Scotch meets Howard

Meet Howard, our temporarily roommate!


Howard is Sylvia's and Alec's dog at their fathers home. He is an 8 year old Golden Retriever....with seizures:( I recently learned, due to the economy, this beautiful dog will be laid to rest. (Did you get that panic feeling as well?) My first thought was my kids pain...then I made a decision. Howard is officially our roommate till the kids father is on his financial feet!

Next step? Find out if these males are compatible. After seeking advice from other dog lovers I came to the conclusion that it all boils down to the owners leadership. Do I have the skills for the worse case scenario? I am up for the challenge:)

On Saturday, April 11 at 1:30pm Howard is in my truck on his way to my house!

I have prepared my significant other to follow my lead as he is in charge of Howard. I am in charge of Scotch~ his energy needs to be matched or you already lost your goal before you begin. I have prepared the children to at first leave the environment just in case a dog fight is on the horizon and their nervous energy does not stir the fire for me:)

We arrive home and I let the kids greet Scotch~ he ADORES them and this energy is well needed of a release ( I am aiming for the least amount of energy from Scotch~I can only pray, LOL!). The kids are back in the truck(they can see the greeting) and Howard is out! Scotch sees him! We bring the two in the garage on leashes and 8 feet from each other.We turn their backs to each other. Scotch is bouncing up and down while sitting, LOL!! And Howard is cool and laid back, LOL!! Howard approaches Scotch for a 'Hello sniff greeting'. He sits. And Scotches turn. Good so far!

We move to the fenced backyard. Howard first. He needs to smell the area. Scotch and I wait. The kids are calm and they are now waiting with me. I ask them to go hang out with Howard. After 5ish minutes Scotch and I go in the backyard and he is free from his leash. He bolts for Howard and is prancing, wagging his tail, and licking Howard in the mouth!! I am relieved:)


I was informed of Howard social skills or lack of. And we are informed of Scotch's dog-on-dog aggression history. Now, I am waiting in the moment and waiting to react to an unwanted behavior. After a 10 minutes of running around and chasing each other Howard becomes vocally aggressive. Meaning, he is starting to bark AT Scotch. Then Scotch begins to hump him. Dominating has begun. So, I step in every time either one starts to think of owning the other and I begin to show them I OWN BOTH OF YOU. After a few situations of showing them who really is in charge they back off from each other! At this point, total of 25 minutes, Howard is worn out! He is worn out, over weight, is need of a major haircut, and is foaming from the mouth. He can not keep up with our energy fur ball;) Howard spends 5ish minutes hovering over his water dish. When that is empty he drinks all Scotchs! Before heading in the house I gave the reins to my significant other and the kids because they are my eyes when I am not around;) We all need to be doing the same skills in order to have a functioning household!!

Sylvia is using a long object to install more strength when seperating the two.

After his recovery we head for the indoors! First Howard gets to sniff out the house. Then Scotch and I go in. This was a much easier task. They both understand the rules. I directed them to the resting areas which is not in the kitchen after discovering two dogs and kids is not enough room! I saw an old habit in Scotch that I have not seen in him since his first week at my house. He inhaled his food in 3 seconds and headed for Howards! Nip that behavior; they no longer share water bowls. Scotch spent the remainder of the weekend always wanting to play...ALL DAY LONG!! He is the energizer dog, LOL!! I trained him to manage his play energy by only allowing play time at certain times of the day. Otherwise, Howard was going to get a heart attack, poor old doggie:)

Overall, they are not a normal match, in fact they are the exact opposite but under the circumstance we are willing to make arrangements to provide a balance environment for everyone, humans and dogs. Howard moves in May 11 and when he moves back to his main family I will be getting another foster for Scotch. A young female fur ball with the same energy level to keep up with Scotch:)

Scotch makes things happen in my families life. He does not allow any slacking, procrastination, and he is ALWAYS telling you what he wants(sometimes he tries to get away with it) and needs. If you ignore him, he gets LOUDER!! Respect his needs and he will show you endless respect!!!

His recent graduation in training with me is he is now free of a leash...when we are alone. To/from the car, and late at night he runs around the front yard~no fence. We are getting him ready for the cabin and farm and every dog there is leash free and get along with each other. If you love someone you take the time to learn them...same goes for your pets:)

MayBerry Lane