Sometimes, rescue dogs who have spent lots of time living by themselves need a little hand in learning how to socialize with other dogs. Not only will spending time with other dogs cheer up a shelter dog, but if they can show that they are able to interact nicely with other dogs, then they are much more likely to be adopted.
Nine-week-old wolf pup Nikai is the newest adorable addition to the Wolf Conservation Center’s Ambassador Pack in South Salem, NY. When rescue workers decided that it would be best for her to meet up with another dog in order to socialize, they knew that their first playdate was going to be something special.
The shelter filmed the pair’s first meeting and posted the sweet video onto their YouTube channel, Wolf Conservation Center.
The caption read: “It took a little while, but Nikai, a 9-week-old wolf pup, started to get the hang of playing with Faye, a 13-week-old Border Collie, toward the end of their first playdate. It’s easy to see that Faye is definitely controlling the games, though!”
Adorably, you can see that Faye is teaching Nikai something very important: how to play tug-of-war! Nikai is a sweet, polite little pup, and at first, she doesn’t quite get the hang of the game. Whenever Faye tries to pick up the toy she’s currently holding, she simply drops it and lets Faye have it.
But after Faye continues to try and grab every toy that Nikai picks up, the little wolf pup soon begins to realize that this must be part of the game.
Eventually, with a few prompts from Faye, the pair are each holding onto one side of the toy and trying to pull it towards themselves! Faye even adds in some play growling for dramatic effect, and it’s clear that the game is starting to get pretty competitive.
“The two cute canids met up so that Nikai could benefit from socializing with another puppy.” The WCC added. “Faye is a perfect date for him- patient, intelligent and boundlessly energetic – she likes to control the toys, but she constantly engages Nikai and is completely comfortable roughhousing with him.”
We agree that Faye makes the perfect older sister, and we bet that these two are going to be adopted in no time at all!
It’s actually pretty important that a wolf dog is socialized from a young age – not just with dogs, but with people as well.
According to Timber Wolf Dog, “Naturally, wolves and wolfdogs are likely to be very timid creatures, especially around new people. If an un-socialized wolfdog gets spooked for any reason they may become defensive, which could be misconstrued as aggressive.
If a wolfdog is going to be around people on a regular basis throughout their life, you need to start socializing them as early as possible.”
Looks like the shelter is pulling out all the stops to make sure Nikai goes on to have her happy ending. Watch the sweet video of her playing with her buddy below.
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