The Green-Eyed
Monster Named Jealousy
by
PawsperousPets.com
My happy Eskie-dog
Rundle was an only dog for half a year. Oh, he
shared our family with a cat - but she was only
a cat, after all, and not really worth worrying
about.
Then we got Tonka -
an odd-looking, strange little dog known as a
Pekingese. I remember that day distinctly: it
was the day that Rundle, who would always come
to me for pats and snuggles, suddenly decided he
wanted nothing at all to do with me.
The Adjustment Period
I honestly tried to
spend as much time or more with Rundle during
those trying first weeks when Tonka joined our
family. I would approach Rundle with the
intention of spending some quiet time alone with
him, to show him that I still loved him - and as
soon as I reached out my hand, he would duck
underneath and run away.
I was completely
traumatized (in retrospect, Rundle was probably
no less traumatized than I). But I persisted:
despite Rundle's determined attempts to try and
escape me, I would pick him up, plunk him down
next to me, and proceed to shower him with
affection. He simply sat there and sulked.
In the meantime, we didn't try to force Rundle
and Tonka together. We let them go about making
friends at their own pace. Tonka and Kimo, our
gentle dog-loving cat, made friends almost
immediately.
They're Finally Making Friends!
Six weeks later
things were looking up. Rundle would permit me
to touch him again, and him and Tonka were
playing.
Although we fed them from separate bowls, there
were a few minor incidents where Tonka - who can
be aggressive when it comes to food - would try
to claim both his own food and Rundle's. Never
mind that Rundle outweighed him by 20 pounds!
Throughout our
little ordeal, we learned a great deal about
introducing a new pet into the family:
-
Continue to
lavish attention on your "first" pets.
It's so easy to get caught up with the
newcomer ... but your other pets may be
feeling a bit put out. Spend plenty of time
with them reassuring them that they're still
a special part of the family.
-
Take things
slowly; don't force your pets together.
Introduce them in controlled situations, and
give them time to adjust at their own pace.
Allow them to gain confidence and decide
when they'd like to face their new
housemates.
-
Feed them
away from each other. Use separate food
and water bowls, and keep them physically
separated when eating. Do not tolerate
aggressive behavior.
-
Always
supervise your pets until you are sure they
get along. For the first couple of
months, we left one of the dogs in the
kennel and the other free whenever we had to
go out. Some pets will adjust quickly;
others may take weeks or even months before
they're fully adjusted.
Today all three are
a happy little family. Rundle and Tonka delight
in playing together. Both of them also play with
Kimo, allowing her to "wrestle" them and
play-bite, while they slowly wag their tails. It
was a trying experience introducing a new
playmate into our household ... but one I've
never regretted. We have a household full of
happy pets that love each other - and best of
all, they keep each other busy so that we
can catch a break!
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About Jealousy