[SamHayne]

Well we did it. We went & took the female German Sheppard/Husky, Mindy, mix from my brother in law. He is trying to breed Boxers.

Actually, I don't know if the meeting could have went any better. We started with a walk on a nice trail we have along a river. There was some sniffing, but Max is very focused on his walks & I knew as long as Mindy was trying to start a fight, there would be no problems on the walk.

The we went to Goldrusk, which is a pet groomer, bording, pet supply, training center. They do a thing called Fun Camp, where if your dog is fine with the owner's dog on the trail, they get to be entered in for Fun Camp. They keep all the same size dogs in there, so if you have Doberman size dogs, Tuesday & Friday is the day you can let you dog interact with other dogs & get worn out for the weekend Anyway, they let us use their "Arena" to bring Max & Mindy together. That was kind of a waste because they didn't interact with each other at all.

So we went to the backyard, which is one of the areas I was worried about. Max basically barked a few times, laid down the law & that was it.

Food, Max is trying to eat all of it, but we gave them both a doggie ice cram treat thing (not ice cream really though-I wouldn't eat any that smelled like these). Max tried to get at Mindy's when he finished his & she let him know that was ill advised.

Anyway, this morning I decided I was going to get them running in the backyard. Max is 5 & Mindy & 1 1/2, Max started out like he didn't like Mindy doing that, but she immediatley got in play stance & bounced at him. The chase & wrestle was on from there. Max will need to get in shape to keep up with Mindy. He's about 90 pounds & she's about 50. He needs to lose at least 10 & she could maybe gain 10, I can feel her spine & ribs.

Anyway, I think they have settled all issues with the play session

Here is Mindy & no, we didn't give her that name because it sounded cute with Max, it was the name she already had

 

[Dobesanddragons]

So your brother wants to "breed" Boxers and gets rid of one of his current dogs to do so? =( How sad. Glad you took her in and hope you get some weight on her.

 

[MrDesi]

I'm glad everything is working out so far. She is a pretty girl, I hope they become best of friends soon.

Good Luck
Naveen

 

[brumwolf]

That 's good news on all fronts,thatyou have given her a home and she gets along with Max,such a pretty girl as well, some of these crossed dogs can be so beautiful, i met one at a village fate yesterday that was a dobe-gsd cross and she was a looker as well(pics will follow).

 

[SamHayne]

So your brother wants to "breed" Boxers and gets rid of one of his current dogs to do so? =( How sad. Glad you took her in and hope you get some weight on her.

well 1, it is my brother in law, so not actually related to me.

2, well he had a female pit bull, a male boxer, then Mindy the German Sheppard/Husky mix. He decided to sell the pit bill & got a puppy female Cane Corso Mastiff. Then he started asking us if we'd want Mindy. When we went to see how Mindy would interact with us this weekend. That is when we saw he had gotten a female boxer & he started talking about how he wanted to breed the boxers. We have since talked to him & he brought the female boxer back to the breeder he got her from. There were alot of issues on both sides, so he now has his 8 year old boxer & his not even 1 year old mastiff. We are trying to get him to not get more dogs. He doesn't have the time to spend with a dog that we feel he should, let alone a pack of them. However, he has addiction issues, not that you need his personal story, but he has been sober for 1 year now after almost being dead at 27. While it is still bad thing, his dogs are part of the way he stays sober. Like I said, I hope the 2 he has can be the only two & be enough to fill the needs he has.

Anyway, the real point is, Mindy is much happier, confident & proud since being at our house. She used to lay under the kitchen table where she was & needed to be coaxed out. She used to dig holes in the back yard & had biten through the fence & got a out a few times. Now, she follows Max everywhere & licks his face. She prances around our backyard with her head & tail held high & she loves being walked, which she will be getting almost everyday for about any hour. So throw that in with any tackle session she & Max involve themselves in & she will get plenty of exercise.

 

[LapDog]

she follows Max everywhere & licks his face. She prances around our backyard with her head & tail held high

awww sounds like she has a case of the coco's lol. (that is what coco did/does with Duchess.)

 

[brumwolf]

The last paragraph in that last post say's it all for me,good on you Sam!

Nice sig LD!!

 

[Zucker]

oh they will make such a hansome cople!

 

[Okie-dobie]

That's great and Im glad Mindy seems happier. That's the bonus of having two dogs, they keep each other fit!!

 

[Lexus]

She is a beauty! Good luck with her and Max together! Glad to hear you're giving her a good home! Can't wait to see some pics of the two of them together!

 

[SamHayne]

Ok, well here's the 1st picture I got to turn out that has then close to each other.

Now, personalities are starting to come out. Can someone tell me how long we should let a battle go?

Up until an hour ago, Mindy walked away from everything if Max started to growl or curl his lips. With food, Max was having the need to eat all of his & then hers. Max inhales food. Mindy nibbles, so he was done long before her. However, we let them outside. Then when they came back in, Mindy wanted to eat. Everytime Max would start to go over to her bowl, Mindy would block him by putting her body sideways between the bowl & Max. He got very close & Mindy started the lip curl. We shut it down right away. Then they went into the living room & Mindy was ripping apart her stuffed squirrel (she's a serial stuffie!!!) & max, who hates toys, decided to go after it. The battle was about to go on, but again, we stopped it & now Mindy is on her pillow & Max is on the couch.

Are we supposed to let them go at it & determine the ruler or is it best to stop it before anything starts? If we should let it go, how do you know when to stop it?

 

[waiting]

Congrats on the new addition, Mr. softy. Nice to see and hear when a dog is better off going to a new forever home.

 

[Okie-dobie]

Take a look at the thread "We are in the process of" especially DoberKim's response.

 

[SamHayne]

Congrats on the new addition, Mr. softy. Nice to see and hear when a dog is better off going to a new forever home.

what? Mr. Softy? Ha Ha!

 

[SamHayne]

Take a look at the thread "We are in the process of" especially DoberKim's response.

Well, after the food thing we have decided that food is being fed 2 times a day. We used to just let Max's food sit out & he would eat a little now, a little then, it wasn't like he just ate all day.

The plan now is in the morning, they will be fed & then when we eat dinner, they will get fed. The hope is this way they will be distracted by their own bowl of food, so they won't worry about the other's food. The other concern was Max becoming 500 pounds trying to eat all the food. Before, when Mindy had 3 other dogs, she would basically get pushed out of the way & her food would be eaten before she could do anything.

As for toys, the squirrel became Mindy's security blanket last night & she would grab it & bring it around with her. The toys are getting put away.

Unless there is a full out brawl that can't be stopped, I am thinking this will be fine. Neither seems to really want to damage the other. As soon as one of us says no & grabs one of the dogs, it's done & until the food & squirrel tonight, Mindy would always lower her eyes & walk away whenever Max would growl. We'll see. They more then tolerate each other & Mindy does want to be around Max.

 

[Zucker]

No! Don't let them fight it out! You are doing EXACTLY what you should be! Stay on top of them, supervise them, don't let things deteriorate. They don't need to rip each other apppart to figure things out. The bottom line in all of this should be that YOU are their leader. YOU rule what behaviour is acceptable or not.

 

[TracyJo]

I remember back in the day reading books/articles that basically said, "don't worry about it unless they draw blood." Most teach otherwise these days, in that, we are the pack leader and should assert control of the situations, rather than letting them figure it out. I think you're on the right track and are setting them both up for success by taking away things they are likely to fight over and adopting a regulated feeding routine. At this point, I know what my two will fight over, like recreational bones with meat still on them or marrow still in them - when they get bones like that, they are kept seperated in their kennels - it would be silly to do otherwise.
Keep up the good work, stay on top of things and I'm sure they will fall in line soon enough

 

[Gracie's_Mom]

Such a pretty girl Mandy is. I am happy to hear that you took her in and are giving her the care she needs and deserves. Good for you!

 

[Rebel73]

Very pretty girl...congrats!

 

[SamHayne]

Ha ha, Max better get in shape fast, he's getting worn out!!!! Everytime they go outside, the play wrestling starts. They wrap their fore legs around each others heads, they try to lay on each other. They will go up & put their head across the others back & try to put all their weight on each other & then there is the chase.

Then they come in flop down on the floor & fall asleep.

I am trying to get a picture of it, Mindy won't go on the furniture, Max will. Mindy will lay right under where Max is on the couch. Max will hang his head over the edge & Mindy will look up & they start licking each other.

We even got very close to Max knowing the white food bowl is Mindy's. He left her alone tonight while she ate & only ate the rest of her food when there was a tiny bit left in the bowl, like 5 nuggets.

Here are some clickable play pictures from today. This was after an hour long walk this morning about 7.