Please stand by...

Sorry not to have been blogging - in my defence, I do have a lot on! We're off on Friday and we're getting wed the following Saturday. Right now I'm up to my elbows in packing, laundry, sorting, paperwork etc. I'm also waiting for umpteen deliveries which we're hoping will arrive before Friday! But it's all good fun. I'm still glued to the Olympics and am delighted and proud we're already 28 medals to the good. (Go Team GB!) My partner is amazed at my capacity for watching the Olympics but it is only every four years and watching sports people at their very best is, in my opinion, a form of artistry...

Something which is nothing to do with weddings or holidays is that an interesting situation is developing with Pluto and Bess. We knew that once Bess was settled and less anxious, she would probably challenge for dominance. Older females will often dominate much younger and less mature male dogs. So in between sleeping and playing together and generally being inseparable, they are also having occasional physical face-offs. It's less subtle now and so we expect the transition soon. They jostle, bump, snarl and bark and now Bess has taken to standing over Pluto as well. We don't interfere - which is the worst thing you can do but what most people would do because they don't understand dogs. We only step in if it happens very near us because it could spill over to trying to dominate us, but otherwise, we let them sort out their own hierarchy. I personally have never had the chance to witness this - especially in my own dogs and it's fascinating. You hear the snarls and think the worst (you can't help it) but they never bite or attack. I'm glad it doesn't happen whilst we're out though; people would think we had fighting dogs!

A healthy well balanced pack needs to sort out its own hierarchy. If it doesn't you have anxious and quite possibly aggressive dogs trying to sort out who they are and what they do - and never quite finding out the answer to either. I'll keep you posted!