Nugget Returns and an Overnight Trial For Chip & Maggie

 Chip & Maggie have been making great strides in their comfort level while away from mom & dad. We've been easing them into longer visits in preparation for a 5 day stay with us in July.  With each visit they've been meeting a new visitor and this time it was the 7 yr olds,  River and Nugget. If you don't know or remember Nugget you can read about her here  Nugget 
Suzy Q, who they've met before also visited.  I knew Chip and Suzy were comfortable with each other and hoped Maggie would be less anxious with her this visit. I kept Maggie on a long lead to begin with. I wanted to eliminate the possibility of her bolting. The idea is for her to gain confidence and a sudden bolt could undo the progress she's made thus far.

Maggie is more relaxed  with Suzy this time and allows her greeting.

The reintroduction with both Suzy and with River was quite uneventful and I was hopeful meeting Nugget would go as smoothly.

Hello, Im Maggie.
Oh, hi, I'm River

Chip is a very social guy and I've only seen his happy, fun personality.  Meeting River went as I expected and I was looking forward to Nugget arriving. 

Chip and River say a polite hello

Chip was ready to begin a fun day, if River was willing. She was for sure. The four of them, Suzy, River, Chip and Maggie seemed quite comfortable with each other and could safely stay together.  

My plan was to go slow, with quiet, easy one on one introductions to Nugget with each. It's been quite some time since Nugget visited but I remembered her fun loving energetic personality and had her favourite balls ready for her.  Meeting Suzy was quite uneventful.

Hello Im Suzy. Have we met?

Meeting River was all about ball play. Yep, saw that one coming.

Nugget - "Hey, Wait up!"

We went indoors to meet Chip and Maggie. Chip clearly did not want the new girl anywhere near his sister and made no bones about saying so.  They still had lots of time to get familiar with each other so I let the visit unfold with no pressure either way. Nugget didn't seem to care and simply ignored Chip.

Chip - "Can you keep this new girl away from my sister please?"

Outdoors, Nugget, Suzy and River seemed to hit it off.  I wanted to prevent zoomies from kicking in before Nugget had a chance to get re accustomed to our yard, so I initially had Suzy and Maggie back on long leads. They each said polite hellos and Nugget found a ball again. She already had her day outlined. Easy peasy.

Maggie was unsure but accepted Nugget's presence.

Nugget will run and play ball for hours on end and that's exactly what happened.  She ran and played while Mags and her brother did zoomies in another area. River roamed the yard watching for birds, Suzy rested and watched all the goings on. They were all happy. Not necessarily socializing but content to just be.  I don't believe in putting dogs in a situation they're not ready for. Being together can look different for different dogs.  They can visit through fences and become accustomed to each other with out feeling the need to defend. The longer they had to check things out and feel content the easier the rest of the visit would go.

Chip - "You just stay with me, Maggie and I'll take care of you."

I spent a watchful 24 hours with the four munchkins. I feel quite confident Maggie and Chip will do just fine when July comes along. They'll be back again for more visits and meetings before then. I think Chip will be back to his more comfortable self when they meet Nugget again. She was nonthreatening and I'm certain he'll remember that. I wonder if having just one more newcomer this visit was more than he was ready for. He's a really good big brother and he means to keep his sister safe.  He'll learn that's part of my job and he can relax and just have fun.

In the meantime, River and Nugget seem to have a great report. Everyone played in and out and rested comfortably during the day.

By the time bedtime came around they were tired.

Heading to bed was an easy time for all. Chip and Maggie found the large crate, snuggled down together and were fast asleep in no time at all. Nugget chose the medium size crate. She gave a few minutes of soft whimpers, which tugged at my heart strings, but she soon followed suit into dreamland.
As usual River was asleep before anyone cozied under her pink blankie. I hope everyone dreamt of fun happy times. I'm looking forward to seeing them all again soon.
Chip and Maggie will go home in the morning and Bailey will arrive for a playday with Nugget! 
Stay tuned!

Good night sweethearts. I love you all