Doggy Update: Beatrice (mostly) Likes Our New Puppy

I managed to capture this shot of Beatrice and Max in the back garden last week:

Awwww.....

Max has been living with us for eleven days now, and Beatrice seems to like him...most of the time, anyway.

Beatrice spends a lot of time playing with Max, and as a result she does dramatically less whining for attention.  She used to cry piteously every time I went to the bathroom, and sometimes even when I tried to fold clothes or clean the kitchen, whereas now that she has company, she seems to accept that I might not be able to rub her belly all day.  She still keeps an eye on me--who knows where I might wander off to otherwise--but the world no longer seems to be coming to an end if I happen to step into another room for a few minutes.

Max, for his part, absolutely adores Beatrice, and follows her around....whether or not she's interested in having company.

The day I took the above photo, the weather was nice, so I turned off the air conditioning, propped the back door open, and let the dogs go in and out as they pleased.  Beatrice decided to sunbathe on the patio.  Max followed her out, and tried to copy her, but he soon got bored of sunbathing, and starting nosing around patio.  Beatrice decided to seek a more peaceful spot to nap. She moved to a nest she had made in the grass next to the wall of the house.  Max, not taking the hint, followed her, and once again started sniffing around near her, and trying to lick her face.  After a few minutes of this, Beatrice decided to come back inside...and Max followed her.  This went on all afternoon.

Beatrice is an energetic dog, but at eight years old, she doesn't want to spend quite as much time playing as four-month-old Max does.  Undeterred, Max will bark in her face until she either acquiesces, or forcibly tells him off.  Every so often, she'll suddenly tell him off in the middle of playtime, probably because she's teaching him not to bite too hard when they're playing.  The sound of her "scolding" always makes me a teensy bit nervous, even though it is distinctly different from the sounds she makes when she's really angry.

All of this teaching and playtime with Max does seem to wear Beatrice out, but don't worry: her life isn't too difficult, as I believe this photo attests to: