And baby makes three!

[Buzzbee]

Aw bless, lovely pics Dogs are just a bit slow on the rules of leapfrog perhaps Least he's got the digging to keep him occupied (oh your garden shall love him!)

 

[diamondlil]

Yep, Rosie has been showing him the delights of digging. As she was playing nicely instead of snarling at him I couldn't really tell her off. I'll fill the hole and get some grass-seed.....

 

[Justine66]

aha!

forget about the crazy cat lady! lol your the crazy dog lady!
either way, I'm happy you saved the life of another to add to your spoiled pack of pouches!

PS. flash is adorable! I love his little booties!

 

[diamondlil]

aha!

forget about the crazy cat lady! lol your the crazy dog lady!
either way, I'm happy you saved the life of another to add to your spoiled pack of pouches!

PS. flash is adorable! I love his little booties!

Thanks! I'm pretty sure he would have got adopted out if he'd gone to a rescue, it was the fact that he was being offered for free if collected asap that alarmed me. Yes I've known the lady who bred him for about 5 years but she only knows me as a customer in the shop. I could have all sorts of skeletons in my closet for all she knew! Hopefully his siblings went to good homes but at least I can guarantee he has.

 

[Justine66]

Thanks! I'm pretty sure he would have got adopted out if he'd gone to a rescue, it was the fact that he was being offered for free if collected asap that alarmed me. Yes I've known the lady who bred him for about 5 years but she only knows me as a customer in the shop. I could have all sorts of skeletons in my closet for all she knew! Hopefully his siblings went to good homes but at least I can guarantee he has.

ahh, that's very true! and if he was free than you really lucked out!
either way he's a lucky little man to have you!

I love reading about how much you spoile all your doggies!
you can really see that their apart of your family..

 

[tsst]

Great pics J9! Good luck with the pack assimilation.

 

[diamondlil]

Great pics J9! Good luck with the pack assimilation.

I'll need it. Rosie is being very gentle and playful with Flash now but Bertie isn't. He's needing very careful supervision. So Rosie and Flash could have a bit of a romp this evening I had to keep Bertie occupied with a grooming session and keep him from focussing on the pup.

 

[MegF.]

He's darling....Just control the corrections from the older dogs and it will work out. I don't mind mine disciplining when they puppy gets too rambunctious but I do step in if the older dogs wants to do it with little provocation....if I'm there they should be looking to me to see if I approve of the discipline or not. I learned the hard way that even letting a former mama dog discipline an overexcited younger dog led to increased aggression. I'll never allow it again unless I give permission. Dogs will always do a better job of correction than I ever will but they need to have limits to it. With the two of your dogs your puppy should grow confident and happy!

 

[diamondlil]

I'd say of the two older ones, Rosie certainly fits the bill of being well-adjusted and balanced. Her corrections are appropriate and she's been initiating play today.
Bertie, however, is getting a bit too keen on following the pup, almost in a potential prey-drive way. The pup is showing all the appropriate appeasement but when it wants to bound about Bertie is getting overstimulated, if that makes sense and going into what looks more like a hunting mode.
If I could, I'd like to meet up with his former abusers with a baseball bat in my hands. Failing that, I wonder if one of those pheromone diffusers would be a good idea to try?

 

[MegF.]

You can try them. I haven't had any luck with them but some people say they work. I'd try leashing him and correcting him when he gets too overexcited and then fixated on the puppy. Generally adults will not hurt young puppies as it's somewhat ingrained in them to allow some behaviors but that's not always true. He might be trying to control what he thinks is overexcitement as well...and while that's all well and good, it's not appropriate. He has to learn that you'll take care of the young interloper when he gets out of line. Ona, my one ridgeback likes to control what's going on as well...she's my insecure dog and was my aggressive dog. She's learned to leave it go and if she gets too worried about it she goes and lays down somewhere which is fine. Had to teach her that it was okay for dogs to wrestle and growl and play. She's learned that now. She still gets nervous and will come to me and look back and forth to see if she should do something but she doesn't act on it unless I tell her she's allowed to correct. Fun fun fun!!! Just remember....you never get the dog you want, you get the dog you need! Keep that in mind while you work through the issues and have success!

 

[diamondlil]

You can try them. I haven't had any luck with them but some people say they work. I'd try leashing him and correcting him when he gets too overexcited and then fixated on the puppy. Generally adults will not hurt young puppies as it's somewhat ingrained in them to allow some behaviors but that's not always true. He might be trying to control what he thinks is overexcitement as well...and while that's all well and good, it's not appropriate. He has to learn that you'll take care of the young interloper when he gets out of line. Ona, my one ridgeback likes to control what's going on as well...she's my insecure dog and was my aggressive dog. She's learned to leave it go and if she gets too worried about it she goes and lays down somewhere which is fine. Had to teach her that it was okay for dogs to wrestle and growl and play. She's learned that now. She still gets nervous and will come to me and look back and forth to see if she should do something but she doesn't act on it unless I tell her she's allowed to correct. Fun fun fun!!! Just remember....you never get the dog you want, you get the dog you need! Keep that in mind while you work through the issues and have success!

Meg, that describes what Bertie is doing exactly! He is definately insecure and was overstimulated when the puppy got lively, and was pacing between me and the pup giving out a high-pitched whine, casting furtive looks at me.
I praised him for every time he had a positive interaction, but did have to correct him when he was harsh. As the pup gets his second injection in 3 weeks for now we are doing our pack walks just outside on the grass where the pup toilets. As this means all 3 dogs leashed and walked together at least 10 times today I'm thinking the controlled interaction should help the integration.
It's early days yet. This is only the second night of the dogs being crated next to each other and I'm sure the safe proximity and mixing of their scent will help too

 

[diamondlil]

Slight progress this morning. started the day with a synchronised wee and sniff about for all 3 dogs.The puppy got ox liver for breakfast so I popped him in the new feeding pen. Bertie and Rosie sat nicely next to it and each dog in turn got chunks of liver. The puppy stayed in the pen while I washed up then outside to potty. Then a short play session with Bertie being praised for positive interaction. In fact the boys were playing so nicely I got to relax with a cup of tea. When Rosie joined in Bertie got overstimulated, I had to get him to 'down' at my feet and gave him a massage to relax him. Then Rosie'd had enough of the puppy so her and Bertie rough-housed while I kept him occupied with a toy. A 3-way sniff and some more gentle play with Bertie then I ended on a high note by crating Flash and letting the others settle. A couple of times Bertie warned off the puppy for getting over-excited but it was low-level and appropriate.

 

[diamondlil]

I had to get on with some house work today and found the new feeding pen great for keeping Flash out from under my feet while he was still to lively to put in his crate to sleep. It meant I could still play with him and Rosie and Bertie could put their heads over to give him a sniff.
Later on they got some lovely play sessions, with Bertie staying much calmer and needing less corrections. He even let Flash chew his chin and used a lovely 'soft mouth' to playbite during the game. When they got too heated I separated them and took them outside for puppy wees and pack walks, then back in to play together until Flash was getting tired. With the pen I could feed all 3 dogs in the kitchen with no problems and no chance for Bertie to go and do a sneaky marking session!

 

[Kate]

Such a adorable pack! Glad they are settling in with the adorable new member!

 

[diamondlil]

Any interactions between Bertie and Flash are still being heavily supervised. He gets overstimulated easily, but actually managed a gentle tug of war with him this morning.
Rosie, on the other hand, is in heaven. With blood-curdling growls she plays squash the puppy, while Flash and her leap around like loonies with the flashing teeth of death and take turns to win tug of war. When she's had enough and settles on the couch she'll tell Flash to leave her alone. If he ignores her warnings she'll airsnap at him so he gets the message.
Outside on the leash, Flash is learning from the older 2 to wait while I open the door and go out behind me, they do a synchronised wee session then we walk up and down slowly so leash training Flash is going really welll already. Bertie is perfectly happy on the leash, no snarking at all. Rosie has taught Flash the joy of digging, looks like I'll be buying some grass seed this weekend for a bit of repair work!

 

[MegF.]

Sounds like things are transitioning smoothly...I predict before long Bertie is going to want in on what Rosie is getting and will join in! It's always nice to have a pack to help teach a new dog. I rarely have housebreaking issues with my fosters because first: They are used to going outside since they are at the pound and most of them have outside pens...and Two: The rest go so they do too.
As for digging...I've got a two acre farm and the dogs dig all over in the sand and such. It's a primal behavior and I've just gotten used to it!

 

[Nanci]

I predict the pup and Rosie will teach Bertie about being less testy. Hopefully.

 

[MegF.]

If he's anything like my foster pup, he won't care and will just persist until everyone gives in to his charms!

 

[diamondlil]

I'm so proud! This morning Bertie play-bowed to Flash and then played squash the puppy! I'd been chewing Bertie's chin and letting him nibble mine, repeating 'gently, nicely, good boy', while Rosie and Flash were leaping around (as you do....). Then I got up to make a drink and next thing Bertie was jumping around with Flash and letting him pull his beard! Heaps of praise and repeating 'gently etc' in the same tone of voice I'd been using earlier and I'd say it was a whole 10 minutes of very positive interaction!
In fact in the 3 hours or so from me getting in from work this morning Bertie only made one tentative snark at the puppy. All the dogs are now crated for their nap so I can chill out and then go for mine!

 

[MegF.]

Sounds like things are going as I predicted! An occasional snark is not necessarily a bad thing....the older dogs can teach the puppy to be respectful. Now the easy part is teaching commands...when they are young like this it's not even work. I got Summer to sit and come just by playing around with her and of course, she has to sit for her meals. Took her no time to figure it out and her recall is superb.....I love young dogs!