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Alpha
and Omega are sisters who came into rescue about 9 weeks
ago from the Animal Shelter in Jacksonville, NC. They
had been picked up as strays, and from their appearance
had been living for a while on their own. When SSMF
rescue took them in they were immediately taken to the
vet for a full check up; though they had some minor
intestinal worm problems which were immediatedly
treated, in all other respects their health was
excellent, and miraculously they were each heartworm
negative.
They
were each spayed 3 weeks ago, and have gained about 20
pounds each now so look very healthy in size, with
healthy dark fawn coats( almost apricot) and good facial
masking. MY guess is that they were used in a puppy
mill operation in eastern NC, as they both had already
had at least 1 litter from what the vet said and the
condition of their teats.
These
two are sisters, approximately 3 - 3.5 years old, and
exhibit the sibling rivalry one would expect of two who
have been together since birth. Alpha is named for her
alpha atrtributes - she eats first, she pushes Omega out
of the way to get a treat or be petted, and she attacks
Omega( who goes right to the ground) whenever Omega eats
too slowly or approaches the food bowl first.
Both
are extremely friendly with all people and other large
dogs; there is a bit of aggression toward small dogs but
this has been witnessed only through a fence so am not
sure how aggressive they may become when face to face
with a small dog.
They
meet my two mastiffs through a shared fence daily, but
other than some barking back and forth there has been no
charging the fence or violent aggressive behaviour - it
has been more a "this is my space, you stay over there"
type interaction.
They
seem to have been broken of their jumping up habit, and
have been very docile in their yard at all tiimes - they
bark when I come home, but stop as soon as I acknowledge
them; and during the July 4th fireworks they just lay in
their kennel and quietly ignored the noise.
They do
bark at night if disturbed by the neighborhood feral
cats, possums, or strange noises or other barking dogs:
but then calm right back down when the outside noise
ceases, or when I yell out the door at them..
Because
they are kept in an indoor kennel environment with 24/7
dog door access to a fenced yard, I am unsure if they
have been house broken. It is my plan to work on this
with then individually this week , and to also work more
with them on leash, individually.
I have
no doubt that each will adapt well to living in a loving
home; both seem very intelligent in their interaction
with me. When separated i amsure that each of their
personalities will both blossom and relax..
I have
witnessed no food aggression other than Alpha snapping
to get Omega relinquish her food bowl before it is
empty. Neither has any problem with my petting or
rubbing them while eating, or getting close to them
while eating. Both are very shy of a raised hamd or
arm, and go right to the ground cowering, which leads me
to believe that they were hit when younger...
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