A New Little Girl
On one hand, it feels so very soon after losing Ty to bring a new pup home. On the other hand, it felt so very right.
So here is the newest member of our little pack -- Tanner!
More pics and storytelling below the cut!
She's an adorable little thing, truly, though I probably shouldn't call a Lab-terrier mix of 35-40 pounds "little." But remember Ty was a massive Lab almost two and half times her weight, and Gambit is a big-chested staffy-boxer-rotty. When she stands beside Gambit, she looks absolutely tiny, and Gambit--the dog we've always referred to as "the Little Bit"--looks HUMONGOUS.
It will be an adjustment. :)
Tanner was surrendered to the shelter by her owner of six years, a single woman who moved in with her family and their already-present five pets. They felt they couldn't take Tanner in, too. She's very sweet, very treat-motivated, and kinda-sorta knows the basics of sit/stay/down. We do have a great deal of work to do for walking on a leash, but most everything else will be easy to clean up.
The one behavior we must correct is her prey drive. Rather, how her prey drive is manifesting. Since she's a terrier mix, we expected some of that, but I'd guess her previous home indulged it a wee bit too much. She will joyfully speed after a thrown toy and race back with it, but absolutely will not release it. She instead wants to growl and play tug-of-war. And she's damned serious about it, too. Since a safe dog is one who releases on command immediately, teaching new behavior is a priority. I'll pick up liver treats tomorrow for the purpose.
She and Gambit are off to a decent start. We haven't seen any non-play aggression between them to this point. There have been a few lip-curls when one felt the other was getting too close, or staying close for too long, but the other pup responded by backing off before things escalated. This is good--a setting of boundaries they're both respecting.
We did let the pair indulge in a little lunging and running. Gambit initiated it, then just about crapped a brick at Tanner's enthusiasm. Y'see, it's been more than a year since Ty and Gambit played at being battling grizzlies, and though Ty was a worthy opponent, he was a quiet one. Tanner gets into the snarls and growls, like some trash-talking spiked-collar-wearing Thunderdome warrior. She and Gambit shoulder-rammed each other once. Gambit knocked her down, then ran away a little freaked out because she was ready for more.
Outside of that, LIttle Bit shows no fear of her. Not even a dislike of her. They're not cuddle-buddies, but they're fine drinking from the same water bowl at the same time, eating right beside each other from separate bowls, and sitting hip-to-hip in an anticipation of treats.
She's a cuddle-buddy with us humans, though. She head-butts like a cat when she wants attention, and has tucked her nose beneath my arm twice while I'm typing this. She's finally--finally!--taking a little nap beside me right now. It'll be a couple weeks before we know her true and relaxed disposition, though. She doesn't have the history of abuse and neglect that Gambit brought along, but she has spent three months in a high-stress shelter environment after losing all she knew for six years. That's a trauma in itself.
The head of the shelter was happy and sad to see her go. Tanner has been a favorite there, but difficult to find a home for because she's on the older side, and because her exacerbated prey drive made her inappropriate for a home that had small children (and little experience with incorporating dogs into a household). But her adulthood is perfect for us, as she's just a little older than we guess Gambit to be, and we're confident the prey drive can be corrected and redirected.
And she's so loving! And lovely! And gives freely of kisses and cuddles!
So here is the newest member of our little pack -- Tanner!
More pics and storytelling below the cut!
She's an adorable little thing, truly, though I probably shouldn't call a Lab-terrier mix of 35-40 pounds "little." But remember Ty was a massive Lab almost two and half times her weight, and Gambit is a big-chested staffy-boxer-rotty. When she stands beside Gambit, she looks absolutely tiny, and Gambit--the dog we've always referred to as "the Little Bit"--looks HUMONGOUS.
It will be an adjustment. :)
Tanner was surrendered to the shelter by her owner of six years, a single woman who moved in with her family and their already-present five pets. They felt they couldn't take Tanner in, too. She's very sweet, very treat-motivated, and kinda-sorta knows the basics of sit/stay/down. We do have a great deal of work to do for walking on a leash, but most everything else will be easy to clean up.
The one behavior we must correct is her prey drive. Rather, how her prey drive is manifesting. Since she's a terrier mix, we expected some of that, but I'd guess her previous home indulged it a wee bit too much. She will joyfully speed after a thrown toy and race back with it, but absolutely will not release it. She instead wants to growl and play tug-of-war. And she's damned serious about it, too. Since a safe dog is one who releases on command immediately, teaching new behavior is a priority. I'll pick up liver treats tomorrow for the purpose.
She and Gambit are off to a decent start. We haven't seen any non-play aggression between them to this point. There have been a few lip-curls when one felt the other was getting too close, or staying close for too long, but the other pup responded by backing off before things escalated. This is good--a setting of boundaries they're both respecting.
We did let the pair indulge in a little lunging and running. Gambit initiated it, then just about crapped a brick at Tanner's enthusiasm. Y'see, it's been more than a year since Ty and Gambit played at being battling grizzlies, and though Ty was a worthy opponent, he was a quiet one. Tanner gets into the snarls and growls, like some trash-talking spiked-collar-wearing Thunderdome warrior. She and Gambit shoulder-rammed each other once. Gambit knocked her down, then ran away a little freaked out because she was ready for more.
Outside of that, LIttle Bit shows no fear of her. Not even a dislike of her. They're not cuddle-buddies, but they're fine drinking from the same water bowl at the same time, eating right beside each other from separate bowls, and sitting hip-to-hip in an anticipation of treats.
She's a cuddle-buddy with us humans, though. She head-butts like a cat when she wants attention, and has tucked her nose beneath my arm twice while I'm typing this. She's finally--finally!--taking a little nap beside me right now. It'll be a couple weeks before we know her true and relaxed disposition, though. She doesn't have the history of abuse and neglect that Gambit brought along, but she has spent three months in a high-stress shelter environment after losing all she knew for six years. That's a trauma in itself.
The head of the shelter was happy and sad to see her go. Tanner has been a favorite there, but difficult to find a home for because she's on the older side, and because her exacerbated prey drive made her inappropriate for a home that had small children (and little experience with incorporating dogs into a household). But her adulthood is perfect for us, as she's just a little older than we guess Gambit to be, and we're confident the prey drive can be corrected and redirected.
And she's so loving! And lovely! And gives freely of kisses and cuddles!