Sometimes you feel like a nut . . .

Delilah is named for a line in the Bob Dylan song, Tombstone Blues. 'Tears from Laughter' was all too appropriate for the puppy who made me laugh so hard I cried.

Delilah's nicknames: Lilah, Puppy D, Crazy D, D-LuLu, Lilah Lu, D-Li, Puddin', Pookie

Delilah's song: Bob Dylan - "Tombstone Blues"

DOB: 2/20/08
OFA: "Good" hips, Normal elbows & patellas, CERF 'clear'
Delilah's pedigree
Delilah's littermates
Delilah's puppy gallery
Delilah's Flickr gallery

Delilah is an exuberant and enthusiastic youngster showing loads of promise in everything she does. While still a wee pup running about with her litter-mates, Delilah made it pretty clear that she would be the one who stayed here - she was too full of mischief to pawn off. Not to mention the fact that she reminded me so much of her mum. She is never one to be left out of the fun or ignored, and is often the ring-leader of great doggie adventures on the farm. From the minute she wakes in the morning until she retires for the night, Delilah is a dog with an agenda.  When she senses a game about the begin, Delilah springs straight up in the air with all four paws to kiss my nose, fortunately with enough finesse to avoid collision. Despite her enthusiastic love of work and play, Delilah is a supremely sweet and livable house dog. Sociable and friendly to all, Delilah enjoys making new friends, human and canine alike, and is adaptable to any situation. She loves water and is an avid retriever (albeit a bit obsessive), often seen carrying a vast collection of toys in her mouth. A natural comedian and entertainer, Delilah’s antics never fail to make me smile.  A personal favorite is her flying leaps over the back of the couch to be the first in my lap.

Despite her abundance of enthusiasum and penchant for airborne antics, Delilah is surprisingly eager to please. She is a thoughtful dog and one smart cookie. Delilah is responsive to pressure, and rarely needs more than a verbal 'no' to do it right the second time around. In the field, Delilah is a fantastic natural marker, holding lines over great distances and through obstacles, and processing tough marking concepts at a young age. She is a bold water dog with no balking at big water pictures. She earned her first JH leg at the tender age of 8 months, and completed her title soonafter. Delilah is reliable on multiples and progressing quickly on her handling but will likely take a bit of time off from the field game to pursue her bench championship and enjoy hunting season. Delilah recently started agility training and progressing quickly, being an exceptionally smart and 'operant' dog highly motivated by both toy and food rewards. She exhibits great speed and athleticism, and a fearlessness of sound, heights and movement under-foot.

While an exceptionally birdy dog, Delilah maintains a collected working attitude even when overwhelmed with excitement. In her first shooting season at under a year of age, Delilah already revealed herself as a more than capable worker in the pheasant field. She is both a determined and methodical game-finder, and a reliable and soft-mouthed retriever. Delilah is a close-working dog with a naturally methodical quartering pattern. She is loaded with stamina and perseverance, and is fearless in any cover. Delilah immediately proved her worth as an awesome duck dog. Steady in the blind, she is always on the look-out for birds, and explosive when sent for a retrieve. While full of courageous independence on the retrieve, she is quickly learning to take casts when the situation warrants. I look forward to many fun hunts ahead with this special spitfire of a gundog.

Delilah is a very powerful and athletic dog, sporting a feminine and racey build. With superb angulation to complement her length of loin, she can really boogie under herself with nice reach and drive, and is a clean and balanced mover both coming and going. She has a strong front-end assembly complemented by excellent length of neck transitioning to a level topline, with a slight drop at the croup. Though her head is feminine and refined, she could use a touch more fill and a tad darker eye to call it perfect. She has an especially glossy, flat-lying coat of moderate length, though she sheds out considerably twice yearly. While Delilah finds the dog show game a bit of a bore, she has managed to quickly earn 14 of the 15 points required for her championship, including 3 major wins.