Burrito Wrangling #20

Burrito Wrangling Update # 20: The Burritos are doing well, and playing together without any incidents. They have both been exceptionally emotional over the past two days and I'm not sure why, perhaps it's the shifts in weather. I can tell that Murph is more anxious than normal when he demands extra attention (by trying to force his way onto my lap) and Mila behaves more fearful and wary around him. When this happens, I keep their contact very limited and make sure to spend some alone time with each of them. This can be a challenge when they are both demanding my attention and get upset if left alone, so I usually bribe them with bully sticks. I also give them the canned extra stinky tripe (from Amazon) when they are together to enhance positive feelings towards one another. It is tremendously helpful that Mila goes to "playcare" so that she doesn't try to dangle from Murph's face like a deranged sausage-shark when she gets home (yes, this is what she does in the morning while playing; Murph's mode of attack is to submarine her and squash her with his 75lb bean-burrito body). Murph seems consistently happy and ready to play in the mornings and some afternoons, but by around 7pm he prefers being left alone. So I'm extra vigilant at monitoring his moods in the evenings and her level of craziness, so that I can preempt any shark-induced fighting. It is very interesting how Mila is able to read Murph and give him space when he's projecting scary vibes. I have no idea what it is, if it's a look he gives her or a smell he's emitting, but she's learning to be quite the smarty-pants sausage-hippo and her behavioral intelligence has been brilliant for helping me to learn to interpret Murph's moods. Dogs are not primates so it's always important to remember that their behavior might not always make sense to us and that we should adapt to their needs accordingly. #burritowrangling