Our Growing Little Family

I know the title of the post has automatically put some hopes and dreams of babies out there, but nope, no nurseries or bottles or diapers needed here yet. We have welcomed a bounding, curious, and playful little boy puppy into our home and hearts.

I love these boys. 

Yup, we are officially a 3 dog household. It gets crazy sometimes, but the fun and joy makes the crazy moments worth it.

Feeding Time at the "Zoo"

We've had him for 3 weeks now but kept fairly quiet while we made sure it was the right choice. We wanted to make sure we could give all 3 boys the love and attention they needed, especially with school obligations starting up literally at the same time. Fortunately the little guy has been so smart and a quick learner that he is doing pretty well with potty training, enjoys sleeping all night, and doesn't take much to know what a command means.

It took a week after we got him to decide on a name, but after much debate and some scientific testing [AKA trying out our top 3 name choices to see what puppy seemed to respond to/like the best] we decided to name him Scout. Well, technically he's Scout Henrich. Henry was one of my favorite possible names for him, so we put it as his "middle" name and changed it to the German version because we are just that clever, haha. :) (IN case you were wondering: Danny's middle name is "P" -- he was named "Danny P" at the shelter. Squirt doesn't have a middle name unless you count "Go potty!")

Taking a break from exploring.

He is a 3 month old German Short-haired Pointer. That's a hunting breed, but they also make nice house dogs. He is going to be very energetic and is/will continue to be a great playmate for Danny (and our future children). He could get up to 70 lbs, but he won't be as muscular as Danny. He'll be a tall, lean guy. His legs have already gotten so long in the last 3 weeks.

Things Scout enjoys include...
chewing
exploring everything
trying out new things to chew on
running, wrestling and playing tug-of-war with Danny
chewing
chasing everything from Mommy and Daddy's pant legs to butterflies to his siblings
staring at things with his head to one side while he considers what it is and its chewability
barking at things that frustrate him
tearing up grass
chewing
playing fetch with sticks (and sometimes the ball)
chewing on a peanut butter and kibble filled Kong when Mommy leaves for work
sitting when Mommy and Daddy tell him to, especially when he gets a treat afterwards
chewing
learning new commands
dancing while Mom and Dad get the food bowl to his spot
chewing
antagonizing Squirt to try to get him to play
snuggling when he is sleepy
sleeping on Mom and Dad's shirts in his crate
and did I mention chewing?

Om nom nom. Chew all the things.

Neither of us owned a puppy before, and it was crazy at first thinking that we had to teach him everything from the obvious potty training to how to go up and down the 2 steps by the kitchen door. We have a very clean rug by the back door from the frequent washings when we don't move fast enough to get puppy outside, and we've learned the art of getting a wiggly puppy to settle down on the couch by holding a chew toy in one hand and him in the other.

He's already learning to "sit", "lay down," "get the ball," "drop it," "hush," and, most importantly, "No" and "Scout" (not necessarily always said at the same time). He's showing an inkling now and then of knowing "come", too.

So what do his brothers think of him?

Danny says...

"Don't worry, I'm watching over him."

"Man, baby brothers are exhausting."

Squirt says...

"Stop it! No, I won't play with you! STOP IT! Go find Danny!"

"You're not bad when you are sleepy and snuggly."

We're pretty excited about how well everything's going so far. There are moments we've questioned ourselves, but it's been great for all of us. Well, time to go take the pup outside to romp around for a while.

Happy weekend-ing, everyone!