Northport, Alabama
It’s hard to believe Cowboy is already 13 weeks old, harder still to believe he’s been with me a month now. I got attached quickly, and he manages to make me laugh so often, and so hard, I wonder why I didn’t get a puppy sooner. I can already tell how much older he’s looking in his pictures. He’s growing terribly fast. Too fast.

I was gone much of the day and busy working the rest, but we managed to squeeze in time for a little fetch, a walk, and some clicker training. We’re still reinforcing sit, stay, come, and drop it. He’s almost 98 percent perfect inside, but his reliability drops to about 70 percent outside, maybe even 60. He gets distracted with smells and sounds, mostly smells. And it’s impossible to make myself more intriguing, even when I’m dangling raw meat.

We had a rough time this afternoon trying to take this picture. I wanted him to sit and stay so I could take his leash off, but he wanted to romp and play, so I couldn’t trust him off-leash. I got frustrated and really irritable, so I decided to stop before I totally lost my temper. He’s a baby. Most people don’t begin training until four to six months, so he’s doing very, very well, and I need to remember that.

He’s still a good boy and garners a lot of attention everywhere we go. I’m not sure if all puppies do that — they probably do — but I like to think it’s because mine is extra pretty, extra soft, extra smart, and ultra special. I’m so happy I can’t stand myself. 🙂

Music: What I’ve Done by Linkin Park (lyrics)