The Pack's "non-rescued"

When you live in a multi-dog household it's often the dogs with the most issues that get the attention. As a foster parent, I feel like it is my responsibility to help my foster dogs learn the basics and maybe deal with a few fear issues they might have so that I can give them the strongest possible start as they move on to their new lives.

So often, my two personal dogs don't get the time and attention they deserve. While they certainly both have things they should be working on, it always seems less urgent than what the foster dogs are working on.

Frodo looking less than enthused on his walk

Frodo's always been a bit of a stressy guy and I kind of just take that for granted. But ever since Langley joined the house with his load of anxious energy, Frodo's had a rough time. While he's pretty tolerant of the foster dogs, I think that Langley has finally tipped the scales and I've been noticing that more and more Frodo's showing signs of stress. He's marking in the house, for one, which only happens when he's highly stressed. I've also noticed that his back is all roached up and he tiptoes around like he's in a Spy Vs. Spy comic or something. When he was outside yesterday I actually thought he was pooping and that was just how he was walking around the yard.

The result is I've been trying to devote a set amount of time where all the other dogs get put away and just Frodo and I hang out. I've been playing his favorite game - fetch - but I've also been working on just getting him out of the house. He's not a big fan of walks and since he's such a slim, trim guy, I stopped taking him on walks since he really didn't enjoy it.

I'm rethinking that though. Part of the problem is that he hated taking multi-dog walks and I can't blame him. I'm not fond of walking multiple dogs at once either. But Frodo really needs to get out and learn that life outside his little bubble can be enjoyable. So today I loaded my pocket with kibble, put Frodo's harness on, and off we went for a short walk.

He did pretty well and I tried to be very generous with the kibble since food=fun in Frodo's book of rules. While I can't say he'll be excited to go on a walk with me tomorrow, I don't think he was miserable and hopefully he'll start to see this as a time that just he and I can share together - no crazy puppies or dogs with boundary issues getting in his space - just him and me with my treats and poop bags, out for some fresh air and peace.