Sunday Surprise

LOVE them!!!  []

Ahhh, puppies!  I would definitely separate them, get the bigger one to respect and trust you, the smaller one to get some love and attention of his own   Sounds like they needed you!

The big dog could easily become a fear bitter I think.  Takes treats out of your hand very gently, but then retreats right away.  Sometimes explodes into a fit of barking, then comes forward and then backs off, almost like warning you.  He will take a lot of time until I can gain his trust.  The small one is more friendly and won't be that hard to socialize.  The big one will watch your shoes, almost think that he might have been kicked at one time. 
But...we did make some progress yesterday.  They both were able to be petted, and the little one gave kisses!  The big one licked our fingers.  I think there is hope that they will turn out just fine. 
I will seperate them after they get used to us and the routine here.
 

How sad   Momma Dog Riley was afraid of feet and anything like a broom in your hands.  We did finally get her to trust us to rub her with our feet if we were sitting on the couch.  Can't imagine how someone could kick a dog?

Those are two beautiful boys.  Sounds like they are lucky to have you.  Good luck with them!

The latest SURPRISE!  We separated the two dogs.  Easier to handle now.  But we made a big discovery!  The little one is a FEMALE not a male like my friend was told.  They have a lot of hair and with them being so scared, we had not been able to actually have much hands on with them until we separated them.  The woman that my friend got the dogs from off of an internet site said she was a breeder and had bred the dogs.  Doesn't say much for her that she can't tell the sex of puppies.  So now, we doubt anything she told my friend about the dogs.  The female is quite a bit smaller than the male, so maybe she is not a littermate.  Maybe she is not a standard size Aussie, maybe she is a mini Aussie.  Maybe they are older than 7 months...so many questions.  I don't want to take them to the vet right away as I want to gain their trust before I put them into another scary situation.  I am going to have a neighbor who had bred and shown dogs for years, come over and give me an educated guess as to the answers to some of my questions. 
They are afraid of toys, leashes, sudden moves.  The big one had an interesting reaction when I attached a leash to his collar. He made mouthing moves like a foal will do, saying "I'm a baby, don't hurt me".  Never seen a dog do that before. It is a submissive move.   I am just letting them drag leashes around to let them know that they won't hurt them.  Oh what a challenge these two are. 

Well, it'll be nice to have one of each but I sure hope they aren't older than 7 mos. so there's no chance she's pregnant!  She does look a lot like the mini-aussie my friend has, much more foxy features, finer boned.
 
Glad to hear they are coming along.  I have a cat that was raised in a kennel-rescue situation and he was very skittish about things in a house, flushing toilets, etc.  He's gotten a lot better but still a little skittish when you drop something, shake a bag, etc.
 
Any names yet, now that you know what they are?

I sure don't need any puppies!  I have my hands full trying to gain the trust of these two. 
No names yet.  It always takes me a long time to name an animal. 
The little girl is on her way to trusting me a little.  I put the leash on her and tried to walk her.  She "puppy crawled" for quite a bit and I praised her for coming forward.  After a bit she actually got up and walked with me.  I sat on a stump in the front yard and when a rattle-trap truck went by, she didn't spook, just laid closer to my leg.  The big one howled and carried on for about 5 minutes when I took the female away, then he quited down.  He has slipped his collar when I tried to get him to come to me with a little tug on the leash.  Before I take him out, I think I will get a harness just so I can have it as a back up to the collar.