Introducing another dog into the fold was a relatively drama free event. There were a couple of moments of snarking, some posturing, pushing and stare downs, but all told we went from two dogs to three dogs mostly pain free.

Not having had so many animals in the house at the same time, I kind of thought that the dogs would have it out, figure it out and go from there. What I have discovered is that there is on going posturing and positioning. One dog will be curled up into a doughnut on the couch, sees another one approach, and has an unavoidable need to stretch out and take up the whole couch; sliding in between when someone else is being scratched; hovering when one is chewing on a bone, waiting for the moment of inattention to take the bone, not because there isn’t a half dozen other bones to chew on but because they want what the other one has; hoarding all the bones underneath their belly while they chew on one. There are all these moves and counter moves that seem to go on constantly.  Who gets out the door first, who gets the prime real estate of lying down at the end of the bed, blocking others from getting on the bed, greeting people first, first up the stairs in the morning.  I don’t know who has the best score but they do keep me entertained.