We have been working with Wil’s huskies on their social interaction skills the last few weeks. The huskies had started a few months back quibbling and fighting amongst themselves and even though they were coexisting together without incident well to put it simply… their relationship with each other sucked. We tried to integrate them with one of our packs as a group but it caused more bickering amongst them and they continued to isolate themselves from the other dogs. So we decided in order for them to become a pack again they first had to work on their skills individually. Niko who had decided it was far better to sleep outside than to have to listen to his sisters bicker all night long went with the older more mature dogs. We had some concerns about this as Cody spends most of his time with this pack. Cody is used to being a leader amongst the dogs and we weren’t sure how that would go over with Niko. As it turns out Niko, seemed relieved to have another dog take the lead. He even started playing, rough housing and acting like a puppy again. Niko, alone got along with all of the dogs upstairs. We then separated Skyy out and put her with Roscoe. Roscoe, although he is a pit bull, is very mild mannered and so far has gotten along well with all of our pack members. We had some concerns about these two together but more so because Skyy can be very rough and demanding with the other dogs. As it turns out, while Roscoe doesn’t want to have any disagreements he is very good at vocalizing to another dog when they aren’t treating him well. So after a day with Roscoe, Skyy and him were best buddies. Skyy was also happier as she could finally play with a dog without starting a fight. We decided to immerse Sage into the backyard pack. These are the younger, rowdy, dogs who like to play all day. Sage didn’t really think this was a good idea and she hung out at the gate to go back in to Skyy’s yard for the better part of a day. And as she was hanging out, she was bickering with Skyy. After a while Sage figured out that it was better to run and play than to stay and argue with her sister.
After the dogs had integrated into their new packs for a while and their social skills began to improve we decided that we would try to introduce them all into the backyard pack. Niko adapted well and acted like they had been his friends forever. Skyy was a little less sure of herself and clung to Roscoe’s side. Sage at first started to go over and try to separate Skyy away from the other dogs but gave up on it after the first few minutes. At one point Niko started to pick a fight with Roscoe. Roscoe kept trying to walk away and ignore him. Niko was persistent in his attempts to agitate Roscoe. Just before we were going to step in and separate them, Skyy stepped between Roscoe and Niko. She said what she had to say in a way that only a husky could. Niko turned and walked away. Skyy who has been the immature, strict, rule with an iron paw pack leader stepped in this time and handled the situation with the expertise of a seasoned pack leader.
We were very happy with the outcome not only for the huskies but also for the rescue dogs as it gives them more exposure to other dogs and makes them more adaptable. Appropriate social interactions among dogs is important in every day life. Bella, Hailey and Roscoe proved today that they have those skills. The huskies proved that they are still a pack but like people sometimes need a mentor to bring us back to the right place. After playing for four solid hours, nine very tired huskies, pitbull, feral, plott hound, border collie, rottweiler mix, shepherd mix came in and fell sound asleep. Some people go to the dog park to play. We live and play all day at our own dog park and that is as close to heaven as one could get on earth.
