Happy Birthday

Bailey turns eight today. It does not seem possible that our first is eight. Now I sound like my friends with children. However, it does seem like yesterday we were driving back from Connecticut with a carsick puppy and beginning our lives with this amazing dog. It does not seem possible that he could possibly be eight. The calendar keeps us honest, though.

Last weekend was cold, wet and rainy, so we decided we would take the dogs out birthday shopping this weekend. I want to see if we can find some of the puzzle toys that will keep the two of them entertained. Of course, Bailey will get some bones as well. We all know that this will start a game of grab and go with Katy. There are no individual purchases for these two. Both share what we buy, even when we buy duplicates. There is no concept of individual ownership.

I do like the pet stores that allow the dogs. We do visit Petco and some of the local dog stores allow the dogs to travel with their owners. Bailey and Katy do not match the human stereotypes. Bailey loves to shop. He could spend hours in the store pursuing toys and treats. Katy wants to get what she needs and be gone. If she could use the Internet, she would do all her shopping online. She sees no benefit to the social aspects of shopping.

Happy Birthday Bailey!! May you spend many more happy years with us.

Sheltie Toy Boxes

Even before Katy came to us, we had two toy boxes. One used to store indoor dog toys and one for outdoor toys. The outdoor toy box is just a box that we put the dried outdoor toys in to keep them from being dragged out to play with in the house. The indoor toy box serves a similar function to children's toy boxes. It stores the toys the dogs are not playing with and makes cleaning a simpler task. We use a recycled plant box that is low to the ground and open so the dogs can identify what items are in the box.

Prior to Katy's arrival Bailey had pretty much ignored the indoor toy box except on vacuuming days. The days I vacuum, I take all his toys and pile them in the box so I can clean the floor. After I am done, he takes his favorite toys and removes them back to the floor to reclaim the space.

Family, friends, and my husband and I have bought many toys over time. After Christmas, I cleaned out the broken toys and those that were not good for play. The box is still full. Cute dogs attract dog gifts.

One of the warnings we got from the rescue about Katy is that she was bone protective. She would engage over bones. She showed little interest in toys when we got her, but they were right, she wanted bones. We made sure that she and Bailey had bones. When she became confident enough that there were plenty, she and Bailey became more engaged in using the bones as a way of enticing each other to play. As she got more confident with bones, Bailey got her interested in toys.

As she started to enjoy the toys on the floor, she was curious about the indoor toy box but hesitant to approach it. As her confidence has emerged, she has reintroduced toys to Bailey that he had long forgotten about and abandoned. Only a few nights ago she started a game of tug with a toy that I know was at the bottom of the pile. She had been on a quest to find something interesting. As she has shown an interest, Bailey has discovered new treasures in his toy box.