Happy New Years Eve! Nova Lee turns 1 year old today! Sometimes I forget that she's 7 months younger than Bozley. They've always been kinda on the same "level" since she was 6 months old when we brought her home AND she was already bigger than Boz (and with bigger paws!). But this sweet girl has been such a wonderful addition to our family...especially for Bozzy. I think she really boosts his confidence and has lessened his anxiety. He's not as nervous around new people or surroundings. AND he's eating much better as well (thank goodness!). They also get a lot of exercise playing together and it's so fun to watch them interact. They seem to have really bonded with each other from the moment we brought her home.
Novee and Bozzy are so different...they even look a lot different. Nova is a lighter golden color and Boz is much more red. He has a long, straight coat while hers is thicker, shorter, and the fur on her back and tail is wavy. Bozzy has a wider head and Novee's is more slender. He has round eyes while her eyes are more narrow. She is also quite a bit bigger than Boz with larger paws.
Their personalities are a lot different too. He is a little more high-strung and she's pretty calm. Boz barks far more than she does, but she has a bigger/deeper bark than him. Nova does bark at the TV though...especially when there are lions or tigers on the TV. Nova loves to cuddle more than Bozley. He'll cuddle for a little while but then he'll get up and go lay in his bed. Nova will cuddle up between me and Johnny all night long. She likes to lay on the couches with us while we're watching TV too. Generally Nova loves to lay all sprawled out...usually on her back. Bozley likes to curl up in his favorite spot by the vent. Bozley will sit in front of the back door when he wants to go out and bark if we don't pay attention. Nova never "alerts" us when she wants to go out...she'll just wait until Bozley wants to go (which is usually pretty frequently anyway). Nova always takes my spot on the couch whenever I get up and refuses to move (I just have to scoot her a little bit and sit under her with her butt in my lap lol). But then Bozley is a gentleman and will immediately jump up before I even get back to the couch. Boz is kind of a "serious" guy while Nova is such a funny, goofy girl. She always looks sad though because her jowls hang more than Bozley's...but she acts pretty happy! We always joke around that Nova just seems to have an attitude like, "I don't know what we're doing but let's do it!" She just seems to be a sweet, fun-loving girl who wants to be a part of whatever is going on.
They've picked up some habits from each other as well. Bozzy has always wanted to have something in his mouth (usually one of his stuffed toys) when he gets excited...and now Nova has started doing the same thing (although sometimes it's just a matter of taking the stuffie away from Boz). Another habit she picked up from Boz is to bark at the cats when they're on the other side of the gate at the top of the stairs. We had taken the gate down when it was just Boz, because he's afraid of going down the stairs. Not Nova...she ran right downstairs shortly after we brought her home for the first time! Even though Novee will go downstairs, Boz still doesn't have any desire to. But one bad habit Boz has picked up from Nova is standing at the kitchen counter to eat whatever might be up there when we're not in the room. Their favorite is napkins. :P So now we have a gate in front of the kitchen and keep the napkins on the other side of the kitchen. I tried putting them in the middle of the dining room table where they can't reach...but then our cat, Milo, digs in them. :P
Unlike Boz, mealtime is Nova's favorite time. She will go in her kennel and stare at me to tell me she wants to eat (often before it's actually time to eat) and then follow me to the kitchen while I put the food in their bowls. She bounces around and then runs back to her kennel as soon as I pick the bowls back up. She eats all of her food no problem...while Bozley is usually still pushing around his food and hasn't even started by the time she's done. But the good news is that he DOES eat all his food now! :) And there are a lot of times when he'll turn his nose at something...but then once Nova eats it, he decides he wants to try it too.
Watching Bozzy and Novee play is so much fun. They'll chase each other around the yard, fight over sticks, and play tug-of-war with all of their stuffed animals. We never had any torn up toys or slippers or anything until Nova Lee came along...because now they "fight" over everything. So most of their stuffed toys have legs or tails that have been pulled off. Nova also likes to chew the squeakers out of the stuffed animals if we're not paying attention. :P I've found that the Kong knot toys hold up really well so far. Instead of stuffing, they have a rope inside the toy.
For Nova's birthday today, we took the pups to Petco. Bozzy was not having a good time...so Johnny ended up taking him back out to the car. But Novee had a blast! She was very calm in the store and wandered around looking at everything. There were a lot of people who asked to pet her and she met a pittie puppy and another older terrier-looking dog while we were there. She was also very interested in the small animals! She spent the most time watching the hamsters but she liked seeing the guinea pigs and ferrets as well. She was very calm and just watched them moving around. She picked out a braided bully stick and she got a new toy, a birthday cookie, and we got some puppy frozen yogurt and a bag of various treats as well. I think she had a good birthday. :)
When we brought Nova home, she was covered in sores/scabs from an untreated food allergy. She was friendly and sweet and loved to cuddle with us...but she didn't really like to make eye contact with us. She has always been playful and never seemed fearful or anything...but she would turn or lower her head instead of make eye contact. But now? She's on the right kind of food for her allergies so her skin is free from sores and her coat is softer. And it took several months, but now she has no problem making eye contact for long periods of time. She has been doing so well with us. It's hard to remember what life was like before Nova joined us. She just seamlessly blended in with our family. We definitely feel lucky to have such happy, healthy pups in our lives. Happy first birthday sweet Nova Lee! <3