WHEN my best friend asked me to watch her son's dog while they went away for 10 days, my first response was "absolutely!"
Once the thank-yous and offers for taking me out for dinner and bottles of wine were all said and done I took a big inhale and said to myself, "Oh my god, what have I done!?!?"
I have never taken care of a friend's dog while they went away up until now. I have my reasons. I have some pretty strict rules about how my dogs behave while in my house or on a walk yet most of my dog friends are like, "Meh, relax Joan, so he jumps, so she steals food, so he doesn't come when called all the time, they are dogs." I sit and smile but internally my eyes are rolling into the back of my head and I'm screaming, "Don't you know what I do for a living?"
So why did I agree to watch Max - a year-and-a-half old beagle? I don't know, maybe I'm getting soft in my old age. Seriously though, a friend asked for help and well, Max could use a bit of one on-one-training with Auntie Joan for 10 days.
Before Max enters the den with my two furry kids there are some things that I have to take care of first.
The first is the meeting. I will have all the dogs meet outside on an area of neutral territory so that my dogs don't get protective or possessive of territory or items like toys and food bowls. Max is a little guy and my dogs are not. I want him to feel comfortable around the movement of my dogs so he doesn't feel he is going to get stepped on or roughed up.
I will allow a controlled and monitored play session so that my dog, especially the control freak Zumi, doesn't use it as an opportunity to enforce her self-appointed alpha authority. Once I see healthy play behaviour as well as calm passive behaviour, I will then bring them all in the house. This tells me that they have successfully used play to determine each other's pack status and are OK with it.
I will lead the motley crew into the house and as long as they are all respectful with each other, they can figure out who follows me and who is last. I won't play favourites to the visiting dog as that will disrupt the dynamics between Piper and Zumi. But I will not tolerate and bullying or excessive roughhousing towards Max by my dogs. I am in charge after all and all the dogs have to remember that. This will help Max feel safe in this new temporary environment knowing he doesn't have to fend for himself. My rules are the house/pack rules.
Another area of leadership and boundaries that has to be established is the sleeping arrangements. My dogs sleep in my bedroom on their respective beds and are invited up in the morning for a quick snuggle. Max will be included in this routine but for the first few nights he will be in his crate just to be sure he doesn't sneak off and get into trouble in the house during the night. Being a beagle he is a curious little bugger. But more importantly it's so he has a space he can call his own and sleep without the worry of my two getting too close during the night.
Last on the list is doggie business. Max is housetrained, at his house, not mine. So for the first couple of days I will treat him as if he isn't and show him out the appropriate door, along with my dogs, so that he learns where he is allowed to go and how to ask.
With these simple boundaries in effect, I expect everything will work harmoniously and Max will feel like he is one of the pack in no time.
Joan Klucha has been working with dogs for over 15 years in obedience, tracking and behavioural rehabilitation. Contact her at www.k9kinship.com.
