In the beginning of December we went to the Christmas Party of the PWD Club North West. About forty dogs, their owners, and friends celebrated together. Trixie was exited to meet them all and couldn't understand why she had to be on a leash instead of being allowed to engage the other dogs in her usual boisterous play. The other puppies and youngsters felt the same. They all protested in their usual high-pitched way. I learned that they all squeal the same way when they want to play, cannot wait for dinner, or are excited when you put on your shoes for a walk. They all love to throw their toys in the air, pouncing on them when they hit the ground, or lie on their backs, holding them in their front paws. Of course, Trixie's thick, dark-brown coat stood out against all the other black dogs. Hardly anybody could resist her cute face and trusting nature. One of the club members said to me: "If we had a puppy prize, she'd deserve it."

On our walks in city parks most of the people start to smile when they see her busily running around on her extension leash. We realized how much she has grown in the past months when we compared her to other dog acquaintances. Our son Nik, coming up for Christmas with his dog, Athena, commented: "When she is dry she is the same size as Thena."

The past months Trixie acquired many new skills. She learned to recognize when another dog doesn't want to play with her. She follows the ball, even when it is out of her sight. She rings the bells when she needs to go potty in the backyard, when she is bored, and when she wants attention during our meals. She also rings to let us know that Thena is waiting outside and wants to come back in. The other day I was sure I had closed the bathroom door. A little while later Olaf found Trixie in front of the tipped over waste basket chewing happily on a Kleenex. So it seems to us that she, like her brother Skipper, acquired the skill of pushing down the door handle.

Most of the time she listens to our commands, but when we are out of sight she cannot resist chewing on a shoe we forgot to put away or munching any reachable paper products. During our outings she does not run too far ahead of us anymore and obeys when we whistle. The past few times walking along the pipeline in Carnation, she listened really well - when there are no major distractions around. Our current project is the retrieving of the newspaper - a very difficult task - I hope we can report some success in the next update.