It's been a while

wow I didn't realize how long it's been since I have written here - I guess I was just in a funk but now it's time to come back and write some more about Brittany and also start to write about our new pup Gabriel :o) It's funny there are so many similarities between the two that I find myself calling Gabriel Brittany LOL! so many things that he does reminds me of her and I am not sure if they are just "every dog traits" or traits specifically "mastiff related". One thing he does that she used to do all the time is sit up against me - he didn't really do this up until a few weeks ago but now when I am cooking or washing dishes he will come right next to me and position himself so that he is either lying across my feet or touching my legs - and she did that all the time (and of course I love it :o) though sometimes it is hard to do what I am doing with this gigantic dog on my feet. He also spins in circles when he gets excited and that is what Brittany was famous for. And the thing that really reminds me of her is when he chews his blanket - he doesn't do it as much as she did but when he does I look at him and I see her face :o) He is a good puppy for the most part - we have been very lucky due to the fact that for some reason we have so far been spared the chewing up the furniture, moldings, etc. He tends to stick to chewing on his toys which is great though every once in a while a shoe gets thrown into the mix. One thing he is doing that Brittany NEVER did is "counter surfing" - this basically means he stands on his hind legs and makes his way up and down the counters (while holding on with his two front paws) stealing everything he can get his mouth on. The latest casualty was my brand new roll of paper towels I came in the kitchen to find shreds of paper towel all over the floor. He also got a hold of my box of tissues and a box of plastic baggies. Of course Heather and Kaitlyn think it is the funniest thing when they come into the kitchen and there he is standing at the sink - now if I could only teach him how to do the dishes he could be quite an asset LOL! We are really enjoying him - he was pretty easy to housebreak though once in a while he still has accidents. He also took to his crate nicely and now that he is bigger (he is 6 months) we have started just gating him in the kitchen and leaving his crate open so he can go in and out of it as he pleases - which he does but when it comes to bedtime he will climb in his crate and sleep there all night long even though the door is wide open - so obviously he likes it in there and recognizes that as his "bed". We are still having issues with him being quite "mouthy" - I had hoped that would stop once he got rid of his baby teeth but it hasn't and he has now decided he also likes to jump on us (not me so much but the girls fall victim to him mostly every day) we are trying the "be a tree" approach but it still needs "tweaking" where the girls are concerned as it seems he has decided the girls are "equal" to him on the "food chain" LOL! He will try the jumping/mouthing with me but since I am still bigger than him and weigh more than him he doesn't get away with it - he seems to steer clear of Scott with that behaviour though once in a while Scott gets a good dose of it LOL! Anyway we love him and he has certainly filled the "void" - he doesn't take her place but he is definitely helping us heal from her loss :o)