Introducing Dogs

 Oh yeah, to say I'm overwhelmed would be an understatement!  We had a good day today.  Dino had us in stitches laughing.  I think the intro is going to go fine, plus it'll get my mom out of the house - which she needs right now.  Speaking of Dino, he's currently growling in his sleep with his little legs twitching!  Such a punk hehe.  We had a rousing game of tug with his rope.  He listens so well; say his name and he'll let go of his toy mid tug and wait for you to say ok again (or throw it).  Dino could not have come at a better time for my mom. 

 Dino is a no-go with my dog.  He's actually aggressive IMO.  I was impressed with Ari - she quickly picked up he wasn't interested, walked away from him and ignored him.  He was a lunging, snarling shark.  Oh well.  I told my mom she'd benefit from taking him to a behaviorist to work on that, desensitize him to large dogs enough that he doesn't turn into foaming at the mouth creature. 

We tried walking him around Ari, who was laying down, relaxed, not even caring about his presence - but at one point my mom lost the leash enough that he lunged and nearly bit Ari in the face - who at that point wasn't even looking at him.  Ugh.  Ari took it in stride, air snapped at him then went back to trying to mooch belly rubs from me and sneaking attack kisses, while my mom grabbed the leash back and removed Dino from the area.  He doesn't do this with small dogs.  With dogs his own size, he calmly greets, butt sniffs and either play bows or just ignores them after the sniffing ceremony.

Learned more about Dino's behavior and about Ari.  I was impressed with Ari and I don't think I give her enough credit now that she's older.  She remained nonplussed about the whole ordeal.  Neither dog is worse for the wear and I'm going to see about a behaviorist for Dino.  Wish my mom were up in NH to see the trainer we went to.  Maybe he knows folks in Mass - worth an ask at least! 

Sharon, I'm sorry it didn't go well.  A behavior consult is a good idea.  Dr. Sophia Yin's website has some good articles and resources.  Check out the resource page for videos.  JRTs are not for everyone. I don't think they are bad dogs(I love the breed) but I do think people are not aware of their nature since they are generally such loving sweet dogs with people. 

Good girl, Ari. 

http://drsophiayin.com/

 Eh, Jackie it was upsetting only in the fact her coming up will just require some forethought and logistical training to keep Ari and Dino separated.  Outside of coming to my house, my mom doesn't really interact with other dogs - so he's actually in a good home with her.  He's been fine with all small dogs that have approached him; big dogs so far are his only issue.  As for visiting us, for short stays we can rotate dogs in the house is all.  I think taking him to a behaviorist/trainer would do my mom good too - since she currently cannot work right now.  We just need to find someone who can come to her house. 

He is a people dog for certain - complete mooch for attention lol. 

I can't believe Ari though and how good she was.  Guess my girl has grown up a bit lol.  

Dino's ability to pick up on things amazes me.  He's already learned lay down, shake and how to signal when he needs to go out.  He looks for direction from people, so I think my mom would have a blast doing training (particularly clicker training) with him.  

I'm going to send my mom that link to read up on, also going to send her the training books I have too. Here's a pic of me and my mom at the shelter when she finalized the adoption.

That photo is great! As a volunteer at our local shelter, I know how much staff and other volunteers love to see those "happy ending" adoption pics!

I love the picture.  He's ridiculously cute.  I'm glad it won't be a big problem to keep the dogs separate when they visit.  Not every dog with reactive personality gets the opportunity to find a home with no other dogs.  He is lucky and did I mention how stinkin cute he is? 

tacran

Sharon, I'm sorry the intro wasn't as successful as you hoped. But it sounds like it'll be manageable since Ari is exhibiting the best signals/behavior you could hope for, rather than doing something to escalate things.

Yeah, I was really impressed with her behavior.  In the past, she probably would have tried to escalate matters - apparently she's too "old" for that silliness now. 

I'm glad she got Dino when she did.  It really was perfect timing.

Dino definitely has the two of us smitten!  It's a bummer about him not liking Ari, but maybe we can work on achieving indifference between the two some day.