New pet (no pics yet)

We just acquired a 5 month old chocolate lab/german shorthair pointer mutt. Her name is Berkley. She's been decently trained by her previous owners but she still needs work, especially in the housebreaking area. I've only had half a day with her, and already she's proving to be very easy to train and handle. I think we got very lucky and in a few months, she'll be as good as any show dog out there (as far as obedience goes). She only barks when she's left alone in the kitchen while we are eating, and for a few minutes after we turn off the house lights to go to bed. She's also very very good with Maestro (the cat). Maestro was hissing all evening and this morning at Berkley, and just now (after lunch today) they are able to sit in the same room without trouble. Berkley doesn't run up and try to play with Maestro, she just comes to about 3 feet from him, lays down, and just sniffs. I think Maestro (and the rest of us) are very glad for this behavior from Berkley.

James took Berkley for a walk yesterday while I was at pipe practice and he said that he gained a lot of respect for the dog on that walk. He says they came across several other dogs, half of which barked and tried to run at Berkley, and she didn't get all excited or start barking back at them. She's going to be a wonderful dog as long as she lives I think. I am confident that I'll have her trained to be a nice quiet house dog before the baby comes in Nov. I've got 5 months to do it.

The only thing I'll have a hard time with is the need to walk her every day. James can do it most days, but when he can't I'll have to just to make sure she's good and worn out. I grew up with smaller dogs that didn't seem to need much one-on-one exercise such as walking, so this will be something new to me.

One thing is for sure, Annie LOVES "barkley". I have it (already!) so that Berkley doesn't jump on Annie, just playfully licks her (which Annie just loves) and they will be great friends as they both grow up. Berkley is pretty lucky to be in a home where all the kids will be hometaught, so that means more play time! And almost no alone time.

Alright, I'd better go take pictures now. I post from my laptop, but the loaner camera we are using is only compatible with the desktop, so it may be a couple days before pictures actually make it onto the laptop so I can post them.