Lizzy Meets Chima

As much as I joke about how bossy Chima sometimes is for the most part she is a very tolerant dog. In fact it is not because Chima is "dominant" or "bossy" that introducing new dogs to her in our home is more difficult, it is because she is insecure. 

Dog's show their insecurities differently and where some will cower or shut down, others will feel the need to guard the resources they feel dependent on (people, home, favorite buddies). 

There's a very easy way to keep introductions friendly with Chima though. I just make sure I have a treat pouch with me because she is so food motivated that her attention is focused more on the treats than the other dog. Of course I need to keep moving so she doesn't start focusing on guarding me and the treats from the new dog but after about 10 minutes of moving around and tossing her a treat for behaviors I like (sniffing the new dog politely, choosing to ignore rather than react to a puppy's rude behavior...) the novelty of the new dog wears off. 

Chima did amazing with Lizzy. While Lizzy is a complete spaz who has no clue where her body is in space, she also has some great social skills for dog her age which definitely helped her introduction to Chima. While she prefers to greet a dog face to face (not ideal since dogs often feel threatened by this) she also is careful not to stare or look a dog in the eye and her body is soft and wiggly, letting the other dog know this is not a signal of aggression. 

Her and Chima took turns sniffing each other and Lizzy would pointedly "get interested" in something giving Chima time to sniff her butt. Chima would then reciprocate. I was impressed with both of them. 

That doesn't mean there haven't been some tense moments. Lizzy tends to throw her body around leaping and jumping and often landing on dogs nearby. Chima is NOT cool with that and Lizzy is quickly learning she needs to give her some space and she isn't allowed to attempt to steal a toy that Chima is currently playing with - all great learning experiences for a teen punk puppy with a double dose of energy. 

I predict more scuffles in our future but the dogs are always supervised and for the most part management makes those scuffles few and far between and the ones that do happen are teaching Lizzy some necessary social skills.