I can’t even believe my fingers are typing this: the Brubakers have added a second pup to our household!
Blog readers: meet Kip. He’s a Mini Australian Shepherd. When I think about it, Ben and I have been talking about getting a second dog for a while now. So, maybe this addition is more believable than I initially wrote. I guess I just can’t believe it happened this month. Nowhere on my list of intentions did it say I was going to become a double dog mom, but hey – here we are.
Kip has the cutest little black ear and a signature patch of black around his right eye. His eyes are probably my favorite feature about him. They’re sky blue, and one of them has a brown split to it.
At times those eyes do look a little…um, intimidating? Like, there’s definitely a “wolf on the hunt vibe” going on there especially when he walks around the house, head lowered, and eyes straight forward. Ben and I call him our hunter because that’s literally what he looks like he’s doing all the time.
I know what you’re thinking, because everyone’s first question is this: how is Nash doing?
Overall, Nash is taking pup brotherhood really well. The first day was touch and go. Nash was unsure and stand-offish (I blame Kip’s eyes, see above). I think Nash thought someone was eventually going to come over and take Kip home LOL. Imagine his confusion when Kip crawled into bed with all of us that night. And when Kip was still there the next morning, the next evening, and even a few days later.
As the days have gone on, Nash and Kip have eased into their own rhythm.
The boys (that’s what Ben and I have dubbed them) chase each other around the house, around our backyard, and in circles on our bed. They can’t get enough of each other. Nash loves licking Kip’s ears (apparently a sign of affection in dogs?). Kip is always pushing for Nash to play with him. At the age of three, Nash still has the energy (and then some) to keep up with our new puppy. It’s probably the most fun life change we’ve made in a while – I mean that for all of us, Nash included.
Ben and I get to see a side of Nash we’ve never seen before.
It’s like Kip reignites this fiery spark inside of him or something. Not that Nash wasn’t still playful with us, but seeing him with a new puppy is just a completely different experience. I’m grateful that I still work from home and get to witness all of it first hand. The sweetest thing is when I catch Nash and Kip laying together. You guys – I’m not kidding when I say that it quite literally melts my heart.
The only time that Nash seems to get upset is when Kip paws at our cabinets and whines for dinner (a habit we are working to break). There’s also the challenge over my lap – and by that I mean I only have one. Kip is in his cuddly, floppy puppy stage so he loves crawling onto my lap and plopping. While that’s usually Nash’s home base, I do my best to take turns. I’m pretty sure a day will come when Kip won’t fit so effortlessly in that space anyway so I’m making the most of it now.
I wouldn’t put it past Kip’s future 20-40lb self to still try and make it work. When that day comes, I’ll still make space. #dogmomlife
Our house has felt more like a dog park lately than anything. I forgot how much work goes into the front end of raising a brand new puppy. Toys are everywhere, there’s always a doggo zooming by. Furniture is getting chewed on. Kip is obsessed with our new rug, and I’m obsessed with spraying the corners of it with this repellent so that he realizes it’s not a chew toy. 😅
To be completely honest with you – I was terrified of bringing Kip home.
I went through ALL of the emotions in the car. Would Nash be jealous? Sad? Would he understand what it meant to now have two dogs in the house? And worse, what if Nash completely hated him? I cried, stressed, and second guessed everything in the span of a fifteen minute car ride. It was EXHAUSTING.
Now when I see these pups play together, I only wish we did this for Nash sooner.
Puppyhood is both rewarding and exhausting. I’m over the moon thrilled that Nash now has a furry, four-legged companion. I know that in most cases folks are just thankful for their two dogs to simply coexist. Who knows? At some point maybe the boys will do just that, but for now they’re in play all day mode.
Double dog pawrenthood is a cute new adventure for Ben and I. If only I could hit paws on these moments to soak them all in. 😉