Yes, he’s six months old now—it’s hard to believe! Starburst is doing great. He’s turning into a very handsome guy—I’m attaching a picture from just a few days ago. You can see that he is getting his longer coat now—it is slowly filling out in his mane and on the backs of his legs. And you can see his silly “flying” posture while he lies down to chew his nylabone.
He looks a lot like Snickers, who is sure a cutie. I have been meaning to measure his height—let me check on that. He really is a looker—he’s kind of a celebrity everywhere we go. Lots of people just think he’s a cute puppy, but I have to say I’ve been surprised at how many people know their dog breeds and can really tell that he’s an excellent example of an Aussie. People compliment him literally every day.We are actually (knock on wood) not having a lot of teenage behavior right now. Starburst is really sweet, both with people and with other dogs. He has been much improved in the last month or so with his listening skills and general calmness. As he listens better to our instructions away from home, he has been getting some beginning off-leash time at parks, and he’s done great with that. It turns into kind of a circular thing: he gets more big runs and more playing with other dogs, and then as a result of that, he is calmer when we go home. And he does great with our three kids. He is very tolerant of their noisy antics—just a very even-keeled guy. He is a bit scared of our cats--you can tell that he wants to play tag with them a little, especially first thing in the morning, but they have managed to convince him that they are 100% in charge.
Starburst did get neutered at the end of July, and he came through that with flying colors. He also got microchipped at the same time. We have not done the MDR1 testing, but our vet is very careful about the drug list. It is really nice to know, though, that Faith and Shooter are both in the clear.
I love to hear from you, and I am happy to send updates about our little guy. He just charms everybody, and I think it is due to his genes and his early upbringing.
Sara
