2007.02.13 Tue
ARK’s Matchmaking Service
Once we are confident that a new dog is used to being at ARK and that we understand the dog’s personality, we start thinking about which dog group he would fit into best. Some dogs are best kept alone because of their training routine, and others are best kept in a couple.
To see if there is any connection between two dogs, they are first introduced to each other on neutral territory. And so they start off by taking a walk together.
“Who are you?”
Everything depends on getting off to a good start. We get tense during these first few moments. We usually wait for the dogs to approach each other on their own, but we sometimes casually encourage them to do so. It’s nerve-wracking, but because the dogs can sense our tension, we need to stay calm when we are holding the leash, otherwise the whole thing could go wrong. First, we relax and try to lighten the atmosphere, and then we watch the dogs’antics carefully. Because these are dogs who have been abandoned, some are not socialized yet and are not great at sending out calming signals. It’s not easy to relax while watching out for the dogs’ behavioral changes!
A nose-to-nose greeting:
“Nice to meet you! I’m Momo.”
“I’m Kuma. Good to see you!”
Or, checking each other out through butt-sniffing:
“Oh I see, you are a girl!”
“Let me sniff you later, OK?”
These are some examples of the different stages in ARK’s doggie matchmaking. We take a close look at how a dog behaves with other dogs and check their compatibility before making a decision. Taking walks together for a few days, letting them spend time together in one enclosure under our supervision, and watching their behavior at meal times... After successfully completing these stages, the dogs are left together at night. Even if some dogs get along pretty well together on a walk, they might start fighting in their enclosure if one of them becomes too dominant. If this happens, we try other combinations or give them more time.
Trying other combinations helps us to understand a dog’s personality and behavioral patterns. It also makes them more sociable, which is useful when it comes to finding a new family. Having new playmates can distract the dogs from any loneliness and boredom, and make them less susceptible to stress.
To see if there is any connection between two dogs, they are first introduced to each other on neutral territory. And so they start off by taking a walk together.
“Who are you?”
Everything depends on getting off to a good start. We get tense during these first few moments. We usually wait for the dogs to approach each other on their own, but we sometimes casually encourage them to do so. It’s nerve-wracking, but because the dogs can sense our tension, we need to stay calm when we are holding the leash, otherwise the whole thing could go wrong. First, we relax and try to lighten the atmosphere, and then we watch the dogs’antics carefully. Because these are dogs who have been abandoned, some are not socialized yet and are not great at sending out calming signals. It’s not easy to relax while watching out for the dogs’ behavioral changes!
A nose-to-nose greeting:
“Nice to meet you! I’m Momo.”
“I’m Kuma. Good to see you!”
Or, checking each other out through butt-sniffing:
“Oh I see, you are a girl!”
“Let me sniff you later, OK?”
These are some examples of the different stages in ARK’s doggie matchmaking. We take a close look at how a dog behaves with other dogs and check their compatibility before making a decision. Taking walks together for a few days, letting them spend time together in one enclosure under our supervision, and watching their behavior at meal times... After successfully completing these stages, the dogs are left together at night. Even if some dogs get along pretty well together on a walk, they might start fighting in their enclosure if one of them becomes too dominant. If this happens, we try other combinations or give them more time.
Trying other combinations helps us to understand a dog’s personality and behavioral patterns. It also makes them more sociable, which is useful when it comes to finding a new family. Having new playmates can distract the dogs from any loneliness and boredom, and make them less susceptible to stress.
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