09:45
Dogs all fed and settled, resting in the living room.
One thing missing from yesterday's 48 hour report was perhaps one of the most important; that Vincent is extremely settled when left alone. However now he is integrated into the group, it is going to be more difficult for him to settle back in his room and out of sight of his new family.
This morning he initiated play with little Sticky, our Dachshund x Lab. Sticks has displayed very passive dominance with Vincent so far, refusing to engage in play, lots of head-turning, lip-licking and active ignorance. For the first time today Sticky engaged in a little play indoors but wasn't completely at ease with 90kg Vincent bouncing around him like a baby elephant and ended the play very clearly by sitting down with his back to Vincent. We had to help Vincent a little to understand this as he was quite excited by standing beside Sticks and blocking Vincent but he then understood immediately.
Vincent has never, ever tried to interact with Bailey, our 10yr Great Dane female. She displays very clear calming signals which Vincent very respectfully and calmly responds to.
It is very clear to Vincent, through ultra-calm, peaceful dominant gesturing by the other dogs, that his place is at the bottom of the hierarchy. We are supporting this by ensuring that whenever the other dogs are around, they get attention first and we actively and calmly block Vincent, making him 'wait his turn'.
Feeding time is strictly controlled by us. All dogs eat in separate corners of the house and are kept separate until all food has been consumed and the bowls lifted. Vincent is always shown that his bowl is empty before it is removed to minimise resource anxiety (being worried that we are taking food away from him).
