Puppy play

Today Darby had the best day of her young (almost 6-month-old) life so far, thanks to puppy-raiser Linda Dreyfuss and her daughter Shana, who hosted a puppy play party at their home.  Located just 15 minutes from our house, it's the first CCI-related puppy play session we've been able to attend.  The morning was glorious, and a happy pack of pups turned out, racing around the yard at 60 mph and burning about 2000 calories per minute. Darby looked ecstatic to be in the midst of the action.

Fun activities included towering over 9-week-old Horizon (who still has those sharp baby teeth!)

A piece of an antler also won Darby's heart (at least that's what Linda said it was.  She says they don't splinter.)  Darby found it particularly fun to try to keep it away from the rest of the pack.

By noon, she was a tired but very, very, very happy girl.

A happy note

This past week, we received a happy piece of mail.  It was a note, signed by Brando!

"Dear Family," it began. "Hello from CCI! The other day we had group pictures taken. As you can see, we are all very well behaved. The food is good, the training is a lot of fun, but playtime is my very favorite activity. Well, Sarah and I are off to the training room now! Hope you are doing well! Puppy kisses."

If all continues to go well, we should get another report this coming Friday.  We'll pass it on!

What BIG teeth she has!

 Just one week shy of her five-month birthday, Darby appears to have just one puppy tooth left -- the upper canine on her right side.  All the other sharp little nippers have been replaced by beautiful white Big Dog teeth. 

On her right side, the emerging adult canine has pushed out the baby tooth.

This makes Mr. Tucker very happy, as Miss Darby is fond of biting the thick folds of skin and fur around his neck.  That's never pleasant, but baby teeth hurt most!

A Bath for Darby

We were probably remiss in waiting so long, but we only gave Darby her first bath today. 

Although she looks a little nervous in the photo, she was actually very calm and didn't seem to mind it much at all.  (Another clue that she may be a water dog?)

Brando News!

We got Brando's second "professional training report" Friday, and we felt encouraged.  His trainer, Sarah, reported, "Brando has been making significant progress in his confidence level and overall demeanor during training. He has become more willing to work and has been staying engaged with his handler when learning a new command. While out in public, Brando is alert and somewhat cautious for unfamiliar noises or stimuli that may startle him. However, when he does become startled, he is able to maintain position and recover quickly. Overall, Brando continues to learn at a slower rate but is progressing quite nicely with his skill work. His confidence level is something we will continue to build upon throughout training."

Will he remain in training long enough for us to get a third report (one month from now?)  No previous pup of ours has ever made it that far.

Stay tuned.

Four Months Old!

Today Darby is four months old, and to celebrate, she's moved into a big-girl collar -- hot pink because that was the color of the yarn placed around her neck shortly after she was born. I recently learned from the March CCI Southwest Regional newsletter that the colors always correspond to the pups' birth order.  In Darby's case, she was the fifth born (and the #5 pups are always hot pink).  In our hearts, though, she's #1  (or at at least our #1 household pup.  Mr. Tucker is #1 resident dog!)

Although we don't have any exciting activities planned to celebrate this little milestone, Darby enjoyed an exciting weekend as the guest of Susan Miller and Frank Novick. (Steve and I were up in Los Angeles attending the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. It's not a very doggy event!)  With Susan and Frank, Darby even ventured to a movie matinee.  Reportedly, she behaved like a little angel.  Not bad for a 4-month-old pup!

Darby with friends Susan and Frank.

What's Prettier...

...than a very, very shiny black puppy, lying in the sunshine?

Beats me!