2 days with a house full of children
We were very happy with Simcha's reaction to a house full of strangers this pasty weekend. There were three children, aged 1 1/2, 8 1/2, 10 1/2 plus three adults - they all came within a span of just a few hours. Our son arrived first, and he was easily introduced. When the three children and two adults arrived, we had already put Simcha into a remote bedroom.
We then brought in the older kids, to meet him and pet him, one at a time. Lastly, he met the toddler and the two other adults. He responded quite well, and consistently got along well with the kids and played with them. People were constantly entering and leaving the house, and on only a few occasions did he bark at them, primarily our son. The barking was playful in nature and not accompanied by any aggression. He woke up our son (who was by now the only remaining guest) this morning with a brief barking session, and then left that guest bedroom and returned to us when called.
Surprisingly, he was not particularly upset by the loss of physical territory this past weekend. Under normal circumstances, he has one hyper-behavior period per day, where he goes running through his special racetrack which encompasses the entire downstairs, often carrying a favorite toy. This was impossible with guest bedrooms occupied, and he just accepted that limitation with no apparent frustration.
All in all, we were very pleased with his friendly and adaptable behavior. It definitely is important how one's Chi is introduced to new people, and we can perhaps repeat what we have learned with similar good results in the future.
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