One Year Ago

One year ago (2 1/2 days ago....I was thinking we got her on the 28th, but it was really the 26th, and even then I'm late on the celebratory blog post) I was rushing home from class to see our new little pup Ellie.  We had picked her up from the Humane Society earlier in the afternoon and Dave got to take the dogs home and I was soooo jealous :)  It's her one-year anniversary (November b-day?)  She isn't getting a birthday party or anything.  Just a blog post.  Which of course is more for me.

We got Ellie so that Teddy would have a friend.  Two has to be easier than one, right? Teddy won't be so needy and will have a friend and it will be good for him and it will be all good.......right?

Well Ellie proved to be much more challenging than Teddy (I only say this looking back because at the time I was taking care of Teddy as a brand new pup there were times I told Dave I was getting rid of him because he didn't like me.....I didn't know what the nipping meant! :)  Anyway, Ellie is overall higher energy and more adventurous.  Teddy is fit, and still has plenty of energy for his age, but he has always been a little more content with just hanging with the humans.  If you know me you've see the endless cuddling photos.  Love (and sometimes hate?) that about him! Haha.  Well little Ms. Ellie was pretty much the opposite from the beginning.  She had no interest in cuddling and I found it kind of sad! Picky, I know.  We kind of thought it was because she was always really warm and just got too hot.  Over time, it's been really fun seeing how happy she is all the time and how much she just loves to play (and to her that means beating the crap out of Teddy) and now especially in the snow, have such a great time.  And now she cuddles too!

And Teddy, well he is still Teddy and a second dog didn't change that too much :)

Their dynamic has been funny to watch over the year.  Teddy has always been so tolerant of her, and then she definitely became the alpha dog at some point.  Sad? I don't know.  They are buddies regardless.  She has always loved him to death, but I've caught him laying on her too.  

Ellie prefers anything Teddy....anything that smells like Teddy, belongs to Teddy or, is Teddy. From the beginning, she loved walking into his crate and laying down, but not into her own.  When we left her in hers on her own, she was (generally?) fine, except that she would eat the blankets I put in there (two $5 blankets from Dillons).  What the heck? And they would always be shoved in the corner.  So I just left nothing in there for a while.  Then I got Teddy a new one, and gave her his old one.  Perfect, right? For a while, but one day I guess I was gone too long for her liking and she went to town on the foam pad.  So then, she literally had nothing in her crate for months.  This worked out ok because we keep the crates in the basement and couldn't hear her moving around.  On her first trip with us, to Chicago over Christmas, we noticed she is pretty noisy when she moves around.  When we got out here to WA, it was even worse.  And she was going in Teddy's crate to lay down more than ever.  So, a couple reasons to get her a new crate pad (mattress).  When I bought it, I was thinking I might sleep on the damn thing for one night before giving it to her.  Too nice! But let's face it, it was more for hiding the noise.  I'm not sure getting her to like her own crate as much as Teddy's will ever be possible; in the past week she has still tried going in his first, then we tell her to move over!

Sharing Teddy's crate...

Stealing Teddy's crate...

Luxurious

Anyway, I know this is a long-winded post about dog beds.  But Ellie really entertains us and makes us laugh every day, and as much as we joked about taking her back or getting rid of her (*gasp*) when she was a bit to handle, she is ours and here to stay.  I recently told Dave "I really want our kids to know the dogs."  He said "I know, me too."  What does that mean?? :)  Soon, people, soon.

This is Ellie

Where she prefers to be.  At all times.

Best Buds