Day Thirty-Two: Patience

Emily and I have been working on training her new 6-month-old puppy Lucy. She's a pretty quick learner, but she also has some (6 month) old habits that are proving hard to break. Just ask my carpet.

Lucy, a yellow lab/golden retriever mix, is a smart girl, and she will no doubt grow into a well-trained, well-behaved, good and loyal friend. She also has a pretty good "role model" in Farley, my 5-year old border collie/black lab bundle of energy.

While Farley is more than ready to revert to puppihood and pillage my living room given the proper catalyst (like his partner in crime, Lucy), he does also have a few good tricks up his collar. (No sleeves on this dog - except at Christmastime when, for one day a year, he wears a ridiculous red sweater that screams pet abuse.)

Here he shows his ability to stare down a quasi-tasty treat without moving a muscle while the photographer fumbles for the best lens to use and the optimal point of focus, oblivious to the look of anticipation in his subject's big brown puppy dog eyes until he finally notices it in the illumination of the successful camera image and gives a celebratory, "Okay!" releasing the canine from the confines of his own obedience.

In short: Good dog, Farley, good dog!