More Dog Introduction Observations
After Katie panicked inside our house, during yesterday’s visit, we did more in-and-out games to build her confidence for coming inside. I showed her all over the house, but she seemed particularly fearful of the basement, so we did not go down there. BUT, we struggled with two things when she was inside: 1) She would not lay down and relax. Period. and 2) Anytime Lilly showed any bossy or resource guarding behaviors (usually over me or Tom), Katie responded with invitations to play.
Lay DOWN!
I did manage to get Katie to lay down on the couch and later on a dog bed for about 5 minutes each time, but that’s it.
All three dogs were exhausted after 3-4 hours of constant play, so Lilly and Ginko immediately looked for a spot to sack out for a while. Despite their overall intensity, they really are very good inside. When we say “Settle Down,” they most often do.
At one point, I just kept putting Katie in a DOWN-STAY on a dog bed with a stuffed toy as a reward (after she chose it out of the toy basket), but she got up like 10 times in a row. Tom finally said it seemed like she was in pain or something, so I didn’t ask her to lay down anymore. She went home soon after.
The funny thing is that somehow Lilly got orphaned outside while Tom was carrying in firewood, but she did not care. Usually, she’d be fussing at the door to come in, but she was so tired … I found her completely asleep on the front porch. We let her stay there since she clearly needed a break.
After Katie went home, Ginko and Lilly had dinner then slept for hours and hours.
Let’s PLAY!
I’ve said before that Lilly doesn’t seem to resource guard me as much with Katie as she does other dogs, but it’s a very different scenario inside the house. So, just like she does with Ginko (who plays the benevolent leader and just ignores her), Lilly snarled quite a bit at Katie inside when she got close to me or Tom, if we were sitting down (which after a long day managing 3 dogs we truly wanted to do).
I think part of the grumpiness was that Lilly wanted to rest and felt like she could NOT until Katie settled down, but either way, Katie’s response to any tension is to invite the other dog to PLAY.
Now, that’s a very savvy thing for her to do. It seems her Canine Body Language skills are stronger than we knew.
BUT, Lilly and Ginko are taking her up on the offer to play more and more. So, they can go from hanging out to TOTAL CHAOS in just a few seconds. When there is a total of 160 pounds of wild dogs moving around in a small space, it can be overwhelming (for me).
Yesterday, I had no solution to the pandamonium other than to let all three outside again to get their jollies out.
Trainability Fears
It snowed a bit overnight, so I spent the
morning cleaning house (love … solid-surface flooring). Once the
ground dries out a bit, we’ll probably call over and go get Katie for
another visit so that we can see if her nerves inside get better.
A friend of mine who has many border collies jokes that they make you believe you are a good dog trainer. After I put Katie in a DOWN-STAY for the 10th time yesterday, I suddently had my doubts.
I spent 14+ years with our Dalmatian Penelope Grace pretty much ignoring my requests, but I’ve spent nearly the last 5 with Lilly … who is thrilled to do anything I ask. I’m not sure I can go back again to a less responsive dog.