Another update from a Fall 'o8 Puppy:

Here is a testimonial from one of my spring '07 Puppy Families.  I am so flattered by what she has said (and I copied this with her permission!); I should point out that a lot of her happiness with the puppy was due to the fact that she took the care of her puppy and the TRAINING of her puppy very seriously!

Message:
Wilson Update:

Okay, Katie, when you told me about how laid back the English goldens
are, I partially thought it was a gimmick. However, Wilson is, by all
rights, still a puppy at 7 months old, and to this day, I have never seen
naughty puppy behavior in this dog. I swear.
He is not a chewer.
He is not a mouther.
He is not a jumper.
He is not a slobber-er.
He is not hyperactive.
The only thing that he does that's annoying is to dig holes in the
pinestraw when he's bored outside, and the only reason he does that is
because the stupid BEAGLE next door showed him how.
Here are the wonderful things he does:
He follows my baby around, making sure she doesn't get into anything
bad (like dog food).
He drops anything I tell him to drop immediately.
He tries really hard to be a lap dog. Not usually successful, but
interesting to watch.
He was housebroken in about a week, after which there have been ZERO
accidents. Literally, ZERO.
So far, not much shedding. (Hopefully those aren't famous last words.)
He tries really hard to play with my cat, who only swipes at his nose,
but Wilson continues to take it like a man.
He sleeps on his back.
He goes easily into his crate.
He smiles.
He's friendly to company.
He likes to take a bath. (Weirdo.)
The size & shape of his head compel total strangers to call him
"blockhead", or, more insultingly, "meat head".
When he has been too obnoxious and I put the headcollar in him for a
few hours, he spends the entire time trying to rest his chin on my lap,
my foot, my shin, whatever he can get it on. He's apologizing. The dog
apologizes.
He pokes people, occasionally, with his nose. Sounds bad, but it's
actually charming.
He has a daily Mexican Standoff with my trash can. He want to get into
it SO BAD. But he just stares and quivers.

He plays with our neighbor's dog so well and so HARD that I feel guilty
for not having a playmate permanently. So maybe there's another puppy
in our future. I'm waiting to check the shedding thing, though, after
he goes through a full season with adult fur.
You should totally use me as a dog reference.
Thanks again & I'll continue to keep you posted.