Update:
We lost our little cocker spaniel puppy. He was a cute little four pound bundle of energy while he lasted.
The replacement is this fourteen pound bundle of 'teenage' cocker spaniel. What a transformation over the last few weeks. Active, happy dog. Full of energy and wicked smart. My wife and I have been completely amazed at how fast he picks things up. Sit, stay, lay down, come, all that was mastered within the first couple of training sessions for each of those behaviors.
We're still working on the whole "mouthing" thing where they tend to intersperse gentle bites with licking when showing affection, but that is coming along well.
He is almost potty trained, already coming to us to get our attention when he has to go. He even sometimes goes to the door to get our attention.
My wife found some puppy games on the web to play with him, many involving nose work. He picks those up almost instantly.
She trained him just this morning to walk with her on the treadmill for extended periods with a nicely relaxed leash.
We have been socializing him by attending puppy classes at the local shelter, plus lots of walks and trips to public venues. We'll be making our third trip to Home Depot with him later this morning. Hard to shop there with that puppy, what with everyone wanting to pet and coo and otherwise delay us.
