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Dionne is three months old today; we've had her for a month and a day. How has she changed since then? Let me count the biggest ways.

1) Toileting.  It feels like we're 90% there. After pooping once or twice in the house initially, she hasn't done that in weeks. She has still has peeing accidents, but they're not daily, and I tend to think of them as "handler errors" -- almost all cases when we should have taken her out, but failed to move quickly enough.

2) Relations w Tucker.  He almost bit her head off today for something she did (doubtless obnoxious.) But the seduction continues. He now routinely allows her to lie next to him; sometimes he even seems to enjoy it. A few times, I've even seen him invite her to play with him.

3) Personality. We thought at first she might be more watchful and mellow than most of our other puppies. Now we're not sure. Sometimes she is. Sometimes she's an unrestrained hellion. Certainly she's bright. She's learned a half-dozen commands, and she's mastered our daily routines. She knows the drills.

4) Walking. We continue to push her, in terms of walks, and she's doing better than any of her predecessors. Yesterday she walked to the coffee shop with her cape on for the first time.  Today we did our hour-long Sunday morning walk up Mt. Soledad, and though we took the stroller with us, we didn't once need to load her into it. She still has moments when she balks; doesn't want to come with us. But it seems to be a matter of momentum. Once trotting along, she's great. We're thinking it may be time to put the stroller back in storage.

5) Size. She still looks like a puppy.  But she's growing fast. Her days of hanging out under the couch are clearly numbered.

While vastly accelerated, raising a puppy is a lot like raising a child. Both initially change so fast you can hardly believe it. At first, both require a staggering amount of time and attention. Fortunately for both, their cuteness goes a long way to counterbalance the dark moments.