Slippery Rock Gazette

Sharon Koehler

Artistic Stone Design

Photos by Sharon Koehler

Above: Sharon’s adopted and fostered happy pack of greyhounds, clockwise from bottom: Tessa, Rogue, and Conner. If these high-strung, track-weary hounds can learn to get along as a well-adjusted pack, so can the guys in your shop and installation crew.

Above: Conner the fostered greyhound and Sharon’s grandson,  Jax.

Up until very recently I had two dogs. My girl dog is Tessa. I rescued her when she was 18 months old, from a local dog rescue association. Tessa was locked and loaded when she arrived. She was a bit scared but she was silly and smart. She was lively and loving, and she wanted to be a pet. She literally learned a command a day. She was easy to teach and she wanted to please. Her biggest flaw is that she wants to be a 60-pound lap dog.

About six weeks later, due to circumstances out of my control, 18-month-old Conner came to my home. He was rescued through the same association. Conner was not quite so lucky. He had come up from Florida and was placed in foster care. Then he got adopted by someone less patient with his issues, and was returned and placed into different foster care – all in the space of about six weeks. By the time he entered my home he was a mess. He had worms. He was constantly chewing on himself. His stomach was very sensitive and he was afraid of just about everything. He had multiple hot spots, very dry skin and he was very timid and nervous.

He didn’t learn as quickly as Tessa. I had to hire a trainer for him. I had to work with the vet to get rid of his fleas and worms. His sensitive stomach kept him from taking regular flea and tick medicine, so I had to search for other things that worked. It was a long search also to find some nutritious food that his stomach could tolerate and not puke or quickly digest right back out. But in the end, it all worked out and Conner is a happy, healthy boy. His biggest flaw is that he wants to be an 80-pound lap dog. 

While all this was going on, the rescue association asked me a couple of times to foster other dogs until they could get adopted. I kept saying no because I wanted to get Conner where he needed to be. But, once he got there and stayed there for a year, I felt I could foster another dog awaiting adoption. My two dogs were stable, happy and healthy. We had a good routine. While there were some missteps along the way, it was all good for them and me, so why not?

I called the rescue folks and said I would foster another dog. They were thrilled and said it would be just a couple of weeks. I waited. While I was waiting I did some research on how to successfully introduce a new dog to the existing pack, how to successfully change a dog’s food over to something new, and how to relieve a dog’s anxiety while they are being moved around from place to place, waiting adoption. I was the one locked, loaded and ready. I had done the research. I had talked to people that had done this successfully. I was confident and self-assured. 

Then, along came Rogue — a very well mannered, laid-back, easy-going dog. We were working the program to get him into our routines. Everything was fine and just rolling along UNTIL the 8th day. On the 8th day I spent the night at the emergency vet clinic with Rogue,  who needed stitches in multiple places and his hair shaved in other places to treat multiple contusions and bites. He had gotten into a fight with my girl dog and she had whipped his butt (severely). I was traumatized. But in the end, everyone was fine. The three of them play and run together. They eat together and sleep together. No harm, no foul, just growing pains. Eventually Rogue will be adopted. And we will start all over, a littler wiser and more experienced.

By now the phrase, “What’s the point to this story?” might be running through your mind. Dogs are not all the same. Some are easy-going and laid-back. 

Some are sweet and eager to please. Some are nervous nellies, and some are just gruff and difficult. They come in all different shapes, sizes, colors and personalities. 

People are like that, too. Not everyone is the same. How boring would that be, if they were? And, sometimes it can be a challenge to fit everyone into the same workplace. There is always an adjustment period. When someone new comes in, they aren’t used to the routine or flow of the business. They don’t know the policies or procedures. Heck, most of the time they don’t know anybody’s name, either. Everything is new and foreign to them. Even if they came from the same type of business or job, no two companies are exactly alike. 

The sweet and eager-to please people may jump in too soon and make some mistakes, but remember the old saying, “If you aren’t making mistakes, you aren’t doing anything.” The nervous nellies may take some prodding to get going. The go-getters may get bullied by people that feel threatened by their attitude or initiative. The laid-back ones will just surprise you one day, because they have been watching and listening while you thought they were just sitting back and wasting time. 

It just seems like it’s always the same. The first two or three months you have high hopes that a newbie will work out. You feel disappointed when they make a mistake or don’t do something the “company” way, but there is still hope. The next two or three months after that is spent with everyone walking around going “Nope, it’s not gonna work. They need to go. They don’t listen. They don’t fit in. We need to cut our losses.” 

Then one day everything just clicks. You get them. They get all of you (or at least most of you). After that, they are no longer the outsider. They are no longer the target of your good-natured, new-person jokes. They are a fully engaged part of the team, part of the family, subject to the same rules and practices as everyone else. You smile when they do a good job, and you help them when they need it. 

An open mind is great for dealing with “new people.” Sometimes they have ideas or different ways of doing things that are actually worth listening to or implementing. Different isn’t bad, it’s just different… and maybe better.

Patience is the key to fitting in new people. Everyone needs different attention and everyone learns at their own pace. You just can’t let them flounder in their confusion. The more you help them learn, grow and fit in, the quicker everything will get back to normal.

Writers Note: If you are looking for a dog, consider a shelter or rescue dog. It will make all the difference in their sad life, and you won’t regret it. There are different kinds of rescue groups and shelters across the country. Look for them in your area. And please, spay or neuter your pets. It’s simply the right thing to do.