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Hi Jennifer, I
took in a rescue, Laela, just about a year ago. I already had a 6 YO male Pyr
and I thought it would be nice for him to have some company when I was at work.
There were numerous power plays, most but not all instigated by Laela, during
the first couple months and it turns out that Laela is also very shy and
nervous. She flinches if you raise your hand around her and one time when I was
unpacking groceries, a loaf of French bread made her scamper from the room. I
resolved the power play issue by letting them know that I was the head of the
pack and that I didn’t like the turmoil. . If a squabble started, the
instigator got sprayed in the face with a water bottle, was scolded, and was
then put into time-out. Laela hated the time-outs because she is just a velcro dog,
she is rarely more than 5 feet away from me. I kept them separated
when I was not at home and overnight. It is no fun waking up to a dog fight in
the dark! I always kept them separated during meal times from the beginning
because I knew that Pico had food issues. I also them verbal warnings when I saw
a blatant hard stare. I also reinforce that Pico is above Laela in the pack by
feeding him first and giving him his treats first. I
think it took 3 months to resolve the squabbling issues to the point where I
would leave them alone together when I went to work. They have both come a long
way in the past year and I just love watching how well they are getting along. Good luck, Elaine |