Meet: Pepper

Pepper tired after a long walk

, the latest furry member of our family. We just adopted him yesterday, but he seems to be a great dog with lots of potential. Sure, we have to work on his doggie manners a little - his previous owners did not put a lot of time in his training - but he seems very responsive and submissive. So we just have to be persistent and I'm sure he'll be an awesome dog! He is already walking much more politely on the leash (hardly any pulling anymore), and the jumping up on people has become less as well (he knows that sitting is the polite thing to do!).

I love the look on their faces:
"... you have got to be kidding me..."

Cautiously approaching

Amazingly the introduction to Abby and George went much smoother than hoped: There was some puffiness when we brought Pepper in the laundry room, but after feeding the cats outside that door they quickly calmed down. We then brought them into the bedroom to give Pepper a chance to sniff around the house before bringing him to his room - our exercise room. Abby and George were very curious and wanted to check that "big black thing" out. No puffing, no hissing, no swatting. Of course they are both very cautious around him (which is good) and for the most part he ignored them (which is also great). The latter has changed a little now that he has settled down a bit, but by keeping him on the leash when he is in the house and keeping an eye on them I'm sure we can make sure that he knows that they are part of the family. We also made sure to feed the cats first while he is watching.