When I brought Merlin home he had to be introduced to the 2 other dogs already in residence there.
Lady my Dad’s blonde Chihuahua (A.K.A the Twinkie)
And Zoe my mom’s miniature Maltese (A.K.A the Snowball)
Now to be completely honest these are some chubby dogs. But in recent months I am happy to say that our vet finally got through to my parents about cutting down on the treats and more daily exercise. Both dogs, I am happy to say, are getting back to healthy weight. Having an annoying cousin-puppy there during the day might also be helping in the healthy lifestyle.
Anyway, as I was saying when Merlin came home he had to be introduced to these 2 wonderful little ladies, but we held off until the following day, to not over excite Merlin too much.
A lot of stuff was happening in his tiny little puppy life after all.
When he came home he weighed 7lbs and some change, so he wasn’t a big pup by any stretch of the imagination. But it didn’t occur to me, when I was playing with him at the store and when the store clerk and I were talking about his parents, just how small he really was.
It didn’t hit me, until the day he met his cousin-puppies.
That’s Zoe, the miniature Maltese (who at the time of the picture had just turned a year old and weighed 9lbs.) and Merlin the 2-and-a-half-month old puppy who was all fluff.
He was a pipsqueak if there was ever something to physically represent the word! And Zoe and Lady took full advantage of it too. Now they weren’t overly mean to him, but they certainly liked to show him who was boss.
So, learning the pecking order of a pack became Merlin’s next big dragon to overcome. That one took a while to figure out how to beat. Every day for a month that poor pup could not figure out how to get the other puppies to play with him and not beat him up. He’d bring out one of his toys, only to have it stolen. He’d lay in a doggy bed (never his of course) and get rolled out. When these tactics didn’t work, he decided to switch up. He tried to steal toys and knock the other dogs out of bed. That didn’t work either.
So we as puppy parents stepped in and began the long process of training the dogs into all being more receptive of each other. It took some time and a lot of patience, but now they all get along like they’ve been a pack all their lives.
And suffice to say Merlin “slayed” this dragon, and he outgrew his cousins to boot.
He’s ended up being a nice 43 lbs. and with all his energy he stays healthy with a great diet and lots of exercise, he even keeps me in better shape!
Sincerely,
The Owner (Who is being puppy-dog-eyed into another walk before bed)
Merlin and the Dragons 