Derby - 4 Months!

Derby is 4 months old tomorrow! He's getting big and is really starting to fill out...I think it's so unfair that puppies grow up so quickly! While it's exciting to think about doing "big dog" things, I really wish this stage of puppyhood would last a little longer.

Poor Derby is unhappy with me at the moment for subjecting him to a day of crate rest. This morning he ran into the corner of the couch (of all things?) and came up screaming with one front leg up in the air. It was so dramatic that I thought for sure he had broken something, but after he calmed down I checked him over and couldn't find anything obvious. He's favoring his right front a little though so I'm trying to keep him quiet and if he still looks off tomorrow I'll have my vet come over and take a look. Gah; I swear this puppy is going to give me a full head of grey hair. It seems like he is always running into something! Earlier this week I let him play around on the agility field with the Goldens and he ran full speed into the side of one of them (who was standing still) and landed with a big grunt. Seriously Derby; you don't just bounce off a 80+ dog that is all muscle. Silly puppy.

Other than thinking he is super puppy with wings, he continues to be just a really awesome pup. I had him out quite a bit at the last trial and nothing really seems to phase him; he was just happy to hang out and take everything in...so confident and easy going. He met lots of new dogs including several cute little border collie girls. :)

Even though he's met hundreds of new people so far, I still can't get over how much he loves them all. If we pass someone who doesn't acknowledge him, he acts genuinely disappointed...he thinks everyone should be his best friend! And while he will show interest in other dogs, he will usually bypass them to try and meet their owner. Such a happy pup.

We started a basic obedience class last week (mainly to get him working in a more distracting environment) and he was a brilliant puppy. We were sitting next to two large, very unruly dogs and he was able to focus on me for the entire class. A lot to ask for a puppy his age, but he was awesome. He even pulled out some end-of-leash stays that I didn't know we had. Good Derby pup!

I'm really not in any hurry to do a whole lot of formal training with him, but putting him in a class forces me to spend time working on the basics. Silly puppy trick are much more entertaining. :)

Here are a few pictures I took on the agility field last week...

Cookie, please?

Starting to loose his little smooshy puppy nose. :(

What are *you* looking at?

He was so funny...getting a picture of him moving is next to impossible because if he knows I have cookies, he's always right on top of me. Once he figured out that he wasn't getting anything, he started exploring a bit, but I would call him when he got too far away. He would come flying back (good boy!) to a big reward. He then figured out that the key to getting cookies was to run away and pretty soon he would run away while looking over his shoulder as if to say "look at me, I'm running away" and when I ignored him he would get mad and come flying back on his own (again, to a big reward).

Clever puppy.