April 14, 2022

Almost from the start Diva decided that Steve belonged to her and he loved, after a long absence, having a tiny bossy friend to sit on his lap, follow him everywhere, and adore him. The rest of the White Dog Army thought she was cute in her sometimes over-the-top theatrics and gave her lots of slack as she settled in and figured out the rules.

Of late, however, the Diva has become, well, a true Diva. She expects special consideration from the others "because I am dad's favorite" and her attitude is stressing the others. Steve and I were in conversations about Diva's possessiveness before Zsofia came to us asking for help.

"We are going to need the rest of the White Dog Army to assist in calibrating the Little One," I told her. "Dad is going to gently shift Diva-only time to more sharing and team thinking." "The first step is going to involve bedtime walks," 

Steve continued. "You and Bai have learned to share and enjoy those forays that began as a way to build a bond between you both.  When Diva joined us, there was no pup to partner with so she went on solo walks. Her pushiness and complaining has moved her to first walk position and she has learned to dawdle in an effort to not surrender me to walk the others. Lilly began those walks last, alone, because she did not have much leash training. She has learned well. 

"So the plan is that Lilly will pair up with Diva. If it is OK with you and Bailey," he asked Zso, "I would like to keep them first because it will be an adjustment. Then you and Bai can walk without the pressure of needing to surrender your time to problem solving."

"I think Lilly will be fine with your idea," Zsofia assessed, "She is so calm and just ignores Diva when she gets bossy. Diva, on the other hand, might not be happy." "Surprisingly," Steve said, "Lilly is a stroller not a power walker; she has that in common with Diva. The adjustment will be the two learning how not to tangle each other up. But I think we should begin this evening."