BARKSDALE!
He's going to be a big oafy beast when he's full grown and won't ever posses the gravitas required for a name like Timmy J. We liked Taliaferro because it was different, but neither one of use even lived in that dorm, and since everyone thinking Griffin is a boy (she's a girl), we decided to go with some more gender appropriate for this dog. So Barksdale it is...Little Barker Boo Boo. Yes, I just wrote that out loud on the internet.
The doggy introduction has gone ok so far, better than hoped for, but not exactly ideal. Griffin is protective of us and the house, so she's been kind of growly and is occasionally guarding the front door or the crate door from Barksdale. In other words she's living up to her nickname, "Princess Doesn't Play Well with Others" to a certain extent.
Other times she seems like she might be trying to play with him or will let him get pretty close and sniff or lick her. We think over time they adjust ok. I just hope we aren't scarring Barksdale for life by making him life with a big mean dog.
One thing that is super-obnoxious is that she is all up in his food! He eats slow because he's a puppy, and Griffin will wolf her food down and then race around the corner to get his food too. Some cursory research online tells me we may have to feed them in separate rooms where we can close doors.
Any advice from the owners of multiple dogs on feeding and new dog integration in general would be very welcome!
Here's everyone playing nicely near each other.
I now have two friends with beasts that share names with characters from The Wire. Just saying....
ReplyDeleteWow. I totally did not even think of that!!
ReplyDeleteYou are not going to scar Barksdale, I promise - Callie was the same way with Ness when we first brought her home (very protective of us/our apartment/the bed/etc.) but it got better quickly. We kept Ness in a crate at night, which seemed to help, and actually fed her in the crate at first. We still have to feed them in separate places - not separate rooms, but not next to each other either - and sometimes they eat the other's food, but it's rare. Honestly, our hardest adjustment was learning to walk 2 dogs at once - FWIW, if I could do it over, I would be MUCH stricter with Ness when walking her. And possibly Callie as well (but, you know, old dog/new tricks, etc...).
ReplyDelete