Duncan the yellow lab is four and a half years old, and she loves you very much. She may not know who you are yet, but she still loves you. Very much.

Adopted at eight-weeks-old from a respected Labrador breeder after much careful consideration and research, Duncan Fiona was intended to be a companion for Rupert, Dog Whisperer employee Catherine's black Lab of six years. What Rupert got instead was a "bratty little sister"… and a hyperactive one, at that.

Ask anyone who has ever met her and they will happily tell you: she is an energetic dog. She is a dancer, a runner, a jumper, and an Olympic tail-wagger. And if your desk or trash bin carries food scraps of any flavor, BEWARE! Duncan is also an accomplished scavenger and dumpster-diver. To say that she needs lots of exercise would be an oversimplification. The fact is Duncan needs to be exhausted.

"She has so much energy, and she always has to be moving ahead," says caretaker Catherine. "It was really hard for me to get her tired. I got her a treadmill, but she doesn't enjoy it, so I had to find something else."

Enter boot camp.

Thank Dog Boot Camp is a local program conceived by identical twins Jamie and Jill, both certified personal trainers and certified dog trainers. The idea is to give a physical workout for both dog and dog owner, while simultaneously working to teach basic obedience and strengthen the bond of trust. The sessions can be punishing for humans, and both mentally and physically stimulating for dogs, providing Duncan just enough exercise to keep her sedated through most of the day.

In addition to the physically demanding aspect, Catherine also finds that Thank Dog's sessions provide her with an activity to share with Duncan the way she shares her work with therapy organization Love on 4 Paws with Rupert, strengthening the bond between them, something that she says she is tremendously grateful for.

"She loves boot camp. She gets dirty. There are good smells. She gets along with the other dogs. She just loves it. In fact, as soon as I said 'Thank Dog Boot Camp,' she stopped chewing her toy and perked up."

Wondering about her name? Upon meeting Catherine for the first time, Duncan literally dunked her body into her water dish from the shoulders up and came up sopping wet. From there, it was simply a matter of cutting through the gender confusion with a well-thought-out second name. Thus, Duncan Fiona.

Loving, loyal, and endearingly simple, Duncan is a popular visitor at the CesarsWay.com offices. She's even been a model for many of our more popular products, such as collars, leashes, and beds. But at the end of the day, when she's finally all tuckered out (or her approximation of it), and when work is done, she'll flash that trademark retriever smile that says she loves you even if you are a stranger, and you'll forget all about the mysterious disappearance of your lunch leftovers.