Gifted and Talented, Puppy Version

I hear there's something called the "Gifted and Talented" program at many schools in this country...my human takes exception to the phrase, as she says all kids are gifted and talented in their own ways, but don't get her started. In my case, however, the phrase is entirely apropos...just check me out, retrieving at the tender young age of 8 and half weeks old! Even tho' you'd think we Tollers start retrieving in utero, my human was careful to nurture this instinct early on. You see, my dad doesn't retrieve. He's a disgrace to the breed! (Just kidding, Dad!) My breeders said that in some dogs, the instinct needs to be stoked at an early age or else the window closes and the drive just falls by the wayside. So they started throwing things for me at around 7 weeks, and as you can see, I caught the retrieving bug from the get-go. My mom would mow me down just to get to a stick, so I must get it from her.

I also am proving to be a quick study at puppy obedience class. I am picking up commands left-and-right and my human is hopeful we can eventually compete in obedience and agility. That's one trait that drew her to the Toller breed, our intelligence (and our trainability and versatility and kid-friendliness, not to mention our looks!). Here I am, with my best buddy Wylie, doing the "down" command at 12 weeks. Shortly after this video, I learned the "sit" and "down" with just hand signals.