Progress with Lola and Lusso!

Well -- thanks to online instructions from the Dog Whisperer (Cesar), we're making good progress here. We've had 3 visitors to the house since Lola arrived. The first one didn't go so well -- our good friend John Deikis, who's about 6'4" and has a booming voice, came for dinner last night. Both Lola and Lusso went berserk. We ended up putting the dogs in the guest house for the evening just so we could hear ourselves talk!

Then this morning, Ariel arrived with Elliott R -- Ariel's running a 5K this morning out in this area -- and again, Lola went nuts. After about 20 minutes, she calmed down, but continued to growl in a low voice at Elliott R.

So I got online and checked with Cesar to see what to do about aggressive behavior when a visitor arrives. It turns out you're supposed to exercise the dogs vigorously, like running them up and down stairs, then run them through a series of commands. That will tire them and get their attention. Then they also know you are the one in charge and will be much better about listening to you.

So after Ariel & E left, I ran the doggies up and down our stairs about 10 times. Each time when we reached the top of the stairs, I made them sit and stay. They both loved it, and they were both so exhausted at the end that they flopped into their beds and have been sleeping quietly for an hour!! Here are pictures of what they look like right now!! (They each have a bed on either side of my chair at the table, and that's where they stay when I'm working at the computer.) 

Other stuff: they are getting along pretty well, especially when I walk them together, or when I take them outside to "sniff". I remove reasons for them to be territorial with each other, and give them room to get used to each other. Lusso is a bit bewildered at this new development but he seems to have accepted that she is here, and he's doing his best to cope. Lola acts like she has lived here for years!

Whatever Lola wants...Lola Gets

Introducing Lola, the feisty little Chihuahua who survived a near-death experience and was saved by Guardian Angel Animal Rescue here in the Detroit area two months ago. I found her on the Petfinder website that links to GAAR. Apparently, she was brought in to be euthanized by someone who claimed to have found her on the street after having been attacked by another dog and left for dead. But the vets on staff that day saved her, stitched her up, and gave her another chance at a long life.

I worked with the foster mom who was taking care of Lola for about 6 weeks -- put in an application, talked on the phone regularly to follow Lola's progress as she healed. When she was almost ready to meet me, her foster mom discovered a lump that turned out to be a tumor on one of her nipples. To be on the safe side, the vet removed it and ran pathology to make sure it wasn't cancer. I waited another 3 weeks to find out whether I could go ahead with the adoption.

Then last week, I got the call from Lola's foster mom that we could meet and see if Lola could come home with me. We met at a neutral place -- Petsmart in Ann Arbor -- so Lola could me both me and Lusso. I was nervous, because Lusso tends to be quite snarky with some dogs and I didn't know whether it would go well. And at first, Lola was really snappy and growly. After about 30 minutes, though, she began to calm down and we decided to take her to my house so the foster mom could see our place and make a decision as to whether Lola could live with us.

We spent the afternoon together, with Lusso and Lola checking each other out, but not fighting or showing signs of rejection. Whew!! The foster mom said she was satisfied  all would be well, and left Lola with us that evening.

Since then, Lola and Lusso have been working out who's in charge. It's really interesting to watch the process. Lusso won't budge on some things, like letting her near his bed; but in general, Lola has the upper paw. Lusso gives way and leaves her alone when she growls at him, and vice versa. During the day, they do play, and seem to get along fine. I'll be uploading more pictures today -- stay tuned!!