Well, we can forget about blocking the steps from the first floor to the second. We have secured the steps leading from the first floor to the basement, however, because those stair treads are shining bare oak veneer, not carpeted. Riley detested those stairs and it was the rare occasion that he would venture on his own down into the rooms there, while Button wasn't the least bit fazed. These two puppies will eventually decide on their own whether that part of the house will comprise part of their territory.

For now, since the oak treads on the main staircase leading to the second floor has a firm carpet grip, they're just fine trotting upstairs on their own. And as of today, Jack is comfortably making his way back down them; he leaps the penultimate step directly onto the foyer floor below. As for Jill, she's not quite ready yet. She's fine on the ascent, fearful to try to descend on her own, despite encouragement. So there's the gender reversal from our original experience.

Jack seems far bolder than Jill, yet she's the one who engages primarily in the rough play, so go figure. She taunts Jack and Jack responds with alacrity, and it's either her on top or on occasion, snarling from under a triumphant Jack. When they're taken out to the backyard, if she doesn't feel like performing her bathroom duty, she takes off like a streak of light with Jack following close behind and they rip around the walkways at dizzying speed.

Oddly, she's the independent one, while Jack is the emotionally dependent of the two. Mind, they're both equally lavish with kisses. He's simply got to know where we are at all times. Yet, when it comes time to nap and if our laps are available, Jill prefers to snuggle close, while Jack doesn't mind curling up by himself close by, but not necessarily snuggling into us, although there are occasions when he prefers to be a snoozing lap dog.

At night, when they're in their bedroom crate upstairs and we glance in it's really hard to tell that there are two little dogs in there; what our eyes see is really deceiving; no more than one quite small little dog is discernible, since they seem to melt into one another, so close do they sleep. Because they're black, definition is almost absent and from time to time they assume odd angles from one another, which is when they become a black chimera.

They're ferocious little devils always up to mischief of one kind or another. On the other hand, when they're quietly checking out what we're doing during down-time, butter wouldn't melt proverbially in their prim little mouths.