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A Star Is Born

Meet Toby.

 

He joined our household today at 8 weeks 2 days old, and I'm completely and totally in love with the little guy.

 

He is curious, playful, snuggly, and still manages to look solemn and dignified - at least when he wants to.

 

His introduction with Henry was uneventful, and while they still working out the logistics of Big Dog / Little Dog play, they are both obviously interested in making it work.

 

Today, Toby learned the beginnings of "Sit" (nailed it!) "Leave It" (chewing on my hand doesn't make it open but NOT chewing on it does and you get the kibble inside) and "Down" (did I mention he did great with "Sit" and "Leave it"?)

 

I spent most the afternoon focusing on Sit-n-Stare, where Toby gets a piece of his kibble every time I notice him sitting in front of me and staring up and me.

 

He now sits in front of me and stares up at me (and Hubby) a lot!

 

Henry also learned this on the first day, and to this day it's his default behavior - what he does when he doesn't know what else to do.

 

It's a really nice default behavior - much better than jumping at my legs and the cupboard doors, which was our starting point.

 

Today's photoshoot was a chaotic disaster - but Toby had a fun, got his meal of kibble (a few at a time) and (occasionally) showed hints of the star I'm sure he will someday be.

 

Many thanks to Toby's (and Henry's and Zachary's and Beau's) wonderful breeder - Aubridge Goldens - who practiced "Hats" with the litter a few weeks ago!

 

Notes to self:

1. Hungry Puppies make terrible models (stupid me - I knew that!)

2. Big Dogs and Little Dogs (together) makes a challenging situation impossible

3. I need to wrangle Hubby into firing the remote for me for a few days!

 

Daily Dog Challenge 2497. "One Thing"

 

A purple hat!

 

118 Pictures in 2018 - #16. "What are you grateful for today?"

 

My "pack" is once again complete.

 

100x : 2018 - #71

 

Stop on by Zachary and Henry's blog: bzdogs.com - The Secret Life of the Suburban Dog

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Uploaded on September 7, 2018
Taken on September 6, 2018