Walker

When I started thinking seriously about fostering, my very first concern was how Truly would react to another hound.  This coming March, he'll be 10 years old.  He's been the Best Greyhound Boy in our house since we adopted him 6 years ago.  When we adopted Maggie 3 years ago, she was only 2, and she was shy, so there were never any questions from her about who was the boss of the hounds.  She knows it's Truly. 

Maggie's not shy any more.  She sometimes exerts herself with Truly, but she knows just how far she can push him before he pushes back.  I didn't want Truly to be challenged by a new foster hound.  When I saw this desciption of Walker on the SEGA web site, I thought it just might work:

 "Flying Gawker or Walker as is he is now know, is a very handsome red brindle boy. He's gentle and sweet. Definitely not much of a party boy. He prefers a peaceful, structured and quiet environment. Walker didn't have much a racing career with only 2 races to his name. He loves fenced yards to explore and dog buddies to play with. He enjoys carrying toys around, especially taking them on his explorations outside. One of his favorite things to do is just chill and relax. For a youngster, Walker already knows how to enjoy the best things in life."

Here are Those Brindle Kids on the way to meet Walker for the first time.  They love to ride.
 

The meeting with Walker went very well.  They all seemed to get along well together so we had three greyhounds for the ride home!

That's Walker in the middle with the harness.  Isn't he pretty?  That's Truly just behind him.  Truly is allowing Walker to touch him.  He never lets Maggie do that. 

 

Now look at the sweet princess, Maggie.  After a few minutes with Walker in the car, the tiny and crazy girl refused to allow any part of Walker to touch any part of her.  If he did, she growled . . . on with the muzzle.

 

Maggie had one dog bed to herself.  Truly and Walker shared the other.

Truly and Walker were perfect gentlemen.  Maggie needed to let Walker know that while Truly is The Boss, she is the boss of Walker. 

At home, Maggie brought all of her toys out to show Walker.  She showed him how to play with the ball.

Then she teased him with the ball.  If he went for it, she growled at him.

All Maggie allowed Walker do with the ball was watch.

After a few "dust ups" instigated by Maggie, everyone is now happy!

Truly is happy and never seemed to worry about his position in the Hound Chain of Command.

Walker is happy.  He never really cared about being the boss as long as he has a new girl to pet him.

Maggie is happy because she still has the ball.

 

What this has taught me is that I never should have worried about fostering in the first place.  They've worked everything out on their own.