7.07.2011

July 7, 2011

White Dog doesn't condone violence and certainly does not tolerate fighting within the White Dog Army. She goes out of her way to help TOWD, AWD, SAWD, and YAWD understand that communication and compromise are the White Dog way to reach agreement respectfully and with dignity.

When YoYoMa first arrived he made the mistake of trying to engage Quinn in boy play, wrestling and bitey-face. While he knew it was just in fun, poor Quinn did not and ended up being pretty frightened by the episode. Scared to the point of hiding and refusing to come into the same room as his brother...including the room with the dog door.

We have all worked very hard since then on Project Quinn, our family attempt to help our big gentle boy give up his fear and be brave in his dealings with passing YoYoMa and sharing space. Nuka and Puff close ranks around TOWD when they sense he is getting nervous. White Dog has no qualms about inserting her Queenness into the middle of a situation and barking orders to diffuse things. YoYoMa seems to understand and tries very hard to look nonchalant and disinterested whenever his brother is around. He is rock solid on the command "Leave HIM!" which results in his going to the opposite side of the room and lying down so Quinn can pass.

Things are progressing well and small steps forward are being made. Quinn will now come into the room if we are all there. He walks past YAWD and uses the dog door if Steve walks along and acts as a bodyguard to get past YoYoMa (who sleeps at the end of the bed, just 3' from the dog escape). But Quinn still backs off if there is the slightest hint of confrontation and he hides facing the corner if he thinks there is a challenge. We all have encouraged him to be brave and hold his ground to little avail. I have even offered him martial arts lessons.

But tonight, as Steve put down dinner bowls in the kitchen, Quinn found himself Eskie barricaded by Nuka and Puff blocking the doorway and YoYoMa sitting at the counter. That was TOWD's bowl dad held! He was hungry! White Dog looked up from her perch in the living room just in time to watch timid Quinn push past his sisters and glide past Yo shoving him out of the way as he reached dinner. Quinn made no apologies and did not surrender his food. He simply walked in, took his place, and ate his dinner. WD and I silently cheered. Steve called him, "Brave Boy" and got a slight tail wag but TOWD did not look up from his meal. And YoYoMa? He acted as if that was the way it was supposed to always be and ate his dinner side-by-side with the "Other Guy."

17 comments:

The Bleu said...

WOO HOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Sometimes great change is made when noone is paying great attention. And I love it...

Tipping my hat to all the great strides.

With love from the Bleu

24 Paws of Love said...

Very cool!! Don't you just love when they work things out themselves with a little help from you. It is always a miracle when there is a clash and everything comes together. How wonderful we are so proud of Quinn and YoYoMa!! :)

Suka said...

hey White Dog Army,

All in good time! See what patience has brought? I am so furry happy to read your post tonight. You pups are doing a fabulous job in learning and growing together, and respecting each others boundaries. I do hope that one day Quinn will be able to play fight. Playing is so much fun and hopefully Quinn will be able to enjoy a good romp with YoYoMa one day.

Keep up the amazing work, pups! I am proud of you!

Suka

Angel Ginger Jasper said...

I love this and can just picture the scene. I am so glad that there is progress and that the sweet gentle boy got a little braver. Keep it up my friend.. Hugs GJ xx

Remington said...

You do such a great job with your family! You make a happy home for all....

Random Felines said...

YEAH!!! We are so glad he found his braveness (at least for this moment). 7 paws up for Quinn!!

Brian's Home Blog said...

BRAVO! We need some WD mojo here for Precious! Have a great weekend!!!

TimberLove said...

Harooo Quinn!! Good job there mate, Isis & I are furry proud of woo! Now we both do hope that woo will be able to someday enjoy the bitey face game, but all in good time dear Quinn~Till them be strong!!

RA & Isis

Hansel said...

aww! we are so glad to hear it!!! :) yay quinn!!! friends do not feel bad about the treats. After all we can't prove that's what did it either. Mom is so sad that she can't spoil ben rotten- she just had to try it out. (shhh don't tell dr. j that we did that he'll KILL mom) but she just had these hopes that maybe he was ok enough to at least try. Problem is he can't have protein or fat or anything normal dogs do fine with.

BUT- the cats LOVE the salmon treats, and isis thanks you a million times for the jerky! Ben has some dental yucky treats he eats and likes and those are the only things it seems he can eat and not have a problem with. But we don't want to give up- maybe one day we'll find something fantastic. Like the dugan barkery treats! those never hurt him. We give him those occasionally too. :)

and keep your feets crossed- he hasn't puked since wednesday morning.

Kari in Alaska said...

woo hoo those little things make all the difference!

Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com/

Stella said...

Yippee! We hope a good game of bitey face and zoomies is just around the bend and they will be good brothers to each other.

Kisses,
Stella

Cappy the Eskie said...

Way to go, Quinn! I can sympathize with your situation. I'm NIBBLER and Ollie is a GOBBLER -- and he tries to each my food every chance he gets. I let him get away with it -- not by choice.

Hugs and yips,
Cappy and Ollie

KB said...

I've missed your stories so very much, and my problems aren't yet solved.

But, for today, Way To Go, Quinn!!!!!!

Our dog K gets fearful when her body isn't working right. Acting afraid of her brother is a clear sign (usually) that her thyroid levels have dropped too low or that she has a urinary tract infection.

My vet says that fearfulness is very often a sign of hypothyroidism. I thought that I'd just toss out that tidbit of info in case you hadn't heard about it.

I love the gentle love that shines through in your stories.

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

Awesome - small steps all add up to big success. They are working things out in their own way. Congrats.

Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara

D.K. Wall said...

Great changes are often the tiniest of steps.

Tweedles -- that's me said...

This post makes me so happy,, because things seem to be getting better
love
tweedles

Bailey Be Good! said...

I love it that it worked out this time. Hopefully things will continue to only get better! :)

Happy Saturday woofs & hugs!

~Bailey (Yep, I'm a girl!)