Meeting Romeo

Romeo is doing well. He was happy to see me this morning and he ate his breakfast with enthusiasm. I have given him his own space where he can observe everything going on and meet the other dogs without direct contact, but I didn't have the sense that he was at all aggressive towards other dogs.

Before this afternoon's rain began I took Maya out to Daneland and introduced her to Romeo. She met him with her fur up as she always does, but then just walked on past him and began exploring the outdoor space. He followed her a bit just to have a sniff but let her alone.

I let Theo out of the dog yard and brought him over to meet Romeo nose-to-nose through the fence. They had a mutual sniff and then I opened the gate and brought Theo in. They did a bit of sniffing, nose to ass, circling as they smelled. No problem. Romeo gave a little grumble when he was uncomfortable with Theo getting too close to his face, but Theo did the right thing and backed off a bit. I left them together for the rest of the afternoon.

I think Romeo will be quicker to trust other dogs than he will be to trust humans, that just shows good sense. But he already sees me as the provider of food and is happy when I come around although he's still not ready for a lot of touching. We will get there though.

A note about adoption. I'm not even going to ask Promises to process adoption applications for this boy yet until we know what he's going to be like and have some idea of what kind of home he will need. He may never be Mr. Congeniality, happy to greet all creatures great and small with a kiss and a wag of his big busy tail; maybe he will always be a one-person dog. A home that knows the breed is usually preferable, but until we know the dog better, no one can say. He will be neutered before he is placed. My short term goal is to get him settled and comfortable enough that I can handle him and he can go to the vet for vaccines and a check up.