I need to say thank you to Andrea, Pat & Lisa…the info here and in the "Zoni" thread has been a huge help. I am now 100% sure that Brando is telling Liyah to SHUT UP...and it seems to be working :D:D:D.
So far I have a really good sleeper - one night she cried for a half hour, but 2 of the nights she has slept right thru. Much of that credit is going to Ruby & Brando. In the morning and evening, they have been have really funny B500s with the puppy...sometimes she is the chaser and sometimes she is the one being chased. It is hilarious when she is being chased by them. :D:D
Brando has been much better with her I'd say. The thing that Lisa said about one of her dogs wanting the puppy around on his own terms is exactly what is going on. She is finally giving him some respect when he starts to growl at her telling her to get away. Sometimes she ignores the cue and then he lets her know in no uncertain terms...he did it yesterday and she cried because she was scared at first, but then she actually stood up to him, standing on her hind legs and growling back at him :eek::eek::eek:. When she did that, Brando stopped growling and just walked away. A couple of times he's growled at her to back away, and if she doesn't go far enough away, he will follow after her until she gets to where he wants her to be. She definitely gets what he is saying then :D.
Brando is now coming up on the couch if the puppy is up there. I spend a lot of time petting him with the puppy around so that he still sees he'll get attention if he is near me. Also, if Liyah goes to sleep during the day, I'll move away from her (so she is on her own) and spend time with Ruby and Brando together, or separately.
This whole interaction/dog language is fascinating to watch. The corrections that Ruby gives her are really interesting. Ruby is super patient but when the biting is too much she just stands there and turns her head away from her and stops the play. As well, if Liyah is really going after Ruby and she wants to rest, she has put Liyah on her side with her mouth around her neck and growled...Brando has done the same thing. One time when Brando really growled at Liyah, Ruby got up and stood between Liyah and Brando :D:D:D.
Oh, and we got a foot of snow here (Maine) yesterday and Liyah had a blast running around in it. She is such a brave and adventurous little kid. I know it is cold out, but I figure the more she gets used to it here as a pup, the less issue I'll have with her as an adult in bad weather. So far she has been out when it is raining and when it is snowing...just one more adventure. I'm trying to give her a bunch of new experiences every day.
Things feel like they are going so well...:D:D:D
