International Fugitive Tommy Has Arrived Safe and Sound



Whatcha writing about me?



The flight was on time last night, and going through customs went as the transport company had predicted.   So Tommy arrived at our house just a little past midnight last night.   All in all, this actually worked in our favor as he was pretty tired and very quickly fell to sleep in our bedroom.   Our bedroom was occupied with four other dogs last night.

So one may be wondering as my other dog professional friends have asked, how is it that you intake a strange dog in the middle of the night with other dog guests?  Regardless of the temperament of the dog reported, you do this carefully.   Remember that Tommy just had a long international flight, and has been recently exposed to all sorts of things he just has not been prepared for yet. You can't get mad at a dog for having the appropriate reaction to a situation.   You can not expect that they will know the situation or who you are on the very first day.  Tommy has zero reason to trust me or the dogs that are here. So here is the plan in action:

• Number one, I inform the husband of the plan repeatedly.   Husbands take far more repetition than dogs to learn things:) Most important thing I let him know, is do not let any dogs out of the places I put them--no matter what and for any reason.   I will take care of that.
• I have a closed off place, actually a very large family room, to keep the four dogs in.   Even though they (except puppy Boris) are used to this very sort of thing, Tommy is not.  There is no reason to expose anyone to a potentially overly stressful situation.
• In the other part of the house, I have access to leashes and outdoor area for bathroom.
• When the car comes in, I grab the leash and meet drop off person outside.   Tommy gets to walk around and pee first, plus check me out, before the transfer is made.
• I greet very calmly and do not force myself on a dog.   Often just taking the end of the leash is fine, and entering the house.  
• Once in the house, doors are made sure to be firmly closed or locked to the outside (and gates closed in the outdoor pee/poop area) so there are no unfortunate incidents.
• Longe line is ready to let Tommy out into chicken wire enclosed dog peeing and pooping area.   This is just to make sure Tommy is not one to try to break out or even jump over the fence.   Again on first meeting there is no reason to take risks.
• Once that is done, I settled Tommy into prepared crate in the bedroom near my bed.
• Then the four other dogs are let upstairs.  
• In this instance, everyone pretty much crashed with little fanfare.   Boris was quite alarmed to find a dog and crate suddenly "appeared" in the bedroom.   Tommy took this etiquette lapse gracefully. Roxy, Harley, and Leon were thinking "oh hi there, another one to break in" and just went to their sleeping places.



Hey lady, I don't know you, but you seem nice enough.



I watched tv with my chair near Tommy for a little while.   When I saw his head start to almost hit the floor a few times, I figured that he was going to be out cold and he was.   This worked out well because we all got the sleep that we needed, Tommy got to get used to his new companions' smells, and I could hear if Tommy suddenly needed to go to the bathroom.   If I keep a dog in a different room, I have a baby monitor too, but sometimes the movements of discomfort of the dog does not register as a need to go out.   Whereas if I can see the dog right there, it is pretty obvious.   Tommy did not need to go out, and slept like a rock.

Who is this vision of loveliness?  (Answer:  Bella)

Today is going well with Tommy.   He is concerned and nervous.   He is interested in dogs.   He wants to play.   He would like a little getting to know time first (or that is going to be what works best for him).   It's less than a day, so I am not even close to knowing Tommy.   However, it's been a good day and a good start.

A lot of people start out by just expecting too much from a dog in this situation.   They do not stack the odds in favor of the dogs success.   Sometimes people get a little too upset about dog communication (barks, growls, looks) and too anxious. (I should probably go a bit more into what I really mean by this in another article, as it's pretty important)   That combined with no boundaries or limitations is a dangerous combination even with the nicest dogs.  It's so easy for rough play to be misinterpreted by another dog who does not know that dog.   Then what happens is a totally unnecessary fight, because of a misunderstanding of intent.

Will you be my BFF?

Roxy and Harley are daycare dogs, and also board here frequently.

Tommy is definitely enjoying himself today, and I will write more about the challenges of managing a dog;s first day, including the getting to know part.  Dogs all have different signals and sounds, and if you don't know the dog they can either sound more alarming than they are or less alarming than you should take them.  It's all about learning the dog as you develop your relationship and communication structure.  Canines learn this themselves as well.   That is why it is sometimes very easy for a misunderstanding to occur.  One dog's play signal may be another dog's "I'm a gonna get you" signal.

Tommy looks like he is probably big into play.   I think he will most likely be a wild man about exercise and play LOL.   Today is just about some quiet introductions and absorbing the behaviors of his new companions.

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