Tuckerism 2.0

Bed Time.

Tucker didn't always sleep with us in the bed. When he was just a little pup, he actually preferred to sleep in his pen we had set up downstairs. It's where he felt safest. It's where his food and water and blanket and bed were and I think it just made him feel cozy. Not to mention it was cooler down there. You see, for the first 9 months or so that we had Tucker, we let his hair grow and be free. I guess we were afraid if we cut it, it wouldn't grow right...or whatever. But then it was just out of control and the poor thing was a mess, so we cut it. But, I digress.

Anyway, we tried a couple times to bring him up in bed with us to sleep. Why, you ask? Why not just let him sleep downstairs in his own place and not muck up your own bed? I dunno, we just love our dogs and don't care if they sleep with us. But Tucker didn't want to have anything to do with it. He actually would sleep down at our feet for the first hour or so, then jump off and scratch at the door to be let downstairs. So we'd take him down and put him in his pen and he'd be content. Not a whine or peep out of him.

But then (and this is the reason I mentioned his haircut), it seems that after he was shaved down (almost neked! I'm telling you, his hair was atrocious - the groomer had to shave him down all the way) he actually started sleeping through the night with us. Not only that, but he'd curl up in a ball between our pillows and stay there the entire night.

And now, our bed is his bed, his bed is our bed. We all sleep one in the same. He loves bed time. He LOVES his bed. And he still curls up in a ball and sleeps between our pillows. Except now, he thinks that Woei's pillow is also his own and will lay his little, tired head on it and drift off to sleep.

This sort of makes Woei uncomfortable to have this furry thing sleeping right next to your head, but hey, he's a good dad.

And that's bed time!

Tucker prose

Happy 1st Birthday, little bro! Here's something I wrote for you. It's from the heart...

I love to lick your little face that often tastes like snot.
I love to run and jump on you. I figure, "why not?"
I love it when you tackle me and pull my tail hair out.
Nothing really bothers me, for I am Tucker Doubt.
I love it when we go for walks.
I love to play around.
I love to lick the floor clean after you drop your dinner on the ground.
You're my little brother and I never thought I would
but I love you with all my heart,
more than I ever thought I could.

Love, Tucker

Tuckerism 1.0

In this segment, I'd like to introduce what I've dubbed "Tuckerisms." These are basically little tidbits that are totally Tucker. And only Tucker. So here goes...

"Guard Dog Mode."

What is this, you ask? This is a "mood" that Tucker gets in every once in a while. He feels that is about 3 times his size and that he must defend his home and his people with every once of his being. And bark at every. single. thing. that moves, makes a sound, flashes in front of the window, or drives by. And forget it. If Woei and I have a vehicle parked in the driveway overnight for whatever reason, you can pretty much guarantee that Tucker will not be nestled all up in our bed sound asleep. He's going to be up and down from the bed all night, perched at the top of the stairs barking at that dang car because he thinks it's someone new parked in our driveway. He doesn't quite get the concept sometimes.

And for some reason, he thinks that he owns the entire street and every neighbor's driveway. If someone parks across the street, he barks. If a car drives by, he barks. If someone is walking, perhaps by themselves, or god-forbid with another dog, he barks. If someone parks in our neighbors driveway, he barks. It...is...maddening!!!

And if you think that because he's on the smaller side (about 15 pounds) that means his bark can't possibly be that annoying - think again. He has the loudest, most ear-piercing bark IN THE WORLD!

So that's "Guard dog mode" in a nutshell. I guess it's good - at least he's alert and if someone should try to break in, we are sure to know about it. But when you've finally gotten your baby to sleep and he goes on a barking tyrade and will not quiet down so that you can finally go to sleep, well, it's just plain annoying. But we love him and we wouldn't trade it in for anything. I just look at Woei and say, "I guess he's in guard-dog mode again." And Woei replies, with a sound of defeat in his voice, "Great..."

Poor Tucker

Poor Tucker boy has been neglected some more by his momma not posting about him. He really is disappointed that he has not been represented as much as the rest of his family. Sorry, Tucker, momma's going to be better about that. Starting now!

Tucker's love knows no bounds...

So ever since we had our son Mason, Tucker has become somewhat obsessed with licking Mason's face. And hands. And toes. And whatever else he can land his tongue on. It's a bit of an annoyance and we mind, but then again, we know that it's a lost cause to try to get him to completely leave Mason alone. He's his height, for pete's sake, what else should we expect, right?

So quite often, you hear shouts and hollers coming from our home. "Tucker, stop!" "Tucker, quit licking his face!" "Tucker, knock it off!" Then comes the stomp, stomp, stomp to the scene of the crime with a "Tucker, I swear! Stop! That's enough!"

And what does Tucker do during all this commotion where his name is being repeated 50 THOUSAND times? Keeps licking...and licking...and licking. And, "ooo, one more for the road, sluurp."

His love knows no bounds...

Tucker's Introduction

This site is dedicated solely to our sweet Tucker boy. I thought that he needed his own blog because there are just so many stories from him alone that, well, he just needs his own space.

He's our first "born." He's a little crazy, but always sweet and fun-lovin'. He has adjusted pretty well to his baby brother, Mason. He likes to lick his face...a lot. Mason doesn't mind too much, but he does get a little overwhelmed at times. Tucker has that effect.

Tucker loves to chew on "bone-bones"(even though they give him an upset tummy sometimes) and he loves him some walks and some tug-of-war with his "rope-rope." He knows a few tricks. We started him early with a puppy training class and then the next intermediate class where we built on some of the basics. He can sit, stay, lie down, shake, and crawl. He's pretty smart, too. He knows where to go when you say "go to pen." I thought that was pretty good, until one day I spelled it out and he went there and sat. So to test him I said, "Tucker, go to p-e-n." And he went over to his "pen" (which now consists of a big pillow bed) and just sat there waiting for his treat! He also knows what we're doing when we say the word "walk" and "park" and "potty." All those things mean he gets to go outside and he gets VERY excited. So when we really aren't going outside, we have to spell those words out. He also does something cool that I unintentionally taught him, but is actually pretty nice. Whenever it's raining or snowing outside, he's so low to the ground that his little paws and most of his legs and belly get drenched. So, I started saying, "let's go wipe your feet" everytime we'd come in from the wetness. And we'd proceed directly to our laundry room where I would then scoop him up on top of the drier and get a towel and dry off his paws and whatever else was soaked. We kept doing that and doing that and I guess it stuck because now, all I have to say is "go wipe your feet" and I can let him off his leash and he goes directly to the laundry room door and sits and waits for me. Then, when we go in, he sits down at the drier and sometimes even puts up his little front paw so I can pick him up to get dried off. He likes it, I think.

So, that's a little bit about Tucker. I'll be posting some more crazy stories and adventures more as they come and just some pics and other Tuckerisms. We hope you enjoy!