Wilbur spent most of the first couple of days outside which we were happy about (as that is what he would have been used to) except for the fact he barked overnight. The first night he barked and got distressed, however that was probably because he didn’t know where he was and everything was unfamiliar. The second night he also barked, but less and without getting distressed. However because he was outside, it meant we kept having to go to quieten him. We tried bringing him in, but this resulted in him becoming distressed. He seemed to prefer the cold outdoors to a blanket in front of the fire.
We wondered if he was picking up on noises and smells at night which he wasn’t during the day so – as we couldn’t keep him if this was going to be an ongoing problem – we decided that drastic action was required. We decided that what he needs is a place that he feels safe, and that outdoors was probably just too big. So we have bought him into the living room where he will stay for a few days to really start to feel at home and already it is working. Last night he only barked once unprovoked – and once more when Tinkerbelle got growled at. Yesterday he spent the day down by the door or trying to get out. Today he is much more relaxed and is playing with Rosie in the house.
Wilbur is now happy to lie down in the living room and not trying to get out. He is also walking around in a more relaxed way – not pacing quite so much. We were aware of the pacing as Sam used to do this. He’d walk up to the door, stick his head in and then turn round and walk away, repeating this over and over again. It took Sam ages to come out of Ian’s office which was his ‘safe space’. Although Wilbur is bigger, it is easier to take drastic action with Wilbur as Sam was injured and we had to be careful carrying him. Wilbur, on the other hand is a big softy and is quite happy to be carried, so we’ve been carrying him into the living room rather than trying to force him. He now wanders in quite happily so it worked out quite well.
He is playing with Rosie nicely and the sigh of relief from the other dogs and cats is audible. Rosie has lost interest in them completely and immediately heads off in Wilbur’s direction when she wants to play. One thing that we’ve noticed is that he is teaching Rosie to regulate her biting, which because she was so young when she left her siblings, she was never taught to regulate through play.
They are very funny with their toys. Rosie is not at all destructive and just collects piles of toys (or their food dishes, pieces of wood …). Wilbur raids her toy pile, but unfortunately Rosie grabs them back off him before he manages to play with them. She then moves her toy pile somewhere else and it takes Wilbur a bit of time to find them again. We need to sew some bells onto their toys. I am glad we have a use for the bells that Ian refused to wear for Pirata.