Noval Scotia

Hey Don,

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. The timing indicated would suit us very well as it works out at around mid to late Feb which, from a climate point of view in Bahrain would be perfect. Incidentally, it's likely both she and Daisy will spend most of their lives in Cyprus which has an almost year-round perfect climate. From our side, we can confirm that we would love to give a happy home to one of the litter - we agonized about whether to have a boy or a girl this time around however we finally decided on a girl. We are so happy with Daisy that we would like more of the same!

We'll stay in touch as things progress.

Thanks again and best regards

Steve

Gem (update)

Hi Don,

Well our first HRC Finished Test was exciting. The first day we handled to two marks so were out. Ran the whole day though and apart from the morning flaws did a great job. Nice blinds, triples etc. Day two Gem broke on the water triple, well 3 controlled breaks!! She again did the work though and did a really tough land triple in the afternoon that dropped a lot of handler teams. So we need to sharpen up some things. The CKC Senior Test went better but not perfect. Day one she was flawless down to the very last water blind when she had a hearing problem and that was that. Day two as one judge said was a stellar performance. A pass! So we are still having fun, took her grouse hunting a few times the past weeks and she always finds birds and when I hit one dives into our island logging slash and comes up with the bird. Gem is going great guns and is a healthy happy 6 years young. Will try and send some pics with ribbons soon!!

Ian

Maggie (pics)

Hiker Harley at the Dragon Boat race (pic)

Hiker Harley at the Dragon Boat race to raise money for St. Joseph's Hospital. Hiker is the grandson of Doindogs Jet and son of Doindogs Mike.

Draker (Summer Vacation) (pics)

Hi Don!

Shane, Draker and I spent a couple weeks in Havelock, Ontario at my family's cottage, this past July. Draker has become quite the swimmer! He had a great time playing catch off the dock! Here's some pictures: D

Take care,

Shane, Gillian & Drake

Chelsea won top female puppy

Chelsea won top female puppy (Best of Opposite) in the puppy sweepstakes at the Atlantic Provinces Labrador Retriever Club Speciality Show on September 5 in Halifax.

The Charge of the Lab Brigade

We stopped yesterday at Aulac and went out to Fort Beausejour so that the dogs could run. There are acres and acres of mowed grass and cut hay fields.

We stopped below the Fort on the Bay of Fundy side about 2000 feet from the Interpretation Building and the Fort. There was a strong wind blowing but not cold. Up near the Fort there was a group of men, women, children and dogs spread out below the ramparts. They were having a nice afternoon flying beautiful very large kites over the Fort. It was quite a site.

The dogs got out of my vehicle and started running and playing pretty hard. The wind stirs them up. The get pretty excited in wind especially on grass or hay.

He saw the kites first! We were at the bottom of the hill in front of the Fort and the kites were at the top. He roared off up the hill barking at the kites with great indignation.

Next they were off in hot pursuit also furiously barking. I started after them hollering ridiculous commands like "Stop", "Bad Dogs" and "Come"!! I started trudging up the hill to the Fort not knowing what I was in store for.

At this point the Kite flyers became aware of the charge of the Lab Brigade and started scrambling to pickup toddlers and small dogs. The dogs were in a pack still barking furiously. People let their kites go in order to grab children or dogs and the kites went crashing down into the Fort. I expected the kite people were going to start hollering all sorts of things at me.

She made a wide circle of the bedlam and came down the hill to my side. After determining she could not play with the other dogs ran down the hill and started to play at my side.

he continued on alone. She barked through all the bedlam and ran on up the ramparts and I last saw her disappearing into the Fort a long way from me. I think she felt a need to capture something connected with the kites. I started the long climb up the ramparts to find her & them in tow on leash.

Then all of a sudden he reappeared. At the top of the Fort she let out one final victorious bark and started running down the ramparts at full speed coming to rest at my side.

We retreated to the hay fields and they spent the next half hour running and playing. I didn't check to see if the kite people got their kites flying again.

Harley (update)

Hi Don,

So good to hear from you. harley is GREAT! So focused, inteligent and intense. She would fetch all day if we had the energy to toss. We toss out in the river and she loves it. She is very fit and by Perry's side at all times. She was a great choice we are very happy with her.

Take care,

SK

Oka (update)

Just thought you would like to know that Oka finally (FINALLY) cast off his water wings and became a true labrador retriever today. He followed another lab into the lake after a dummy, and discovered that in fact he could SWIM. And that it was FUN! And that if he waits for the right moment (he is on a long line as his recall is not precisely reliable, especially when there is something more interesting around) he can in fact launch himself from the high bank and take his owner headlong into the water with him. Because she likes to swim too......

Bet you would have paid good money to see the last part...!

Oka at the Beach