Never Say "All Done"

Certain words in our house invoke certain responses in our Labrador Retrievers. It isn't that we trained them with this words but rather that they have learned through repetition what certain words mean.

Unfortunately, the Lab Brats Daddy has not caught onto this yet. Your honor, I bring to light the following evidence:

My client, the Lab Brats Daddy, was playing with Dakota & Cheyenne in our backyard one warm summer day. Back and forth he threw the squeaky ball as both ran and jumped high in the air to get it first. He would say "Drop" and they would drop the ball at his feet for him to throw it once again.

The day began to get very hot as Cheyenne's tongue started to drag on the ground from getting overheated. They did not want to end the fun but the Lab Brats Daddy thought it would be best. No responsible dog owner wants their pup to suffer heat exhaustion.

Then, he said it - without noticing what he had done.

Dakota lay in the cool grass with the squeaky in her mouth - chomping away while he approached her. Normally she would drop the toy if he would have said "Drop" but instead he utter the words that would seal his doom: "All Done" and grabbed the toy on her mouth.

The jaws of life came alive as she clamped down hard on the toy and refused to let it go. No, it was her toy and she knew full well that "All Done" meant the playing was to cease. As long as she held on tight, the playing would continue on indefinitely and she would remain successful in getting what she wanted.

He fought with her and tried to use the most demanding of voices to still no avail. It took a trick from yours truly to dislodge the toy from the Lab jaws of life. I neatly placed my hand on the toy in her mouth and said "Ow!" in a high pitched tone that led her to believe she had hurt me in some manner. Instinctively, she released the toy and sulked away.

Sure, I tricked her but I had no choice. Once he utters the words "All Done" in our Lab pack, there is no other way to retrieve the toy. Alas, one day this trick may no longer work but I am hopeful that the Lab Brats Daddy will be quicker to learn how one must not say "All Done" in our house until the toy is firmly in the hands of the human.