Rex joins the fun

 

Rex and Tomas in front,
Lana and Hank at the rear.

Rex (front left), in a play bow with Tomas.
Lana and Hank watching from behind thinking:
"Finally, the new kid is coming around."

Rex is beginning to get the hang of it.  At first he would rush at other dogs rather aggressively, although no one seemed to take his "aggression" very seriously.  The others seemed to just recognize him as a poorly socialized pup.  They have mostly ignored him and he has staked out a place to call his own and has mostly kept to himself, until today.

Yesterday I saw him moving around the dog yard more and around the other dogs.  Today he was fully engaged in the play.  He still has a lot of learn, but I think he's come along pretty well considering it's been only a week. 

Left to right:  Rex, Tomas, and Hank
Look at that tail on Tomas!

Lana throwing a body block on Tomas.
Rex following along, Hank at right.

He still engages in the spinning, tail-chasing behavior when he's very excited, and I caught him with his tail in his mouth a couple times today, but much less than a week ago.  I think that had become a habit, born of boredom and isolation, and it will take a while to unlearn it like any bad habit. 

Being around other dogs who like to play is the key. They have been showing him that there are better things to do and all you have to do to be accepted is to stop acting like a big bully jerk. 

Rex (left), Tomas (front), Hank (tail up), and Lana (sitting under platform).