Well, I have an update -- Max and Truman are back home, and I'm happy to report that things are going much better. Not perfect, but much, much better.
We've given Max the opportunity to sniff her from a safe distance, and that has helped assure him that she means no harm. I also try to give the dogs a treat when she's coming out for an extended period of time to occupy them during that critical time when our attention is turning from them to her. Max can still get awfully wound up over time, but it's much more of a slow build now (because he really, really wants to lick her face but we won't let him). When we start to see him getting agitated, we do the Dog Whisperer "hand-bite" thing followed by just blocking his access to her, and he's responding positively to that (or at least it seems to knock him down a few notches.
The really good news is that our other dog, Truman, is being an absolute rock star. One less thing to worry about. |