I Want to Chat, Too

Ever since she was a tiny puppy, Emme decided that she could not go down the stairs without stopping to "chat." When we go down stairs, she sits on the top of the stairs and I sit two steps down and I put my face close to hers. She smells my breath and my skin and my eyes while I tell her what a good, clever, wonderful puppy she is.

That went on for months and then Emme made a variation on the game. When Ken takes her down the stairs first thing in the morning, Emme has to chat with him. But she doesn't chat only once. She stops at the top of the stairs, part way down and on the landing. Ken has to chat with her in all those places or she can't go down stairs. All this with a full bladder from last night.

Now Rudy has watched us chat with Emme and he has decided that he has to chat too. He only does this in the evening when we go upstairs to play "closet ball" when we change into our pajamas. Before he can go back down the stairs, he has to stop outside our bedroom door and stick his nose through the spindle wall so we can walk down to the landing and put our faces next to his. We chat and tell him what a good dog he is. Monkey see; monkey do. If it works for Emme, it should work for Rudy, too.

Favorite Emme Photo, Number 5

Emme has the most pensive look in this picture. This photo was taken in March 2007.

Favorite Emme Photo, Number 4

Emme and the daffodils in April 2007.

Monkey See; Monkey Do

I can't believe how often Emme and Rudy do the exact same thing. As different looking as they are, their behavior is often the same. They often nap at the same time, in the same room, in the same location, and in the same position. I wonder if they copy each other. Monkey see; monkey do.

If one is on the waiting rug, the other is on the waiting rug. If one is in the front hall, the other is in the front hall. If one is in the living room, the other is in the living room. If one is lying on his stomach, the other lies on her stomach. If one is rolled over on her side, the other is on his side. They look like a matched set: one big and brown, the other little and white. I am amazed how often they are doing the exact same thing.

All Grown Up

At the Wooster house, Emme sleeps in a crate in our bedroom and Rudy sleeps on the bedroom rug where ever he chooses. At the lake house, Rudy sleeps on the rug and Emme sleeps in Rudy's old crate. Because we bought the crate for Rudy when he was full grown and 80 pounds, it is quite large for Emme.

We have less floor space in the lake house bedroom and the large crate takes up a lot of room. It makes it quite difficult for Ken to access his dresser drawers without moving the crate.

We decided to try to transition Emme out of the crate. For a few nights we put her in her crate when we went to bed, but we left the door open. She started the night in her crate but sometime during the night, she got up and crawled under the bed, her favorite spot during nap times. This past weekend, we moved the crate into the guest bedroom and let Emme find the spot she wanted to sleep on in our bedroom. She chose a pillow and some fleece blankets on the floor and spent most of the night there and didn't seem to get into any kind of trouble. She is getting so grown up!

It will be a lot more convenient to have the crate out of the bedroom. This is one more step toward maturity for Emme.

Favorite Emme Photo, Number 3

Emme looks so alert and playful in this photo. This picture was taken in April 2007.

More Important than a Video Game

I have fallen in love with a video game for the Nintendo DS called "Animal Crossing." My daughter-in-law discovered it and brought it with her on vacation in June. She was so taken with the game, her enthusiasm was contagious. As soon as we returned from vacation, I went to Best Buy and purchased my own DS and a copy of the game. My sister, niece and my niece's husband have all started playing the game. It is addictive and I enjoy it immensely and have played it many hours in the last few weeks.

This weekend, I was playing Animal Crossing when Emme jumped up on my lap and wanted to be petted. I gave her a quick rub and thought that she would jump down and walk away. Instead she wanted to be petted more. At first I got annoyed because she was interfering with my game. Then I stopped and reconsidered. What was I thinking? I was passing up the opportunity to pet a real live loving puppy to play a game with computer generated animals? Something was wrong with that picture. I put the DS down and paid my full attention to Emme. I rubbed her ears, scratched her back and petted her belly for a long time. She was happy. I was happy. I had my priorities in order. A real pet wins hands down over a video game any time.

Do Dogs Like Fruit?

Do dogs like fruit and vegetables? Emme and Rudy do. When I go into the kitchen to prepare a meal or snack, Emme and Rudy come into the room and do a "down stay" on the floor. As I cut up fruits and vegetables, I often give each dog a tiny bite. Knowing that grapes and raisins, as well as chocolate, are dangerous to dogs, I never give them bites of these but they have tasted a variety of other foods. They eat slices of bananas, apples, watermelon, cantaloupe, red and green bell peppers, carrots, peaches, tomatoes, and many others. So far the only reject has been celery. I don't know if it is the consistency or the taste, but neither dog likes it. Who knew that dogs would eat fruit?

A Drink of Water

Both Emme and Rudy know where water comes from. They go to their dish to get a drink and if it is empty, they go to the sink and look expectantly at the faucet. I think that is amazing. They know that we fill the pitcher at the sink to put water in their bowl.

They watch everything we do and can figure out so much. They know that late at night when Ken pushes the button on the TV remote, that it is time to go to bed. Rudy knows that when he comes inside from doing a "hurry up" and we leave his collar on that he is going for a ride in the car. They both know that when it is nap time they run for the couch, often with their lovies. They know that when we lock the door to the porch they will go to their crates for "Nighty-nite." They know that when I go into the kitchen to prepare a meal that they should do a down stay on the kitchen floor and wait for a hand out. How did they get so smart?

Favorite Emme Photo, Number 2

I love this picture of Emme in the back yard with the rhododendrons. I have this as my wallpaper on my computer. This photo was taken in May 2007.

A Perfect Nap Spot

Emme has discovered that the steps from the first to the second floor make a perfect Emme-sized napping place. She always comes upstairs with me when I go to my sewing room but she doesn't always stay in the room with me. Often she will go outside the room and nap on the carpet just outside the door. Now she has discovered that the steps themselves make a perfect nap spot. She tucks her nose back in the crack where the step meets the riser and waits patiently until I am done.

Call Me Timex

We could call Emme Timex because she is the keeper of the schedule. Every evening, she decides when we should go to bed. Out of the blue she starts with a particular whine that she only uses when she is reminding us that it is bed time.

The trouble is, she often starts whining about 8:15. She is insistent that it is bed time and will go from Ken to me and back again trying to convince us that it is time for bed. I don't know what is so appealing to the dogs about going to bed. Both dogs LOVE to go upstairs to bed. They each get a puppy biscuit in the bedroom but I can hardly believe that is the motivating factor. They love to go to bed and Emme tries to get us to go to bed as early as possible.

More than a Little Shookey

Emme's look changes from week to week. When she comes home from the groomer, she looks sort of shorn. Her hair is shorter and her eyes are huge because there is no hair covering them. As the weeks go by, her hair grows and she begins to look more and more shaggy. Although I trim the hair over her eyes between visits to the groomer, she looks a little more shookey each week. She is ready for a return visit to the groomer later this week and her coat, especially on her face, shows it.

A Tired Pup

Emme and Rudy spent last week at the kennel while Ken and I were at a craft seminar in West Virginia, Ken in a week long wood turning class and I in a quilting class. We had a great time but the dogs must have exhausted themselves at Puppy Sleep Away Camp. Too many late nights around the campfire must have done them in. Both of them are spending a lot of their time during the day napping. Summer can be so exhausting.