We've had our guy Toby for a little over two weeks now. He is a
two-year old rescue that originally arrived at our house to be fostered
until a permanent home was found for him. That plan worked for about
one minute - when we took one look in those bottomless brown eyes, we
were goners. He was our dog.
Toby is a mixed breed that is also known as a Thai Soi Dog. Headrock Dogs, a shelter in Hua Hin, Thailand, is going through very tough times, and because of an amazing international network of dedicated animal welfare activists, some of Headrock's most adoptable dogs were flown to the United States and Canada to find new homes. This takes some of the pressure off a wonderful non-profit organization that stretches itself in all directions to help dogs live better lives.
Here's a chronicle of the transformation that's taken place to date:
Days 1 - 3: One tired dog
- Quiet, low key, and docile.
- No barking at all.
- Has some digestive problems (typical with travel), so eats chicken and rice, and seems to really like it.
- Chocolate eats chicken and rice too, but eats it faster than Toby, so there's no leftovers once Toby saunters over to Chocolate's bowl.
- Cats disappear. It's unknown how he'll react to the cats when he does see them.
- Sweet, sweet dog that doesn't seem to comprehend that we keep changing his name, looking for just the right one for him.
Days 4 - 10: Getting to know you
- Can jump or move any gate we put in place. This is a former street dog that knows how to get around!
- Doesn't know how to walk on a leash - pulls, runs into the street, and only heels when the leash is pulled tightly to keep him at "heel."
- Steals Chocolate's food, causing a lot of growing, but no fight. Put him on a leash while Chocolate eats.
- Discovers cats. In fact, lunges toward Minnie while she's eating her breakfast and gets some of her shedding fur in his mouth. Scary site. Back on leash.
- Cats now eat outside, and when inside, stay in my daughter's room with the door closed. Better to keep them separated for now, for he is now actively looking for them. He seems fixated.
- My daughter's friends come over to the house. Girls approach Toby with no problem. Boys find that Toby follows them and tries to nip their heels. We put Toby on a leash and have the boys give him treats. The leash gets yanked when he tries to lunge at the boys, which he does once the treats are gone and the boys try to move about freely in the house.
- He shows his healthy bark by following Chocolate's lead. They bark at Rocky, the yellow lab across the street, the mail carrier, and any visitor that comes to the door. His bark is a bit scarier than Chocolate's, so we make sure he's on a leash when a new visitor comes into the house. Especially if they're male, because that seems to be an emerging issue.
- Jumps on the furniture, also following Chocolate's lead. Put both on leash when in the living room, otherwise furniture will be trashed very quickly.
Days 11-18: We all have baggage
- Does well at the dog park. Mixes easily into the larger "pack", showing his street dog legacy.
- Steals Chocolate's toy. Chocolate goes nuts and starts a full out fight with Toby. Odd sight, seeing a Yorkie go after a dog four times his size (and this is not typical for Chocolate to do at all). Chocolate is trying to nip Toby's paws, and to break it up, I put my bare foot in front of Chocolate's mouth, knowing he won't bite me. Wrong. And yes, I now feel stoopid that I ever thought that was the way to stop a dog fight.
- Increasing aggressiveness when seeing the cats. I try holding each of them in Toby's presence to get him more accustomed to seeing them. Now I have cat scratches to go with my dog bite.
- Lunges at any new visitor coming to the house. Now it is both males and females. We keep him on a leash when any visitor comes in to keep him and them safe.
Next Week
As much as I'd like to think we can handle this on our own, I'm
convinced that someone's safety is at risk - whether it's visitors to
the house, the cats, or Toby himself. So I'm calling the wonderful
trainer that worked with me when Chocolate was a puppy. I know she'll
really be training me and my daughter to be better "alphas" and get
Toby back in a place that makes him a successful pack member. I'll keep
you posted on our progress.
