Yesterday was a big day for our little family. I went back to work, and we brought home a dog from the shelter.
We’ve been planning to get a companion for Blunder for quite some time, and we thought we’d found a good match. We found a young (2-3 years old) female who wanted to play with him when we brought him to the shelter with us and let them out in the play area. So, we decided to adopt her, and brought her home last night. I wouldn’t say it’s been a disaster, but it has been stressful.
She’s a sweet dog – well-behaved, friendly with N and me, and not too excited over the cat (in other words, no cat-chasing). She walks on a leash fairly well, and knows “sit,” and generally is just good-natured. Sadly, she seems to want absolutely nothing to do with Blunder – she avoids him if at all possible, and snapped at him once. She also is not a fan of being crated. The second issue is minor; the first could be a heartbreaking deal breaker.
N is feeling disheartened – I’m trying not to stress about it, and adopting a “wait and see” approach. However, between the stress/excitement of that, and getting back into the work routine, I have not gotten a lot of sleep lately. I am basically a bucket full of yawns, and not as upbeat as I would like to be.
Either way, here’s to hoping things settle down over the next few days.
It may take a little while for them to bond, but she’s going to have to find her place in your family and with Blunder. An adjustment period is normal. When you went to the shelter, you were on her turf so to speak, now she’s coming in to Blunder’s turf and needs to see where she fits into it all. Everything I’ve read says that it can take 2 weeks to 2 months to adjust, I’ll keep my fingers and toes crossed that it’s only 2 weeks for you guys!
Yeah, N is definitely more disheartened than I am over it, which worries me, because he was the one who desperately wanted a sister for Blunder. He’s currently very up in the air and unsure we’ve done the right thing, which is difficult for both of us. I don’t mind if they don’t bond right away, but if she continues to show signs of aggression toward Blunder (which she did last night), I’m not sure what we’ll do.