Today is Grace and Crosby’s birthday!

Actually, we for sure know it is Grace’s birthday, and since we didn’t know Crosby’s we just said that they are the same day since he is estimated to be the same age.

Here is to 4 years kids!

So what have we done since last year’s birthday?

Weight

• Grace-73 (Um Grace, when did you get so big?)
• Crosby-78

Commands

• G-sit, shake, and down. She will not do the down if there are other dogs present or too many people to make it a show. She will do the sit and shake for anyone (and any audience size) as long a treat is involved. Tom can get her to bark at the front door by saying “Who is that?” over and over again.
• C-sit and shake. He gets really anxious though and is not patient for treats. He will also shake when he thinks he is in trouble.
• They both can follow directional commands like “go downstairs” or “come out” when you point to where you want them to go.
• Most of these are all the same as last year. They have learned nothing new…mostly because we are lazy and don’t teach them anything new.

Sleep

• G-She has been really bad the past few weeks. I don’t think we have had a night in the new house where she hasn’t made a mooky on the kitchen floor. So we usually have a nice surprise in the morning because she doesn’t sleep through the night. She is a huge cuddler. She wants to be all up in your face when she sleeps. And she is like a boulder once she settles in. So you better get comfortable before she nuzzles up to you.
• C-He is a fantastic sleeper. We never have issues with him. He can snooze through the morning. He will only get up for Tom. He has only recently started cuddling while we are sleeping.

Food

• They both eat Iams Proactive Health. They are good about sharing bowls and never fight over it.
• They both will eat anything in the form of table scraps, which has made them ridiculous beggars. It doesn’t help that Tom gives them part of his meal whenever he eats.

House trained

• G-Her anxiety has been in overdrive since we moved, so she has been having some issues. Hopefully once the holidays are over, we can all settle into a routine.
• C-We really haven’t seen many issues with him. We think most of the trash pulling we have seen is instigated by Grace, but we can’t be sure that he doesn’t join in.
• We still don’t leave them in kennels. And just recently, they have been able to stay out of kennels while they stay at the grandparents’ house too!

Bad Habits

• G-She is a trash digger and a pooper. She could stop that at anytime, and that would be great. She also hates going outside when it is raining. Snow is no problem, that is like candy from heaven. Rain, however, makes her dainty and prissy. We have to lift her and carry her off the porch to go potty when it rains. She also barks at the air moving outside. She apparently found her voice while at Ft.Campbell because she never barked in Iowa.
• C-He has started barking for no reason at night while we are just hanging out.

Loving

• G-She is so sweet with George. While she may be a rock as a cuddler, I love that she wants to be close.
• C-He is just a sweet man who listens so well.

As Siblings

• They actually do really well together. They play and then clean each other. You will often find them snuggled up together in the most adorable ways.
• Last spring they had a few scuffles, but they haven’t had any issues together lately.
• They do like to wrestle around they house and play tag. I think they love the space in our new place and the carpet. It makes it easier to romp around and chase each other.

Toys

• G-loves anything she can rip (ropes and socks). She also loves balls, kongs, and bones. She is good at going after toys, but not so good at picking them up and bringing them back.
• C-we have eliminated all toys except nylabones. He is a power chewer. He has even ripped through a Kong, which are supposed to last longer than 2 months. He would chew up a toy into large chunks, and then Grace would come after the chunks and choke on them. So we decided that the best avenue was just to stick with Nylabones.
• They also think that George’s things are their things.

Year 3 Accomplishments

• We became a family of five! They are pretty good big siblings!
• We also moved them to Missouri.

Around other Humans

• G-She is super shy if she doesn’t know you. However, if she knows you, she is crazy! She turns in a U shape and just bounds around until you love on her. She is so patient and gentle with kids. I can’t wait to see how the relationship with George blossoms.
• C-He is not shy at all. He will come up to you for a kiss almost immediately! He has been nonchalant with G-man, but he did get George’s first pets the other night.

Around other Animals

• G-Loves to play with any dog she meets. She also thinks she likes cats, and she will try to find them in Grandpa and Grandma’s house. They are all her BFFs to her and is never shy.
• C-He does not like other dogs at first. He is super protective and is very skeptical of them at first. So we have to slowly introduce other dogs to him and then he is fine.
• They both do fine with their cousin Presley, who is a little Chihuahua.

Funny things they do

• G-she whimpers so pathetically. It’s kind of like a whine/gurgle/dolphin speaking. She is the best behaved dog if you are eating in front of her.
• C-He takes toys away from Grace. He was also super protective of me when I was pregnant. He loves licking you and cleaning you. When my mom stayed with us, he would lick her hair straight up while she was sleeping.
• They both love toilet water, which I find disgusting and Tom will purposely leave it up so they can have at it.

To my dear sweet pups, happiest birthday! We love you dearly, and you have made our lives so much better!