We picked up Decibel from the airport. She has been here a full year now, and it has been a good year!
Decibel is our second purebred Briard puppy, and this past year has been about the joy of raising her, and remembering Barley as a pup, and how unique they all are.
To me Barley will always my perfect dog. He lived to teach me the meaning of joyous, joyful. He never needed to learn 'come' or 'heel', since he never left my side. He was always within reach. 
Barley always took the time to smell the flowers
Barley always took the time to smell the flowers
And he would patiently wait for me to get the chores done.Oh how Decibel differs there!
She is apparently teaching me the meaning of exuberance. She certainly had to learn 'come' and is still working on 'heel'. But with her it is a success story when she comes, or walks nicely on the leash. Unlike Barley, she has no trouble at all jumping up on people, and we are still not done teaching her that this is not allowed.
She is independent, to the point where she will be the only dog lying outside the door to the living room, while we are all in there watching TV, and there is even room for her on the couch. But she needs her hugs and smooches too, and the morning cannot start without her snuggles and sloppy wet kisses.
She is extremely smart. Where Barley was an easy boy to train, simply because he didn't do much wrong, Decibel is fun to train, simply because she learns fast, and likes to be right!
Like Barley, she has some typical Briard traits: She likes to goose people, walk up behind them and poking them in the butt, which can be quite a challenge to explain away with guests. She uses her paws for attention, and she likes to sample food. She doesn't wolf anything down, she will beg for it, and sniff the morsel offered before gently nibbling at it, then smacking her lips, and make a production of chewing it. Like Barley, she loves playing with the bite sleeve and accepts the strict rules that go with the game.
And no matter how much I miss my old boy, Decibel has made his loss bearable.
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