It's Hammer's Time

When we took in Hammer and Hatchet I know that a lot of people thought we should keep them together and adopt them out as a pair. Hammer was very shy and was living in the shadow of his much more outgoing brother, Hatchet. They were still young dogs, from the same litter of pups, and this was a classic case of sibling dependency. Those two boys were a living demonstration of why it's generally not a good idea to adopt two dogs from the same litter.

Rather than perpetuate that behavior, we immediately decided that they would be adopted separately. Hatchet got adopted first to a really great home. That was good for him, but it was also good for Hammer. I'm sure Hammer missed him initially, but he also started looking for other companions, including humans. I was really amazed how quickly it happened. He cast off the shy, co-dependent shell he had been wearing, and developed his own personality.

It turned out that Hammer was very sweet, loving, and affection seeking. He was also willing to follow my lead whereas before he only followed Hatchet. He made a good little buddy for the deaf and blind Dane, Dobby, but in that relationship Hammer had to stand on his own four feet and be the eyes, ears, and brain.

The submissive urination stopped, he learned the household routines, and he could be led around the yard even without a leash. Hammer showed that he was going to be a really nice companion dog in his own right. He went to a really good home where he will get more attention than we were able to provide here.