Indi and Daisy

Daisy, the Dalamatian, came over today for a play date with Porter and so we could work on Indi getting to know her and hopefully like her one day.

We did this maybe a year ago and it went well but not perfect. I think I pushed it too fast so today I too it very slowly.

I had Indi locked in the bedroom upstairs so Porter and Daisy (mostly Porter) could get his crazies out first. Indi is much more hyped up and likely to be reactive if the other dogs are worked up. Poor Daisy though...she likes Porter, and will play with him, but usually he's watered down a bit since Kylie is there, too. But today Porter's full focus was on Daisy...and she really just wanted some peace and quiet to sniff the new to her yard.

Once Porter chilled out a bit I put an ex pen around the doggie door so Indi could come outside a little but not make contact with Daisy. When I let her out of the bedroom she came tearing down the stairs and to the back door. The doggie door was closed at this time since I wanted her to see Daisy through the sliding glass door first to gauge her reaction. Indi was yiping, but in an excited, not reactive way.

We spend part of the time tossing Indi treats, especially when we brought Daisy closer and the other part just hanging out with the dogs in the grass. Indi was mostly concerned with where her next treat was coming from. The only time I saw her the smallest bit upset when she was in the ex-pen was when she was getting treats and Daisy was really close. But she's like this sometimes even with her friends.

In the end we put both girls on leash and walked them around the yard. Daisy eventually came off leash since she wasn't interested in Indi at all. Indi stole a few butt sniffs while walking behind Daisy. She did react once...the girls were close and I was getting Indi's legs untangled from her legs. Porter stepped between the girls and Indi freaked out, but it was over in a split second.

I think if we do this more often Indi will be fine around Daisy. Not sure about Kylie though. Daisy is like Porter and things roll off her back. Kylie is more like Indi and likely to get all riled up, so the two might not make a good combo. On leash with some space they are fine...so we'll see if we get to the point we want to work on them being friends.