Recently, Sam over at Marge Blog asked for news on Lilly’s best best dog friend, Katie (the borzoi), She was rehomed a while back, (if you’re just catching up). And, yes, we did consider her here. Over the holidays, we ended up NOT going to the borzoi event in downtown Denver because we didn’t know for sure if Katie was going to be there. Big bummer, but we have been invited this Sunday (what everyone else calls Super Bowl Sunday) to brunch over at Thunder’s house (which is Katie’s old house). Katie’s new family is coming up for a visit. So, we’ll do brunch over there, then bring Miss Katie down to our house, where there is more room, for the girls to race around. (Assuming the weather is OK. Might be too snowy.)
We are SO excited.
Who wouldn’t want dogs who adore each other this much to have a visit?
P.S. We’ve tried unsuccessfully to invite other dogs on walks or over for play dates, including the new doodle pup in the valley. Perhaps Dog Geek will post instructions on how to do that better. Maybe it only works in certain dog circles?
WHAT GREAT NEWS! Oh, I’m so excited for Lilly to be able to see her friend again! I can’t wait to hear about it.
I’d be interested in hearing Dog-Geek’s input, too.. there are a few dogs in my neighborhood that I’d love for Marge to play with, but it just never seems like the right time to ask “hey! want to bring him over one day?” On a bright note, Marge might be getting some time with her dog friends from my dog club in the near future.. we’re going to do some ring rentals with a Westie friend, so I’m happy for that.
It’s going to be a good Sunday! It’s so much fun to see two good dog friends in action. That picture of the two smiling girls is priceless!
There’s a neighbor in my area who is known for recruiting other dogs to play with hers. She snatched my dog and me off the street during one of our walks and before I knew it, we were in her backyard watching our dogs romp. That was when my dog was a pup, and I’d have to pass up the offer now, but the ambushing worked at the time.
Awww, Katie!! How exciting! I hope the weather holds and the girls get to play!
For new dog introductions, usually what I do is give the other human instructions ahead of time if I can, so that they understand exactly what it is that I need them to do. I want them to just walk their dog like we aren’t even there, and have food or a toy or whatever, to keep their dog’s attention and encourage them to just keep walking rather than try to greet B. I don’t want their dog to really have any time to focus on B because they are being walked too briskly. I’ll follow behind with B at a little bit of a distance. (She is much more comfortable when the other dog appears to be walking away from her.) After a little while, the dogs get bored with each other since they become used to the proximity – it is almost like they have already met, just without the big sloppy face-to-face greeting. At that point, I will gradually let B catch up until the dogs are walking side by side – but we still try to keep the dogs walking rather than interacting. If they seem comfortable with that, then I will let them interact.
Often by that time, the other dog is more interested in looking for squirrels or sniffing the ground rather than wanting to say hi, and B has figured out that they aren’t going to try to eat her, and thing generally go fine from that point on.
At this point with B (after having done this with probably well over 100 different dogs by now) she really only needs to follow behind a dog for about 10 steps before she feels comfortable enough to greet. If we do cold face-to-face greetings, she sometimes still gets a little nervous, but usually does okay if the other dog is small, low-key, a sheltie or golden retriever (I think because of the vast numbers of shelties and goldens that she plays with.) I don’t know if we will ever get to the point where she will be fine with new dogs barreling into her space without warning, but we’ve come a really long way, and I at least think we are out of danger of her panicking and heading for the hills, screaming bloody murder the whole way.
Thanks, Dog-Geek. I have trouble even getting people to take part in dog-dog intros and play. I broach the subject in a general way, especially those with new/young dogs, then I start extending specific invitations … and still, I get rejected time and again.
My best guess is that I’m asking the “wrong” kind of dog people. In other words, just regular folks who have no idea why I’d be so persistent with my invites.
I usually try 3 times, then give up because it gets embarrassing.
One other note – I’m not exactly an extrovert, but I’m not shy about asking people for help when I’m doing behavior modification. I have asked tons and tons of people – some of whom I barely know and some of whom are complete strangers to me – for help. I have given these people explicit instructions on what I need for them to do in order to help me. And that is generally how I word things with people… I have a problem that I am working on with my puppy – can you help me? Here is what I would need for you to do… blah blah blah.
And I’ll tell you a secret: people like to help! Sometimes it is very difficult to work out scheduling, but I don’t think anyone has ever turned me down or been mean, either now with B, or years ago when working with Z. Most people are glad to be helpful. So don’t be afraid to ask!
I think I was posting my addendum the same time you were replying. But my advice is – don’t broach the subject in a general way. Be explicit that you are asking for them to help you with a problem. Approach it as asking for a favor, rather than extending an invitation. It may seem counterintuitive, but I think you are more likely to be successful getting people to help you.
I’ll try to put together a post about where I find all the dogs that we have gottne to help us – maybe it will giveyou some ideas!
I’m so happy for Katie! I do a lot of play dates with Poppy, but I can’t have dogs to the house because Murray is not thrilled with strange dogs. But before him, I just used to invite people over for a drink– and tell them to bring their dogs. People used to love it– they get to be sociable AND their dogs get tired. Win-win.