The Guest Dog

 My niece lives about 40 minutes south of me. She has had a "big girl" job since graduating from Florida State.  The rest of our family is in Tampa, so we are the only two here in Atlanta.  My niece is very family-oriented - she lost her mother three years ago - and places great value on spending time with family.  She is also a HUGE dog lover... just like the rest of us.  She has a chocolate lab, that was her family pet, that lives with her in her one-bedroom apartment.

Her "big girl" job has a small amount of travel.  Nothing too extreme, just a few days here and there.  In the past, she has had a friend watch her dog and even boarded her a time or two. For this short trip, she asked if we would watch her.  Now, I love dogs and we have two of our own.  A GIANT yellow lab and a medium-sized mutt. The big guy is all goofball and the medium one is fierce.  He barks at everyone and everything.  When my two dogs play it sounds as if they are fighting but the little dude is just vocal.

Well, my niece's lab is not a fan of barking dogs, or actually, other dogs in general.  We aren't sure if she was abused by a former owner - my niece's family rescued her when she was 2. She growls and barks if you get near her tail, or if she feels like she has no room for escape, or if you walk by her.  Needless to say, these past two days have been a hot mess.  Chloe, the chocolate lab, growls at Beaux, the medium feisty dog.  Beaux barks back at her, Chloe growls more, Beaux barks more and on and on and on.  There have been a couple almost fights but no real biting.  Beaux has taken to avoiding her at all costs - like he will go through another door just to avoid her.  He has spent a lot of time with my husband behind his closed office door. 

My niece returns tomorrow.  The dogs are making slow progress... avoiding each other, growling maybe a tad less than Wednesday.  We hope that can become friends, but it doesn't look likely.  She may just have to remain a guest dog and not an overnight friend.