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| Don't they look sweet and innocent? |
This is my UN-welcoming committee, Mysty and Leo. When I brought home my first foster dog, Kitty, they were not pleased to say the least. My sweet babies turned into ugly, snarling monsters going for blood. My Dr. Jekylls turn into Mr. Hydes
I couldn't have this civil unrest in my house. This is MY house and I'M the Alpha here! (she says trying to convince herself) With a calm, assertive manner I started my training. The 3 monsters were supervised at all times. If I couldn't pay attention to them even for 1 minute, Kitty went in her crate for protection. Here are some tips from what I figured out:
- ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY NO yelling! - It only escalates the situation and does nothing to calm anyone.
- Stop the madness before it starts - Figure out the signs just before the attack. In my dogs' case they froze in each other's face, head down, and their tails stopped wagging. Butt sniffing OK, eye staring BAD.
- Snap out of it - When you see the signs, intervene. Put your entire body in between them to back them away and show "dominance" while making an abrupt noise to get their attention on you, like clapping your hands once or snapping your fingers. Once I had their attention their tails starting wagging again and crisis averted.
- Exercise, exercise, exercise - In the morning I would exercise my dogs vigorously using the Walky Dog Bike Leash. At night we would all go for a family bonding walk. All the dogs walked peacefully side-by-side, with determination on the road ahead.
That's basically it. I had low expectations for them. I was going for co-existing by ignoring. Much to my surprise on day 3 they actually played together for a couple minutes! It ended in a fight but still... so proud! Each day got progressively better until by the 2nd week there were no more fights.
One big happy family!
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| Sharing a bed! |
