THE TEX FILES: Meet our newest addition

In case you missed it, exactly one month ago, we adopted a new member into our family. His name is Little Tex (Tex for short) and he's one fuzzy little ball of fun.  Here is a little photo diary that sums up Tex's first month with us - not to mention some pretty adorable pictures, if you ask me. 

Afton and Paisley were pretty thrilled to finally arrive at the farm where Tex was born and find a bunch of playful little puppies.  We had our pick from four little 8-week-old sheltie pups, and Tex stood out right away. He was the perfect mix of playful and affectionate, spunky and sweet.  When we picked him up, we knew he was the one for our family, and I think he felt the same.  

While he may have warmed up to us right away, this was not the case when it came to travel  by car, or cars in general, walking by busy roads or basically anywhere unfamiliar, or any strange noise from air conditioning to all the sounds of urban life that we are so accustomed to.  Tex, being the tiny little pup he was, was pretty much afraid of everything.  So, we had to make some adaptations to our near daily walk to the park... 

...but once we got there, he was in his glory.  With grass to run in, wood to chew on, and endless attention from all directions, he is a happy boy.

Little by little, he's growing accustomed to life in Austin.  He likes going outside, and is pushing his limits all the time.  He's getting better and better on a leash, he loves to play with other dogs and meet new people, and - thank goodness - the air conditioner doesn't scare him at all anymore.

One of the first things we bought for Tex was a nice kennel that could be his little home-with-a-home.  Of course, coming from a farm where he was used to sleeping in a pile of little furry siblings, he didn't quite see it this way.  For the sake of our own sanity, he spent the first couple of nights very much like this:

But within a couple of days, he could be caught in here, of his own free will, enjoying some rest refuge from the two little monsters who run rampant around here...

...For as long as that lasted.  Just try keeping these two separate!

Last week, the girls and I decided to take Tex on a little adventure.  We went to our favorite place these days, Bull Creek Greenbelt.  Tex was even brave enough to get in the water!  After all, where his Afton goes, he goes too!

After a good walk and some swimming, I found Tex like this: 

Did I mention he loves being with Afton?  

Afton really doesn't mind.  We all love Tex equally, but he and Afton have had a special bond, right from the beginning.  She knows just how to play with him, getting down on all fours, head to the ground, and letting him lick her cheeks and chew on her hair.  When she cries for any reason he comes running to the rescue.  If she's in her room with the door closed, he'll stand alertly outside her door til someone lets him in.  If he's been absent too long, Afton will search the house until she finds him, calling out "Bubby?" and "Da" (Tex).

   For two lively little monsters, these two are surprisingly gentle with each other.  As most puppies do, Tex loves to bite and chew, particularly when he gets very excited. Many an appendage has fallen victim to his sharp little puppy teeth in a moment of excitement.  Rather than pull away or cry,  Afton watches him lovingly while he gently gnaws on her little fingers, arms and toes.  She trusts that he'll never bite her enough to hurt her, and you know what?  He never does.

When we return home, his bed is the first place she runs to, always thrilled to let him out of his kennel. And if you thought you were going to take him outside without her by your side, think again.  Speaking of 

which, this is how we spend a lot of our time these days. Between outings to the park and popping out for potty breaks, we're spending a lot of time outside.  It's starting to pay off, I think - knock on wood. Tex is proving to be an exceptionally intelligent dog (shelties are known for this) and is starting to catch on  to the whole house training thing already.  He's also getting pretty solid with the commands 'sit', 'come', 'drop it' and 'down'.

Soccer in the park.

Pre-bedtime snuggles.

Tex's new bling.

Playing around outside the apartment.  And to think we brought Tex out so he could excercise.

Just a girl and her dog.

So all this to say, we have a dog.  He's a lot of fun and we love him.  We also think he's pretty cute.  Looking forward to lots more adventures with our Little Tex.