This isn’t fair. I’m so sorry. Please, don’t look at us; if she’d take on Simone, she’d make short work of our cats.
They’re not the best cats, but their all we have & we love them.
So Diamond has been staying at my in-laws’ place temporarily. We have her scheduled for an evaluation this coming Tuesday with a nationally-recognized behaviorist. The soonest we could get. And a vet visit tomorrow morning.
But patience has run out among the relatives, who are not dog people and did not sign up for puppy insanity.
So tonight we are trying to smuggle Diamond into one part of the condo while keeping Simone elsewhere in the condo and somehow keep the peace until Tuesday.
Diamond has shown me what I believe to be evidence that she looks to humans for guidance, which is promising. I have told myself that in my previous experiences, the native quality of the dog has risen to the top. Diamond is a “bully breed” (or at least a mix) and they tend to be very amenable to human leadership.
Despite the above, I am dubious about this plan to keep her in the condo without at least a barking contest. If it fails, the alternatives are…I dunno…a hotel room?
Wish us luck.
Good luck!
Sounds like you’re taking the right steps. Motel 6’s all take dogs, and we’ve even found some of them to be not gross! Or, yanno, just google “dog friendly hotel” in your city. Or make a weekend of it!
Good luck, Sailboat.
I know you didn’t ask for advice, and I am not a nationally-recognized expert on anything. In my experience the way to get animals to accept each other is to put them together and make it clear that I am the dog in charge. I don’t mean Cesar Milan type stuff. I don’t have much patience for dominance type training.
The thing is, Diamond hasn’t really seen her new family dynamic. She traveled with you, Sailboat, and got to know you. But she needs to see the whole family unit before she can assimilate the new world order. She hasn’t really seen you all interacting with your other family members and doesn’t know that they’re all her family now, too (like it or not!)
If it was me, I would sit down on the floor with a dog on either side and make them sit there too while we watch tv. I would have cheese curls or popcorn in my lap and they would get treats as long as they were quiet. If they weren’t quiet - I would ignore them. They could be restrained, if necessary, but the key thing is to keep them together. They go for walks together (just for once, skip the dog bags and keep everybody moving.) They eat together. They go to their kennels together. They get up again and they sit together. They get treats together.
Yeah, there will be barking. Also: snarling, swearing and spitting. But you are the chief dog and they will learn to lump it.
Unless you have lots of positive indicators, hold off on intros until you get the trainer involved.
Things you can try to ease that day, let both dogs sleep with old shirts or clothes of yours, then switch them. Getting them used to each other’s smell. If you don’t have old clothes of yours that you can sacrifice to the cause, do you have old towels?
Feed them at the same time in separate rooms. You don’t know yet who’s going to be “top”, so don’t make any guesses about it. Feed them both at 6 or whenever. (Theory being dominant dog eats first. Since you’re not sure if you have a possible dominance issue, what I’m suggesting might help avoid making it worse.)
Other than that, walk them both, spend time with them both, keep them separated. It’s ok for them to start smelling and hearing each other.
I think there were some good links up thread about dog intros. I did rescue work with GSDs, and other potentially dog aggressive breeds awhile back. I’ll see what else I might be able to find.
The main thing is that with patience even many dog aggressive dogs will accept new dogs into their homes. Baby steps, and don’t rush the acclimation. Diamond sounds like she has potential (and may not be dog aggressive at all - wait for the trainer’s analysis). Good luck.
We are a bit snowed in tonight. Behavioral evaluation is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, but 6-10 inches of snow may interfere.
Diamond is a Florida girl, she has mixed feelings about snow.
We have kept them in the same condo but physically separate so far for three days. It takes two people and a lot of dedication, as neither dog wants to be alone, and will start making noise the other one hears. Diamond occasionally has detected Simone and barked…she gets pretty single-minded when she does. Once I was able to calm her with a mesmerizing belly rub, but she’s too hyped-up to pay attention to treats or praise when she thinks she’s going to encounter a dog.
I have been remiss in not saying more about Simone. She’s been a perfect angel through this trying time. Banished from her favorite haunts to the computer room, even her sunny spot in the living room, she’s had pretty much just me for company and even I sometimes leave her alone for a few minutes. Fortunately she’s a daddy’s girl. She’s put up with the disruption heroically, even remaining calm while a crazy puppy bigger than she is (Diamond is 40 pounds, Simone 34.5) barked threats from HER living room! She wants a lot of reassurance, but she’s soldiering on fairly far outside her comfort zone. Today I got a chance to let her out into the rest of the house when my wife took Diamond back over to see our nephew, whom Diamond adores, and to play in their yard a bit. Simone circled her living room, sniffing some of her devastated toys, and surveyed the crate in the kitchen dubiously while I did dishes. I tried to get her to play and get a little exercise, but she wasn’t really ready for that. We didn’t have the house to ourselves all day – I needed to get her moving. I decided desperate measures were required.
I got out the secret weapon.
Simone is not by nature jealous…it never bothered her when our dear departed Sadie got attention, and she shared her food and toys. But the one thing that drives her nuts is when the cat gets to play with his tassled teaser.
So I got the cat teaser and soon had Simone spinning and galloping about so wildly I began to reconsider. She’d had a spinal disk injury this summer that rendered her unable to walk. But today she was whipping her whole body around so fast I thought she might hurt herself again. So I did more straight-line chase maneuvers, and once she was good and tired, she got the lap-and-blanket cuddle and we watched some TV.
So despite the strange invader, Simone has had a pretty good day. She’s earned it. I have been surprised over and over by how good she’s being.
Tomorrow, I hope, we may get a better idea if Diamond will ever be able to be Simone’s friend and sibling.
Fingers crossed that everything works out. Simone sounds like a Very Good Dog, I’m glad she had fun with you.
Thanks for the update! Simone and Diamond are in a good place. I’m sure you’ll all figure it out what’s best for everyone.
Love that your winter weather picture captured a bit of snow accumulating on her big ol’ ears. 
Also, Simone? I have a question for you: Who’s a good dog? Who’s a good doggie? Is it you? Yes, it is! **Simone **is a good doggie, yes she is!