Meet our new dog, Casey!

So on Friday we finally got a new friend for Charlie. Casey is BEAUTIFUL. He's a retriever mix (husky?) and has a beautiful face, and these gorgeous long feathers on his back legs and tail...he looks like a show-doggy! At 50 pounds he outweighs Charlie by about 20lbs, but Charlie's still the boss! They are getting along really well--they play like crazy and cuddle at night and are the cutest little "couple"...it's so funny to have a little mutty one-eyed black dog and a big, beautiful golden dog. We've noticed on our "family walks" around the neighborhood that the kids get a real kick out of our "doggy couple!"
Of course, since he's from the Humane Society Casey does have some kinks to work out. Here's what we've noticed so far:
1. Casey is really afraid of men. He actually LOVES Travis (after the initial fear of him), but every time Travis changes his clothes Casey acts wary and won't come near him until he's sure it's Travis!
2. Casey doesn't do well in open space. When we put him outside he'll play in the big, fenced yard for a little while, and then he inevitably kennels himself. Not only does he go in the kennel, but he goes through the doggie door into the garage kennel, so he's double-kennelled! And in the house he tends to run in circles and won't lay down and be still until I close him up in a small space using the baby gate (as pictured above).
3. He's had one accident, but he was whining to go out...I just didn't let him out fast enough! He has a lot of hair and seems to overheat easily, so he's always panting and drinking water, which means that he has to pee a lot!
4. Casey has a BIG bark! He actually barks more than Charlie! When we got Casey he was quiet as could be, but now he's become very vocal! We'll have to work on that...
5. Casey has separation anxiety. ESPECIALLY indoors. When we get to a point in the house where he can't see us anymore he whines and whines! Fortunately he doesn't do this at night. Maybe because he realizes we're "trapped" in our bedroom and the only way out is through the
"dog pen."
Casey (who was named Whiskey at first--I still love that name but Travis had a dream about the name Casey and Travis and the dog seem more attached to each other so we decided to change it!) is a wonderful dog. He's gentle and friendly and gets along well with the dogs and people--and gets along ok with the cats--I think he will be such a sweet, cuddly family dog! We're very happy with this new addition to our family!