Todd verses Lydia

It was not the best first day for Lydia, as our new dog-walker.  Just as I was leaving for lunch, I got a phone call from her telling me that Sunny had gone into one of the crates and was growling at her.  I told her to just leave him alone and try to avoid eye contact with him, and that he would be fine.  Sunny met Lydia like they were old friends on Friday and was really relaxed around her. However, history is showing that he gets nervous and unsure about someone he doesn't know that well, (or at all) when either Carl or I aren't around. We both agreed it will just take him some time.

Then my phone rang again about 30 minutes later.  It was Lydia. She couldn't get Todd to come inside.  He'd been barking at her since she arrived, and despite the best of bribes (all of which he ate) and hardest of efforts he would not come into the house.  Lydia is an experienced dog-walker with about 8+ years of experience, but does not have much experience with Scottie's. I know she is trying really hard to be friends with the dogs, and with the exception of Sunny and Todd, today that pretty much worked.  But Todd doesn't yet see Lydia as a friend, and I think he may also see her as a bit of a pushover. It goes right along with something that I read once that said, "when you own a Scottie, you live with a dog that thinks he's smarter than you."  And today, Todd showed Lydia that he was. And in the end, we decided that nothing she could do would get Todd back inside, and he would be okay left outside for the afternoon. So, with the nip Todd gave Lydia on Friday, and the events of today, the score is now:  Todd: 2 -- Lydia: 0 .  I don't know about you, but I'm rooting for the current underdog in all of this right now, and that's Lydia. And I'm hoping that tomorrow with Todd on a leash, she'll at least get on the score board.  We'll see.