Shep

The puppy has met the cats, who hate him of course, but he has suffered no scratches - he backs off very quickly.  Then he met the chickens, which frightened him at first, then he did the border collie thing - just approached them very slowly then stood stock still and stared.  It was too cute.

All the cute toys and chewies we bought him, of course, are being ignored.  Instead, he has so far focused on an aluminum can, a plastic bottle, a roll of electrical tape, a tent pole, a house plant, and a shoe.  AAHHH!  So we do a lot of re-directing.  We have come to a mutual agreement on an old tee shirt tied in knots, and the plastic bottle.  He also found a tennis ball, (of course), and carries that around.  We are going to look for the puppy sized ones you mentioned.  So he has had a busy day and is now completely out of it, sleeping two thirds of the way under the couch.  He must feel protected there.  One of the cats is sleeping in his new bed.