Ewok vs. Chewbacca

It's almost 3 weeks since we brought Kimba home and we are so happy to see that Tinsel has already accepted Kimba as part of our pack. She is so tolerant with him, and his hair tugging, that at times we wonder if we have chosen the wrong puppy and that if Tinsel will be bullied by the kid when he gets bigger!

When we first took Kimba home, we were unsure how Tinsel will react and decided to keep him at Gabrielle's place for a week while we bring the two out on daily walks to play and socialize on neutral grounds. We will bring him up to our place for short visits afterwards, extending his stay from minutes to hours to eventually moving him up to our home entirely. Knowing how territorial Tinsel had been, we had thought that it would take much longer for her to even "tolerate" having Kimba at our place, but she took it really well and everything worked out a lot faster than we expected. The transition couldn't have gone so smooth if not for Gabrille who lives in the same building and who is so kind to take Kimba in for the full first week. (Well, maybe we should add, "and kinder still to let us take him back afterwards..." because she has already fallen in love with the little guy after the first two days!) Therefore, in essence, Kimba has only moved in with us for a mere 2 weeks and Tinsel has already acknowledged him as part of the family, so we can't be happier. Imagine seeing a 26 pounds Tinsel bending down to let her midget brother grab the other end of a tug toy and then standing still for him to tug with all his might. It only took her a day or two to figure out that Kimba is too small to play with her if she tugs back, so she simply stood still for him to tug at his end. And when his hair pulling got on her nerves, she will only walk away or give him a gentle growl instead of reacting full fledge and nip or bite him back. It really touches our heart to see Tinsel growing into such a sweet and gentle gal.

Another thing that we can never envision is seeing Tinsel and Kimba waiting together by our feet while dinner is being prepared. Tinsel has been so food protective that no one could get too close without getting nipped at the heels in a similar situation, but Kimba is allowed to wait (and even jump) right at our feet. Not only that it showed Tinsel has fully accepted Kimba, it also tells us that a full two years of hard work is paying off and Tinsel is really weaning out of her old habits. We are so proud of her!

Kimba, on the other hand, is growing in leaps and bounds, making his first flight up the stairs to the bedroom one day, and jumping down from the couch the other. He is growing at such a rate that it's just a matter of days before he can jump up and down the couch all by himself. At 12 weeks, he has already learned no, fetch, sit, stay, up, and even knows what to do when we say "training time" or "grooming time" etc... He is extremely smart and a bagful of joy, but he's also extremely mischievious, and sometimes it's hard just to keep up with him. For example, he's already got his tempers and will tear up his wee pads in protest at times. Auntie G. named him Kimba the Destroyer which sort of fits him, well, at least, for the time being. Likewise, Tinsel had been named Tinsel the Terrorist when she first came to us, but now she has completely grown out of that title, so we are keeping our fingers crossed and look forward to lifing the title for Kimba sometime in the near future!