It's been quite an eventful day, a little stressful though, particularly as I'm such a worrier by nature. I brought Nemo down to get Zoni and I would say the intro went pretty decent. Nemo was a little overwhelmed by all the puppies but when Zoni was just with him it was better, he was a tad growly which I would think to be expected. They played several times pretty roughly and it seemed like he was fine with her. After the 4 h car ride home (amazingly she didn't scream that much at all, just about 30 min total) they played for a bit and I put Nemo down in his kennel so he could rest a little and I could have a little time with Zoni.
When I let him up, he was not really happy with the puppy there at all and really growling and snappy. I would have liked for them to meet each other more outside in a neutral area but the snow is really deep and it is way too cold for them to be outside for an extended period of time. So I put her in the x-pen and he continued to growl and snap at her through it as she was trying to greet him through the pen. The snapping seems a little more extreme to me than just "teaching" the puppy but I'd rather err on the side of caution. So I'm sure he is just really stressed out from the day or stressed in general because she is on his turf now. He doesn't seem to be reading all the submission signals at the moment. I counter-conditioned him a little with the clicker when he looked at her and got him to sit by the x-pen and look at her without growling and he started to sniff her again. I let her out and they played some more for about ten minutes. Nemo wanted to take a nap, and was a little short with her (he's like that with every dog in that situation) so they're separated now so everyone can relax a bit (including me).
So, the day didn't go as well as I would have liked, but I'm sure tomorrow will be a better day. If he is snappy tomorrow I guess I'll try to introduce her to him when she is in the pen first, condition him some and take her out when he seems like he is pretty calm.
Sigh. 
It's not tomorrow but just a quick update. Nemo took a nap and seemed in a better mood for a while. They played for about an hour or so tonite. I just put her in the crate with the snugglepuppy and she crawled right on top of it and went to sleep. That thing is amazing! She didn't want to sleep in the crate before I put it in there.
Edit: And her registered name is going to be Joy-Us Nightshade. The litter theme is sort of a combo of "night" and/or flowers (like her mother's name). So the boy is First Knight, one of the other girls is Lady of the Night. "Nightshade" kinda covers both.
Clay…first congrats on having her home with you finally!!! 
And of course, more pics are in order, but I understand how busy you are!!
I'm glad the drive went well, and that Nemo is having a better time with her after his nap! I completely agree...the snuggle puppy is amazing...I think that it makes a world of difference.
Nemo… keep in mind that in my experience, boy Basenjis are never thrilled with baby puppies because of those needle teeth... And no one can ever prepare someone for the noise that comes from them.... and remember, he most likely thought it was "cute" until he figured out that she was there to stay...ggg.... pretty typical...
And I have always told people that one of the best things for puppies and crates is a huge oversized stuffed toy that is just for the crate... my puppies have always loved their kennel toy... and the snuggle puppy is cool....
When I brought Rally home, Nicky was pretty mad that I brought home the wrong color. His first reaction was, "Take her back." He pouted for a good week or more. He would sit on the recliner with his back to her. Which only encouraged her to learn how to get on the recliner to get to him. He would play with her only when she was playing with "his stuff" so that she would stop playing with "his stuff".
This year when we had Clark here for a week, the two elder dogs were not very interested in playing with the puppy. They would get up high on the bed where he couldn't get up and would make awful noises at him to let him know that he really shouldn't go near them. Clark has excellent communication skills and would do all the things he was supposed to but they only wanted to interact with him on their terms which he pretty quickly figured out though occassionally "forgot". I was lucky though because my youngest girls loved having a "baby" in the house and would play and play with him, tag teaming so they could wear him out.
I knew about and had previously been around all of the noises, but I don't think I was really that prepared. I was expecting more "short" corrections but these are much more prolonged than I was anticipating. Zoni submits to him immediately when he does it, and I was hoping he would back off when she did that but he's not. Which suggests to me he's not really that confident in the situation. That's been more of the concern to me than anything.
When Clark came, Rally and Nicky weren't looking for submission, they wanted him to leave them alone. They wanted to pretend he did not exist. For the first two days every time he reminded them that he existed they would growl at him and tell him to "go away". By the second day they decided that he was occassionally OK but as soon as they decided they were done he needed to leave them alone.
Just work on finding a schedule where you are working on wearing Zoni out and Nemo can pick and choose when he wants to interact with her. Try to make sure he has some places he can go to escape from her and make sure he gets time with you where he feels like he is the special one. It may take a while before the corrections stop but he should start to be less emphatic about them.
I knew about and had previously been around all of the noises, but I don't think I was really that prepared. I was expecting more "short" corrections but these are much more prolonged than I was anticipating. Zoni submits to him immediately when he does it, and I was hoping he would back off when she did that but he's not. Which suggests to me he's not really that confident in the situation. That's been more of the concern to me than anything.
For some reason, the noises between and adult and a pup seem a lot worse to me :eek::eek::eek: than all the noise I've heard between my 2 adults…I'm beginning to think that short corrections from an adult don't work on a puppy unless it is good at reading the other dog. But I also think and Pat are right about it being more about "get away from me."
I can appreciate what you're going thru, and how stressful it is...all the noise...my situation doesn't seem quite as nerve racking I think because Ruby evens it all out with her tolerance and acceptance. :o
By the second day they decided that he was occassionally OK but as soon as they decided they were done he needed to leave them alone.
This sounds like you're describing our situation with Brando and his interaction with Aaliyah.
This morning, Liyah wasn't reading the signs and paying attention to his warnings to back off, and I chose to just watch how it played out. Well, Brando really told her…really growled loud right in her face, which made her jump back from him and she backed into the wall and so she started screaming (she's a little bit dramatic :D). Well, I picked her up, just to make sure she wasn't actually hurt, and sure enough, no dampness from his mouth, no injury...she was just scared. Ruby came over to check on her immediately. Once she calmed down, Brando came over to her and nudged her with his nose and he let her put her face in his (which nearly always gets a growl from him normally)...almost like say..."geez, I didn't mean to scare you THAT bad."
For some reason, the noises between and adult and a pup seem a lot worse to me :eek::eek::eek: than all the noise I've heard between my 2 adults…I'm beginning to think that short corrections from an adult don't work on a puppy unless it is good at reading the other dog. But I also think and Pat are right about it being more about "get away from me."
I can appreciate what you're going thru, and how stressful it is...all the noise...my situation doesn't seem quite as nerve racking I think because Ruby evens it all out with her tolerance and acceptance. :o
I would agree, they definitely sound worse. And Nemo does seem to have a case of "get the heck away from me". Although, they eventually did play for about 45 minutes today which was encouraging. But once Nemo went outside and came back in it "get away from me" time again. Similar to what you mentioned about Brando/Liyah, I guess Zoni wasn't reading the signs and tried to approach Nemo who was resting in the sun and he slammed her in the frame of the sliding glass door, which scared the heck out of her, but she seems okay now. They're both passed out and I'm going through round two of puppy proofing. :rolleyes:
Hang in there… it will take some time.. but they will become buddies .... and really Nemo will teach Zoni WAY more than you ever could...gggg.... Try not to stress out too much... if it really becomes obvious that Nemo is really being "mean", OK to step in and tell him to cool it... but most times.. he will do only what is needed for the situation...
Soon you will be sending us photos of them playing and sleeping together.
Hang in there… it will take some time.. but they will become buddies .... and really Nemo will teach Zoni WAY more than you ever could...gggg.... Try not to stress out too much... if it really becomes obvious that Nemo is really being "mean", OK to step in and tell him to cool it... but most times.. he will do only what is needed for the situation...
Thanks, I need the reminding not to stress out. AND that it has barely been 24 h that they have been around each other. AND that I'm not a dog. :rolleyes: It's just so weird seeing Nemo like that. He's normally the most mellow dog around.
Soon you will be sending us photos of them playing and sleeping together.
I can't wait for that! I tried taking pictures of them playing today but they didn't turn out too well. These will have to do for now.
That's one adorable puppy!
Cute pics…it will get better, hang in there...you'll develop nerves of steel after this! :rolleyes::D I'm beginning to think the magic combo is to start with the girl and then add a boy...instead of the other way around!
When do puppies lose their baby teeth? :D:)
When do puppies lose their baby teeth? :D:)
Never soon enough…gggg but usually they start to lose them around 5 months... and the "fangs" are the last to go
Never soon enough…gggg but usually they start to lose them around 5 months... and the "fangs" are the last to go
Well at least that is better than the 6 months I was thinking. :D:D:D
So Nemo…how is it going today...any change?
Well at least that is better than the 6 months I was thinking. :D:D:D
You are right thinking about the 6 months, cause it takes a good month/month and 1/2 for all baby teeth to come out…..
