IF YOU BECOME A TEACHER..

Barney`s ongoing training leading to the Kennel Club Good Dog Gold Award (KCGDGA) is progressing. He now finds himself, at just 21 months, almost the oldest in the new group which has been formed from those very few, like Barney, who were deemed `not ready` when the gold test was last held, along with quite a few aspiring retrievers who have succeeded in passing the silver award and now wish to go on to greater things.

As supposedly one of the more experienced, last night Barney was called upon to demonstrate to all the others how to perform one of the more basic tasks demanded of the gold award. This involved having his blanket laid down some distance away and, on being given the command, going straight to the blanket and lying down. No problem. Barney does it perfectly all the time at home. However, last night when he heard Mrs. Snopper`s command to `go to bed,`instead of doing what he was supposed to do, he took the opportunity to have a scamper around he training field, saying `hello` to everyone and generally having a good time.

Never has the phrase, `Do as I say, not what I do` been more appropriate. There`s another old saying too, `If you become a teacher, by your pupils you`ll be taught.` I had the feeling that Barney`s pupils were less than impressed by his `demonstration` and it might well be that he will be picking up some tips from them, rather than the other way round. He is a happy dog though....and we really wouldn`t have him any other way.