Snuggling...

Look who has relaxed around the other dogs!! When Hartley first arrived she was a bit growly with the other dogs, especially Chima. However, now after a few weeks she has relaxed and is doing great with them.

Chima came over and plopped herself down next to (and almost on top of) Hartley

HOWEVER: If I had not been so hypervigilant about watching their interactions together and had not regularly given all the dogs breaks from each other, I would not be posting this. If I hadn't been so careful initially there would have been regular snarking and fights. Those fights would reinforce for Hartley that other dogs are scary and need to be kept at a distance.

At first Hartley wasn't too sure about the arrangement but after making sure I was still close she laid back down and relaxed

Instead her experience has been that they aren't that bad. They like to run and play and she likes to run and play so she might as well join them. She's still a little growly when playing, but I've discovered that she is talkative when she plays so that kind of growling is okay.

Hartley (front) and Salinas: As long as Hartley is closest to me, she is okay with the other dogs snuggling up to her. 

So often people mess up the chances of their dogs getting along because they just dump them together and then expect them to be best of friends. It takes time to build a relationship - for humans and dogs alike - so we need to do our job as caretakers and make sure the journey to that relationship is a pleasant one.