Tonight we had a major breakthrough. Ritsu and Hiro interacted with each other for 5 minutes without a single growl, tense posture or raised hair. It was actually happy wagging tails. They interacted face to face even!!!. Ritsu is doing very well and is responding to all the commands I give him. His recall on the long lead is 100%. When I call him he comes bounding back with his tail wagging and tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. This training is our safety training in the event he were to ever get loose, as it will still be a long while before he is ever off leash on a hike. Ritsu and Kazue are Best Buds. They are currently wrestling on the bed right next to me. Video to follow later
Everyday he is more and more relaxed. He gets along with Hiro now and it totally a part of my pack. The boy just gets goofier every day. Tonight we wrestled in the yard. We ran around and he gave lots of play bows. His tail never stopped wagging. I love him to death and can't imagine not having him around. Thank you again Brad and Jen for letting me be a part of his life.
Ritsu and Hiro are now buddies. They play all the time. One will wait for the other when I let them out of their crates. This is such a huge relief. Ritsu has actually helped Hiro with issues he was having. This has allowed Hiro to return to the pack as a happy pack member. It's weird. There was so much tension when there was just 2 males (Kuma and Hiro) and it started about the time Hiro hit maturity. Now that there is 3, there seems to be a nice balance. Almost like it took the pressure off Hiro as to where he stood in the pack.
Tara, you have no idea. I hate to say it, but it was not looking good for Hiro at one point. This really shows me that this is where Rutsu was meant to be. I have a pack now that is happy, and loving. Everyone knows their place and is quite content. Thank you again Brad and Jen. I started crying when hiro and ritsu started playing together. Hiro has not been tense, aggressive, or defensive in a several weeks. It's like having my happy little pup back again.
So the weather was nice today. It was above 30 degrees and the snow is melting. The boys were experiencing some major cabin fever. I got the bike out and aired up the tires. Got Hiro and Ritsu suited up in the harnesses, and took them out. Was not sure how the 2 would do together, or how Ritsu would react. They were 2 very happy boys. They had a blast and really got to stretch their legs. This was the first time Hiro had been back out with the bike since he had hurt his leg. It was my first time taking Ritsu out with the bike. Both boys are happily sleeping away. Guess as long as I can tolerate the cool temps on the bike, we will be biking through the winter.
If I keep them moving at a good pace, we are ok. If I slow down to much then they start to look at other things. That is usually when they manage to dump me off the bike.
Some updated pics. Ritsu has pretty much settled in. He is super goofy and seems very attached to me. Today was his first time just chillin in an ex pen outside. He was a little freaked at first, but with his buddy Tora, he soon settled in and really enjoyed himself.
He was very happy. I think he was worried at first that I was going to leave him. I was doing some stuff outside. Once he realized I was not going anywhere, he really enjoyed the sun and warm temps.
Comments
I am so glad everything is going so well. Congratulations on the big improvements!!
Does Mika look like Ritsu? I'm having a tough time figuring it out. But I can definitely see that she moves like her goofy dad.