Introducing....

The newest member of our family, Dexter Dog! A.K.A.- "Dex" 

 He is the sweetest little Red Heeler mix puppy and Rocky is in high Heaven, well not at first, but they are doing great! Rocky dog, (aka Rockstar, Rocks, Bat Dog, Rocky dog dog, Rocky Top Brownlee, and unfortunately, Houdini Dog) has had, ahem, a problem. A VERY big problem that has occurred for the last 3 years! Ever since we moved here and he discovered the fact that the newly planted grass was planted on top of sand and that it's super soft and fun to dig through, he has found every way under the sun to get out, scaring his mama to death when she gets home and he is not in the backyard. He knows it's wrong, sulks when he comes back in the house, most of the time is waiting on the front porch and just wanted to go out for a little "joy run" and then head back home. We have gone to great lengths over the last 3 years to contain him. Colby put vertical boards along the fence line that he had to cut each one, we have rocks lining underneath the back fence with chicken wire over that, and we have had to just keep piling on rocks, dirt, have sprayed "no dig" spray around the perimeter, you name it. Yet, it's always a new task each day to go out and see where he has dug. The latest trick while Colb was in Detroit was digging under the side fence into the neighbor's yard and then under and out their fence. UGH! Rocky! He is a great dog and our baby that we've had for 5 1/2 years and I can't imagine coming home one day and him being gone, taken, smushed, you name it, yuck!

Exhibit A, B, C, and D.

 So I finally hit my limit and we went to Lowes to look at Doggy doors. You see, Rocky is usually in the house if we are home and sleeps inside, etc. It's just the days that Colb and I are at the hospital for long shifts where we leave him outside so that he can run around and play, or relax on his outside pillow under the covered porch in the shade. No animal cruelty here, folks. Quite the spoiled dog who goes with us on all trips, and even runs errands around town. We love him and we don't have a baby, so don't judge! :) Anyhoo, doggy doors were quite expensive and the ones they had there didn't have the "lock out mechanism" for when you don't want them in the house or other critters in the house for that matter. So next we went to PetsMart, pretty much the same story, so we looked at their electric fences. Wow, they were super expensive, so that was a no go, plus we'd have to leave it here at this house and that didn't seem worth it in the long run.
Oh, but wouldn't you know that the local animal shelter was doing an adoption day and they had several precious dogs available. Skip to the point where we got totally SUCKERED! But the moral to the story is, they are great together! They play all day long, are now referred to as "the boys" and Rocky has not dug out once since Dex's arrival. He was just bored. We've spent some time training him, and he is super smart, but still has a ways to go to get where Rocky is, but is fitting into our routine quite nicely. He does know all the puppy essentials of NO! Down! Sit! Stay, and Potty Outside!
I have friends who are always comparing their 1st and 2nd children and commenting how different they are. Well, the same is true for dogs. Wow, Dex has no fear at all. He loves the water, got kennel trained immediately, has the funniest mannerisms, and we love him lots already! I thought we were crazy getting another dog, but he has been a lot of fun, we laugh at all his puppy antics daily and he and Rocky are so fun together. It is harder to travel with 2 dogs and their stuff, but totally worth it during the week at home with our usual schedule, since we haven't been able to spend as much time playing with Rocks as we used to. Welcome to the family Dex!!!

Hmm...this box is too small!

 Look at me!

 I love to snuggle!

 If I could just fit through this...

 Ok, so you got a bigger box, but, Hey guys, you want me to sleep in here?

 Our first night set up before getting his kennel

 This is what we do all day long!

 I think I can get the hang of this "leash thing"

 Could you say No to this? We couldn't!

 I love my naps!

We are learning to pose together

 I love to have my belly rubbed

A Daddy's boy already (but a snuggler with mom!)

 I love to wrestle with my big brother all day long

 We love to tug and pull

 Doesn't matter the toy, we will play with it!

 

We even share our pillow nicely in the car (even though we have our own)

 

Ooohh...it's tough work being a puppy!

 

I know these two are in for a lot of fun adventures together!