Photo by Samuel Sweet
By Cathy M. Rosenthal,
Tribune Content Agency
Dear Cathy,
I have a Pomeranian named Winston who I am very bonded to. My boyfriend has a labradoodle named Puddles who is very sweet but needs lots of love and attention. We have all been living together for a year now. Any time I'm giving Winston attention, Puddles inserts herself between us and pushes him out of the way. With my boyfriend traveling a lot for work, I'm trying to split my attention between them, but Winston often gives up and walks away from our snuggle sessions. I can tell my little guy is getting frustrated. He has started to stand on the couch and bark at Puddles almost compulsively. He's also started pooping inside. I don't know how to split my attention between them fairly when it's just me, and I don't know how to calm Winston down when he's clearly upset that Puddles is in his space. Please help. – Karen, Costa Mesa, California