9/19/05: Piper arrived on Saturday 9/17 and what a sweetie. She is a 1 year old, dark red, on the smaller side of Goldens and I'm guessing (because we haven't made it to the vet yet) that she weighs maybe 55 lbs. She has the thicker course hair of a field Golden, which in my opinion is the type that requires less brushing and doesn't shed as much as my Arthur or Amber, who have the silky show dog type of hair.

She won over my heart in about 2 minutes. She is probably the sweetest thing I've met in a while. She would be perfect in any home. She is great with dogs, cats, kids, has great house manners, loves to play but isn't hyper, very smart, loves to warm feet, can sit, and shake. Watch out for when she drinks water - she likes to leave her mouth open and drip water everywhere?she's helping me keep the floor clean. So far she hasn't picked up any inappropriate items, loves rawhides, balls and stuffed animals.

She seems to be more comfortable outside than inside. When she is inside she will lie down in the kitchen but not in the living room on the carpet. I'm sure this will change in the next few days. When I go to bed at night she won't come downstairs with me, Oakley and Arthur. I'm guessing once I lure her down with treats she will be ready to go. My son informed me that he caught her sleeping on the couch one morning and he said WOW, she's a heavy sleeper I walked right by her and she didn't even look at me.

At my house we have two cats and they usually hide the first day when a new dog comes, but they didn?t even hide when Piper showed up. They walk right by her and she just looks at them. She has never chased them or even sniffed them. She is so cute to watch when she is playing with Arthur and Oakley. Oakley, who is tennis ball obsessed, will actually let Piper take the ball from him?.yes, its puppy love. This is Oakley?s first crush and he?s so cute. Piper and Oakley bonded instantly and they are usually never far apart. Like all girls, she is a big tease with the boys - she likes to take things and have them chase after her. Piper is the perfect playmate for any dog that is looking for a companion.

This weekend there was a fireworks show somewhere in my area (I thought we were done for the year) and Piper didn?t even bat an eyelash. Monday morning there was lightening and thunder and that didn?t bother her either.

Piper needs to go to the vet and have her eyes checked - she has a runny eye - looks like she has a cold so I want to get it checked out first.

Things Piper will need training on: she only responds to her name about 30% of the time and she doesn?t like to be crated - she gets stubborn and locks up her legs and won?t move. I tried to baby gate her in the kitchen and once she figured out what I was up to she ran and jumped on the couch in my son?s room and pretended to be a sleep?insert fake snoring here. It was actually funny and very cute, but at 5:30 in the morning when I?m leaving for work it didn?t seem too cute?I did laugh later. She doesn?t care for anyone pulling on her collar to ask her to go somewhere. She loves to chase balls and she will bring them to you but tease you with them. She likes to show you that she has a ball but she doesn?t want to give it to you?another easy training fix.

This girl will go quickly; she is 2 steps away from being the perfect dog already. I think most of the training things that I listed will go away once she learns to trust me more and relaxes.