My dogs and my kids; sometimes I can't tell the difference.

So I work from my home and get to spend a lot of time with both my boys and my girls (my dogs).  We have two dogs in our family.  Both are rescues and both are integral parts of our family.  Which is why we call them "the girls".

Gretchen is a black and tan mini-dox who thinks she's tough and sounds like she's tough but in reality she isn't.  Daisy is a tri-color basset hound who sounds tough but doesn't think she is tough but in reality she really is.  It's just that she has a pretty long fuse.

The other day I'm going to be gone for a few hours so I do what I normally do.  I ask the girls to get in their box (kennel) so they don't have free run in the house.  Who knows what will happen if I leave them alone in the house?

They share the same kennel.  It is extra large from a previous (much larger) dog that we had.  One dog always gets there earlier than the other and establishes position.  Waiting for the second dog.  When second dog arrives the first always has to growl to let the second know they are there and to not come "too close".  I really don't know why they growl and I don't speak dog so this is speculation.

I got to thinking the other day that even though my two girls really love each other they don't treat each other very well.  They can't lay on the same couch together.  They fight over who gets the ice cubes first and many times Gretchen has to "watch her step" around the bigger and older Daisy.  And many times Gretchen forgets to "watch her step" around the bigger and older Daisy.  Not so good things happen here.  They compete for the best spot on Mom's lap.

At the same time I know they both support each other and would do anything to protect each other.  For example, if one dog starts barking at something outside the other joins in.  They have a mutual "enemy".  One time we took both dogs to "doggie daycare".  Daisy had been there before and Gretchen had not.  Of course, all the dogs wanted to sniff the new dog and Gretchen was shaking like a leaf.  But guess who got in the way and backed at least 20 dogs down?  Several were at least 5 times Daisy's size.  I was told that Gretchen wasn't bothered the rest of the day.  I guess it is kind of the "nobody is going to mess with my sister, except for me" rule.

It's amazing to me how similar this is to my boys.  It seems when they are in close proximity... at the dinner table or both near the computer, watching TV, doing chores or sometimes in the car (that one's not so bad thankfully)... that they just get kinda crazy and some mysterious forces occur that they have to pick at each other or antagonize each other.  I don't understand it but it is soooo similar to the way the girls act.  I say this because I truly believe my boys would defend each other against common enemies at any time.  And that is really neat to see.

So, I believe I've determined the differences to be that my boys have two legs and the girls have four; the girls can be legally kenneled and the boys can't (although I can send them to their rooms); the girls don't talk back and the boys do.  Some similarities are they all like to "bark" and they all have tales or tails.

Here are pictures of my two girls napping.  On separate couches, of course!

But in the end it is neat to see their loyalty for each other and also the interaction between all four as they are all great friends.