Obi Meets The Rat Pack

I always start introducing the dogs by bringing out just one of them - typically Frodo or Sal. This time I had Troy send out Sal and Obi walked around on a long line. Sal is great meeting dogs and normally has good body language and isn't pushy. She gives them a close inspection, lets them get a few sniffs in and then she's bored and off to go see if she can find a rodent somewhere. She is totally different though if I have both her and Chima out meeting a dog. Chima can be pushy and overbearing for new dogs and if she and Sal meet the dog at the same time Sal acts more like her sister and feeds off of Chima's anxious energy. They will corner the dog to sniff them and for Chima to do a bit of posturing - not something I want another dog to have to go through. 

Sal is ready to say hi

Once Sal is bored with the new dog then I assess how the new dog is doing and decide whether to bring out both Chima and Frodo or just Frodo. Obi was doing great and didn't seem at all bothered by the dogs, even Chima barking at him through the sliding door. So I let out both Frodo and Chima for sniffs. Frodo is a bit like Sal is quickly bored with the new dog but Chima will start to obsess about them so I have to follow them around for awhile and regularly distract Chima to give the dog a break and also to keep the situation from escalating into a scuffle. First impressions count! Starting off with a fight is the last thing I want. Sometimes it's a few days before Chima even gets to see the dog because I don't want to introduce them until she has calmed down enough. 

Then we wander around the back yard until the dogs are all off doing their own thing and are completely over the newness of another dog in the house. For some dogs we need a week for that newness to wear off and we do some separating until everyone is comfortable. But for other dogs like Obi who have very polite body language, 30 minutes (carefully monitored) is usually plenty of time. 

Then it's time to go inside and explore the dog area, which for now while new flooring is being installed on the top 2 floors, is in the basement. It's a smaller space with less room for dogs to move away from each other and that's why it's important that the initial meetup happens outside. The dogs feel like they have room to move away outside and so you start out with a more relaxed dog to introduce the others to. 

Inside Obi waited to be invited up on the couch but he was fine sharing the couch with the other dogs once he was up there. Frodo did his spastic back scratching routine along the front of the couch and Obi found that interesting but otherwise he was ready to kick back. It had been a long day. Heck, it had been a long month for him since he had been in the shelter since January 19th. 

Just invited onto the couch and still not sure he's supposed to be up there. 

Watching Frodo scratch his back on the couch

On Sunday night he clearly was not too sure about me still and even though he was up on the couch, he was curled up fairly tightly and tensed up if I touched him. That will change though, and sooner than I thought it would.