When Lucia first came to us, she couldn't be off leash with my girls or else a fight would break out. How things have changed!
Since those first couple days of separation, I have been gradually increasing the amount of time they spend together until now they spend all of their time together when I can supervise them. We still have the front room gated off as Lucia's room and occasionally she'll ask to go in there and spend some time by herself. I always honor these requests so Lucia can feel safe and learn that disengaging from situations lead to positive outcomes.
Below are some videos of the progress Lucia has made interacting with Maya!
The first time Maya and Lucia played. Lucia's language is a little tense and she is amped up. Maya has great language (as usual) and ignores Lucia, just what she needs!
Then a couple days later Lucia gets brave while we are at a friend's apartment and checks her out. I love Maya's reaction - she lays perfectly still and only lifts her head after Lucia has turned away. I tell Lucia "leave it" simply because due to the other circumstances (us being in a strange place) I didn't want Lucia to push it by remaining close too Maya for very long or else she may have intimidated herself.
Soon another play session was in the works. I still follow the rule of short sessions - at most they play for a few minutes before I either ask one dog to go inside or I just stop tossing the ball. I rarely send a dog inside unless Lucia is feeling really uncomfortable, in which case I'll put her inside to give her time to calm down (she usually is wanting to go inside at this point) or if I want to focus on playing with one dog for a while without the responsibility of monitoring all interactions.
Finally, just yesterday, Lucia has started inviting Maya to play! Maya is understandably uncertain considering that they have had a scuffle before, but Lucia is really trying hard! Her language is a little hesitant and awkward, but the fact that she is wanting to engage with Maya is amazing progress!
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