Re: the multi dog adjustment HELP for Peggy

[Leigh Stoller <stoller@cs.utah.edu>]

Well our experience is limited to combining Torrey (4 year old boy
golden) and
Miss Maple (2.25 year old girl from Moon liter). They certainly like
to play together a lot, but Maple much more so than Torrey. Torrey
will often shun her, and when that happens Maple will either go play
on her own, or I will get in and start them going by playing tug of
war with both of them. Then I get out of the way and they keep
playing. They are very different dogs though with different interests,
and so it takes some experimenting to see what kinds of toys and
activities appeal.
They also tend to play more outside then inside, chasing each other
around the backyard a lot. That happens some inside, but not nearly as
much. 

There is also the adjustment time for Amex, which is bound to be
considerable after being shifted from Gina's very "unique" environment
to a more typical (and boring :-)) home life. I think you should give
it some more time, knowing that Gina will make things right if you
later decide it just won't work.

Lbs 

Peggy & Kurt wrote:
> 
> Hi All
> Gina, thanks for posting this to the list, and thanks for quick responses
> from others.  Katie just turned one yesterday - happy birthday to all the
> Casino kids!  AmEx is 14 months old.  Katie's primary joy in life (other
> then food) is playing with other dogs.  She wants to play with just about
> any dog she meets.  I decided to get her a playmate, and (twist my arm) to
> get another golden :-)  We do have a 16 yr old border collie mix who
> tolerates her but does not want to play with her.
> I had been thinking about a puppy until Gina told me AmEx was available.
> I'd fallen for him the first time I saw him last summer.  I knew he liked to
> play, and I thought here's a graet dog and a good playmate for Katie.
>  Well - great dog, yes - but the play thing isn't going so well.  Katie
> "invites" play MANY times during the day, and he responds some but not very
> often.  My questions/concerns are wondering if it's most likely a time
> issue - he's been here just two weeks, or do the two of them just not
> "click"?  There's no aggression going on, just what appears to be a lack of
> interest on his part.  He does play when he's at daycare, but mostly when
> it's "group play".  He really is a wonderful dog, but I'm concerned about
> his not playing with Katie.  She seems to be getting a bit more aloof and
> somber.  Anyone's experiences on this subject would be great to hear.  I do
> have some other questions, but I'll save those for later.
> Thanks!
> Peggy