Acceptance Leads to Friendship

No longer rivals, Beano plays puppy games with his foster "little" sister

Beano Boglen, our pint-sized pack alpha, is a selfish little dog. No two ways about it. As Beano sees "things", what's his is his and whatever is yours is his, as well. Sharing simply is not in his behavior set.

This feisty terrier is particularly greedy around food, leading to a blow up with Opal Hound that we reported on here. A second, minor skirmish flared the following day.

Besides the food thing, there is Beano's plush stuffed cow. "Cow" has been his constant companion since long before Opal joined our household, and he is not inclined to share this favorite toy any more than he is to share snacks. Naturally, Opal wants to play with Cow, too.

Pouting when things do not go his way is typical behavior. He goes sulking into his crate when he is reprimanded, or lies on the corner of the bed, mouthing Cow and glaring his hurt feelings.

Since the clash this past weekend, Beano's displeasure with Opal's presence became evident. His energy level fell. He spent more time guarding Cow, moving away if Opal approached or just happened to pass nearby. In short, Beano settled into a blue funk, wanting nothing to do with Opal and damned little to do with anyone else.

It's beginning to look a lot like foreplay!

At a loss to know how to handle Beano's apparent depression, I was beginning to wonder if we would have to leave the fostering program after Opal left us. I did not want to go there, but Beano's emotional health and happiness had to take precedence over fostering.

Crack of dawn this morning, I was up to stoke the central heat and open the crates for the dogs to go outside. Opal eagerly came bounding out and off to the backdoor, as usual. Beano, however, refused to budge from his crate.

Live with a dog long enough and you can "read" his expressions. As I sat on the floor at the open door of his crate, Beano was telling me, "I'm not sick in my body. I'm sick of that dog. I'm not happy."

All I could think at that moment was how to explain to the folks at the shelter that Opal had to leave and had to leave soon? I left for work with that dilemma praying on my mind.

Around mid morning Annie texted me at work. "They are licking and kissing and pawing all over each other! They are even playing with Cow together!!"

Now, as I type, they are both on our bed soundly sleeping through Wheel of Fortune mere inches apart. They have been playing puppy games together all day to the point of physical exhaustion, and I am at a total loss to understand Beano's about face.

Isn't this usually the way with children? When we "grown ups" try to intervene in conflict between siblings, more often than not we only make matters worse. Left to their own devices, dogs and small humans tend to be pretty good at working through their differences.

And I've got contented snores coming from the bed behind me to back that theory!