The Collie’s Revenge

[threeringedmoon]

Originally published at Five Acres with a View. You can comment here or there.

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Lody and Orion have been getting on reasonably well together. I had my doubts  the second day Rion was here, because it looked as though our mild-mannered Collie, who is one of the most reasonable dogs I have ever known, was going to have a full-scale panic attack over the puppy. But next morning, Lody apparently woke up with a “oh well, what the hell” attitude, and has tolerated Orion’s antics fairly well since then. She even plays with him occasionally, which is fairly blood-curdling to watch, since she out-masses him 15 to 1.

However, Lody is not above throwing her weight around when it comes to Orion. The scenario in this photo has become common. I am in my office sitting at my desk. Lody lays in the doorway between me and the puppy. She will not let the puppy pass by her to get to me. BP (Before Puppy), Lody never frequented that spot. I can’t tell the difference between Lody’s growls that mean “I am playing with you, kid” and “I am serious about ripping off your face if you continue, you miserable little monster” but Orion seems to be able to do so, fortunately. (A few minutes after I took this photo, Lody went to her bed by the slider, and now Rion is curled up where she was laying.)

Comments

[countrycousin.livejournal.com]

"Rion is curled up where she was laying"

Maybe Rion thinks she is teaching him what he's supposed to do - keep you safe from wandering spiders, tigers, etc.

Maybe she is . . .

[enchylatta.livejournal.com]

zeke acted like he was going to flip out when zakk arrived - then he just turned his back on the pup all the time like he thought zakk would disappear if he ignored him - now they are best buds and play all the time though zeke still have 100+ pounds on him.

[meggins.livejournal.com]

They're still working out boundaries, but it sounds like they're well on the way to cohabiting happily.

It's strange how animals react sometimes. (Strange to us humans.) Our nextdoor neighbors have an older kitten (probably close to a year old though they've only had him a couple of months). My oldest cat alternates between ignoring him when he comes into our yard and caterwauling and growling. I can determine no difference in the kitten's behavior to set off the "complaint" reaction, so possibly it all depends on Mr. Whiskers' mood of the day.