two what???

This was my question to Matthew when he mentioned that we get a couple of dogs from someone that couldn't keep them anymore. These dogs ended up being a 7-year-old black lab mix and his 4-year-old black lab/golden retriever son. Let's just say that it's been an adventure.

This was taken the first night we got them. Finley standing by these almost-as-tall-as-he-is dogs. They were very nervous and scare to be in a new place and in a town with new noises. Kristen (the dog whisperer) came over and helped us get them situated with a light and radio to help calm them. They slept in the garage...and did okay.


Ryder on the left and Bo on the right.


Tuesday was an interesting day. They were still nervous being in a new place and didn't like to be alone in the backyard. I would tie them up to the deck and they would wrap themselves up in their leashes so bad that they couldn't move. Tuesday was spent calming and unwrapping nervous dogs. As long as we were outside though, they loved it and calmed down really well. One time while we were outside, they started barking very loudly (they have a very loud and mean bark complete with snarling and snorting). I saw our neighbor, Mrs. Berg, walking her very tiny poodle of a dog. She was as surprised as her dog was. Her face was priceless. It was a mixture of horror and the deer-in-the-headlights look! She ran to get her dog, never taking her eyes off of our dogs, and ran down the street. I am confident that if our dogs hadn't been leashed that there would now be no more Berg dog.


One of the very calm moments. Finley was getting brave with these new dogs. They were used to their old master's grand kids riding on them, so kids were just fine with them. They seemed right at home with Finn.


Time for a ride!


Finn's cheap ride. He likes to climb on their backs when they're panting. Sometimes he will pant with them.


Learning how to fill their water bowl.


They are great buddies-rarely leaving each others side. Ryder licking Bo's ears.


Bo returning the favor.


We skipped taking pictures yesterday. There is a good reason for this. It was NOT a good day with these guys. I went to Fargo with my friends in the morning and Matthew stayed home with the dogs. He put them in the garage to rest a little bit. Apparently, they didn't want to be in the garage because they ran into the door so hard that they put a hole in it and ran out. It wasn't the side door that no one sees, it was the front garage door that EVERYONE sees as they drive by. Last night when Matthew was still at church I put them in the garage to sleep. This was 9 o'clock. I attached their collars to the same line and looped that line through a 2 x 4 that was attached to two other 2 x 4s nailed to the wall...pretty sturdy. Apparently the sturdiness of the boards was not what I had to worry about. Bo pulled his collar over his head which meant all they had to do was push aside the plywood over the hole and run right through again. At 11:30 I got a call from our next door neighbor. He had just gotten home for the day and out of his car when out jumped 2 big, black, ferociously-barking dogs. Who knows how long they had been out. We ended up putting a piece of plywood about the size of the garage door in front of it and parked the car against it so there was no way they could push through.
Today was a lot better. They were so much more relaxed and didn't bark nearly as much. Here is Ryder resting on his back.


And Finley taking the opportunity to get another ride.


Neat picture of the boys...



Finley getting a ride on Bo. You can see him bouncing up and down as he pants.


An introduction to the dogs. As you can see, they really are lovable and very tolerant.