Update on the Boys

Our boys are growing up and doing quite well these days. At 11 months, they are nearly full grown and we hope they will start becoming a bit more mellow soon. Baxter is shown here, lying on my stomach, on the couch, looking rather serene. This is not the typical pose, but the sweet face is typical of him. He is the most cuddly and loving of the two dogs. We have found that when he is reprimanded, he will go into his kennel and refuse to come out. If he misbehaves, or worse yet, if I shout a threat at him, he will go in there and pout. Baxter is also the emotional one of the two. He hates to be bathed or have his ears cleaned. When it is time to clean his ears I ask, "Do you want to get pretty?" No, he does not. He runs immediately to his kennel and puts his head into the blanket so I can't see him. When I need to give him a bath and I run the water in the upstairs bath tub, I will allow him to run up the stairs and then when he sees the bathroom door open and hears the water, he goes flat on his belly on the floor. I have to pick him up and carry him into the tub. He is a very funny and sweet little guy. If any dog was ever made to be a therapy dog, it is Baxter. He is a snuggler who loves to be close, have his ears stroked, and back patted. He is an overall wonderful little guy.

This is our Charlie. He is getting smarter every day. He is however, also the more naughty one of the two. For example, yesterday I was making a cake and had to run to the store to get more sugar. As I returned to the house, only 15 minutes later, I saw little bits of chewed paper all over the floor by the couch. Coming into the den, it was clear that he had helped himself to Mother's tax return paperwork, that had originally been in an envelope and readied for my review. After banishing them to their kennels (where Baxter pouted because he probably didn't do it and still got scolded), I was able to piece together some of Mother's paperwork so I can make out the numbers to enter when I do her taxes. Good grief.

Charlie is the more anxious of the two dogs. If he gets scared, he pees on the floor. It doesn't happen often, thankfully. When we go walking outside, he is so anxious that he'll bark at anything and twirl around to be sure no one is coming up behind him. I'm not sure why he is such a scaredy cat, but he is. Getting him to heel is a real challenge. Baxter trots right along and doesn't pull on the leash too hard, probably because he is rolly-polly like a Cocker Spaniel and just can't keep up a very fast pace for a long time. Charlie, on the other hand, has springs in his heels and can run very fast and jump quite high. When it's time to feed him he comes over to the counter where we are putting food in his dish, and he will bounce up and down so he can see on top of the counter. He probably clears a couple feet when he does this.

Charlie is getting more affectionate as time goes by. He often braces his feet against my chest when I pick him up and put him next to me so he doesn't get too close to me. But when I pull him closer, he goes limp and really loves the attention.

So we are quite happy with our little guys. They bring a great deal of pleasure into our lives. In spite of the teeth marks on the coffee table and Mother's tax papers. Overall, they're good boys.