Dex's One Year Anniversary / Second Birthday!

Today marks one year that Dexter has been with Louie and me. Since I don't know when his birthday is, I consider this day to also be his birthday. The rescue told me that he was born sometime in 2012, so he is two years old-ish!

We celebrated in the usual fashion:

doggie IG life lately

Louie & Dexter's adventures as of late:

Posing like winter catalog pros on top of a snowbanks in northern Minnesota.

Crossing gender lines and modeling statement necklaces on antique chairs.

Posing on benches in the park in front of curious onlookers (..."She's a crazy dog lady").

Taking baths cuz the mud & puddles make for wet, dirty undercarriages.

Reluctantly playing dress up with old American Girl Doll accessories.

People often comment: "Those poor dogs," when they see some of my dog photos. But I figure, these dogs are so ridiculously spoiled, that the least they can do is hold still wearing something stupid while I take a picture. It's a small price to pay for getting fed expensive dog food, organic treats, and being allowed to roam free all day.

things my dogs have been doing lately

I spend a lot of time with my dogs (as one can imagine). Digesting

Eating kibble and carrots can take a lot out of you. Such heavy foods.

Modeling clothes they hate

Dex hates that sweater that his Nana lovingly knitted for him. But it keeps him warm when he has to go outside.


Louie does not appreciate my knitting skills at all. To him, that cowl is THE WORST.

Sitting on toys meant for human children

Lots of snow means no kids on the playground. Jackpot.

Sitting in trees

Louie balances well on tree branches.

Dex hates winter

The subzero temperatures here in Minnesota have easily made my decision to put booties on Dexter when he goes out to go potty. He hates them but has gotten used to them. I'd rather listen to an ornery chiweenie than deal with frostbitten paws. Ugh, we are SO sick of the snow and cold. Spring couldn't get here any sooner.

Puppy drawing evolution

I thought I'd draw the poochies in the style of Sanrio characters (you know, Hello Kitty). As with most things, it was a process. Third try was what worked...or rather, I gave up after the third try.

It's amazing...I live with these dudes and see them everyday, but I'm still not sure what their coloring looks like. I can tell you that Louie is black and tan, but I'm not sure where all of his spots are. And Dexter is a whole other story. That dog is like 10 ridiculous shades of brown.

I've been drawing a lot of "cute" stuff lately. I think perhaps my limited, bright color palette is having an effect on my subject matter (I've been strictly using Copic markers and since they're so expensive, I'm stuck with what I have). That, or I'm turning into a big softy. I used to love to make more quietly menacing & subversive work. Now, it's all puppies and flowers...odd.

Lou & Dex doodle

Louie & Dexter in marker. Because I can. <3

dog fight video

In reference to an earlier post about dog fights between Louie and Dexter, here they are in action:

Dexter on Instagram

If you haven't noticed, I am a dog person. That being said, my dogs have their own instagram account (The Little Sirs). We've spent many an evening posing for smart phone photos. Lou and Dex have definitely learned what it means when I point that strange little box at them.

Here are some of my favorite instagram photos of Dex:

Dexter's grad photo.

Dinosaur costume. BTW, doing any sort of photo editing on a smart phone is THE WORST.

Dex as Yente from Fiddler on the Roof. Houndstooth scarf made by his Nana.

Little Red Riding Dex. I love the little pom pom on the hood. Obviously, he hates it.

Dex the Banana!

The day Louie was away at the vet getting tests run, Dex was acting kind of depressed.

Reindeer antlers! These were a holiday clearance purchase. These may also be for a cat...

Like Louie, he is a master of the doggy head tilt.

He is very flexible.

One of the first nights I had him, I gave him and Louie each a bone. Dex kept walking around with his in his mouth so Louie wouldn't get it.

Dogs on Lake Superior

I was up in Duluth last weekend, and the weather was gorgeous if not borderline scorching. If time permits, we usually take the dog (now dogs) down to Lake Superior to explore the rocky shoreline. This was Dexter's first time at the lake, and because of his normally cautious, shy nature, he was a bit skeptical. He wasn't too sure about climbing around on all those rocks. Louie, on the other hand, was a little rock climbing billy goat. We couldn't move fast enough for him.

As is the fashion for a typical camera-toting dog parent, I found a quiet spot and made them pose for some photos. Cruel, I know.

Dex

Dexter's face!  :)

Hark!

Deep thoughts. Dreaming about ice cold water.

Dapper Lou.

In the end, it was just too hot. We had to call it quits.

P.S. Did you know that Lake Superior tweets?  :)

The Little Sirs

I've joined the annoying forces on Instagram that create accounts just for their pets. My poochies' account is @thelittlesirs. I usually update it on a daily basis. Instead of having a photo of them for the avatar, I created a vector illustration.

I gave them bow ties because they are "sirs." Although, they have yet to really earn that title. The part I enjoyed creating the most was the shape used for Louie's ears. Ahh, curves. I've been working on getting myself more acquainted with the pen tool in Illustrator.

dog fights

When the dogs don't get to go for a walk in the evening, they get a little rowdy. They have to expel some excess energy, especially Dex since he is cooped up all day while I'm away at work. They usually end up fighting (playing, really) more than usual. I attempted to take some photos of their craziness.

First, some serious photos:

Dex, looking out the window. His coat is so odd because he has the spots to be a black and tan, but the black areas are more like grey. Careful with this guy, he sneaks French kisses...

Louie, posing on the zebra rug. He thinks he is the alpha dog and tries to put Dex in his place, but he always ends up jumping in my lap whenever Dex curls a lip at him.

Butt to butt bickering. 

I love the funny faces that showed up with the motion. Louie looks like a strange, blurry cartoon.

Dex looks like a strange, blurry cartoon here.

Fangs! I don't normally allow them to fight on the couch, but I was too preoccupied with the camera.

They got their fighting out of their system for tonight, and are now taking turns chewing up a rawhide bone. While one chews on it, the other stares wistfully at them.

dexter

I've been AWOL from making things lately because of this guy:

Meet Dexter, my new pooch. ADORABLE, right? :)

Dex is a chiweenie (Chihuahua-Dachshund mix). I adopted him on May 3 from Coco's Heart Dog Rescue. I've been spending my non-working hours getting to know this dude and acclimating him to my life. So far he's been a great dog. He isn't too high strung and he's housebroken. He isn't too fond of strangers (i.e. my friends & family), but we're working on that.

Louie seems to like him as much as a dog can whose been dethroned as the only dog in a household. They play together a lot, but I haven't seen either dog be overly affectionate towards one another (heck, it's only been two weeks though!). I think it's a good sign that they will tolerate touching each other, like in the photo.

And I'll leave you with this: double doggie head tilt cuteness.