House Guest

Morey is used to being an "only child". He gets all the attention, all the toys and all the treats. He likes other dogs but he hasn't had much experience sharing "his" things or having another dog in "his" space. Last week I watched a friend's dog while she was out of town and it was interesting to see Morey adapt to having another dog around the house!

Camilla riding in style!

Camilla is a small black terrier mix who is very sweet (I know "terrier" and "sweet" don't always go together!). She and Morey had never met before so we made sure to introduce them in the dog park at my friend's apartment before I put them in the car together to drive home. Camilla wasn't too interested in playing with Morey so after their initial introductory sniffs they both went their own ways in the dog park.

Camilla keeping watch at the window

 After exploring the house and yard, Camilla took her station on my bed, looking out the window. She is very quiet and never barked at any of the people, dogs, bikes, etc. constantly going by. She stayed at home while Morey and I went to work and that is where she seemed to spend more of her time while we were gone.

Morey and Camilla sharing my bed

Camilla and Morey laying "rump to rump" on my bed

Despite their initial disinterest in each other Morey and Camilla did seem to enjoy each other's company- at least when it came to sleeping! Morey wasn't sure he liked sharing his space on the bed but since Camilla is so small she was able to fit into the space left by Morey. I was basically on my own to find a way to sleep in the little space left by the dogs!

 The weather had finally cooled down

and both Morey and Camilla enjoyed spending time outside in the yard. They are both so people-oriented that they want someone outside with them. If I left them outside for a few minutes while I stayed inside both of them would stand outside the door wondering why they weren't being allowed back in!

The fourth day Morey and Camilla were starting to show an interest in playing with each other. I caught a few moments of them playing chase in the backyard. It was funny to see their size difference but Camilla can definitely hold her own! I think Morey was actually a little scared of her intensity since he is used to playing with goofball labs and goldens!

Camilla is also an "only child" so she is not used to having to share anything with other dogs either. She didn't play with toys too much but she did like one of Morey's tug toys- her favorite time to play was right before bed when she would run around like a maniac for a few minutes! Morey wanted to play with her but she would growl and bare her teeth if he came close so he eventually learned that Camilla would not be a good tug of war partner. She also liked one of his interactive feeding toys which is what I use to feed Morey his meals and she would also growl at Morey if he approached that toy when she was near it. Morey respected Camilla's boundaries and would leave a wide space between Camilla when she had a toy.

Feeding time was interesting because Camilla is used to nibbling on her food throughout the day. That becomes challenging when you have two dogs in the house and one is more food oriented than the other! It was easy on weekdays because I would put down Camilla's food when I left for work and she would have all day to eat it. I would then feed Morey at work so there was no conflict. Dinner time was a bit more challenging- I ended up putting Camilla on a leash while Morey ate (which doesn't take long!). Morey is so good once he was told to "leave it" he ignored any leftover food that was down for Camilla!

Camilla with all the toys!

One day I went in my room and found that Camilla had taken Morey's ball (his most favorite thing ever!), a toy and his bone to her bed and was laying next to them. As you can tell by the expression on Morey's face in the next picture, he wasn't too thrilled by this arrangement! Luckily we have plenty of balls, bones and toys to go around so I made sure to get more out for Morey to have all for himself.

Morey is not happy with Camilla taking all the toys

Any time my roommate or I spoke to one of the dogs the other one was sure to appear- not wanting to miss out on any of the attention! It was funny to see Morey realize that my "baby voice" is not reserved exclusively for him! Morey and Camilla were constantly jostling for petting position- while Morey has size to his advantage, Camilla was able to cuddle up close to us in ways that Morey couldn't.
                 We all enjoyed our visit with Camilla and hope she will come to visit again soon!