After I lost Trim, it was just me and JJ for a year or so. We did fine and JJ coped very well being an only dog. He loves having his bed and the sofa to himself! He missed Trim though and when we returned from a short trip to Scotland he came into the house and checked all of Trim’s usual resting places to see if she was there (Trim sometimes stayed home when we went away because she found noisy places scary) That was 6 months after we had lost her and it broke my heart that he was looking for her!
Over the space of 4 years I had gone from having 3 border collies, to 1. I felt that there was definitely space for a new addition, but she had to be the right dog for JJ. JJ has scoliosis and arthritis which means he cannot play and interact with other dogs in the usual way (you can read more about JJ’s story here). He is scared of unfamiliar dogs and particularly protective of his rear end (the bit that normal doggy social behaviour means the other dogs should sniff). This means that we avoid close up interactions with other dogs. So introducing a new member to the family was not going to be straight forward.
My friends bombarded me with pictures of collies needing homes (there are hundreds!). I have also followed and supported the charity Protecting Preloved Border Collies (PPBC) for quite a few years. Our foster dog Willow was from PPBC who you can read about here.
So it was here I saw Ruby. Just one photo and a brief write up to say she needed a new home because her owner was too ill to look after her. Somehow from this photo I knew she was our girl (sometimes you just get a feeling).
It took a few weeks to arrange for Ruby to travel from Wales to Lincolnshire and I came up with new worries each day. What if JJ didn’t like her? What if Ruby didn’t like JJ. What if I couldn’t manage them both on my own? How will I keep them separate? Where will Ruby sleep?
But I didn’t back out! I drove an hour and a half to meet the last link in the volunteer transport chain. I got there early and bought a sausage roll for Ruby and I to share before we drove home. I thought she might be hungry after her long journey 🙂
At home, I already had Ruby’s pen set up. This was just 1 level of safety. There was another gate between the kitchen and the lounge and the usual babygate that separates JJ’s room from the lounge. This would mean a minimum of 3 barriers between JJ and Ruby to start with.
When I arrived home, I walked Ruby round the garden and let her explore and pee (to leave information for JJ). I then put Ruby in her new pen and took JJ out of the side door straight from his room. He still hadn’t seen her. I let him follow her scent around the garden, collecting important information, before popping him back in his room with his door and babygate closed. He could smell her, but not see her. I was taking this very slowly and carefully to make sure no mistakes were made. I really wanted this to go well, so Ruby could stay!
The next thing was to give them both the tasty stuffed Kongs I had prepared and put in the freezer before I left to collect our little rescue dog. Ruby in her pen, but allowing JJ to come out of his room and be in the lounge. Still 2 barriers between them.
We worked with 2 barriers for several days, with lots of swapping over of rooms so they could investigate each others areas and scents. They also both got plenty of quality time with me on the sofa.
I walked them individually for the first few days. Ruby had never been trained to walk on a lead, but wasn’t allowed to be off lead until she was officially adopted, so we made use of my training field and introduced her to canicross. Meanwhile JJ could continue his normal off lead walks.
The first weekend together, I recruited some help to take them on their first joint walk. JJ was muzzled as a precaution and Ruby still needed to be on her longline. Despite a few brief looks at her through the double barrier (and if she moved too quick he jumped!) JJ had not been up close with Ruby, but he was clearly interested in our new addition.
I chose a quiet walk that I know well, with little chance of bumping into other people and dogs, so as not to add additional triggers for JJ.
I was so proud of JJ! He walked beautifully with Ruby. When they were both on lead, he would happily rub shoulders as they walked along the narrower parts of the track. Off lead he let her do her thing and happily sniffed what she was sniffing and conscientiously pee’d on everything she pee’d on!
The joint walk was a milestone and let me know that JJ was comfortable with Ruby being around. This meant they could now be out in the garden together (always supervised). Again lots of peeing on each others pee (and occasionally on each other, accidentally I hope!)
This also meant we could try 1 barrier in the house. Closely supervised and with stuffed Kongs to keep them busy to start. Joint walks became the norm. When unsupervised there was still 2 barriers between them.
Sharing the sofa and JJ’s bed were huge milestones and photo worthy moments.
Ruby has been part of the family for nearly 7 months now (officially adopted after 8 weeks). She adores JJ, and he quite likes her too. He still grumbles if she disturbs him on his bed, but he grumbles and walks off in a huff rather than telling her off. There have been brief moments of play (something that JJ finds difficult because of his painful condition). I have now worries about leaving them downstairs unsupervised while I’m in the office and often hear them playing. This week they had the longest play bout so far and Ruby is learning that play doesn’t have to mean wrenching the toy away from JJ as quickly and forcefully as possible (its not just JJ that has things to learn in this new relationship).
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