Again congratulations who knows maybe Toby will get along with Oskar.
Saya was a bit Snarky with my cousin's old pug I think she is 6 or 7 years old I'm not sure. Saya would growl and tell Lilly to back off, but on the fourth meeting I took Lilly and Saya out for a walk and they both calmed around each other.
After a bit Saya allowed Lilly to sniff her then Saya sniffed Lilly then they played for a bit till Lilly got distracted by two kids playing.
Maybe things are not meant to be with Toby who knows don't want Oskar to get on the bad end and get hurt.
Oskar is settling in, a showing his personality! He loves Bel and will follow her around endlessly. He'd been ignoring Toby's outbursts, but last night he started barking back. He starts by pawing at the window where he can see Toby, then he makes play bows, but he's also growled at Toby, which of course makes Toby go ballistic.
I kind of worry that the window between them (when Toby is outside or in the sunroom and Oskar is in the house) is making things even worse....barrier frustration, etc., so I'm trying to keep Oskar away from the window, though he is clearly fascinated by Toby. I don't think they will ever get along--though I wish it wasn't the case, I think Toby is simply too reactive.
he also met my friend's adult GSD who is sometimes a bit of a problem: he's mostly just clumsy, and doesn't really know how to play politely. They were ok, but when he put his paw on the pup, Oskar growled in pretty much the same way Bel does when she's had enough and the GSD backed off. Then I got all worried, and wondered if I shouldn't even let him be around dogs that play rough or are rude....will he learn bad habits from them?
Finally, we took him into a kind of upscale pet store (where I got my free bag of Evo after finding out about the coupons here on the forum) and he was great in there. He played with a polite Scotty, and he saw some kids, which fascinated him, and he made a play bow to them. We also met a woman who had shown AA's and she was surprised I bought him as "pet quality" because she said his confirmation was so good. I have no idea about that, but he sure is a silly, sweet boy (except when he's being harassed by other dogs!) And he's only peed in the house twice so far, but I'm pretty good about taking him out a lot....
He's also really good for Bel. A lot of her neurotic behavior has stopped. She doesn't want to run around in the yard all the time like a maniac anymore....she wants to know what he is doing! He ran straight into a bush yesterday and yelped, and she came racing across the yard to see what was going on, and checked him over very carefully....It's funny, my little crazy girl is acting like the mama dog...
Not sure what to tell you about the 'rude' dogs... Just try and ensure that all of his socialization experiences are good ones. So maybe if you know that the dog is rude, try and limit their interactions. Maybe just have walks with them instead of letting them play.
Wow, I missed a lot in this thread. Congrats on the new addition!
It sounds like things are going exactly as they should. It can take a few weeks or months for dogs to get to tolerate each other. I have faith that with continued patience and careful management, you can make it work!
Yesterday Oskar had an adventure. I took him to the campus where I work because I needed to do a couple of things. There is a big duck pond there where people often bring kids, so I thought it would be good for socializing. He walked very well on the leash, and met a lot of people and a lot of kids, and had a great time.
But there was a very funny incident: he saw the duck pond, and he loves water, so he rushed up to it, and before I could stop him, he stepped right off the edge and into the pond. The pond is deep, and the look of surprise on his face as he sank was hilarious (poor boy). Luckily, he didn't try to swim away, and I was able to grab him and pull him out right away, but it was clearly a huge surprise to him! The thing is, he loves to stand in his water dish, and I suspect he just thought water, I'll stand it, and it never occurred to him that it might be deep!
He was fine and wanted to do it again, but I didn't let him, esp. because then I had to carry a very wet puppy up the stairs to my office....*sigh*
But he loved the people he met, and he sat very politely for people to pet him, and he made play bows at all the kids, and was generally great.
He's also doing well with the clicker....we play a game called "lets go" where he has to follow me, then sit in front of me for a click and a treat and he just loves it.
and he's registered for the puppy socialization class--his first class will be not this saturday but next in Santa Fe.
So far he's doing so well, I'm almost holding my breath, worried that I'll do something wrong! Still can't Toby to chill out, but otherwise everything is going well.
Poor boy! He's had somewhat soft stools since I got him, which I put down to a switch in diet. But it got worse, and one day was really bad, mostly mucous, so I took him in to the vet and we did a fecal test, and yep, there were the coccidia protozoa....a lot of them. (I looked in the microscope myself and it was pretty bad).
He'll be alright--it's not that hard to treat, though I hope he doesn't have any problems from the sulfa drugs. The bigger issue is that I have to treat my other two dogs, too, and he also may have spread it to my friend's dogs (one of whom is old and ill, so we're going to wait to see if he really needs it before giving him the antibiotics).
The thing is, he may have come from the breeder with the parasites, given the incubation period. My vet also feels that this is pretty uncommon in NM (and certainly my adult dogs have never had it). I've checked, and it looks like the incubation period is 17-21 days, so he may or may not have had it before or gotten it elsewhere. Obviously, I will tell her about it, because if she has it in her dogs or on her property, she needs to know. I don't think there is really any way for me to know where he got it (I never let him get near any feces that I saw, but the parasites can stay in the ground for up to two years!), but ugh! So not what I wanted to deal with, esp. since now it is in the ground in MY yard in the places he pooped.
Otherwise, he's doing well. One of his ears is standing up now all the time (and the other part of the time) and he's sweet and silly and smart....
Coccidia is always in the environment, its all around us, all the time - all over the world. Adult dogs build immunity to it and so they do not usually get infected by it, but puppies do not have immunity to it and so they are affected by it. With all the rain we have had, and how humid NM has been, I wouldn't be surprised to hear the rate of Coccidia (and Giardia) cases are up.
You can always tell when you pup has a case of Coccidia due to the smell of their poo - take note of it and you will know moving forward if it comes up. Coccidia is easy to treat, but treat it fast! Coccidia is a very "stunting" parasite and can have major effects on the growth of a puppy.
He may have even gotten it from being around your other dog's poo.
Coccidia in dogs
Young puppies are frequently infected with coccidia and often develop active Coccidiosis -- even puppies obtained from diligent professional breeders. Infected puppies almost always have received the parasite from their mother's feces. Typically, healthy adult animals shedding the parasite's oocysts in their feces will be asymptomatic because of their developed immune systems. However, undeveloped immune systems make puppies more susceptible. Further, stressors such as new owners, travel, weather changes, and unsanitary conditions are believed to activate infections in susceptible animals.
Symptoms in young dogs are universal: at some point around 2-3 months of age, an infected dog develops persistently loose stools. This diarrhea proceeds to stool containing liquid, thick mucus, and light colored fecal matter. As the infection progresses, spots of blood may become apparent in the stool, and sudden bowel movements may surprise both dog and owner alike. Other symptoms may include poor appetite, vomiting, dehydration, and sometimes death. Coccidia infection is so common that any pup under 4 months old with these symptoms can almost surely be assumed to have coccidiosis.
Fortunately, the treatment is inexpensive, extremely effective, and routine. A veterinarian can easily diagnose the disease through low-powered microscopic examination of an affected dog's feces, which usually will be replete with oocysts. One of many easily administered and inexpensive drugs will be prescribed, and, in the course of just a few days, an infection will be eliminated or perhaps reduced to such a level that the dog's immune system can make its own progress against the infection. Even when an infection has progressed sufficiently that blood is present in feces, permanent damage to the gastrointestinal system is rare, and the dog will most likely make a complete recovery without long-lasting negative effects.
If one dog of a litter has coccidiosis, then most certainly all dogs at a breeder's kennels have active coccidia infections. Breeders should be notified if a newly-acquired pup is discovered to be infected with coccidia. Breeders can take steps to eradicate the organism from their kennels, including applying medications in bulk to an entire facility.
Thanks for your thoughts, and thanks, Brad for the link. (I did notice his poop was particularly smelly, so this makes sense now!) Now that I've read more I feel a little easier about it. He doesn't have giardia, which is good, and he's still healthy and lively (and never really got lethargic from it). I contacted the breeder, and she said did a fecal test on the pups at 7 weeks and nothing showed up, but just in case will check the mother and the remaining pup from the litter.
He's got quite a dose of sulfa drugs to take for awhile and should be ok, and even though what I've read suggests that adult dogs don't usually get it, my vet does want me to treat the Shibas just in case, and so we're going with that. (Bel is also getting a general dewormer given that she is a huge hunter, and eats all sorts of things....with all the rodents she catches, we figured it was a good idea).
I've got to get my husband to download the pics from his camera, because I do need to post the "one ear up, one ear down" photos, though actually he's starting to have two ears up at least part of the day!
Just thought I'd add that we weighed him today, and he weighs 27.5 lbs already! He's growing fast, and I've got to train him to go up and downstairs, because carrying such a big boy is getting tiring, esp. for those middle of the night pee breaks....Part of the problem is the stairs off our bedroom are open stairs so he's scared because he see how far down it is. He's starting to go up and down the indoor stairs (at least a few). But I can't take him out that way at night because my male Shiba sleeps downstairs and Toby is still very much in the "I'd like to kill that dog" mode....
He's a really docile puppy though, which is a blessing....I did tell the breeder I wanted that, but the last pups I had were Shibas, so I'm still in Shiba training mode (ie. I expect them to be devils that don't listen and are fiesty as can be). Even on something like the stairs: Toby squirmed and fought when I had carry him up and down the stairs, but Oskar calms down and is still when I carry him. Toby, even at 8 weeks, stared at me then ran away when I called him--Oskar looks at me, then comes bounding over. I won't say he always does what I want, but he does most of the time, and he's just really mellow.
He has, however, started mouthing a bit more this week, and those teeth are sharp! So far, though, his most annoying habit is also funny: he seems incapable of staying dry. He jumps into his water dish with his front feet, hard, splashing water everywhere. He will not drink without his paws in the water, but sometimes his trips to his water dish are about play, not drinking....
Could he be beginning to teeth already? I have heard of larger breeds teething early. Bully stick time!!!! ha ha ha.
27.5 pds!!! He is half the size of Koda. He still looks like a baby. He's more like a baby Huey. That is too cute. I wish I could meet him. I have only seen a handful of Akitas in my area. It's cool to watch some grow up on this site and get to know more about the breed.
That one ear up, one ear down picture is TOO cute!
Nola was like Oskar with the water... She would even fall asleep in her water bowl... And she would splash and splash. And if she were hot, she would just lay down in her water bowl.
Watch out, though... Now she is a mud devil. LOVES the mud. And LOVES to get everything around her muddy.
All of you are gonna be so jealous of me... Jen and I got to meet Lisa and Oskar today! BAM! That's right, we're awesome.
Let me just say, Lisa is super chill and down-to-earth, it was great meeting her in person and Oskar... OMG... He is SO FREAKING CUTE! We loved playing with an Akita puppy, and Zeta did great with him, I think they would have played really nicely had it not been packed with other puppies too (not to say they didn't play nicely, just didn't have much of a chance).
Anyway, Lisa, I owe you an apology... I really should have thought to bring a NK with us. I'm sorry. We just left to early (got up at 5am to make it down there by 9am) that I didn't think about it. Also, its been too hot to leave them in the car. Next weekend the temps should be better, so we will bring some NK along too - like Ahi and Mochi or something (they travel really well).
So, neither of us can back-out on it next week - deal?
And I got to me Brad and Jen and Zeta (and Chase too, who was sleeping through it all) which was great! And no worries about not bringing an NK....I understand....but will love to meet one, and will definitely be there next week!
Oskar had a great time, and I was pleased to see he even managed to remember some of his lessons when there lots of distractions. I bet he would have had fun playing with Zeta more--he's used to playing with a Shiba, so he likes some rough and tumble play.
I also really liked the class....liked that it was the way Dunbar suggests puppy groups should be--off leash, and lots of play, but using the clicker was a nice addition. Afterwards, I happened to stop at the Petco in albuquerque with a friend, and saw a clicker class there, which I did NOT want to go to, though it is closer to me: it was in a tiny little room, and the puppies were on leash (and tiny--Oskar would have bowled them over) and no one looked like they were having fun....So I'm happy to make the drive for a good group.
And I bought Oskar a wading pool, because he loves the water. He is crazy about it (and the Shibas circle around it suspiciously!) but of course, I didn't really think things through: he's ALWAYS in it now. And thus always wet. And after the pool, what's better than a roll in the dirt? Mud puppy. We now have a mud puppy.
In the past week, we've been trying to introduce Oskar to Toby. Toby, for those that don't know/don't recall, is my super aggressive male Shiba who currently weighs in at a very tubby 45 lbs. He is separated from my female Shiba because they got in a near deadly fight (Bel won). Mostly I don't think Toby can be with other dogs, but I wanted to at least give it a try with Oskar and Toby, even though, in retrospect, this was dumb, because Toby has shown a lot of aggression and barrier frustration (he sees Oskar through the window/sliding glass door all the time and goes crazy).
But we tried both dogs on leashes in the yard. They were fine, as long as they were not in reach of one another. Oskar just wants to play, and Toby did a good job of demonstrating calming/avoidance gestures. He averted his eyes. He walked as far away as he could get. When he realized he was on the leash and couldn't simply ignore Oskar entirely, he decided to go back into the house to get away from him. Oskar was going through his puppy routine (play bows, pawing at the air, jumping) and Toby totally ignored him.
We did this a couple of times and I was encouraged.
Then today something really stupid and not good happened. First, everyone is ok. But it shows, I guess, the problem with managing dog aggression (rather than trying to fix it). Yes, eventually it fails. Luckily this little wake up call did not involve in anyone getting hurt, but it was scary.
I had let Toby out, then went to take a bath. Bel and Oskar were inside. I got out of the bath, and could see that Oskar was about to pee on the dog bed (very near the door), so without thinking, I just opened the door and let him out, completely forgetting Toby was outside.
I didn't even see what happened, really. One minute they were nose to nose, then Toby was snarling and bit Oskar in the face. When he did that, Oskar growled and he bit Toby, then Toby bit him again, this time hard enough that Oskar started crying like crazy. Toby did not respond to that high pitched puppy cry at all like an adult dog should, though, because he started to go for him again, but by that time I had them both, and pushed Oskar back in the house (and he was still crying and crying, so I thought he was really hurt. Apparently, he was more scared than anything, luckily). But after I separate them, this flying bullet of a Shiba body slams the door open and leaps on Toby: it's Bel, and Toby has hurt HER puppy. So then they start, but Bel seemed to be half wanting to fight and half wanting to check on Oskar, so I was able to easily pull her off Toby and get her inside.
Where Oskar is still crying as if he's ripped apart, which scared the hell out of me, because I was worried he'd been bit in the eye. When I kneeled down to check on him, he climbed up in my arms, and I looked him over and saw a small bite mark on his muzzle very near his nose, and close to his eye (scary) but they were not bleeding. As soon as I held him, he stopped crying and started playing, and he's fine, but I was pretty shook up. I looked over Bel, and she was fine. I looked over Toby (though I was VERY mad at him, and had to take deep breathes so I could be calm) and he is fine too.
So all dogs are ok. And I will keep managing my dogs, because I have to, but it reminded me that I've been letting Toby's aggression slide, managing it rather than seeing if I could do something about that, and I really need to actually try to at least get him to a point where a mistake like the one I made today does not mean I may end up with injured dogs. Obviously, Oskar will fight back, and even though he shows admirable bite inhibition already as a puppy, Toby is stupid and does not back down, and when Oskar is a big boy, Toby could get really hurt or killed behaving the way he does. The only good thing I can say about this is Bel showed some bite inhibition (which she has not done in the past) as while she bit Toby several times on the neck, she did not draw blood, and she did let go immediately when I grabbed her. Which reminds me again that I believe in the past I misunderstood the nearly deadly Shiba fight: Bel did nearly kill Toby, but she had been trying and trying to stop his constant bullying and harassment of her with less lethal means, and he had ignored them. And then one day he went for her, and she let him have it.
Anyway, I'm just glad everyone is ok. And I know I was terribly careless, but believe me, will be hypervigilant now. And it did make me sad to see how Oskar was kind of scared to go out in the yard after this....well, for the first couple of times I let him out, but now he seems fine again.
If anyone has any thoughts on what you might do in this kind of circumstance, I'm happy to hear them, too, even if it is simply to remind me how dumb I was!
Yikes! That was scary to read, I bet it was 10x worse to witness.
I don't think you were dumb at all. You will ALWAYS have some possibility of management failure. It happens to the most conscientious and dedicated dog owners. Just the other day I let Lucy out of her crate without having cleaned up the boys food bowls and she got some of Joey's leftovers. It happens. But, each time it happens you learn from the mistake and take precautions to prevent them from happening again. I suspect your thought process will now favor a pee accident in the house over an un-managed confrontation in the yard.
Comments
Saya was a bit Snarky with my cousin's old pug I think she is 6 or 7 years old I'm not sure. Saya would growl and tell Lilly to back off, but on the fourth meeting I took Lilly and Saya out for a walk and they both calmed around each other.
After a bit Saya allowed Lilly to sniff her then Saya sniffed Lilly then they played for a bit till Lilly got distracted by two kids playing.
Maybe things are not meant to be with Toby who knows don't want Oskar to get on the bad end and get hurt.
I kind of worry that the window between them (when Toby is outside or in the sunroom and Oskar is in the house) is making things even worse....barrier frustration, etc., so I'm trying to keep Oskar away from the window, though he is clearly fascinated by Toby. I don't think they will ever get along--though I wish it wasn't the case, I think Toby is simply too reactive.
he also met my friend's adult GSD who is sometimes a bit of a problem: he's mostly just clumsy, and doesn't really know how to play politely. They were ok, but when he put his paw on the pup, Oskar growled in pretty much the same way Bel does when she's had enough and the GSD backed off. Then I got all worried, and wondered if I shouldn't even let him be around dogs that play rough or are rude....will he learn bad habits from them?
Finally, we took him into a kind of upscale pet store (where I got my free bag of Evo after finding out about the coupons here on the forum) and he was great in there. He played with a polite Scotty, and he saw some kids, which fascinated him, and he made a play bow to them. We also met a woman who had shown AA's and she was surprised I bought him as "pet quality" because she said his confirmation was so good. I have no idea about that, but he sure is a silly, sweet boy (except when he's being harassed by other dogs!) And he's only peed in the house twice so far, but I'm pretty good about taking him out a lot....
He's also really good for Bel. A lot of her neurotic behavior has stopped. She doesn't want to run around in the yard all the time like a maniac anymore....she wants to know what he is doing! He ran straight into a bush yesterday and yelped, and she came racing across the yard to see what was going on, and checked him over very carefully....It's funny, my little crazy girl is acting like the mama dog...
I'm glad he had fun at the pet store. =)
Not sure what to tell you about the 'rude' dogs... Just try and ensure that all of his socialization experiences are good ones. So maybe if you know that the dog is rude, try and limit their interactions. Maybe just have walks with them instead of letting them play.
It sounds like things are going exactly as they should. It can take a few weeks or months for dogs to get to tolerate each other. I have faith that with continued patience and careful management, you can make it work!
But there was a very funny incident: he saw the duck pond, and he loves water, so he rushed up to it, and before I could stop him, he stepped right off the edge and into the pond. The pond is deep, and the look of surprise on his face as he sank was hilarious (poor boy). Luckily, he didn't try to swim away, and I was able to grab him and pull him out right away, but it was clearly a huge surprise to him! The thing is, he loves to stand in his water dish, and I suspect he just thought water, I'll stand it, and it never occurred to him that it might be deep!
He was fine and wanted to do it again, but I didn't let him, esp. because then I had to carry a very wet puppy up the stairs to my office....*sigh*
But he loved the people he met, and he sat very politely for people to pet him, and he made play bows at all the kids, and was generally great.
He's also doing well with the clicker....we play a game called "lets go" where he has to follow me, then sit in front of me for a click and a treat and he just loves it.
and he's registered for the puppy socialization class--his first class will be not this saturday but next in Santa Fe.
So far he's doing so well, I'm almost holding my breath, worried that I'll do something wrong! Still can't Toby to chill out, but otherwise everything is going well.
Poor boy! He's had somewhat soft stools since I got him, which I put down to a switch in diet. But it got worse, and one day was really bad, mostly mucous, so I took him in to the vet and we did a fecal test, and yep, there were the coccidia protozoa....a lot of them. (I looked in the microscope myself and it was pretty bad).
He'll be alright--it's not that hard to treat, though I hope he doesn't have any problems from the sulfa drugs. The bigger issue is that I have to treat my other two dogs, too, and he also may have spread it to my friend's dogs (one of whom is old and ill, so we're going to wait to see if he really needs it before giving him the antibiotics).
The thing is, he may have come from the breeder with the parasites, given the incubation period. My vet also feels that this is pretty uncommon in NM (and certainly my adult dogs have never had it). I've checked, and it looks like the incubation period is 17-21 days, so he may or may not have had it before or gotten it elsewhere. Obviously, I will tell her about it, because if she has it in her dogs or on her property, she needs to know. I don't think there is really any way for me to know where he got it (I never let him get near any feces that I saw, but the parasites can stay in the ground for up to two years!), but ugh! So not what I wanted to deal with, esp. since now it is in the ground in MY yard in the places he pooped.
Otherwise, he's doing well. One of his ears is standing up now all the time (and the other part of the time) and he's sweet and silly and smart....
Just wish we didn't have to deal with this....
You can always tell when you pup has a case of Coccidia due to the smell of their poo - take note of it and you will know moving forward if it comes up. Coccidia is easy to treat, but treat it fast! Coccidia is a very "stunting" parasite and can have major effects on the growth of a puppy.
He may have even gotten it from being around your other dog's poo. ----
We need one ear up pics!!!!!
He's got quite a dose of sulfa drugs to take for awhile and should be ok, and even though what I've read suggests that adult dogs don't usually get it, my vet does want me to treat the Shibas just in case, and so we're going with that. (Bel is also getting a general dewormer given that she is a huge hunter, and eats all sorts of things....with all the rodents she catches, we figured it was a good idea).
I've got to get my husband to download the pics from his camera, because I do need to post the "one ear up, one ear down" photos, though actually he's starting to have two ears up at least part of the day!
Also, glad to hear that everything is going well. Oskar sounds like a treat.
Now... Get that picture up! :-P
I really love his face! He looks incredibly naughty tho, watch out Lisa!
He's a really docile puppy though, which is a blessing....I did tell the breeder I wanted that, but the last pups I had were Shibas, so I'm still in Shiba training mode (ie. I expect them to be devils that don't listen and are fiesty as can be). Even on something like the stairs: Toby squirmed and fought when I had carry him up and down the stairs, but Oskar calms down and is still when I carry him. Toby, even at 8 weeks, stared at me then ran away when I called him--Oskar looks at me, then comes bounding over. I won't say he always does what I want, but he does most of the time, and he's just really mellow.
He has, however, started mouthing a bit more this week, and those teeth are sharp! So far, though, his most annoying habit is also funny: he seems incapable of staying dry. He jumps into his water dish with his front feet, hard, splashing water everywhere. He will not drink without his paws in the water, but sometimes his trips to his water dish are about play, not drinking....
27.5 pds!!! He is half the size of Koda. He still looks like a baby. He's more like a baby Huey. That is too cute. I wish I could meet him. I have only seen a handful of Akitas in my area. It's cool to watch some grow up on this site and get to know more about the breed.
Nola was like Oskar with the water... She would even fall asleep in her water bowl... And she would splash and splash. And if she were hot, she would just lay down in her water bowl.
Watch out, though... Now she is a mud devil. LOVES the mud. And LOVES to get everything around her muddy.
Let me just say, Lisa is super chill and down-to-earth, it was great meeting her in person and Oskar... OMG... He is SO FREAKING CUTE! We loved playing with an Akita puppy, and Zeta did great with him, I think they would have played really nicely had it not been packed with other puppies too (not to say they didn't play nicely, just didn't have much of a chance).
Anyway, Lisa, I owe you an apology... I really should have thought to bring a NK with us. I'm sorry. We just left to early (got up at 5am to make it down there by 9am) that I didn't think about it. Also, its been too hot to leave them in the car. Next weekend the temps should be better, so we will bring some NK along too - like Ahi and Mochi or something (they travel really well).
So, neither of us can back-out on it next week - deal?
----
Oskar had a great time, and I was pleased to see he even managed to remember some of his lessons when there lots of distractions. I bet he would have had fun playing with Zeta more--he's used to playing with a Shiba, so he likes some rough and tumble play.
I also really liked the class....liked that it was the way Dunbar suggests puppy groups should be--off leash, and lots of play, but using the clicker was a nice addition. Afterwards, I happened to stop at the Petco in albuquerque with a friend, and saw a clicker class there, which I did NOT want to go to, though it is closer to me: it was in a tiny little room, and the puppies were on leash (and tiny--Oskar would have bowled them over) and no one looked like they were having fun....So I'm happy to make the drive for a good group.
And I bought Oskar a wading pool, because he loves the water. He is crazy about it (and the Shibas circle around it suspiciously!) but of course, I didn't really think things through: he's ALWAYS in it now. And thus always wet. And after the pool, what's better than a roll in the dirt? Mud puppy. We now have a mud puppy.
Have fun with the mud puppy Lisa! LOL.
In the past week, we've been trying to introduce Oskar to Toby. Toby, for those that don't know/don't recall, is my super aggressive male Shiba who currently weighs in at a very tubby 45 lbs. He is separated from my female Shiba because they got in a near deadly fight (Bel won). Mostly I don't think Toby can be with other dogs, but I wanted to at least give it a try with Oskar and Toby, even though, in retrospect, this was dumb, because Toby has shown a lot of aggression and barrier frustration (he sees Oskar through the window/sliding glass door all the time and goes crazy).
But we tried both dogs on leashes in the yard. They were fine, as long as they were not in reach of one another. Oskar just wants to play, and Toby did a good job of demonstrating calming/avoidance gestures. He averted his eyes. He walked as far away as he could get. When he realized he was on the leash and couldn't simply ignore Oskar entirely, he decided to go back into the house to get away from him. Oskar was going through his puppy routine (play bows, pawing at the air, jumping) and Toby totally ignored him.
We did this a couple of times and I was encouraged.
Then today something really stupid and not good happened. First, everyone is ok. But it shows, I guess, the problem with managing dog aggression (rather than trying to fix it). Yes, eventually it fails. Luckily this little wake up call did not involve in anyone getting hurt, but it was scary.
I had let Toby out, then went to take a bath. Bel and Oskar were inside. I got out of the bath, and could see that Oskar was about to pee on the dog bed (very near the door), so without thinking, I just opened the door and let him out, completely forgetting Toby was outside.
I didn't even see what happened, really. One minute they were nose to nose, then Toby was snarling and bit Oskar in the face. When he did that, Oskar growled and he bit Toby, then Toby bit him again, this time hard enough that Oskar started crying like crazy. Toby did not respond to that high pitched puppy cry at all like an adult dog should, though, because he started to go for him again, but by that time I had them both, and pushed Oskar back in the house (and he was still crying and crying, so I thought he was really hurt. Apparently, he was more scared than anything, luckily). But after I separate them, this flying bullet of a Shiba body slams the door open and leaps on Toby: it's Bel, and Toby has hurt HER puppy. So then they start, but Bel seemed to be half wanting to fight and half wanting to check on Oskar, so I was able to easily pull her off Toby and get her inside.
Where Oskar is still crying as if he's ripped apart, which scared the hell out of me, because I was worried he'd been bit in the eye. When I kneeled down to check on him, he climbed up in my arms, and I looked him over and saw a small bite mark on his muzzle very near his nose, and close to his eye (scary) but they were not bleeding. As soon as I held him, he stopped crying and started playing, and he's fine, but I was pretty shook up. I looked over Bel, and she was fine. I looked over Toby (though I was VERY mad at him, and had to take deep breathes so I could be calm) and he is fine too.
So all dogs are ok. And I will keep managing my dogs, because I have to, but it reminded me that I've been letting Toby's aggression slide, managing it rather than seeing if I could do something about that, and I really need to actually try to at least get him to a point where a mistake like the one I made today does not mean I may end up with injured dogs. Obviously, Oskar will fight back, and even though he shows admirable bite inhibition already as a puppy, Toby is stupid and does not back down, and when Oskar is a big boy, Toby could get really hurt or killed behaving the way he does. The only good thing I can say about this is Bel showed some bite inhibition (which she has not done in the past) as while she bit Toby several times on the neck, she did not draw blood, and she did let go immediately when I grabbed her. Which reminds me again that I believe in the past I misunderstood the nearly deadly Shiba fight: Bel did nearly kill Toby, but she had been trying and trying to stop his constant bullying and harassment of her with less lethal means, and he had ignored them. And then one day he went for her, and she let him have it.
Anyway, I'm just glad everyone is ok. And I know I was terribly careless, but believe me, will be hypervigilant now. And it did make me sad to see how Oskar was kind of scared to go out in the yard after this....well, for the first couple of times I let him out, but now he seems fine again.
If anyone has any thoughts on what you might do in this kind of circumstance, I'm happy to hear them, too, even if it is simply to remind me how dumb I was!
I don't think you were dumb at all. You will ALWAYS have some possibility of management failure. It happens to the most conscientious and dedicated dog owners. Just the other day I let Lucy out of her crate without having cleaned up the boys food bowls and she got some of Joey's leftovers. It happens. But, each time it happens you learn from the mistake and take precautions to prevent them from happening again. I suspect your thought process will now favor a pee accident in the house over an un-managed confrontation in the yard.
You're doing great! Keep it up. :-)