Well, this morning started off pretty calm. Sydney went outside while everyone else had breakfast. Once that was over, she came in the house on leash and worked for her breakfast. Savannah was still in the house, sitting at the edge of the kitchen entrance, interested in what kind of food was being handed out. She never made eye contact or acknowledged Sydney. And for the first few minutes, Sydney was OK with Savannah's presence. But, as is usual with Syd, at one point, she decided that Savannah was scary and threatening (yes, the old, arthritic Weim frequently looks ferocious- NOT) and Syd took her attention away from me and started to watch Savannah. Watch and more work brought her back to me.
Then Savannah lifted a paw as if to wave, and that was all it took. Sydney started her ugly talk, and well, I failed my dog in the moment. I let everything go out the window, and popped the lead and then dragged her by the leash to another place in the kitchen, her snarling and sliding on the linoleum trying to make eye contact with the oblivious Savannah. I put Syd in a down, using a harsh tone of voice as I "assisted" by putting my hand on her withers. :-( Sigh. Sometimes I wonder. Of course, immediately afterward, I knew that I was mostly mad at myself. I should have put Savannah all the way outside, rather than present an opportunity for Syd to get upset since she's still in the beginning stages of learning to be calm and trust in me. So I guess I'll take the hit in the one step back scorecard, and not penalize Syd's scorecard for something I allowed to happen.
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