I told you that to tell you this.

Luke was 6 weeks old when we got him. He is now almost 8 months. Although he is pretty darn large, he is still a puppy. To add to this, we named him Luke Puppy. Puppy IS his middle name. Many people comment on the fact that we often refer to him as "Puppy," as though it is strange to call him such when he is so big. He responds to this name, as well as Luke. Besides the fact that he is, in fact, still a puppy (he's under a year old, people, and still acts very much like a puppy, regardless of his size) it is also his name. We will continue, long past his official puppy years, to call him Puppy.

I told you that to tell you this.

We have nicknamed nearly every activity we do based on our dog. If we take him for a walk, it's never "I'm taking Luke for a walk." We say, "I'm taking Luke for a puppy walk." Similarly, when we all go for a ride, it's not just a ride in the car, but a "puppy ride". Hm, there's "puppy nap," "puppy yawn," "puppy groan," and several others. Owning a dog really has increased the span of our vocabulary.

I told you that to tell you this.

Luke and I often go on "puppy walks". We normally take the same route, so as to visit all of our "puppy friends." Yesterday, I thought I would begin teaching him a new concept: stopping at every intersection to check for traffic. As we approach a curb, I tell him to "stop" then he is commanded to "sit". It took him a while to get the hang of it, but today when we walked, I brought treats, so it sped up the process immensely. He now will immediately sit as soon as he's commanded to "stop", without even needing the "sit" command. I was amazed at how quickly he picked it up! And not only that, but as he's sitting, waiting for me to tell him to go, I will look both ways down the street and he follows my glance and will look both ways also. It's pretty darn cute.

I told you that to tell you this.

I have an incredibly smart dog. And I use the term "dog" loosely because, as I said earlier, he is still very much a puppy. He still does not know his own size or strength, which makes him seem so much more "wild" than he really is. It's upsetting that he gets so excited when new people come around, because then most think he's a nuisance. It's when he becomes used to their presence that he can really show his true colors. I'm looking forward to the time when he is more calm and everyone can see the potential and intelligence in him that Husband and I see on a regular basis.

I told you that to ask you this.

Is it any wonder I'm so obsessed with our Luke Puppy?