STEP 1 of INTEGRATING THE TWO PACKS-Diffuse the Tension!

Please forgive my silence as I have been grieving again.  Two years ago in the spring we saw the first signs of Brut's tumor on his spleen.  Now that can only be seen in retrospect and I am remembering my dear boy and Silver.   I miss them so much.  Some days are harder than others.

With that said, their spirits haven't left me and Silver in particular guided me through this next experience.  The beginning of the integration of our two packs starts with:

  

Diffusing the tension!

Two packs of dogs, each with their own side of the house and a door that separates them. The boys, Zappa and Chance only fight/talk with each other, while the girls, Fiona and Blaze keep to each other as well. Most of the time Zappa is the instigator, but Chance has gotten many digs in as well. 

This door is the focal point for the two packs.  Most of the time they "talk" to each other, but there are other times when there are "fights."  Growling, snarling and just being nasty to each other at the door.   And mealtime was the worst!  I used to have their dinners prepared so there was no time but to bark and be happy about food.  As they've aged I've added to their menus, which takes more time which in turn has grown into an all out riot while preparing their food!

I have never known how to stop this behavior.   I could never figure out how to be on both sides of the door.  

The light bulb.... I put Chance and Blaze in their room and Zappa and Fiona in theirs and then I got their food ready.  Cutting the tension in half, theirs and mine.  They ate a little slower and I notice a huge differences in their demeanor.  All that pent up anxiety, fear and anger was diffused.  Finally!

I finally had made a breakthrough.

It was a step in the right direction.

I hadn't realize until that first time of putting them in their rooms, just how much tension there really was and the impact it was having them.  This is a sort a new thing with the food since Brut and Silver died, with each death it increased.  It's not like I am oblivious to the strain and tension between them, their behavior at the door has been going on since Chance and Blaze first moved back with us, I just hadn't found a solution.  It's not in any book I know of, so we just keep plugging along until the next light bulb goes off.

I'll tell you more about the next step of diffusing the situation in my next post and I will try to have some video too!  

The treat monster communes.

Sometimes I forget that Brut needs special attention and especially alone time with me.  He has been so good lately that I kind of forgotten that he still needs that one-on-one time.  Except for walks, I really haven't been keeping up my end of the bargain and he let it be known loud and clear the other day.

Can we go in now?

I was going to try working on my photo shoot practice for all four Back Dogs together and the whole thing backfired.  After working exclusively with Brut's leash training on walks with treats, he's become a little treat monster.  I had to stop him twice from going after Fiona.  By then whatever fun the three dogs might have been having was over and they all wanted in.

Which left me with Brut.

 Me, mom and most importantly, TREATS!!

So I took advantage of the opportunity to work on our agility training.  He was very grabby and snappy with the treats. And when he started jumping on me because he was scared and didn't know what was going on, that's when I realized I needed to back up and start over.  I took things really slow at first and made him wait for the click to get his treat.  We took laps around the yard to unwind in between our agility practice.  And I was calmly able to direct him where to go.

When he gets in the mood of I'll do anything for a treat just to get the treat and I give it, I'm just asking for trouble.  I also have made a mental note for our next walk that I won't be as giving with treats and that he will have to learn to take them nicely.  I can't believe Brut has lasted this long using treats on our walks.  He usually blows them off by the second or third walk.  He just doesn't care that much when we are walking.  So this is quite an improvement.  Looks like I have some adjusting to do on our next walk.

But all in all the agility went well, we both got a bit of a work out while doing some mental calming.  It was good for both of us.  After we sat together and listened to evening birds and wind, silently communing with each other and the freedom to just be. I didn't realize how much I needed this time with Brut either and it was worth every minute.