Last week a good friend asked if we could introduce their dog to another at our place, given that is the ideal neutral place in which dogs are safe off leash inside a small pasture. I said of course, and all went well. Our friend’s dog, a doodle, was a bit cautious at first, but the other dog, Rocky, was, uh, not. Here he is in all of his terrier-powered glory meeting Skip. (Note the tails!)
Skip extended his nose a tad more to sniff, and Rocky rose up to remind him who is boss. (Oh lordy, look at Skip’s ears!–I have an interpretation but want to hear yours first.)
Skip reacted calmly, as I was confident that he would, and then Leo, our friend’s Doodle in the back, got up the courage to join in, but only with Skip (who he knows) in the middle. No one put any pressure on the dogs, and I absolutely adored watching these dogs communicate so very clearly and sort everything out with visual signals. No words needed.
I’d have gotten better photos or video, but I was trying to take my own advice, which is always keep walking when introducing new dogs. This reminded me of a post I did in 2020, “Keep Walking,” which seems like a good reminder to all of us. It’s soooo hard for us primate to not stop, hold our breath and stare. (Message to dogs: Alert! Alert! Possible danger! Lots of Pressure!)
Here it is from June 2020:
Introducing dogs can be great fun. There’s nothing like watching two dogs meet and begin playing to soften your heart and brighten your day. However, as we all know, that’s not always how it goes. Many dogs are uncomfortable when greeting an unfamiliar dog, including, as it turns out, our new guy, Skip. He grew up in Ireland, undoubtedly surrounded by other Border Collies, and perhaps an occasional Jack Russell. As a result, we’ve learned, all Border Collies are potential new friends, and dogs of other breeds just don’t look right.
He’s such a stable, well-balanced dog that this only means he tenses up when a hound or Golden charges up to greet him (sample size = 2). That happened last week when Ruby, our friend’s Golden Retriever pup, got to meet him after the lifting of his leash restrictions. (Yay!) He was clearly nervous when Ruby ran up to him (tense body, mouth closed, slight lip curl), and I found myself saying, repeatedly, “Keep walking! “Let’s just keep walking!”
And we did, and it was fine. Maggie and Ruby played a little while Skip busied himself sniffing interesting things. At the top of the hill Skip discovered a pile of the world’s most glorious resource, a pile of fox poop. Here’s a video, taken after a good several minutes of rolling already:
Even though I knew it would result in an extensive bath afterwards, I let Skip roll as long as he wanted to. First, he loves to roll, and hasn’t been able to for two months, and it made me happy to see him so happy. Second, I thought it might be a perfect opportunity for Skip to become more comfortable with Ruby. There’s nothing like mutual sniffing that seems to help dogs relax around each other. With the permission of Ruby’s owner (thank you Lisa!), Ruby rolled in the same heavenly, stinky mess right after I stopped the video.
That’s when Skip decided Ruby was a fine friend to have. Apparently, the dogs that stink together, stick together. Here they are a few minutes afterward, smelling to high heaven and proud of it.
Look at that relaxed face! I’m confident that next time they will be playing like old friends. I attribute Skip’s change in affect to two things: Their mutual sniff and roll in a strong scent, and first off, and oh-so-importantly, all of us humans striding up the hill, rather than standing still and staring at them, when they first met.
It sounds easy–just walk away from two dogs greeting each other! But it’s not. There’s something very understandable about standing and staring at dogs you’re not sure about, wondering what is going to happen, wondering if, when, you should intervene. But in all my decades of working with dogs, perhaps the most important thing I’ve learned when introducing dogs is to KEEP MOVING. It’s the best way to take the pressure off, and the best way to give dogs a chance to become comfortable with each other.
Of course, it can get more complicated if you know your dog might be aggressive, or your dog is truly terrified of other dogs. Off leash creates less tension than on leash, but can only be done if it’s 100% safe. (Skip and Ruby were were in a large, fenced area of mixed pasture and woods.) There are many factors to consider when introducing unfamiliar dogs, but if there’s one thing to remember over all the others, it’s keep moving!
I’d love to hear your perspective. I have no research to back this up, just lots and lots of experience. What about you? What’s been your experience introducing new dogs, whether just to be buddies or become part of the pack?
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Below is the scene about three seconds after I felt a burning pain on my butt, figured out there was something inside my clothes, felt it move from under my undies to my back . . .
It was a bumblebee, who I trapped (in a glass against the window, rather than my underwear) and released. Hopefully it was not harmed. Regrettably insect stings make me itch like crazy. Still happening as I write this.
Speaking of insects, here’s a colorful creature I noticed because something was denuding one of our Pagoda dogwoods. It’s a white-marked tussock moth caterpillar, famous for gobbling up tree leaves like me at a chocolate bar, with fancy-ass hairs that cause allergic reactions in many people.
I guess I should subtitle this Back on The Farm section as “All about insects.” Hope this isn’t an invertebrate overload, but I found 6-7 monarch caterpillars on a butterfly bush late last week.
When I looked the next day I could only find four. Monarch caterpillars have lots of predators, including wasps, so I order this cool netting that allows sun and rain in, but keep flying predators out. This won’t protect them from all kinds of parasites, so cross your fingers. (Wings? Multiple legs?) Last I looked, Monday mid-day, (net went up Saturday), still 4 caterpillars who are gaining in size.
Back the mammals, four had a lovely walk between rain showers (or downpours) on Sunday. Here we are at a favorite park.
It poured again today (Monday), as I started writing this. Thanks to climate change, Wisconsin is beginning to look more like a rain forest. Luckily we missed the extensive flooding from a week ago around the Milwaukee area. But someone loves it–the sheep pastures have so much grass that we can’t keep up. Jim can’t even get the mower into the larger pasture. No complaints from the sheep, however.
I hope you have few complaints this week in this insane world we are living in–at least cherish the joys you have, and don’t hesitate to share them with us.
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