We?ve had Pupcake1 from a puppy and were really careful about socialisation / fear periods and stuff, so he?s fairly well balanced. Whenever he has a sudden bark at something (like a chair that?s been moved slightly, or an abandoned shopping trolley), we just say ?don?t be silly, come and look?, and he?ll slink up and sniff it. Then he has a really obvious attitude change, as if he?s saying ?Oh! That?s what it is! I didn?t realise?, and he trots off quite happily. However he seems to really dislike DH?s youngest sister. She?s only a teenager and seems perfectly inoffensive to me, but Pupcake1 barks and growls any time we see her.
Pupcake2 we?ve only had 9 months, she was a puppy-farm breeder and then was in a dogs home for 5 months before we had her, so her list of quirks is?varied. So far we?ve discovered she dislikes TV remotes, Phones (especially DH?s iPhone), fluffy dogs, DH?s clothes if they?ve been thrown over the back of the chair (I?m with her on that one) and people bending over. This is a dramatic improvement. When we brought her home she was afraid of people holding out food, going through doors, having her paws touched (actually she?s still not overly keen on that), clickers, our gerbils, the bed, water (now a converted water baby)? the list was pretty endless!
Both do weird stuff quite regularly. Pupcake1 will scoot down on his shoulders and wiggle his bum in the air for me to scratch it, and he?s recently taken to eating the fruit directly off the bushes in the garden (actually he?s a lab so probably not so unusual). Pupcake2 licks the backs of my legs to get my attention (not very effective if I?m wearing jeans). They both bark viciously if somebody comes to the door, but if that person is a close friend and they just open the door and come in, both dogs run away and hide under the table (they have a combined weight of 60kg but would be largely useless as guard dogs). Actually, the more I think about it the more kooky I realise my dogs are?