Ha, Ha, Ha - I Solved One Problem and Made Myself a Whole New One

I decided to try again and see if I could come up with a mix of dogs that would play together without any growling.

Tessie, Booker and Rocko on one side. So far so good.
The newbies and the shitzus on my side. Looking good.
Tippy and Tank and Booker, staying in their runs for now. (Much barking out of complaints)


The newbies, Butch, Bella, and Chumbs, seem to be getting used to the place. Bella has stopped giving herself a wedgie and was actually wagging her tail. Buddy, the antisocial dachshund, came out into the play yard for the first time all weekend. I even saw him wag his tail. Rambo and Dorie plus Butch and Bella seem to be a hit. They are having a great time. I get to stop being in Referee mode for the first time in days and get the poop scooped. It really needed to get done.

The play yard is clean, the dogs are having fun, except the guys that haven't had their turn outside yet. Time to switch. Okay, maybe too much fun because I can't get any of the 5 into thier runs. The newbies were easy to put in last night, they were pretty freaked out and ready to go anywhere that had less dogs. Not today. Trying to get 3 dogs, all that don't want to be in, into one run is nothing short of chaos. Especially, when one of them is a lab puppy. (you can't steer puppies)

I finally caught the shitzus and then I got Chumbs in, then grabbed the puppy and Bella just walked in like, "Gee, all you had to do was ask."

I Hate Weekends Like This

I just don't get why the dogs aren't getting along this time. They really should be a good match for each other, but that just doesn't seem to be the case. As of last night, everyone is getting to play only with themselves. Play time is taking twice as long and no one is having any fun - including me.

Tippy can't play with any little dogs, his owner warned me that he will "go after" anything smaller than himself. Good to know, and nice that I didn't have to figure it out on my own.

I was planning on Booker and Tip wearing each other out. They play okay for awhile then suddenly Tippy turns on the aggression and Booker looks worried. I haven't come up with a technique to stop this behavior and I never saw it on The Dog Whisperer. My only choice is separation.

But Ziggy showed up and I figured three in a dog pile should spread the energy out. Nope, Tippy and Booker teamed up on poor Zig. Ziggy gives up and heads for his kennel. We had a bit of peace and fun after that as Lucinda and Booker were whipping around the play yard.

But now the bad behavior has spread. Rocko is tormenting the new guys. Tippy can't be with anyone other than his brother Tank. And Booker has become as aggressive in his play as Tippy, so he is soloing also. Booker and Tessie are barking non stop at each other, so they also have to be separated.

I am actually having to let each dog out alone, like all the other kennels do.


I am starting to dread playtime.

Another Game of BB Fetch

Turns out that Tippy plays fetch very much the same way as BB does. That is that I throw and they keep the ball. It really does limit the time we get to play fetch unless I can find another tennis ball to throw.

Note the paw pinning the ball to the ground.