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Monday, December 14, 2015

Mikey's Going Home!

Mikey Update

Who could resist this sweet little bulldoggy face?! 

Well, cross your paws looks like we found a family for Mikey! We're planning on finalizing the adoption next week!



They've had him all weekend for a doggy sleepover/trial period (a week long trial) and he's getting along perfectly with the whole family! 

I brought Mikey over to their house on Saturday and first we just played and went on a short walk so that the couple could get to know him better, of course they were immediately in love. Because how couldn't you love his silly grin and wiggly butt! 

Playtime with Mikey's new dad!


We then took our time introducing Mikey to their dog Tucker; Tucker is a 7 year old Pointer mix who can sometimes be leash reactive towards other dogs. 

When we introduce dogs, Dz Dog Dad and I like to first go on a walk. For our walk we want the dogs to see each other but not sniff yet. We usually start with the handlers on the inside walking side by side, with the dogs on the outside. We then slowly work our way closer together, handler with dog on each side then handlers on outside dogs on inside (short leashes watching them the whole time) then we take turns letting the dogs casually sniff while we are still walking.  

If the dogs progress nicely through each step then we allow them to stop and sniff butts, but I like the keep their faces away from each other at first.  This technique has worked really well for us when introducing Ziva (who has fear reactivity to strange dogs), and so we've just adopted it for all our doggy introductions when bringing in fosters.

Maybe it was the rain, maybe it was meant to be - but Tucker didn't have any reactivity towards Mikey! In fact Mikey really wanted to meet Tucker, who at first just wanted to ignore Mikey.
After a long soggy walk, we brought both boys back to the house so that we could visit, drink hot coffee, and let the boys get to know each other.

When we introduce our fosters to either our home or a new home, we like to leave a leash on at least one of the dogs so that we have a way to catch them quickly if a problem arises.

Mikey didn't have any issues in the house so we transitioned him to off-leash after we introduced him to the home. He was curious about the kitties but after my cats he's a bit cautious, he doesn't like being smacked and my Belle cat has been known to chase dogs who get to close to her.

Mikey and Tucker settled in perfectly together!
It was absolutely perfect, Tucker guarded his mama at first but didn't show teeth or behave rudely at all towards Mikey.  And Mikey being half chicken (we're pretty convinced he's really a bulldog chicken), wasn't pushy at all and read Tuckers signs - giving plenty of space to Tucker and his mama while still trying to end up in everyone's lap. Maybe he's part cat too? He definitely loves laps.

In the time that I was there, Mikey destroyed two stuffed toys! He especially loved the ones with the squeakers, I don't have these toys at my house since my dogs go through them so fast. At first Mikey didn't seem to know what to do with the toys. But Tucker showed him real quick that they are meant to be mouthed and chewed on.


I can happily say that i'm getting great updates! 
Keep your paws crossed I think they are perfect for each other!

Look at this happy squishy face!
Pictures courtesy of Mikey's new mom.


5 comments:

  1. OMG this is awesome! Could you ask for anything better for Christmas?

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  2. That's so awesome! Good job! Yay for Mikey!

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  3. YAY! Paws crossed!

    Your Pals,

    Murphy & Stanley

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  4. Great news! Looks like the meet and greet went really well.

    And yes, walking in parallel is such a great way to introduce dogs. Whenever possible, I did it when we introduced new fosters to Honey (although Honey is good enough with other dogs that when I was alone and had to manage a solo introduction it still worked out).

    We've also done it a few times when we've gotten visits from fellow bloggers and their dogs. Haven't had a problem yet.

    You've done such a great job for Mikey. Congratulations to all of you.

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