Macy Grace Turns 2!

I have never had a dog.  Not really.  We had one when I was too little to remember much and then my dad always had a dog, but I didn't live with him so...not dog for me.  Then when I met George, he had a lab that he had had forever.  So she became the family pup.  Which was nice and all, but she was always HIS dog.  Not ours or mine or Clayton's.  In fact she never wanted much to do with Clayton.  You see he kind of stole her thunder.  For eight years she was the top dog, George's baby, etc.  Then Clayton just busted her bubble.  So she never paid him much attention and had a tendency to walk away from him.  So, I was just itching to get another dog.  But it was never the right time with Clayton keeping us so busy and all and George didn't want to further intrude on Sugar's life.
But once we got finished building our new house, it just seemed right.  So we drove to north Alabama and came home with this:

I know right?

These two only had a little time together.

Well anyone who has met Macy since we got her can tell you when she sees people she goes crazy!  Like dog done lost her mind crazy.  She just gets so stinking excited to be around other people.  That has been her worst trait thus far.  Which is really our fault because like us she stays home a lot and doesn't get out much.  She has really been such a great dog.  She has never chewed up or on any of our furniture.  Never messed with our shoes; none of that typical puppy stuff you hear about or experience with other dogs.  She doesn't touch Clayton's toys, which are always covering the floor...She just tip toes around them and ignores them.  She is a guard dog for sure.  I mean someone can't pull in the driveway without her ringing the alarm.  Which though it can sometimes be annoying, I honestly love it, because it makes me feel safe.  And she loves Clayton.  AND she knows he is the boss.  I always get a kick out of it when they play.  Sometimes I get worried he is going to get her too excited and she might accidentally hurt him, but that never has happened.  Other times if he is playing on his own and she gets too close to his toys, he cracks me up because he will literally go after her and grab her snout and give her his serious face.  Which anyone who has seen that face can tell you is hilarious.  So to see him doing that to the dog is just too much.  Sweet Macy though just lets him.  She always has.  She can tell when he is irritated with her and will try to retreat, but if he gets hold of her first, she just sits there.  She has never snarled at him or anything.  And in the spirit of full disclosure, he has even bitten her before and she didn't so much as give a response.  She just knows.  We have been incredibly lucky and dealing with what George calls her crack-head ways when she sees people is worth the trade off of all of her other awesome qualities.  That said, we have seen so much improvement in the last 3-6 months in her behavior around other people.  Massive improvement.  Huge.  Oh and did I mention she is a retrieving machine?  It is all she wants to do.
Anyway, she turned 2 on the 29th of May.  Baby girl's a teenager now.  I love this sweet pup and thought she deserved to be celebrated.  Happy belated Birthday Miss Mace!

P.S.  As you can see in the pics she is a fairly petite lab. We recently found her a suitor.  And I believe on her next heat we are going to breed her.  Probably only this one time though.  I'll have to get some pics of her betrothed.  Like her, he is a fully registered lab, good blood line, retriever, etc. and he has the personality to compliment hers in that he is very docile to her excited.  We think it will be a good mix and are excited about puppies in our future.  It should be in the next 8 months so if anyone plans on getting a lab puppy, keep us in mind.  We haven't determined a price yet, but I can tell you they won't be the $600+ labs and they won't be the $250 labs either.  Somewhere in the middle.  They will be coming from two good bloodlines and both parents have really good traits.  But it will be her first (and probably only) litter and we aren't breeders, just dog lovers.  So we will sell them to good homes for a reasonable price.  Anyway, just something to think about.