And thank you about the blog–maintaining two versions is a pain at times, but I really felt likeI had to make an effort in my own language as well for once, and not only write in English.

By the way, I checked out your blog, and it looks great! I like that it’s both in French and English. Maybe I can use it to brush up on my French.

I think it’s just so hard to NOT come up with “pet names” after a while, probably for the very reasons you list–just like couples call themselves by sweet names. Our dog is named Vulcain (like the Roman God–or like Mr Spock’s people, depends on how one takes it), but we seldom call him this way. Names range from “Vul” and “Cain” to “Mister Doggy” and “Sausage” (yes, well, he’s so thin and nervous that looked at from above, he looks like a long black sausage moving frantically on the floor. I know, we’re weird). The hardest thing in fact is to not make him feel confused, because the day he stops answering to “Vulcain” during training sessions or in the street, we’re in trouble.