I have entered the next stage of integrating Sadey into our household. And no, it's not an easy one, though perhaps it'll pass quickly. Yesterday I let Sadey spend the day at doggie daycare with Henry. The report was good, though without great detail. I brought the two dogs home, fed them, and eventually they settled down to rest while I went about my business -- which right now includes watching the Olympics. And as an aside, I'm not necessarily rooting for team USA in men's hockey. I know very little about hockey superstars, but I have heard that the Canadian team has stronger players, and my general feeling is that I want the best to end up with the medal. It's only fitting, dont you think?
But back to the dogs: I closed Sadey in her room for the night. I didn't want to listen for trouble all night long. She seemed happy enough on her own doggie bed. Henry stayed downstairs keeping an eye on things.
This morning, Henry woke me, I went through my usual routines. I cannot (yet) walk the two of them at once. She pulls too much and I cannot manage her and Henry together. I can barely manage her alone! So, Henry, who is still much faster getting down to business, has first dibs on the walk.
Then Sadey. You'll think, perhaps -- how incredibly boring the views are in the new development. It's a dense community and the plantings (what few you can find) are immature. But it also does depend on which block you're on. These are new structures, surrounded by foundations of not yet built structures, and of course it's a dull landscape at this time of a snow-less year, so there's nothing really to admire, nature-wise. Steffi's House has a better position, but even there, you can't have great expectations. It's not the farmette! Nonetheless, I'm hardly noticing it all. It's not as if the area surrounding the Edge was much better. I have a lovely place to live that's close to the farmhouse and that's great for two large dogs. I am very grateful.
On my Sadey walk, I noticed something: we encountered a dog walker with her pooch. When this happens with Henry, it's almost always a good thing because my boy is very friendly with other dogs. And Sadey? Well, she comes on strong! I wouldn't call it hostile, but it's definitely over the top. I had to apologize and pull her back.
I let her loose in the house then, leash dragging, just in case. And here's the thing: she comes on strong with Henry as well. The foster mom acknowledged that she can play hard. That is putting it mildly. Henry is superb with dogs, but with Sadey, he is on the retreat. Runs upstairs, hangs back, as she glues herself to my side, following my every move. Breakfast, with Sadey at my feet.
So we have a personality difference here: Henry the cautious one. Sadey, the dog described by the fosters as "pure sweetness" is more like a bulldozer hitting a rough patch of ground. She revs up the engines to get to the front of the line.
(Sadey, my "medium" sized dog!)
This, then, will be stage two of the process of integration.
(Henry: well, he is very tall!)
Since Henry could not ward her off (her soft mouth is just a little bit too hard to be enjoyable), I closed her off again so that they both could rest. On the second release, I kept my spray water bottle handy. It's very effective at telling either dog that she or he is playing too hard.
I am hoping that Sadey can calm down once she finds that there is a place for her in this household and that she doesn't have to fight to get it. In the meantime, I have to watch the both of them when they are on the loose. I worried too much about just Henry having adjustment anxiety. Over the week, he relaxed. But she hasn't yet. She's had a lot on her plate in recent weeks! Let's see if I can help her along with this.
We are back to cold weather. That's February and March for you: a taste of spring, followed by a return of winter, and then the cycle repeats itself. About half a dozen times. Remember how much I trashed the weather in November? Well, March is only slightly more pleasant. At least by March 31st, a daffodil will bloom outside. But for now -- it's just plain cold.
Saturday is always dog park day for Henry. I hesitate about taking Sadey to it as well, but in the end I cave and set her loose there as well. Her energy levels, in my opinion, match or even exceed those of Henry. Hers is a nervous energy and she can wreck the living room in two minutes if she has to release it indoors. I cross my fingers that she will be good on the recall. Ed joins me, for companionship and I have to admit, to prop me up if I have a disaster to confront.
You know how senseless excessive worry is? How the things that go wrong are not the ones you fret about? I worried about the two dogs riding together on the back seat. (Since Ed was with us, I could not place Henry up front.) It wasn't an issue. They were just fine! I worried about recall in the park. No problem at all! A couple of practice calls with treats and she was golden!
I worried that Henry would outrun her and she'd be helpless. That was the most ridiculous of all. She is fast. She knows how to nip him right back if he gets the idea that he should put her in her place. There were a few times that I thought they were getting a little intense, but I think it was me being too vigilant. I'd seen that intensity with many dogs and never gave it much thought before. In sum -- they were fantastic. Full of energy. Full speed forward.
And awfully cute in their matching sweaters!
What I hadn't given much thought to is how to get them from car to the park gate -- a distance of just a few steps. But Henry was anxious to get to it and, too, he saw a person getting out of a nearby car, so he launched his most serious (and annoying) barking session. Trying to control him and her as well proved to be too much. I got pulled down to the ground. It was a reminder to absolutely not deal with them getting out of the car at the same time. In the future -- one at a time.
The rest of the day is rather nice. I wont say that they are best buddies at the moment. Henry looks aggrieved when Sadey hogs the couch seat next to me. (He's very happy when Ed is here, because Sadey keeps her distance still so he gets his full lap!)
(two tall guys)
And there's no chance of me giving them back their toys or chewies. Sadey is absolutely fixated on getting her share. Of anything, but especially of food. I thought Henry was a voracious eater. She's worse. I give her a jerky, she swallows it whole. You'd think the fosters hadn't fed her at all! But of course, they did feed her -- nursed her from her skeletal hungry self back to good health. Still, when Henry was picked up on the streets of Dallas in September, he wasn't all skin and bones. I got him just a couple of weeks after, and though he was on the slim side and has since added a few pounds, still, he was basically healthy. Not so Sadey. She was picked up in Houston in early November, she was just a ghost of her current self. Her anxiety about getting fed is perfectly understandable.
Evening. My dogs are sharing space well. Sure, I pander to them -- I eat food on the island, way out of their reach. I keep toys away. And I close Sadey for the night in her room. Small things that give big results. Tomorrow we'll have a different kind of challenge. More on that -- tomorrow!
With so much love...
