Moose's Ma
02-03-2001, 12:49 AM
Many big thanks to those of you who responded to our plea for help with our "boys." I'm happy to say that we solved our problem, based on your suggestions! To remind y'all of our dilemma: Whenever we go out, we've been putting 7-month old Toby in the kitchen while allowing our beloved old senior citizen Moose to remain free in the rest of the house. We had two reasons for doing that. Mainly, we didn't want our Alpha Patriarch and our teenage Alpha-wannabe to rip each other to shreds in our absence. Their relationship, since Toby was adopted, has been-- shall we say--less than brotherly! But also, while Toby is too young and too imperfectly trained to have the run of the house, Moose has earned this privilege during his happy 12 years with us-- we didn't think it was fair to now start shutting him up.
So...separating them this way worked well at first, but in the past month or so,
Toby had begun to raise a hellacious racket whenever put in the kitchen as we were leaving. Chew-bones, kong, various training strategies didn't seem to make a difference-- he was getting louder by the day. Then some of you suggested that the "stepbrothers" might do better, after all, if at least in sight of each other.
OK,long story short-- we decided to try it. One day we put them BOTH in the kitchen, with their beds in opposite corners (it's a big room)-- shut the door, and tiptoed out to the front porch. And...Silence!? None of the usual desperate wails of abandonment from Toby. No outraged barks of "Unfair!" from Moose. No snarls of dominance, no bloodcurdling shrieks as one tore the flesh from the other's bones. Yes, folks, it really worked, beyond our wildest dreams!
Now, neither of them makes a peep when we leave, as long as they are together. After several weeks of mutual confinement, one day-- wow!-- we came home to find Toby and Moose sleeping side by side on the same dog-bed!
Although they still have an uneasy truce, and are understandably veeerrry cranky around the tricky issue of bones (Moose thinks all bones are HIS property ONLY), we now occasionally observe them being touchingly sweet to each other-- sometimes, they lick each other's muzzle in greeting. I guess, as fellow kitchen-prisoners, they've bonded.
And NOW the big problem is ...mutual barking festivals!! But I'll save THAT problem for another post.
Thanks again--
Moose's Ma (& Pa)
Click here for a photo of the boys (http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1253946&a=10159399&p=34109657&Sequence=0&res=high)
<FONT COLOR="#00FFFF" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by Moose's Ma on February 03, 2001 at 02:24 AM</font>
So...separating them this way worked well at first, but in the past month or so,
Toby had begun to raise a hellacious racket whenever put in the kitchen as we were leaving. Chew-bones, kong, various training strategies didn't seem to make a difference-- he was getting louder by the day. Then some of you suggested that the "stepbrothers" might do better, after all, if at least in sight of each other.
OK,long story short-- we decided to try it. One day we put them BOTH in the kitchen, with their beds in opposite corners (it's a big room)-- shut the door, and tiptoed out to the front porch. And...Silence!? None of the usual desperate wails of abandonment from Toby. No outraged barks of "Unfair!" from Moose. No snarls of dominance, no bloodcurdling shrieks as one tore the flesh from the other's bones. Yes, folks, it really worked, beyond our wildest dreams!
Now, neither of them makes a peep when we leave, as long as they are together. After several weeks of mutual confinement, one day-- wow!-- we came home to find Toby and Moose sleeping side by side on the same dog-bed!
Although they still have an uneasy truce, and are understandably veeerrry cranky around the tricky issue of bones (Moose thinks all bones are HIS property ONLY), we now occasionally observe them being touchingly sweet to each other-- sometimes, they lick each other's muzzle in greeting. I guess, as fellow kitchen-prisoners, they've bonded.
And NOW the big problem is ...mutual barking festivals!! But I'll save THAT problem for another post.
Thanks again--
Moose's Ma (& Pa)
Click here for a photo of the boys (http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1253946&a=10159399&p=34109657&Sequence=0&res=high)
<FONT COLOR="#00FFFF" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by Moose's Ma on February 03, 2001 at 02:24 AM</font>