Adopting a 2nd Shiba...UPDATED with PICS 8-13
I may be adopting a second shiba. The shiba in question is an intact male, approx. 1 year old. Owners are surrendering the dog because of a move. I have a 5 year old spayed female named Jazz.
I've got some questions:
1. Jazz is a bit dog reactive. She's calmed down alot since I got her in September 07. I know from reading other posts that Jazz needs to be tired out and on neutral ground before introducing this new dog to her. Have any of you had a dog reactive shiba and added another dog to the group?
2. What other suggestions do you have for the introduction?
3. What possible problems could you foresee? I'll take any info - I'm writing down stuff, but I'm wanting to make sure I'm looking at this from every angle. Supposedly, the new dog does very well with other dogs - in fact, currently lives with another shiba (that the owners are keeping).
4. I saw a post about changing a dog's name. The dog's current name is Yoshi - if I do take the dog, the name would change to one of the following: Duke (as in Duke Ellington), Fletcher (as in Fletcher Henderson), Gillespie (as in Dizzy Gillespie). Do you think any of those names would be more difficult for a dog to learn than the others?
5. What problems do you think may come from Jazz's side of the equation? I'm a firm believer in using a crate when I'm not home. The new dog is familar with a crate (comes with his current crate actually).
I've got some questions:
1. Jazz is a bit dog reactive. She's calmed down alot since I got her in September 07. I know from reading other posts that Jazz needs to be tired out and on neutral ground before introducing this new dog to her. Have any of you had a dog reactive shiba and added another dog to the group?
2. What other suggestions do you have for the introduction?
3. What possible problems could you foresee? I'll take any info - I'm writing down stuff, but I'm wanting to make sure I'm looking at this from every angle. Supposedly, the new dog does very well with other dogs - in fact, currently lives with another shiba (that the owners are keeping).
4. I saw a post about changing a dog's name. The dog's current name is Yoshi - if I do take the dog, the name would change to one of the following: Duke (as in Duke Ellington), Fletcher (as in Fletcher Henderson), Gillespie (as in Dizzy Gillespie). Do you think any of those names would be more difficult for a dog to learn than the others?
5. What problems do you think may come from Jazz's side of the equation? I'm a firm believer in using a crate when I'm not home. The new dog is familar with a crate (comes with his current crate actually).
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Comments
Kitsune and Tsuki hit it off within a few short hours of meeting, while it took him a couple days to adjust to the foster male basset, but then they both (shibas) immediately took to Hachi..
2. I actually wrote a shiba-to-shiba introduction article recently for a friend, I can email it to you!
3. Its odd that they are keeping one shiba but not the other, so perhaps assuming an issue exists in Yoshi as the reason they did not choose to keep him will not be a terrible thing. Are you able to meet him w/o Jazz prior to adoption? It might give you a better idea of where he's coming from.
It's hard to say what issues may arise, but typical shiba issues will be the 'mines' and the snarkies and the loud crazy displays without much real action. *Most* shiba disdain is all vocals with little bite, and redirecting that will prevent major issues in otherwise normal pups.
I think being overly prepared and cautious can only help you - be ready to control all their interactions for at least a month or so (I think it takes 2-3 months to really see true colors), be ready to know when to let them work it out and when to intervene, know fight vs. play vs. calming signals, all that...
4. A dog named Fletch is crazy awesome. I don't think he'd have a tough time with them, new names are the easy part of a dog's transition IMO.
5. Jazz might appear what we call 'jealous' but I think realizing that both dogs will need your individual attention and bonding time while also needing together time and play and positive interaction will help... its hard to say!But I found that keeping our daily routine exactly the same (as much as we could) really helped our existing shibas adjust to newbies.
I hope that helped! But Dave's pups are clearly doing very, very well and he knows Jazz (right?) so maybe he can help shed more light on what I'm missing! I'll email you that article for question 2.
CONGRATS!!
I can meet Yoshi without Jazz and probably will. My friend Amber is doing the intake and eval - I am concerned that Yoshi may have some behavioral issues and that's the reason for the surrender. I'm unsure on several things - I'll keep you guys updated.
Being cautious and proactive is good thing!
Snf
Well, The night before, I looked on their site and saw Keigo and his brother, Kyoto, and thought they were cute. So, we had Mika meet both. Because Keigo and Kyoto weren't particularly aggressive, we got to meet them in the back, off leash. Keigo and Mika clicked immediately!!! We then had Mika meet Kyoto and she kicked his ass, so Keigo was the chosen one.
2. Tell us about this other dog. Are you familiar with their personality, other than being good with another dog? Are they dominant, submissive, fearful, etc.
3. Did the owners mention how Yoshi does with dogs outside of his pack? Mika is GREAT with Keigo, she tries to kill OTHER dogs.
4. Awe, I like the name Yoshi. I just donated money to the Akita Rescue of WNY on behalf of a pup named Yoshi.
5. Jealousy, fighting for higher pack order, marking, there a number of possibilities.
The choices of Duke, Fletcher, and Gillespie come from my love of Jazz music. Years ago, I played in a jazz band in college (ironically in the town where Fletcher Henderson was born). I thought it was very cool when I went to get Jazz and found out that her name was I'm Jazi.
As far as Jazz goes, I think your job in managing the interaction may be a bit tougher than mine was. Since Yoshi is already older, Jazz won't be able to boss him around the way Lucy did when Joey first got here. That's where your part is vitally important. To make Jazz comfortable, you have to let her know that you are in complete control of Yoshi. Every second of their interactions at first will need to be under your strict control. Like Snf said, keep things short and calm with lots of praise for both when they remain calm around each other. In your case, I think making sure Yoshi is extremely tired before the introduction is more important than Jazz being tired. Since they are both old enough, you should introduce them on a walk. Something like you take Jazz and someone like me can take Yoshi and walk them around for an hour or so and then meetup and continue the walk together for long enough that the initial excitement of meeting each other wears off.
Also, one mistake that I made which I will caution you about is giving Lucy extra attention when Joey arrived. I went out of my way to make sure she felt comfortable and got some snuggle time. I think she picked up on it and it just reinforced to her that something was very different. My suggestion is to enforce the same rules for both of them. Let them both spend time in their crates equally. Let them have out of crate time alone equally. Don't allow Jazz privileges that Yoshi doesn't get (unless she earns them through good behavior and vice versa with Yoshi). It may feel like you are being cruel to Jazz, but the fact of the matter is that you are forming a pack and in a pack the pack leader doesn't show favorites. Like Brad has said with his pack, you have to claim the leadership role and let them sort out the hierarchy below you. Due to Jazz's issues, you'll have to make sure that things get sorted out calmly so she doesn't become overly reactive or get scarred by a bad interaction.
I think you can do it, but I think you are right to meet Yoshi on his own first. Once you've met him, you'll have a better idea of how Jazz will tolerate him.
Good luck and let me know if I can help at all. Congrats if you decide to do it!!!!
Another thing, since you have worked a lot with Jazz and have seen her improvements...its another thought to think about if SHE is ready. John , Portia and I were ready for Hanzo - but Ninja was not. Although bringing in Hanzo hasn't really effected Ninja's progress - it just let John and I know how severe his issues really were and made us heartbroken to have to send Hanzo back.
It would be awesome if you could take Jazz to meet the new shiba and see how they interact together. Although things may be different inside your home.
Keep us updated and let us know what happens!!! Im super excited for you and Jazz and hope everything works out!
My niece, Kodee was talking to me about how nice it would be to get another snuggler. I had to explain how rare Jazz is on the whole "I prefer to be carried" (Dave - y'know what I mean, you've seen how she looks when she's held) or how her spot is sitting in my lap or on my feet. I explained to her that most shibas are a bit more independent. She looked at me like I was crazy. She's the niece who goes with me to meetups - you'd think she'd pick up on some of the differences between Jazz and the other shibas.
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I truly hope all goes well... either way this is a great learning experience!
When a dog is neutered - what is the typical healing time/process?
We brought Fletch home with us. The ride home was not okay - Jazz was not fine with another dog in HER van. Once we got home, things evened out a bit, but I then had to leave - so both dogs went into their crates. The crates were in the same room and within sight. No whining from Fletch on the crate, but he's not used to hearing a crate command.
Once I got home, out they came again. We had some wary circling, nips, corrective growls, and two snarling episodes. I had to take the kids to church so I put the dogs back in the crate - knowing I'd be gone for about an hour. Once we got back, it was dinnertime, Jazz quickly explained that she gets to choose which food bowl and water bowl she wants. Jazz would come away from the food and let Fletch eat. Fletch did well in not going to the bowl Jazz was eating at.
I am a major point of contention for Jazz. If Fletch is by me, Jazz has to as well. This doesn't seem to apply for anyone else, but Jazz does strongly identify with me. Amber and I agreed that this is a trial run. Things have got to be the best for both dogs and the family. Overall, I think things went pretty well for today. I'll look through the photos my nephew took and see if any are good enough to post.
Congratulations on Fletch LJ! Sounds to me like it's going well as of now.