Arianna is fitting in quite well.  She is a very happy pup, as you can tell from the close-up - a facial expression that is quite common and one that my wife loves.  She still has some invisible lines in the house that she has yet to master crossing and she has two safe spots that she races for - the far end of the doggy couch and the fireplace hearth. 

She loves the backyard and ploughing through the snow!  She has made her own system of trails and races around them at full tilt when not stopping to investigate anything that can be bitten or chewed (with a long tradition of Dalmatians and cats, the garden is completely animal safe). 

Toilet training, living with the cats, dealing with the lead and announcing that she has to go out are coming along at a better than expected rate.  The big challenge will be dealing with stairs.  I tried placing her on them and supporting her, but she just froze.

She has quite a collection of toys and enjoys playing with them.  Chewing is another common activity and her teeth and gums are improving.  Her ribs don't show and her coat has really improved.  All-in-all, she really likes being here and is trying hard to please.

Update June '09 ...

Arianna has really come out of her shell thanks to her half-brother Snickers, a good backyard and a large off-leash park.  At home, she no longer has any need of her safe spot and is very confident, bossing
Snickers around though the two are very close and inseparable.
 
Following Snickers' lead, she has developed a love of water.
 
While confident at home, she still has a timidness problem outside.  She has generally overcome her distrust of dogs of similar or smaller size.  Many dogs, barking ones and large ones - as well as people - bring out her timidness.  But she is getting better as she meets the same large dogs and people more often.
 
She is also getting stronger.  She gets somewhat frustrated with Snickers' ability to stand on his back legs and is working on copying him.  Her intelligence shines here, as in other places, in her realizing that she can jump on one of the living room chairs and then get her front paws on its back - making her taller than her half-brother.
 
With her arrested development leaving her with a permanent slightly puppy face, Arianna has a lot of admirers.  She has a large fan club waiting for her to get over her shyness.
 

Will send more news in the future,

Robert and Nancy

New from Arianna & Snickers on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8_RqwI-hjs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73S1b-Y-z_A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OFi_IeibGw

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