The week seems to go by a little faster when living with a dog. I'm not knocking it, quite the contrary. Waking up in the morning used to be a chore, but getting up to throw slippers on and go let the fur ball out of his cage is soothing. Nothing says relaxation like a robe some slippers a glass of OJ and a casual game of fetch. Plus it is nice to get an early start on the day, do some training sessions and work off some puppy energy with a walk.

Walking with Finn is getting better everyday. He is learning not to pull on the leash and knows to stop at curbs and wait for my command. The attention he gets is another thing. It is a rare walk that no one stops to comment on Finn and how great he looks, and I think it's going to his head. He loves meeting new people and welcomes petting. When we see someone new, after an initial sniff, he plops his butt down and waits for the onslaught of pets and praise. Watching other people see him and smile is still a great thing. It seems he can brightens anyones day, even other dogs.

Ozzy, the dog next door, was one of the pups who was lucky enough to meet Finn this week. We took him over for a play date and let the two of them romp around in the yard. It was a new experience for Finn, Ozzy has about 45 lbs on him and it took a few minutes for them to fall into a rhythm but once they did it was like they were old pals. In the future we plan to let them hang out together during the day, no reason to keep two perfectly friendly dogs separated by a fence, just so long as they don't start digging.

As far as the yard goes, it's holding up alright. Julia bought a few things this week that should help. One is a supplement given daily to Finn that is supposed to lessen brown spots from his pee. I will be checking the label thoroughly before giving this to him. The other is applied directly to the grass and, as I understand it, is a sort of coloring agent that dyes the grass back to green. We also filled up his pool today. It's just a kiddie pool, so there is no diving allowed, but pawing around in it is fun and helps the guy keep cool. Those are the pictures above, with Ann B. Ann, by the way, loves the puppy. He greets her daily at her car daily, and was so adorable this week she surprised him with a bag of beef jerky today. Lucky him.