My Old Buddies Bert & Ernie

When we first brought "the boys" home, we named them based on their height. Bert was taller, so he was Bert. But within days, we thought we had misnamed them. Ernie loved to cuddle and was happy snoozing in your lap for hours. Bert was full of mischief, he was independent, he would wander off and get into EVERYTHING. We started call the puppies "Bad Bert" and "Easy Ernie."

Then, about a week later, Bert jumped off the deck and broke his little leg. Poor little guy. He was so sad. He spent 8 weeks in a cast, cuddling on our laps, while "Easy Ernie" took advantage of the situation and became more dominant everyday. Before we knew it, Ernie was king of the castle and Bert was the lapdog.

Now, it is clear that we named them correctly. Ernie is no longer easy. He is full of mischief and gets into everything. He is trouble on 4 legs. We call him "Your Majesty" and it is clear that he just tolerates us living in his house. He loves to ignore us. Good old Bert, on the other hand, will follow us around the house all day long. If you sit on the floor he scrambles to get on your lap. When Talia was first born, he would sit at my feet and not let Ernie or anyone else near me while I fed the baby. Even though we generally don't let the dogs close enough to the baby to lick her, he is forever trying to scooch in for a smooch. His favourite part of the day is when she is in her bouncy chair or carseat, at his height. We have a rule that the dogs are not allowed on the baby's blanket when she is on the floor - we might as well give up, since Bert is impossible to keep off and Ernie couldn't care less!