I know I should have more faith, but I honestly never expected this kind of communication between Oreo and Tessa. I’m constantly being surprized at how they get along, I just can’t believe this is the same dog I raised.

Oreo’s at the point where she will grumble when Tessa gets too close to “her” space, and will even chase her off if Tessa pushes too close. And yet in the opposite situation, Oreo is not in the least bit pushy. Oreo never intrudes on Tessa, not even to steal back a treat that Tess took from her. I guess Oreo’s attitude is more or less a “leave me alone and I’ll leave you alone” kind of motto.

Oreo grumbled at Joey the other night; Oreo was asleep on the bed by my feet, and Joey started exploring the lower half of the bed, sniffing at her. Oreo woke up and snapped at him, causing him to jump ship. I was a little surprized that she’d do that to one of the cats, but then again she doesn’t like anything near her bum, and she was asleep so she possibly didn’t know it was a cat.

But even still with her little quirks, she’s all show. I’ve seen Tessa actually step on Oreo or trip over her while Oreo’s laying down, and Oreo vocalizes - but that’s it. I guess like a “Watch where you’re going!”

The time Oreo gets most pushy is when there is a lot of excitement - when Tessa is running around into things, and just super-hyper. That just happened: dad’s friend showed up at the door and came inside. Both dogs get so excited to see someone new, Tessa was doing her whole-body wiggle, tail smacking around, and Tessa has a habit of pushing Oreo out of the way. Well Oreo got fed up and I heard a lot of growl/barking from her and she chased Tessa and pinned her down. I actually saw Oreo very gently put her mouth over Tessa’s muzzle as she growled. It seemed so much like Oreo was the older one saying to the young child, “Alright, calm down! That’s enough!”

It’s just that Oreo handles the situation so well, at least now after a lot of time. She’s so gentle and does what’s necessary to get her point across. I guess a lot of dogs wouldn’t be grumpy at all, but Oreo’s a matronly dog, she doesn’t like pushy dogs at all and prefers nice sedate situations. And I totally understand it. I’m just so impressed with her ability to communicate without going overboard.

I really hope this continues past Tessa’s adolescence. I know dogs hitting adulthood can suddenly challenge the upper pack members, so I hope it goes smoothly.