Taking Out the Dog...

It's safe to say that Jude loves our dog. There are times when he's had it up to his ears with Buddy being in his face. There are times when he whines and cries until we get Buddy off the couch so he can 'jump!' But for the most part, he loves Buddy. He thinks it's hilarious when Buddy clonks down the steps behind us. He loves when Buddy comes up to his room with us at bedtime (and sleeps in his bed all through the night). He likes to run around and torture the dog - because in his eyes, he's just playing with Buddy, and he doesn't understand that Buddy's older and doesn't like to be played with.

Perhaps the coolest part about Jude's fascination with the dog is that he's starting to try to take responsibility for him. First, he loved to comb Buddy. About a month ago, he went through an intense period of shedding and so, we were brushing him more often than Jude had ever seen. Randomly I'd catch Jude with the comb in his hand, chasing the dog around the house, trying to get him to sit still long enough to get a few wads of hair out.

Then the interest grew into feeding the dog. He knows where Buddy's food is, and he knows that he gets to eat twice a day. He'll call the 'woof' for 'num nums' as he helps Ryan scoop the food out of the container into Buddy's metal bowls.

More recently, Jude decided that Buddy likes to brush his teeth. When I brush Jude's teeth, he insists I share the tooth brush with Buddy. I pretend to brush the dog's teeth and then continue on with Jude's. Well, during one of these cleanings, Buddy tried to lick the tooth brush... now, Jude is convinced that he too should lick the tooth brush during brushing... sigh... it only makes this part of our morning routine even longer... he thinks it's hilarious and giggles through the whole thing.

Finally, the most recent thing Jude discovered about Buddy is that he goes outside to pee - and that he needs to do it frequently through out the day. So, Jude insists that he gets to carry the leash and take Buddy out on his own. Obviously, if I let Jude do this, Buddy would pull Jude through the door, down the steps, across the yard and down the street in a matter of seconds, so it's a struggle to find a balance of power with my 2 year old when letting the dog out. But once we find that balance, we're good. Then, as we're walking Buddy across the front yard, Jude's hollering after him 'pssssss' (because if Jude's having a hard time getting the flow going, that's what we say to him).

It's safe to say, it's adorable. Not to mention, it's just another indication to me of how loving Jude is going to be with his little brother (hopefully).