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chiroptera, he decides he's a lap dog in the car. He has to sit in the back of the van in his crate so not so much fun for him. My budget is pretty limited so a petsitter/dogwalker would be a serious luxury. I guess the only real answer is that when my kids are at preschool and I am working, I can load the cats into a bedroom and let him hang out with me. Maybe I should trust him more and let him in the house when the kids are home but his history makes me a little nervous (not that it's his fault, poor little guy.)
I think the idea of letting him be with you while you work and the kids are in preschool cats in the bedroom would be a great idea even if you can only do it a few times a week. Maybe even take a few short breaks and take short 10 -15 min walks together during the day toss in a few sits and downs as you walk as you both would benefit there.
I do spend alot of time with my dogs as most of my good friends are dog people so the dogs are a big part of things we do but when I think back to the dogs my family had growing up . In the early years my mom did not work but later she did so the dogs were alone all day while we were in school and more often then not we came home from school and took off with friends. Mom would come home tired cook dinner do other housework so no she did not take the dogs out walking or spend time with them, Dad came home ate dinner then usually went back to work ( owned his own business so put in a lot more time then he did when he worked for someone else). The dogs would be inside while we watched TV or did home work in the evenings and they seemed happy enough despite the fact they were not getting boat loads of attention. It is not as if they never went on walks as I use to take them but once I became a teen and found boys the dogs sort of took a back seat to that. For a few years there was only one dog and even then he was fine and happy but eventually there were 3 as my mom had such a soft spot for a any animal in need.
I applaud you for trying to help this dog and I think just being able to spend a few hours inside with you while you work will add to his life. You sound like a very kind soul like my mom was.
I think putting the cats in the bedroom and letting him hang out with you while the kids are at pre-school is a great step in helping him be social. The more interaction he has the calmer he will be with potential adopters. It's a hard call to let him in the house when the kids are there, they both move so quickly and the situation could accidentally get out of control. You're doing so much to help him, I don't think you should feel guilty at all. Spend what time you can with him, give him lots of love and show him that people are kind. Hopefully you'll get him placed soon.
It is obvious that you had/have good intentions. However dogs do need more interaction than that which you are describing. My concern is his age, if he's young will all this crate time only sour him? Can your kids go for a play date while you and he spend time together?
cleosmom, he only sleeps in the crate. I would never make him hang out in it otherwise. Which means of course he is outside a good bit of the time, But I can have 3 days a week for 5 hrs or so to hang out with him while I work. Better than nothing.
Maybe I should trust him more and let him in the house when the kids are home but his history makes me a little nervous (not that it's his fault, poor little guy.)
What is it about his history that makes you nervous about letting him in the house when the kids are home?
cleosmom, he only sleeps in the crate. I would never make him hang out in it otherwise. Which means of course he is outside a good bit of the time, But I can have 3 days a week for 5 hrs or so to hang out with him while I work. Better than nothing.
Thanks Dogmama! I'll try to think of something clever to say. Though my sister drove down to visit today and she and her husband *might* be interested in Harry if he gets along with their pit mix. They are in the midst of moving and need to fence in their (enormous) yard so it will likely be a month or more and I need to continue networking him in the meantime. But maybe I won't really be telling Harry goodbye? Hoping my sister takes him!
I run workshops for foster rescue groups and one of the topics I speak about is Dog Introductions. Since you have a potential home lined up for this boy, I wanted to pass along my guide for introducing dogs. Always want to set them up for success and give them their best chance of getting along!
Step 1: Parallel walk. This means both dogs on leash are walked together at a brisk pace. Neither dog is ahead / behind, but rather are kept parallel. Distance apart is dictated by the dogs' signals. Any tension, staring, barking means move them further apart, they are "over threshold" and too close for comfort. Once you see the dogs sniffing the ground and taking their eyes off one another you know you are at the correct distance apart and are making progress in the introduction. You can gradually move the dogs closer, continuing to walk, as long as you are seeing the ground sniffing, forward looking behaviors (or as long as the dogs are not staring at eachother, barking, etc.)
Step 2: Close proximity = reward and relax. Once the dogs have walked side by side and almost seem to have grown bored with one another, it is time to rest with the dogs in close proximity. They will not be encouraged to meet yet, but will instead interact a bit with their individual handlers. Offer a treat or 2 and massage & pet to build the association that being close to the other dog means good things happen.
Step 3: Off leash interaction.
First, my rant about why off leash..
Leashes ruin everything!!! The first time your dog really interacts with her new friend, you want both dogs to have total freedom of movement both to retreat and to express the full range of body language dogs use to communicate. Owners will often feel much safer with their dogs restrained by leashes when greeting a new dog - what they don't realize is that leashes cause problems instead of providing an easy solution. Dogs feel restricted and therefor automatically more defensive on leash. Their ability to get away from the situation is reduced so by taking away their flight option we leave them only with 'fight'. A too-tight leash can prevent the dog from displaying low, wiggly greeting behaviors meant to convey the message to the approaching dog "I'm friendly and harmless" and instead can force the dog into a posture that says "I'm looking for a fight". Leashes WILL get tangled if the dogs perform the proper greeting ritual which I will describe later. Owners want the safety net of the leash so that they can rip the dogs apart if a spat breaks out. But this is not a good way to break up a fight anyway. (My preferred method in such a case would be to place a large object between the dogs to first break their visual and physical access to one another. Then each handler can either herd (like a border collie!) their dog back away to a safe distance from the other dog or physically move them away and then clip leashes back on the dogs once they're apart.)
Now on to what the off-leash greeting should look like. It is a beautiful thing really that once you see hundreds of pairs of dogs do it becomes like a familiar movie. It plays out basically the same way each time. The greeting will typically start face to face but should not linger in this region, sniffing should promptly move in an arc, with noses following the side of the other dog's body and ending up at the rear. When you see the dogs sniffing each other's behinds with their bodies in an arc shape, you've reached the last step of the initial introduction ritual. That face-side-butt sniff is comparable to the human handshake. It is a "nice to meet ya my name is ___" for dogs.
So after the arc sniffing ritual is done, you might see any range of interaction between the dogs. They may both "shake off" and have little interest in playing. They may offer play bows (lowering the front end and sticking the rear in the air) and run and chase. If you've spent the time on Parallel Walking and Close Proximity Reward & Relax (Steps 1 & 2 above) you've set the dogs up for their best possible chance of getting along.
Good luck!
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He has to sit in the back of the van in his crate so not so much fun for him. My budget is pretty limited so a petsitter/dogwalker would be a serious luxury. I guess the only real answer is that when my kids are at preschool and I am working, I can load the cats into a bedroom and let him hang out with me. Maybe I should trust him more and let him in the house when the kids are home but his history makes me a little nervous (not that it's his fault, poor little guy.)
. For a few years there was only one dog and even then he was fine and happy but eventually there were 3 as my mom had such a soft spot for a any animal in need.
