The "Titans"... smile...

Barkely napping

As we interact and learn more about Barkley, it is essential to us that we fix any bad habits and teach him new, good ones... Because of his massive size, he needs to be a dog easily controlled when he eventually gets adopted down the road... 

Intact dogs are not always easy to handle or live in a community environment - one of the factors county shelters deal with day in and day out...  Because all incoming dogs in TLC are quarantined when they are fresh out of the shelter, Barkley's movements were restricted greatly until we knew he was not ill or bringing in anything contagious...  

There was nothing unusual about this TLC procedure - all new dogs are kept in either one of our 6 isolation units, 8 large intake units or in the case of moms one of the 17 units we call 'window boxes' (or WBs)... If they are ill, we treat them and get them healthy until they have free access around the rescue shop... Many dogs come in with upper respiratory illnesses and need confinement, medications and twice daily nebulizer treatments until we can eliminate the URIs... 

But because of Barkley's large size, we had to make special accommodations... (smile)... And he is still VERY much a puppy... He also needs to be monitored and learn how to interact with dogs much smaller than he is... It is a process that takes time and dedication or it simply does not work... 

Momma is my dog and she too came in as a shelter dog, VERY pregnant with her 5 month old daughter, Koda... We followed the same procedure and then just prior to delivery, she came to our home and birthed her puppies... Once she was all done with that aspect of her life, Momma 'adopted' me and my family... Many followed "Big Momma" (AKA LemonCello) through our blog and FB pages as her puppies grew up and one by one, became adopted and went onto their own furever homes...

Momma asleep under my desk at the rescue shop

Once it became apparent Momma had adopted me, and I finally agreed (although I am not really a big dog person), I was determined that Momma's training would be stepped up and she'd become certified as a therapy dog... 

I have done this numerous times with MUCH smaller dogs (like 5 pounders) but throughout my career I have been asked to provide much larger sized dogs that are not put off by wheel chairs, moving doors, smells of living assisted facilities, etc... Momma is now in step 2 of 4 to becoming a master certified therapy dog... And we continue her training on a daily basis...

And because of Momma's threatening look, she has become an unbelievable ambassador to folks afraid of these 'bully' breeds... She comes with me to the rescue shop every day I work, greets folks through the swinging gate at the rescue shop and comes home with me each night... And yes, she snores as badly as my husband does at night!  And they do NOT do it in unison either, so I do have increased sleepless nights since Momma became part of our lives!

I knew ahead of time that Barkley's arrival at TLC would not only be a challenge to the rescue and its volunteers, but to me and even moreso, to Momma... She is very much a gentle giant, but she is incredibly smart and in tune to my body language now... She is almost hard wired to me and my thoughts - to the point it is scary... Because she has free roam in the rescue shop, it was critical that the meeting of these two 'titans' was under controlled environments because if the two of them did not get along, none of us could stop a dog fight should it break out... And because Barkley cannot be neutered until we are ahead of the demo, all of this caused me a lot of worry and concern... 

I questioned myself if the bond between her and I was as strong as I believed it to be... I questioned myself if my training efforts had paid off enough for her to tolerate Barkley around without aggression... And because he still has testosterone flowing through him, would he recognize the canine manners he needed to respect Momma's position and authority?  Lots of questions and worries I had prior to authorizing TLC to pull Barkley and save him... 

Once Barkley cleared medical procedures, we allowed the two titans to meet each other only under controlled, scheduled situations... Thankfully, we have several really good dog whisperers who volunteer with TLC, so it was easy enough to accomplish... 

Barkley asleep with his head on my foot

Until Barkley in his puppy ways, decided to break through not one, but two gates put up... And we had an unscheduled and unmonitored meeting between the two titans... 

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE TIME... I see Barkley come barreling around the corner and directly into my office, knowing that Momma was out and about the rescue shop... UT OH... MAJOR UT OH TIME...

Momma gave me just one look as in, "Is this OK for him to be doing?  If not, I WILL take care of it!" (and I knew she would)... I returned the look - "It's fine... Easy, Momma... Be nice..." (and she was)... 

The question we now face is who has the spot underneath my computer desk to nap it... Traditionally it has been Momma's (and it is not a big spot at all)... My office is actually a big closet, with 3 filing cabinets, a desk, my chair and a very small area to move around in... As in 3' wide and 5' long... Not a lot of space for two titans to move around in... And NOT a place I want to be if they decide to argue with each other!

This experience has been good for both of them... Barkley is learning large dog canine manners and it tests the training I have done with Momma... You never, EVER let down your guard with two large titans of this size and you must always be vigilant with any two dogs together, no matter their size, age, breed or disposition... Dogs are dogs and just like us humans, never 100% predictable... 

But as long as Barkley needs all of this extra medical and TLC are, it is essential that he continues moving forward to a dog that responds correctly and appropriately with any situation presented to him... We owe it to Barkley and to the new furparent that eventually adopts him!

Barkley and Momma together in my small office at TLC's rescue shop