Holly girl

Holly is my uncle's sweet, loving, and faithful Golden Retriever. She makes the perfect lake dog, safe in and around the water, and always present whether you're in the boats, on the deck, or on the docks. She doesn't need a leash and never wanders.
What a difference from our two beagle mixes who roam at will and we have to keep near-constant tabs on. Twice in the last six weeks one of Robbie's school mates has knocked on our door with our dogs in tow, saying they were on the loose around the neighborhood.
Comparing Holly to our dogs makes me think of the time when we took our dogs to training and dog obedience courses in Maryland. The instructor had a mature, well-behaved, and unleashed Golden by his side to demonstrate training techniques. I cried foul. Come on, a Golden is known to be the perfect, obedient breed. How hard was that to train?