Pet Peeves

Most of you know that we have a dog, a West Highland Whiter Terrier to be exact. Quincy is a wonderful dog even though he barks at everything outside (just trying to protect his turf), pees and poops inside when he gets excited or is mad at us & throws up in the middle of the night, we still love him. He is spoiled and treated like a second child and grandchild. Quincy is very protective of Grant. They play together and have an occasional fight. It was hard for Quincy at first to coexist with someone stealing his attention away from mom and dad, but they have worked it out.

Quincy loves to go to the park and go for walks. Unfortunately we can't get a good walk in because all the kids in the neighborhood want to pet and play with him. Quincy is shy & not a "people person". He will let people pet him and if you reach his sweet spot (his tummy) you are his friend for life. He behaves when people pet him and would never nip at a stranger but at the same time he is very annoyed of this procedure. I can't believe all the kids out there who run up to him and want to pet him. First of all you NEVER pet a strange animal without asking the owner and then BEFORE you pet the animal let them sniff the back of your hand. This tells them that you are OK and want to make friends. People that have gone up and petted Quincy are very lucky that he is a nice dog.

It doesn't surprise we when I hear about a child or adult in the news getting attacked by a dog. Please everyone follow the simple rules from above and know one gets hurt.

Excuse Me, Please and Thank-you

Grant was complimented on his manners a few days ago. I guess we are doing something right in his transition to a pre schooler. How did he get to be so polite? For one thing I never let a toddler tell me what to do. He learned the sign for please when he was very young. Anytime he wanted something he had to say please. When he received the item he would have to say thank-you. He also learned by watching us saying please and thank-you to others. He learned excuse me probably from shopping with us and trying to get around people. Sometimes it's extremely difficult getting around places with a stroller, especially walking in back of people who don't have a clue where they are going. Excuse me is a nice way of saying in that situation get out of the way! Grant is super polite he even says "excuse me" when trying to go down the stairs when Quincy is blocking them. It's true what they say "practice what you preach". Children are always learning from you, I am always reminded to be a good example for him. Now if I could get his little buddy from calling me "hey you" or "hey you, I want some milk".