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Spenser's sister



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 29th 03, 11:59 PM
queenmother
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Default Spenser's sister

We now have Spenser's sister here for a week's trial stay. Our agreement
with the breeder is that if at any time she's not working out for any
reason, then we call and Sassy goes back to her ASAP.

She was *very* stressed at the ride here (almost 4 hours) but she is now
settling in - it's only been 48 hours since she arrived here. Ears are up
and the scared look is gone in her eyes. She really likes her laptime and
is soaking up all the attention she can get. She's not convinced that this
is the best place in the world but it seems to be okay with her. We took
her for a short ride today and when she got inside the house again, she
seemed to almost visibly brighten. So I think she's adapting about as well
as we can expect.

All is well *except* that she won't play with Spenser. They *do* play a
little chase in the backyard - entirely her chasing him - but nothing in the
house. They are mostly tolerant of each other and have even started to
sometimes touch noses in what I would say is greeting. Both allow polite
sniffing and neither pushes it.

But any real attempt by Spenser to get her to play is met with snarling. He
snarls back and she snarls some more and then they both walk away. If we
throw a toy, as soon as one dog sees the other going after it, they both
stop. And on a couple of occasions, I have seen them actually briefly rub
muzzles in what I would expect to turn into a play thing. But then it
stops. Admittedly, Sassy hasn't been terribly interested in toys either -
but that is increasing a little more tonight. They both are bone chewers -
which they are willing to do side by side on the couch. Even trading off
bones periodically.

She did play with some of the other dogs at the breeder's. Not all the dogs
play with each other - dogs do form friendships. And Spenser will play with
any dog willing - he absolutely craves it. Having a playmate for him was a
large part of our decision to get a second dog. I've never gotten an older
dog before (she's two - the same litter as Spenser) so I'm kind of playing
it by ear here.

What is your collective experience? When she settles in more (which I know
she still has a ways to go) will she play with Spenser? What is really
strange is that Spenser has always acted differently with her than he has
with any other dog - ever. Normally he goes right into his ears back, head
tilt play invitation. He didn't do that with her. (Although he does try a
little of that now.) They just both kind of looked each other over and did
their thing independently of each other.

What do you think? Is this going to work? I know I'm being impatient but
if it's not going to work for Spenser then we need to decide that with a
minimum of problems for both of the dogs.

Judy


  #2  
Old August 30th 03, 04:14 AM
Melinda Shore
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Default

In article ,
queenmother wrote:
As I said, it really has only been a short time and she has been really
stressed by the change - and the car ride.


It really has been a short time. I've found that it takes a
couple of weeks to sort things out and that things can
change a lot during that time.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?
  #3  
Old August 30th 03, 04:14 AM
Melinda Shore
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Posts: n/a
Default

In article ,
queenmother wrote:
As I said, it really has only been a short time and she has been really
stressed by the change - and the car ride.


It really has been a short time. I've found that it takes a
couple of weeks to sort things out and that things can
change a lot during that time.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?
  #4  
Old August 31st 03, 10:11 PM
queenmother
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Posts: n/a
Default

"queenmother" wrote in message
...
All is well *except* that she won't play with Spenser.
What is your collective experience? When she settles in more (which I

know
she still has a ways to go) will she play with Spenser?


YAY!!!! We are PLAYING!!!!

We explained to Sassy this morning that she *has* to play with Spenser or
she will be going for another long car ride. Within ten minutes, she was
biting at his face and tilting her head. He was a little cautious - does
she really mean it or is it a trick? But he gave her another chance. And a
little while later, they tried again.

Now it's full scale romping! Play bows, bouncing, chasing, stealing toys
and woofing! Yay!!! I think it's going to work!

Now all we have to do is get her to not panic about car rides. She's used
to traveling in a motorhome, in a crate. We tried her in a crate in the car
and she's completely rigid and trembling. So we're doing a couple of short
car rides a day - on my lap. She's tense but has her head up, stealing
glances at what's going past. I'm thinking maybe she couldn't see out from
her crate in the MH and being able to see things moving outside the car is
what's scaring her. So we're practicing a lot. And no, we're not buying a
motor home just to make her ride more comfortable. At least not this year.

Other than that, she's settling in very well. The security fence in the
backyard seems to be satisfactory (she patrols it several times a day), the
meals are pretty much what she expects and the treats come more often - even
if they are mostly dog food taken from her normal ration. She doesn't have
as much competition for the pillows on the couch as at the last place and
there's usually a lap available. The humans do some strange things - like
this afternoon they made her go out and run back and forth through a plastic
tube and made her jump over a couple of PVC pipes. And they seem to think
that it's necessary to stop on the rug inside the door and SIT. It's a
strange request but they are willing to give treats and praise for it so she
mostly remembers.

Last night I wasn't so sure but I think Sassy's going to stay.

~~Judy


  #5  
Old August 31st 03, 10:11 PM
queenmother
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"queenmother" wrote in message
...
All is well *except* that she won't play with Spenser.
What is your collective experience? When she settles in more (which I

know
she still has a ways to go) will she play with Spenser?


YAY!!!! We are PLAYING!!!!

We explained to Sassy this morning that she *has* to play with Spenser or
she will be going for another long car ride. Within ten minutes, she was
biting at his face and tilting her head. He was a little cautious - does
she really mean it or is it a trick? But he gave her another chance. And a
little while later, they tried again.

Now it's full scale romping! Play bows, bouncing, chasing, stealing toys
and woofing! Yay!!! I think it's going to work!

Now all we have to do is get her to not panic about car rides. She's used
to traveling in a motorhome, in a crate. We tried her in a crate in the car
and she's completely rigid and trembling. So we're doing a couple of short
car rides a day - on my lap. She's tense but has her head up, stealing
glances at what's going past. I'm thinking maybe she couldn't see out from
her crate in the MH and being able to see things moving outside the car is
what's scaring her. So we're practicing a lot. And no, we're not buying a
motor home just to make her ride more comfortable. At least not this year.

Other than that, she's settling in very well. The security fence in the
backyard seems to be satisfactory (she patrols it several times a day), the
meals are pretty much what she expects and the treats come more often - even
if they are mostly dog food taken from her normal ration. She doesn't have
as much competition for the pillows on the couch as at the last place and
there's usually a lap available. The humans do some strange things - like
this afternoon they made her go out and run back and forth through a plastic
tube and made her jump over a couple of PVC pipes. And they seem to think
that it's necessary to stop on the rug inside the door and SIT. It's a
strange request but they are willing to give treats and praise for it so she
mostly remembers.

Last night I wasn't so sure but I think Sassy's going to stay.

~~Judy


  #6  
Old September 1st 03, 03:10 PM
queenmother
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Rocky" wrote in message
news:Xns93E8E6771E866australianshepherdca@IP...
I was reluctant to offer my example of bringing Friday into the
house. He was accepted right away by Murphy and Rocky; play
between he and Rocky started at their first meeting. And has
yet to stop.


I think that is more what I was expecting. But what made it really strange
is that they behaved so differently with each other than either of them do
with other dogs. The minute Sassy saw the neighbor's boxer, she was ready
to play. The same as Spenser with any other dog. They treated each other
differently than they did other dogs in the same situations. It was more of
an "oh, it's you". And that was true even when we were at the breeder's and
Sassy was on her home turf.

The breeder kept telling me that siblings would remember each other on some
level and they *would* get along. She has more experience than I do and
she's usually right about these things but I'm aware of way too many
siblings who *don't* get along. So I wasn't totally convinced. I can't
disagree with her now.

Spenser got shut down cellar this morning by mistake. Sassy kept following
DH around and looking up at him. When he realized that Spenser wasn't
around, he checked the cellar doorway. Sassy just bounced in excitement to
see him again.

Do you still think she might be an agility dog for your husband?


We're hoping. We put her over a couple of 6 inch jumps yesterday and coaxed
her back and forth through the tunnel. She's really eager to please. She's
a little low on endurance right now - not overweight but has had limited
long distance exercise. She has spent weekends at shows in an x-pen and
the pens at home are larger and there's more room to romp but it's just not
the same as the two or three mile walks Spenser gets. But we'll get her
there.

It's hard to tell just what she looks like - standing or jumping - because
she's *very* shaggy. She's got a very overgrown coat and has only been
stripped, never clipped. The breeder has asked that we wait until we see
her (the breeder) in a little over three weeks and are sure about keeping
her before she's clipped. So she has a kind of barrel shape that I think
will change when we get down through all the hair. And the exercise should
start to help too.

We've got a couple of obedience-type things to work on with her and then I
think we'll start taking her to Spenser's agility class. (They do all
levels at once.) She's got a pretty solid sit, a decent recall and walks
well on a leash. I'm working on Down. She has a Wait that holds her at a
doorway and such but we'll need a true Stay. We've got a couple of weeks
before the next round of classes starts.

I think in some ways, she'll be easier to work with than Spenser. Although
we're just now really seeing glimpses of the real Sassy. She's a bouncer
while he's more secure in the knowledge that he'll get your attention
without being so in-your-face. The difference between being an only dog and
one of a dozen.

We decided that if she does agility, that would be great. Heck, she may be
better at it than Spenser in the long run. But if she really hates it, then
it's enough to have a sister for Spenser. But she's not shy about anything
when we take her out on a leash and she is willing to try things. Noise and
confusion don't faze her in the least. I think we can do it.

~~Judy


  #7  
Old September 1st 03, 03:10 PM
queenmother
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Rocky" wrote in message
news:Xns93E8E6771E866australianshepherdca@IP...
I was reluctant to offer my example of bringing Friday into the
house. He was accepted right away by Murphy and Rocky; play
between he and Rocky started at their first meeting. And has
yet to stop.


I think that is more what I was expecting. But what made it really strange
is that they behaved so differently with each other than either of them do
with other dogs. The minute Sassy saw the neighbor's boxer, she was ready
to play. The same as Spenser with any other dog. They treated each other
differently than they did other dogs in the same situations. It was more of
an "oh, it's you". And that was true even when we were at the breeder's and
Sassy was on her home turf.

The breeder kept telling me that siblings would remember each other on some
level and they *would* get along. She has more experience than I do and
she's usually right about these things but I'm aware of way too many
siblings who *don't* get along. So I wasn't totally convinced. I can't
disagree with her now.

Spenser got shut down cellar this morning by mistake. Sassy kept following
DH around and looking up at him. When he realized that Spenser wasn't
around, he checked the cellar doorway. Sassy just bounced in excitement to
see him again.

Do you still think she might be an agility dog for your husband?


We're hoping. We put her over a couple of 6 inch jumps yesterday and coaxed
her back and forth through the tunnel. She's really eager to please. She's
a little low on endurance right now - not overweight but has had limited
long distance exercise. She has spent weekends at shows in an x-pen and
the pens at home are larger and there's more room to romp but it's just not
the same as the two or three mile walks Spenser gets. But we'll get her
there.

It's hard to tell just what she looks like - standing or jumping - because
she's *very* shaggy. She's got a very overgrown coat and has only been
stripped, never clipped. The breeder has asked that we wait until we see
her (the breeder) in a little over three weeks and are sure about keeping
her before she's clipped. So she has a kind of barrel shape that I think
will change when we get down through all the hair. And the exercise should
start to help too.

We've got a couple of obedience-type things to work on with her and then I
think we'll start taking her to Spenser's agility class. (They do all
levels at once.) She's got a pretty solid sit, a decent recall and walks
well on a leash. I'm working on Down. She has a Wait that holds her at a
doorway and such but we'll need a true Stay. We've got a couple of weeks
before the next round of classes starts.

I think in some ways, she'll be easier to work with than Spenser. Although
we're just now really seeing glimpses of the real Sassy. She's a bouncer
while he's more secure in the knowledge that he'll get your attention
without being so in-your-face. The difference between being an only dog and
one of a dozen.

We decided that if she does agility, that would be great. Heck, she may be
better at it than Spenser in the long run. But if she really hates it, then
it's enough to have a sister for Spenser. But she's not shy about anything
when we take her out on a leash and she is willing to try things. Noise and
confusion don't faze her in the least. I think we can do it.

~~Judy


  #8  
Old September 1st 03, 08:02 PM
Rocky
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

queenmother said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

Spenser got shut down cellar this morning by mistake.
Sassy kept following DH around and looking up at him. When
he realized that Spenser wasn't around, he checked the
cellar doorway. Sassy just bounced in excitement to see
him again.


That's great - a really good sign. Sassy's didn't know how much
she missed Spenser until he was gone. This is something to file
away. I wonder if some sort of exposure/isolation plan could
accelerate acceptance.

Do you still think she might be an agility dog for your
husband?


She has a Wait that holds her at a doorway and such but
we'll need a true Stay. We've got a couple of weeks before
the next round of classes starts.


Friday has a perfect wait that didn't take long to train since
he likes to copy Rocky. I should qualify: his Wait is great at
the supper dish, in the car, at the door. It's non-existent at
the start line. We're working on it.

We decided that if she does agility, that would be great.
Heck, she may be better at it than Spenser in the long run.
But if she really hates it, then it's enough to have a
sister for Spenser. But she's not shy about anything when
we take her out on a leash and she is willing to try
things. Noise and confusion don't faze her in the least.
I think we can do it.


She sound like a contender. Good luck and have fun, Judy.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.
  #9  
Old September 1st 03, 08:02 PM
Rocky
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

queenmother said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

Spenser got shut down cellar this morning by mistake.
Sassy kept following DH around and looking up at him. When
he realized that Spenser wasn't around, he checked the
cellar doorway. Sassy just bounced in excitement to see
him again.


That's great - a really good sign. Sassy's didn't know how much
she missed Spenser until he was gone. This is something to file
away. I wonder if some sort of exposure/isolation plan could
accelerate acceptance.

Do you still think she might be an agility dog for your
husband?


She has a Wait that holds her at a doorway and such but
we'll need a true Stay. We've got a couple of weeks before
the next round of classes starts.


Friday has a perfect wait that didn't take long to train since
he likes to copy Rocky. I should qualify: his Wait is great at
the supper dish, in the car, at the door. It's non-existent at
the start line. We're working on it.

We decided that if she does agility, that would be great.
Heck, she may be better at it than Spenser in the long run.
But if she really hates it, then it's enough to have a
sister for Spenser. But she's not shy about anything when
we take her out on a leash and she is willing to try
things. Noise and confusion don't faze her in the least.
I think we can do it.


She sound like a contender. Good luck and have fun, Judy.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.
  #10  
Old September 2nd 03, 12:38 AM
Altshuler Julie
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Posts: n/a
Default

what the hell are you yapping about? Wow, it's a big freakin' deal that
you are actually able to add a dog to your household.

You're freakin' pathetic.
shut the hell up you dumb cow.

queenmother wrote:

"queenmother" wrote in message
...

All is well *except* that she won't play with Spenser.
What is your collective experience? When she settles in more (which I


know

she still has a ways to go) will she play with Spenser?



YAY!!!! We are PLAYING!!!!

We explained to Sassy this morning that she *has* to play with Spenser or
she will be going for another long car ride. Within ten minutes, she was
biting at his face and tilting her head. He was a little cautious - does
she really mean it or is it a trick? But he gave her another chance. And a
little while later, they tried again.

Now it's full scale romping! Play bows, bouncing, chasing, stealing toys
and woofing! Yay!!! I think it's going to work!

Now all we have to do is get her to not panic about car rides. She's used
to traveling in a motorhome, in a crate. We tried her in a crate in the car
and she's completely rigid and trembling. So we're doing a couple of short
car rides a day - on my lap. She's tense but has her head up, stealing
glances at what's going past. I'm thinking maybe she couldn't see out from
her crate in the MH and being able to see things moving outside the car is
what's scaring her. So we're practicing a lot. And no, we're not buying a
motor home just to make her ride more comfortable. At least not this year.

Other than that, she's settling in very well. The security fence in the
backyard seems to be satisfactory (she patrols it several times a day), the
meals are pretty much what she expects and the treats come more often - even
if they are mostly dog food taken from her normal ration. She doesn't have
as much competition for the pillows on the couch as at the last place and
there's usually a lap available. The humans do some strange things - like
this afternoon they made her go out and run back and forth through a plastic
tube and made her jump over a couple of PVC pipes. And they seem to think
that it's necessary to stop on the rug inside the door and SIT. It's a
strange request but they are willing to give treats and praise for it so she
mostly remembers.

Last night I wasn't so sure but I think Sassy's going to stay.

~~Judy



 




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