Madison has been with us three weeks now, and I am uncertain about a few things.
As I mentioned in earlier posts, she was here on a trial from the breeder where we got Jack. We've had Jack since he's a puppy and he's nearly two-and-a-half. He has always loved other dogs, there are very few he meets who don't respond with enthusiasm to his overtures, and given a choice he'd prefer dog company to human company.
Madison is going on 5. She came from a show breeder with a lot of dogs, but she was a housedog who had the run of the house all day and was also loose in the house at night.
She has fit in fine with the human part of our household, and warmed up very quickly. She loves walks and cuddles on the couch. She mind us and is easy to handle; I've brushed her and cleaned her teeth, she will wait when I put down her food bowl, she is good on the leash and in the car.
However, she seems to almost completely ignore Jack most of the time. He was like a kid at Christmas when we brought her home; the first morning when we let her out of the crate, he got this gleeful look on his face like "She's still here!!!" When I would come home from work and let her out, he'd run to see her before he'd come to see me.
She, however, has not returned the favor. She walks right past him most of the time as if he weren't there. She ignores his invitations to play, does not sniff him, will only briefly touch noses when he initiates the maneuver but then trots away. He will move to be closer to her when they are dozing and napping during the day, but she does not seem to do the same.
I thought Jack might be jealous of us giving attention to another dog, but the opposite has become true: Jack will wait patiently while I brush her, pet her, or clean her teeth. The most he will do is come and lie next to me. Madison tries to nudge her way in between me and Jack if I am doing something with him and constantly needs to be told to wait her turn.
And now as I mentioned in detail in another thread, she has started mounting him whenever he tries to play. He'll back her off and she goes right back at him. If I stop her, she will stop but then starts again next time he's playing. And when he finally got tired of it and growled at her (first time I ever heard him growl at another dog) she snarled back at him.
Is this a sign of things to come, or just a transition period? I will be honest: part of the reason I wanted another dog was to be a playmate for Jack, and Maddie so far shows zero interest in playing with him. There has not been a single game of chase or wrestling since she's been here. The first couple weeks I figured she was lacking confidence, and that seemed to be the case as she would look a little unsure if he'd barrel past. I can understand that, as she's in a new environment and probably was missing the dog friends she had (several of whom were actually her siblings).
But as she has gained confidence, things seem to be heading in the wrong direction between her and Jack. I have read other posters who introduced a new dog and the two were playing within a day or two.
Is it reasonable to expect the situation would improve after they adjust to each other? Or is it (as I fear) a bad sign that she seems intent on pretending he does not exist, except to try to halt his own efforts to play?
I need to call Kandy and talk to her, but I have been ill the past two days and am not quite up to a long phone conversation today; hopefully I can talk to her tomorrow.