Toby the Puppy has thrown us another curve ball.

I’ve told you already about the kennel, about how we sought — upon acquiring him in September 2014 — to “train” him to sleep in it.

He refused.

We gave it about a week. He’d whimper and whine. We gave up. He’s been bunking with us every night since. We lay out a blanket. He curls up on it. We throw it over him and he spins twice and then lies down. Lights out for the night.

That’s been the drill more or less ever since we surrendered to his sleeping whims.

Lately, though, he’s done something a good bit different.

He’s walking into the kennel voluntarily. On his own. No prompting. No cajoling. No bribery.

Last night, he sauntered into the kennel at bed time.

He curled up inside the carrier — and slept there for almost the entire night.

Do I expect this to continue? Do I anticipate Toby has found a new favorite place to sleep? Umm. No. He remains a Mommy’s boy. He’ll want to cuddle with his mother at night. Toby might give me a nod on occasion. That’s OK.

As my wife and I have learned since we joined the ranks of dog owners (we’ve always been dog lovers), our pooch is capable of surprising us daily.

Toby already has figured how to make us laugh at him daily.

I’m sure there’ll be more surprises on the way.