Della, Allison, and puppies

All of our dogs have taken the top spot on my shit list at various times. The only one in recent memory that I can't think ever occupied that spot was Theo the Great. Theo was an all around good dog. Maya has probably taken the top spot more than any dog we  have currently, but she has finally mellowed out with age to the point that she's rarely on it now. The tables have been turned on me recently, however, and I find myself on Della's shit list. 

I knew she's been disappointed in me lately so this morning I was making a special effort to take her outside with me alone to do farm dog stuff that she enjoys. I called her from downstairs but got no response. I called again, and nothing. It wasn't until I came up to the office, put Allison in a crate and closed it, that Della finally relented and came downstairs with me. 

She and Allison had gotten into a fight the other day over who was the primary and superior guardian of Allison's puppies. One might think that Allison has the better claim, but Della thought differently. I intervened, broke it up, and no one was hurt, but I no longer let them both out when the puppies are outside in Daneland just to avoid future conflicts. 

Della has been giving Allison the evil eye since then and I admonish her for it, so she may think I've taken Allison's side, but mostly I think she's jealous of the time I've been spending with Allison and pups instead of her. Della made the point of sleeping in our bed one night this week to establish her position although Allison isn't even the bedroom at night anyway. 

So I need to do some sucking up to Della this weekend to work my way off her shit list, or at least move down it a few notches. I took her out to the pasture this morning, with Serena but without Allison, and made a point of doing things with her throughout the day as much as possible. This evening I took her over to Green Dogs when I went to pick up more puppy milk formula, and made sure that she got to greet both Erika and Kevin. They both love her and Della thrives on adoration.

It was always pretty easy to get back into Maya's good graces, she couldn't hold a grudge. Della can. I think I made some progress today, but I'll have to work on it tomorrow too. What would make Della happiest is to find Allison a new home, and it is time to start working on that. 

I put a 2x4 under the trough feeder to raise it up a bit.

That resulted in slightly less walking in the feeder and laying in it as they ate.

I tied a rope between the two birch trees in Daneland and suspended several toys from it.

A classic door opening scene with puppies pouring out.

All 10 pups lined up at the fence after Della had been over to visit.

A daytime nap puppy pile.

And yes, I finally cleaned Elliott's face, although he doesn't look too happy about it.