Even the most well-socialized dogs have a limit to what they will tolerate.
I’m constantly amazed at how well Risa is doing with my foster dogs. Considering her fearfulness and her uncertainty around strange dogs, she is doing exceptionally well with having other dogs in the house. Especially since she is less comfortable being in enclosed spaces with dogs; there is less space for her to escape to if she feels overwhelmed. Yet I find her much more playful with the foster boys indoors rather than outside!
What amazes me even more than her general coolness having another dog in our house is how she looks to me to handle it when things get out of control. Jagger was a pretty rough player and didn’t always understand that Risa would prefer not to be bounced on or dragged. 😉 Instead of lashing out at him, Risa simply tried to get away. When that failed, she looked to me to get Jagger to back off. It’s much the same with Sawyer. Sawyer is less of a body-slammer when it comes to play but he is an 8 month old puppy. “Settle down,” “that’s enough,” and “I need a break” aren’t always in his vocabulary. Again, Risa’s first attempt at communicating is to walk off. With Sawyer, it does work for a little while. Sometimes he would still rather keep it up and so Risa looks to me for assistance. It’s subtle but I can always tell when she’s had enough and needs me to intervene.
With her history, it’s critical that I listen to her when she lets me know she’s had enough. She’s actually quite tolerant of other dogs once she feels comfortable around them but, like anyone, she has a limit. If I didn’t listen to her and ask my fosters to back off, it’s quite likely she would lose her cool and snap at them if they pestered her enough. I don’t want her to feel like she needs to do that; I want her to know that I’m listening to what she’s saying and will keep things under control.
Certainly there is something that can be said for letting dogs work things out. I do let them within reason. Over the top behaviors, from either dog, require intervention. I don’t want them to feel like they need to escalate when they feel they cannot control the situation. It’s all about keeping harmony in the house.
