On Wednesday I "inherited" my DSis's dog... after 18 months of what clearly was neglect and appears to have been some abuse.
After her passing, her "husband" (who is what I consider a member of the lowest life form on the planet for a whole slew of deserved reasons) took her 2 sons and the dog. While I've talked with my nephews in the past year and a half... hadn't seen them much as they live in another state.
Well, my DM had an opportunity to visit and when she saw the dog she about lost it. (My DM had bought the dog for her grandson 6 years ago -- and lived with my DS for about 4 years since.) The dog is a yorkie-poo -- about 6-7 pounds of fluff. When she saw him... his hair was long and matted so badly that she immediately took him to the groomer... who advised that another couple of months and it could have caused serious health issues.
DM was told that they just didn't have the $$ to get him groomed ($22) but there was a new Wii and a PS3 in the living room and a stack of video games for them 6 feet high. Clearly the $$ was NOT the issue.
She can't have him where she is living... so she called and asked if I would take him. I said okay -- we could try it.
I got him Wednesday. On the way in from out-of-state I stopped at the vets and he is now current on shots. Then we came home... where Samson (my dog) was eagerly waiting for me to return.
So now I have Samson (a rather well-behaved, 18 month old, 70 pound yellow lab) and Benny (a 7 pound, very undisciplined yorkie poo who spends every waking moment in someone's lap) who need to get to know each other.
From the way Benny responds to touching him or approaching him... it is pretty evident to me that he has been abused. His entire demeanor is totally different than when my DSis was alive. This is not just because of Sammy -- it is totally clear that some "not nice" happenings have occurred in the past 18 months.
The introduction so far has gone pretty well. Sam greets Benny with tail wagging full boar (which if you know labs... you know that can be a major weapon! LOL). Benny seems to want to hump everything he touches, which I'm thinking is his way of trying to show his dominance. Sammy (the lab) will go to sniff him, and Benny tries to hump his nose. It's really quite funny.
I think next week I'll be returning to the vet to have a little "snipping" done on Benny. Hopefully that will curb some of the humping and maybe a little of the fear biting/growling.
So finally... the question(s):
1) Are there any special tools or tricks in dealing with a dog that seems to have been abused? Fortunately his mouth is little and won't do a great deal of harm... but he has already broken the skin once when he bit my DM on the way home from the groomer.2) Any special tricks in introducing a new dog to the family ... especially when the weight differential is so HUGE (70 lbs vs 7 lbs.). Again -- Sammy has not shown ANY aggression but I feel like I'm on guard all day long. (I invested in a kennel cage for Benny... and I pop him in there from time to time during the day. Sammy is also kennel trained since I've had him... for Benny (age 6) this is all new. We also have an electric fence -- so Sammy can spend time outdoors -- which gives me a wee bit of piece. (But no quiet -- Benny is a whimperer.)
Any advice is welcomed. Am I nuts? Will they settle down? How long (generally) does it take when introducing a new dog to the household for things to "settle down".
Thanks in advance...
Kate in MI