A positive step!

At last! Sunday insisted that she be allowed out in the main house while the doggies were in - I think she's almost as sick of her forced captivity as we are of enforcing it!

Max of course panicked but I told him to be calm, and we would hold the dogs back, but that they needed to sniff at her. She would run if she didn't like it. Ruby, of course, put her front paws on the table to sniff at Sunday, and started licking her all over, as she does. Sunday put up with it. Chester then followed suit. Sunday even went so far as to give him a head butt! (Ruby is by far the more boisterous of the two with the cats). Ruby jumped up again, and this time Sunday hissed and swiped Ruby across the nose. Max looked horrified but I said, `No, she needs to do this. She needs to establish her boundaries and Ruby needs to learn'.

Well, in the past, a swipe has not deterred Ruby in the slightest. This time, though, she stepped right back, looked a bit hurt, actually (lol) and then took a few steps back and lay down on the floor - still watching, just not approaching.

A breakthrough!!!

Sunday stayed on the table for an hour and Ruby didn't go near her again.

Think the message might have finally got through???

Sounds like you may have had a breakthrough! Congrats!!

That is very cool Sarah! I love it when they have their breakthrough moments! Here's vibes that this continues.

Breakthroughs are the best! Good job Sunday!

Wow ... Way to go Sarahs gang

Thanks guys! NOW we just need a breakthrough in their recall training.

Yesterday they escaped from us at the beach, but didn't just escape, they made a bolt for it and managed to find the pathway out of the beach, and onto the very heavily trafficked road. We were hysterical and very angry, too. They have never really experienced us angry at them before, and were two very contrite puppies. We honestly thought they were going to die. Luckily the `stop and sit' command we use every time we reach a road when we walk them has sunk in. Max got to them sitting happily on the side of the highway, wagging their tails. I thought he was going to faint from relief (right after he exploded from fury). I had nightmares about it last night, and Max said later he was honestly thinking he was going to have to tell me to wait down by the water while he scraped them off the road. Oh, it was just awful.