IT`S A DOG`S LIFE....

Yes, I know, there have been more flattering photos of Barney, but this time he has good reason to be flaked out after yet another hard shift at his puppy training class. You see, he has been practicing hard for his bronze award exam which will be next Wednesday.

For some time he has been going through his paces - recalls, walking nicely on the lead, waiting to be allowed through doorways, laying down for a minute without getting up and all the other things retrievers are supposed to be able to do at this stage - even if one of them is not to lay on your back displaying your bits to the world. The good news is that he seems to really enjoy his classes and meeting up with his retriever puppy friends and, to be fair, he is coming along nicely.

Trouble is, it all depends on how he will feel next Wednesday, especially when faced with a stranger in the form of a `top judge` examiner from the Golden Retriever Society. But, as we say in the lyrical vocabulary of football, que sera, sera and if you give it a hundred percent then all you can do is hope it`s meant to be. The really good news is that at this stage puppies can pass the bronze exam but they can`t fail it - in a nice gesture to canine sensitivities, if they don`t do too well, then they are simply judged `not ready.` A feeling I know only too well.