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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on December 12, 2009 at 12:38pm

I think it's a tri corgi thing (haha) My Livvy is the herder too and loves doing this especially to my rescue! What I would do is when you have time to spend working with them is to put Scarlet on a leash and every time she starts to herd him step or hold onto the leash and say "no" or better yet "leave it" She will get the idea but it may take some time. You could also sit on the floor and have some treats and do things like this with you right there so they can start getting used to each other!

Good luck and don't get discouraged! That is good that he has a place he can feel secure and "thank you" for adopting Dog! It will take awhile for him to get comfortable to a new home and possibly to get over some of his fears!

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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on December 12, 2009 at 4:18pm

I would leash her for a few days in the house and have her follow you around. This really is not fair to the new dog and if she pushes too much he could hurt her. Then I would encourage her to be calm with him in the house with treats for both dogs and praise when she is calm. I have been known to tie the offender up to our banister if they don't stop running around. They definitely listen after a few time outs! You really need to let the new dog get used to a new place with out the stress of being bossed around.

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Permalink Reply by Beth on December 12, 2009 at 5:27pm

I definitely agree with leashing Scarlet.

I would go a step further and back up a few steps on the run-of-the-house for the new dog, too.

When we brought Maddie here a few months ago (she's just turned five), her breeder told us to treat her like she was a puppy for the first two weeks or so: keep her confined unless we were right there to watch her. She was crate-trained and also used to an ex-pen, so we did that, but you could just as easily gate off the kitchen or something.

I would leave Dog in the kitchen most of the time, with Scarlet having run of the rest of the house. Then a couple times a day for fifteen minutes or a half hour or so, I would swap them out and put Scarlet in the kitchen and let Dog roam around and get used to the place without worrying about Scarlet.

Then I would spend a few days walking them both together, and then let them loose together in the house a couple times a day for maybe 10-15 minutes after a few days of walking together. The best time to leave them loose together would be immediately after coming inside from the walk, unless the walk is overly upsetting or exciting to either of them.

That's just me and I know it sounds very conservative, but if they hit it right off and were friendly (or even ignoring each other, which is what Maddie did to Jack for the first few weeks) I would leave them loose, but it sounds like they are making each other uncomfortable. That will almost definitely change, but if you slow down the introduction period it will probably be much less stressful for them both! It's very stressful for a dog to be in a new house at first, and sometimes while it seems kinder to let them go where they want, it's less stress to them to just let them get used to one little corner of the house. Then Dog can get familiar with the smells (which is the most important thing to him) and sounds without worrying about interacting with your resident dog. Maddie spent a fair amount of her day penned when we first brought her here.

Good luck, whatever route you take.

P.S. And Scarlet may very well be trying to herd him into a corner BECAUSE he's nervous and is therefore giving off unstable energy--- her behavior may improve on its own once Dog settles down and relaxes a little.

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