The Solomon Sisters: Finally, A Chance To Write An Update!

I know I am FAR overdue for a Solomon Sister blog post, and I apologize profusely for that! Life has been a bit hectic in the Solomon household. On May 10th, my brother Jeremy flew down from NJ to doggy-sit the girls while Rob and I spent the weekend at Beaches Turks & Caicos where Rob filmed one of my client's weddings (since I am a travel agent, I plan a lot of destination weddings as well as honeymoons and vacations).

I fully expected the girls to be little terrors for my brother, but they warmed up to him nicely and not but a day and a half after he arrived, they found themselves alone with him and bonding. Chelsea took to him very well. By the end of day one they were taking walks together and she was coming up and eating out of his hand. Once we were away, Jeremy didn't have a problem getting her into her harness and leash for walks, and he was so proud of himself when (during a thunderstorm) she let him hug and kiss her. After that he was petting and hugging and kissing her all the time. She still isn't comfortable with a lot of affection, so we tend to let her be for the most part. When she wants attention, she knows to come to us.

Of course, Jeremy completely fell in love with both girls. He thought Chelsea was absolutely beautiful, but found Chloe to be too adorable for words. They LOVE their "Uncle Jay Jay" which probably has to do with the fact that he fed them treats that whole weekend, let them sleep with him in bed, and didn't abandon them like Mommy & Daddy did. Plus, one afternoon he walked across the street to Walmart to buy some groceries and a bad storm blew through the area. Instead of waiting it out at Walmart he literally ran home though the rain and lightning to make sure the dogs were okay (he thought he left the balcony door open and was worried that they'd be terrified of the storm. We all laughed about how he risked his life for them, but it was still very cute to know he cared so much about them.

Once Uncle Jay Jay left, we prepared for a new visitor. This time Rob's aunt, Christina, came to stay with us for Memorial Day weekend. The dogs did very well with her and we were glad they are learning to warm up to people coming over. Of course, Chelsea continues to keep to herself, watching everything as opposed to jumping in and looking for attention like Chloe. But I think the fact that Chloe does it helps Chelsea come out of her shell. Chloe takes all the attention off of Chelsea, and allows her the time to observe and then warm up to situations and people.

Now that the girls, and mommy and daddy, are settling back into our routine that went awry this past month, we can all finally breath a little and relax. I am enjoying getting back into the swing of things because I spend all day with the girls and get to watch them in their element. I've noticed a few funny things that have changed in the past month.

For starters, Chloe is becoming quite the little brat! I am convinced that however many months old she is, is how many people years she acts. So right now she is between 4-5 years old and she is definitely acting like a typical 4-5 year old. For example, when I give Chelsea or Charlotte something, she wants it. It doesn't matter if she is sitting in a bed full of her toys, she wants the one toy I gave to Chelsea. Or, if I give them all rawhide bones, she will only chew hers until she sees the other girls got one too, and then all of a sudden she wants theirs instead. My favorite is when she is passed out sleeping in her bed and one of the other girls goes to eat dog food out of the "communal" dog bowl. She could be snoring away and as soon as she hears the crunch of a kibble, her eyes shoot open and she darts out of bed and into the dining room, nudging her way up to the bowl to get a bite too. At first Charlotte was angry with her. I'd hear the muffled growls echo out of the bowl while Chloe pushed her head in, right next to Charlotte's. A few times Charlotte snapped and Chloe backed up looking very confused, as if to say "but I'm so adorable, how can you be mad at ME and not let me get away with everything??". But after a while Chloe learned how to tip toe around Charlotte. Charlotte would take a mouth full of food and drop it outside the bowl (she always does this and I have no clue why) and then she'd eat from her little pile. While she is busy eating, Chloe would sneak by and grab a kibble or drink some water, and then sneak back and wait on the sidelines for Charlotte to get more food. She has this down to a T now. But I think this is because Chelsea put her in her place.

That is one thing I've been noticing more and more lately. Chelsea is my little babysitter. She is always keeping Chloe busy by playing with her, but she also keeps her "in check". For example, the other day Chloe was antagonizing Charlotte who was just trying to eat her dinner. Chloe was jumping all around her and trying to grab food that Charlotte had taken out of the bowl. After a few growls and barks from Charlotte, and Chloe still not letting up, Chelsea decided to go over and investigate. Well, Chelsea very quickly intervened. She walked between Chloe and Charlotte (who was back to eating her food) and she growled at Chloe until Chloe walked away. From a distance Chloe watched Charlotte eat while Chelsea stood there almost as if she was protecting Charlotte. When Charlotte was done, Chelsea ate a few kibbles and walked away. Then Chloe approached the dish and finished eating her dinner. I wanted to praise Chelsea but she wouldn't understand and it would probably just frighten her. I was so proud of her for putting Chloe in her place and showing her what her "rank" in the house was. After that Chloe has been a little bit less of a nuisance when it comes to eating.

Chelsea and Chloe spend all day together. When they aren't playing together they are cuddled up sleeping together. In the morning, I let Chloe out of her kennel and the first thing she does is go jump on Chelsea and kiss her on the face. Then she goes off to the potty patch to do her business. She adores Chelsea and it is just too cute. They play fight all the time and then every once in a while Chelsea gets tired of Chloe and lets her know with a firm nip or growl. My favorite moment was from the other day when Chelsea gave up on play time and decided to switch over to nap time mode. Chloe still wanted to play but Chelsea was already falling asleep in the dog bed, so Chloe decided to climb up on Chelsea's back and nibble on her ear for a bit before she fell asleep with her head on Chelsea's neck. It is just TOO cute when these two play or nap together. It melts my heart.

So for the most part, the girls have been getting along great. In fact, so well that we have to now lock them all in the kitchen when we go out because they play around too much that they have started using pillows and decorations as toys [rolls eyes]. But at least they get along and everyone is happy. :)

Uncle Jay Jay winning over Chelsea's heart (the key is lots and lots of treats)

Uncle Jay Jay + cooking = 3 happy spoiled little girls

Chelsea and Uncle Jay Jay (at the vet waiting for Chloe to get her last set of puppy shots)

Uncle Jay Jay trying to reassure Chelsea that the vet visit is not for her and that she is only with us to enjoy our trip to the dog beach afterwards.