Ester is nearly 11 months old now. Where has the time gone?
Just last night at class, there was a brand new 8 week old flat-coated retriever (named Finnegan) present and I gave thought to kidnapping him because I truly miss the cuteness of that stage. Then I looked down at Ester and realized not only is she long past that age, but she's SO MUCH EASIER than an 8 week old puppy.
I never thought I'd get to say that. In the middle of the rough stage, it can seem so PERMANENT. Have you ever had a phase of life like that? Then one day, you're out from under it, without even realizing it, and that's the sadness of it, really- the casualness with which we lose perspective.
A 10 month old lab is not without work, lest you think she is! According to our coordinator, we have "a few things" to be working on in the next few months. This self- imposed guilt I feel over not training her properly is weighing heavily on me. Now it's up to me and some serious discipline to correct it, or else she may fail the program. The details of it don't matter, but I will say that this dog is SMART. She's one step ahead of me, smart. Unfortunately, that won't help her succeed if she doesn't obey the rules here in our house first. She and I each have our goals, and we're battling it out- so far it's Ester 10, Lori 1.
If she fails, I'll come to grips with it. My preference would be that she fails PRIOR to being assigned to her blind person. Months in the kennel means they won't be able to see her around furniture, a kitchen, or shoes, where these issues would pop up. This is my fear- that her weak spots only show up in "real life" once assigned.
For now, I'm working hard to re-train her and hoping it's enough to do the trick. This is where 1Timothy 6:18 comes in handy as I persevere:
" Let them do good, that they may be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share"
