Encino Dog and Insanity

Lachlan (gray) plays with Mishka

Last weekend, my DH and I adopted a Malamute from the puppy mill raid in 2011. It took that long for justice to be served but basically the dogs were finally released December 19th. After several photos, we settled on a dog named "Sikka" (SIC) who was 14 months old and born around the time of the raid.

I've nicknamed him "Encino Dog" after the movie Encino Man.  He has no clue how to behave in a house.

After a day, my DH renamed him Lachlan after the hero in my books. In retrospect, a better name might have been Loki (we were considering that, since we have Thor) because he is a troublemaker and has a very diabolical expression.  But, Lachlan knows his name and we have been thrown into the crazy world of puppy owners.

The dogs stayed at a place called the Malamute village. Basically it was an indoor facility where the shelter housed the dogs. If you've ever had to deal with an overwhelmingly large number of dogs, this blows it out of the water. Imagine 150+ Malamutes -- loud, food-aggressive, and starved for attention, in cages maybe 6x6 if that--and you'll get the idea how overwhelming it is. The people at the Lewis and Clark Shelter did amazing work with what got dumped in their laps, but the conditions were far from ideal for a dog growing up.

Lachlan's behavior is arrested (or maybe he should be arrested!) and he acts like a 4 month old puppy, not a 14 month old. He's skinny, resource-guarding, food-aggressive, puppy-hyper, fearful, attention-starved, and full of separation anxiety. He's gotten into a squabble with Haegl, my oldest dog who isn't a fighter, at least 3 times. Luckily no one got hurt and we were able to separate them, but sheesh, it reminds me what a pain my breed can be, especially with introductions.

You know he's bad when the three adult Malamutes are hiding from him in your bedroom.

The surprise has been Mishka. She has not only accepted Lachlan, but has taken him under her wing. She plays with him and goes out with him. She also gets between him and another male dog if tempers flare. Wow.  Seriously? This is the dog whose hackles go up if the wind blows. So, she has become Nanny Hoot and has become a force for peace.  Go figure.  Our little hellion has grown up.

So, I'm back up to four Malamutes in the house.