[Checkers]

On a daily basis both dogs are treated somewhat equally. My view on this is that I am the alpha... I decide who gets what, when. I tend to put food in Cheyenne's bowl first, but both dogs know not to touch it until I have given the okay. I don't know that separating them at feeding time is a big deal for us because there isn't any posturing or arguing over food going on, even treats I can lay on the ground a foot apart and they will each take one calmly. At this time I see it as a chance to exercise their tolerances of each other.

As for Cheyenne... the snarling is something she has done several times with different dogs. I don't have to avoid taking her places where there are other dogs but I definitely keep a close eye on her when I do and make sure other dog owners know to keep their own dog a couple of feet away. She is not uncontrollably wild around other dogs so I still have quite a bit of control 95% of the time with her... and I always have her on leash to make sure the other 5% doesn't escalate into something I can't handle. She has always been scolded for showing any sign of aggression but it doesn't seem to stop her from doing it again the next time! I also want to note here that she has never ever shown any aggression to people. I can just look at her most of the time and she will lay down.

This morning I did a nice long walk with Checkers to start out the day. I will take Cheyenne a little later. Due to her back issues she only does short walks around the neighborhood now, whereas Checkers gets at least 30 minute walks... so yes, they get walked separately. When I come home from walks now I am going to start making the one that is in the house go lay down somewhere and allow the other to calmly walk in without interrogation from the other. I did that this morning and it seemed to help quite a bit in keeping the excited energy level down. Just upping my own body language seems to be helping today also. I don't expect this to be an every day issue.... but I need it to stop permanently because I don't want my son to accidentally end up in the middle of a suprise tiff between them one day. Not only that but this is a behavior that I do NOT want to be passed on to Checkers. I know Cheyenne learned it from the lab we had when she was a puppy... and I don't want another dog to be this way. I have worked very hard at making sure I got Checkers out and around other dogs by himself for that very reason.

Thank you all for the great suggestions... I will keep them all in mind and see what works best for us!

-Cheryl