Poor Li'l Guy...

I seem to have brought little Bear into a household determined not to nurture him. Even Magnus, who first greeted him with such enthusiasm, has turned grumpy. The other two boys started out that way.

Kirby made no secret of his opinion; the puppy cannot approach him (or sometimes even become visible to him) without a show of growls and teeth.

Ghost's approach is more nuanced but no less definite. When the puppy appears, he gets up and leaves. In fact both dogs have taken to sleeping outdoors - something that is fortunately now possible since the nights are mild enough that I can just cover the doorway with a blanket and leave the door open. That will continue until the bugs get bad, and then they can come inside at night or take their chances.

Bear shows no sign of even noticing any of this. His opinion is 'Gotta love me!' I felt kinda bad for him last evening; he was dancing around in front of Ghost, inviting him to play and refusing to get the hell out of his way until he did - something I've seen Ghost do with the other dogs 10,000 times - and it's the only time I've seen Ghost growl at the little guy.

This sort of puts me in the middle. I'm obviously giving Bear a lot of attention, since I want him to bond with me, while being careful not to alienate any of the others. Instead of praising them whenever they act accepting of the little guy, I'm reduced to doing so whenever they let him live.

Walky time is also an issue. The boys and I are used to taking pretty extensive walks, which I don't expect a 2-month-old puppy to keep up with. So Bear goes into Gitmo if we're taking a real walk. You wanna hear a puppy cry real loud? That'll do it.

I'm sure all this will sort itself out. It's only been a few days, and he will grow. The boys have had ample time and opportunity to hurt him if they really wanted to, and it's clear they don't. Magnus snapped at him this morning, and could have taken his head off but never actually made contact. Little Bear doesn't even seem to notice; if Magnus is in the way he just crawls right over him, ignoring the horrible snarls. But I admit I was hoping for a little more inclusiveness. Still, the boys have had it the way it was for quite a while, and I've noticed in the past that they like things the way they're used to things being; it takes them some time to get used to changes and find a new equilibrium.

In time, I'm sure they'll do more than just let him live. I hope.