I agree with you on both counts, both on Ziva acting OOC (I thought about her brother too) and about Abby and the dog, which really annoyed me. Even though I liked the follow up, where McGee kept the dog and still called him Jethro.

With Ziva, I kept hoping she was only acting like she was falling for the guy so she could catch him in action and it really would be him. And then when it turned out her instincts were correct I was happy, but... her entire reaction to the situation just felt wrong.

Not mentioning the latest episode because I don't know if you've seen it yet, but I didn't like the bottom line of that either.

(I am still enjoying the show in general, though. The small moments in between.)