Houston (aka Hootie) - November 12, 2016

I drove down to Seymour, IN on Saturday, November 12th to meet and pick up Mr. Houston. I walked around with him and his owners for a bit before loading him and his belongings into my car and we were off. I chose to have him wear his cone (so he wouldn't mess with his wound that we're trying to get healed up once and for all!) on the trip so I didn't have to worry about him. I honestly forgot he was back there he was so quiet!

I put him in our detached garage and then brought Ringo and Lola (our pups) out for the meet and greet. Went really well!

I let Houston play with one of the pups Kruuse cubes (kibble inside as treats). He loved it! He does have a guarding tendency though so all play with toys has been closely monitored.

Cat (one of 2 cats here) was at the front door of the house when we arrived. Houston was on his leash. He saw her and became very excited and I opened the door to allow him to stick his nose in and he jumped at her - she stayed put for a second and then when he dove at her again, she ran and hid. I took this as a bad sign for him getting along with cats since Cat is a very dog savvy cat and I've never seen her run from one. I think she sensed he was more than just curious. After that, I immediately took both cats and have them shacked up in our barn office (it's heated).

So, cats out of the house, just us and the pups. Our guy, Ringo, is half blue heeler, half Australian Shepherd. He tends to have guarding tendencies also and so, I don't have any toys out and the dogs just play with each other. Houston seems to be great at this (and Ringo has been really enjoying it), although he does tend to use his front paws alot during play and so would need fur friends that can handle this. Ringo is a pretty rugged guy and this type of play works just fine with him. I see alot of good give and take in their play (they take turns being on their backs and such) and everyone's "dog" language seems to be what is needed and no more (telling each other what they do and don't like during play and then moving on - no overly aggressive acts shown).