Barkley (formerly Miss Orange) just turned four months old, and is tipping the scales at almost 40 pounds. So much for being a petite little thing like her mother was! She's a beautiful butterscotch color, with wonderful markings - everybody who sees her comments on them. She is also starting to exhibit behaviors that are nearly a perfect cross of her lab & golden roots - the independence and eagerness of a labrador, with the wiggly cuddliness and laid-back demeanor of a golden.
A lot of the biting and chewing she exhibited as a baby has been replaced by more gentle mouthing, and while she's not the sharpest tool in the shed, she learns pretty quickly and is very good 95 percent of the time. (We won't talk about the other five percent - but then, that's just regular obnoxious puppy-stuff, so I'm sure she'll grow out of it!)
She went to the Lake Michigan beach for the first time the other day, and loved the small patches of sand she found in the snow and ice. I have a feeling that she is going to be addicted to the water once it appears again. She's starting to get the hang of retrieving, and is generally just a lot of fun to have around!
Kari
