Getting To Know One Another

One of the fun things about Bailey is learning who she is. Her personality is starting to emerge and it can be quite entertaining and heartwarming.


She likes to cuddle. She will curl up in my lap and sleep so sound she snores. When my husband or I pick her up, she will put a paw on each shoulder (like a baby would wrap his arms around a parent) and lick our face a few times before she lays her head on one shoulder or the other. Very sweet.

She gets the hic-ups. I didn't know dogs could get the hick-ups. And when they come about varies. Sometimes it's after she eats, sometimes it's when we are playing, and sometimes when she's just laying there.

She taps us if she wants our attention. She lifts a paw and taps us with it until we attend to her. It's cute when it's my leg or arm. Not so much when I am asleep and it is my face or chest.

She also likes to bury her muzzle. She will lay in my lap and bury her face in the crook of my arm or knee if I am sitting cross-legged. Or between my neck and the pillow if I am laying down. It's really very cute.

She dreams... like the dog from Cinderella... legs flailing about and dream-barking and all.

She gets snippy when she is tired. She wants to cuddle with her human but wiggles and bites and fights it until she is too exhausted to do so any longer and passes out cold.

Then she sleeps so sound that I can do all kinds of things to her without objection... like bury her under the dryer-warm towels we use for her kennel.

She is fairly social. She allows almost anyone to pet her, which is good. She will be intimidating enough without needing to be guarded or suspicious. And I want her socialized with kiddos, too. God willing, someday we will have children and I want their friends to be able to come over without fear of our dog attacking if they are playing too rough with each other.

She did something the other day that brought tears to my eyes. In a previous post (Grief 12/2007), I mentioned that Gizmo used to wait for us to step out of the shower so she could lick the water off of our ankles. The other day, I got out of the shower and I heard Bailey whining (probably because I was the only one home and she could hear me but not find me). So I called her name and she found her way to the bathroom. And she proceded to lick the water off my knees (she's quite a bit taller that Giz was). I don't know if all dogs do this or what but Gizmo was the only dog I had that ever did that. I still miss her and my heart still aches. Bailey is helping to ease that ache but I know it will be there for a long time to come.