Dear Journal...

The Girls are Learning to Share

So far Sammy and Motley get a long great. There have been a couple of altercations between them regarding high value treats (like bones and bully sticks) and special toys (particularly the squeaky egg toys). Although I’ve been keeping a close eye on them, these minor altercations seem to happen in the corner of my eye, making it difficult to tell who started it. Sammy does great with other dogs and isn’t possessive of toys and treats. She’ll even share a food dish or water bowl without any problems, as well as sharing her bed, and the backseat of the Jeep (her favorite place). 

The first two incidents seemed to be started by Motley. The first one was in the computer room where the girls each had a bone. Motley growled and snapped briefly at Sammy, and did it again later when she was in her crate and Sammy walked by. I think Sammy is provoking the behavior because I know she is a pig when it comes to treats. I’m pretty sure Sam is eye-balling Motley’s treats, making Motley react in a way to say, “This one is mine!” The third altercation actually happened just a couple of minutes ago, which is why I decided to blog about it. Again, it happened in the corner of my eye when least expected. Sammy put her ears down as soon as I looked in their direction, which tells me she’s probably guilty. She usually does that when she knows she did something wrong!

This time it was over a squeaky egg toy, Sam’s favorite toys. Motley is one of those pups who likes to tear the squeakers out of toys, so maybe Sam wants to save her toys. Sammy loves to run around, squeaking those egg toys in her mouth. To try to figure out who is starting what, I feed them side by side, give them treats side by side, and even love them both with their heads in my lap. None of this has caused any problems, so I can’t figure out who is getting upset, and why.

Is Sammy being jealous and trying to take all the toys and treats? Or is Motley used to fighting for these things, after coming from a home with two older dogs? Perhaps being in heat can change Motley’s mood, too? Whatever the reason, they get a long great and the issues are only minor. It’s only been five days that they’ve been living together, so I’m sure once Motley is done settling in and Sammy adjusts to her new sister, they will be fine. :)