Labrador Retrievers For Dummies

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About the Authors

Joel Walton, his wife, Janet, and their two boys, David and Jimmy, got their first Labrador Retriever, Bart, in September 1969. Bart crossed the Rainbow Bridge in 1981. The Waltons had their first Labrador litter in 1983. Although some Walton Family Labradors have excelled in obedience, drug detection, hunting and hunt tests, and other doggy activities, the Waltons continue to focus on breeding the best possible family pets. Joel has been a member of the Labrador Retriever Club of the Potomac for many years and helped found Lab Rescue of LRCP, Inc., serving as their first secretary.

Karen Pryor opened Joel’s mind to the science of positive dog training when she passed through the Washington, D.C., area giving her famous “Don’t Shoot the Dog” seminars based on her classic book of the same title. In June of 1987, Joel and Janet took Cocoa and her two pups, Bear and Ginger, to Dr. Ian Dunbar’s first ever Puppy Training Workshop. Joel immediately adopted lure-and-reward training and stopped using the old-fashioned methods involving punishing dogs by giving them a leash correction with a choke collar when they made a mistake. Joel says it is much more fun to reward dogs when they get it right!

Walton Family Dog Training LLC was founded in 1986. Joel trains families in the Washington, D.C., area to train their puppies and dogs. Joel provides classes for aspiring positive dog trainers and operates five Internet e-mail lists for pet dog trainers and pet dog owners. Joel and Janet continue to breed a few Labrador litters each year. They share their home with over 25 Labradors and one Rottweiler.

Eve Adamson is a freelance writer in Iowa City, Iowa, who specializes in pet and holistic health subjects. She is a frequent contributor to Dog Fancy magazine and many other pet-related publications and a member of the Dog Writer’s Association of America. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Florida and has authored and co-authored many books.

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Dedication

To you, kind reader, who will be a better Lab owner because you read this book.

Authors’ Acknowledgments

Many people and dogs helped to make this book a reality, so we would like to thank them all generally and a few special individuals in particular.

Thanks to Janet, my wife, the hardest working person I have ever known. Untold people and dogs are happy because of her efforts. And she has put up with me for over 33 years! I also thank Cocoa, who taught me that you cannot train all dogs by jerking them around; Ian Dunbar, who taught me how to train dogs without jerking them around; and Gus Viergutz, my father-in-law, who taught me that you have to be smarter than the dog. This book would not have been possible without Dominique De Vito’s faith and Eve Adamson’s skill.

Joel Walton

Thanks to my kiddos, Angus and Emmett, who demonstrate on a daily basis how much training children has in common with training dogs. To my parents, Richard and Penny Watson, whose grandparenting skills allowed me to finish this book — I could not possibly have done it without them! Thanks to Joel for his good nature and great knowledge and to Madelyn Larsen, Dominique De Vito, and Scott Prentzas for their support and patience. Thanks to Marylou Zarbock for always taking time out of an impossible schedule to answer my questions, and for always having an answer. And, thanks to my dog Sally, who sits under my desk when I work and in my bed when I sleep. She may not be a Lab, but she is all dog, and a continual inspiration. Last of all, I send out my heartfelt thanks and love to the Chewdog, Whiskey, Bart, Valis, Ed and Zeke, all gone, but never, ever forgotten.

Eve Adamson

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

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Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development

Project Editors: Tere Drenth, Kelly Ewing

Senior Acquisitions Editor: Scott Prentzas

General Reviewer: Pat Miller

Editorial Manager: Pamela Mourouzis

Editorial Administrator: Michelle Hacker

Production

Project Coordinator: Nancee Reeves

Layout and Graphics: Jason Guy, Angela F. Hunckler, Tracy K. Oliver, Jill Piscitelli, Rashell Smith, Erin Zeltner

Special Art: Barbara Frake

Proofreaders: Laura Albert, Susan Moritz, Nancy L. Reinhardt, Marianne Santy, Jeannie Smith, Ethel M. Winslow

Indexer: Sherry Massey

Special Help Dominique C. De Vito

Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies

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