First day here and we're happy to have the boys! We took it slow today to make the integration with my dogs go smoothly. They first spent quite a bit of time checking out the new surroundings. There are plenty of dog smells and sounds from the dogs in the house (not to mention the JRT next door). The sounds were a little muffled and there was no dog in sight. Perfect opportunity for the boys to get use to their surroundings.
Poni was a little nervous about the dog sounds but I just let him do everything on his own time and just let him explore.
Kiko was curious about the sounds as well. He is not as fearful or uncomfortable with other dogs as Poni but it's still important for him to approach new things on his own time.
It was not long before the boys were happily playing regardless of the dogs nearby but out of sight. Play is such an important part of training and their wellbeing in general. It helps Poni build a more positive association with the things around him. He can still hear an occasional dog bark but instead of associated that with fear, he's learning to associate it with play.
Exploring the inside of the house is next. The sounds are a little louder and there are more dog smells around. Although occasionally nervous when entering a new room, Poni quickly worked through that and explored all around.
Poni was very quick to point out that this container holds dog food. Not to worry boys, it won't be long until dinner.
When they had some time to be relaxed in their new surroundings, it was time to introduce one of the dogs. Thistle first. She's my peace-maker and plays really well with the puppies (but will also ignore them if that's the read she gets from them). Poni was anxious and barked quite a bit at first but it didn't take long for him to be a little more settled around her. Kiko took a lot less time to warm up and was pretty smitten with Thistle.
He was even happy to give her a little kiss which, of course, made Thistle's day. She loves puppies...
It was not long before Poni and Kiko were playing with Thistle nearby. So now, it's time for Thistle to go inside and we'll meet the next dog.
Poni was a little nervous at first but the time it took him to warm up was far less.
Healey is a more cautious dog and she is not the first to go play with the puppies. But she gives nice boundaries to the dogs with a low growl if they are behaving inappropriately. It's just the perfect amount of discipline for puppies.
Next, it was time to put Healey away and bring out Sinbad. He's my youngest boy at 2 years of age. He's a big softie but he also can be a little louder than my girls. Poni went through his usual barking when he first met Sinbad which made Sinbad nervous (note the lip licking and turning away from the boys -- those are calming signals he is giving indicating that he's a little bit nervous). Not to worry, Sinbad, it did not take Poni long at all and, Kiko, well, he was ready to play with them all.
It was evening time by the time I started introducing multiple dogs at the same time. So it was a nice and slow process but, it really went much more quickly than I had anticipated. I was expecting that we would get to this point by tomorrow. Poni was still giving the dogs a wide berth and he was nervous about crossing a threshold if one of the dogs was taking a nap there but I suspect this will be much better as the week wears on.
Which just means that Poni will be able to join Kiko and I while we are learning manners.
And practing things like our recalls
And, of course, playing. Both boys were so tired by the end of today. It was hard work!
One last note, Kiko started to pee in the house once today. This is very normal for puppies in new environments. I actually like when that happens because I can interrupt the behavior and make it really clear to the puppy where they need to go to the bathroom. No more accidents after that and they have both been good about letting me know when they need to go outside. Good boys!
No comments:
Post a Comment