[Ringo1]

Wow ~ I know how hard this is to deal with. I agree - no blood should ever be drawn - EVER.

Ringo is quite dominant over Lucy (except he lets her lead on walks). We are very aware of that and treat him accordingly. He goes out the door first; leashed up first; fed first . . . as long as Ringo doesn't feel like he's getting 'shortchanged' in any way; he is good with Lucy.

BUT with Lucy's health problems, she sometimes gets more attention. That will trigger him right off. So if I give Lucy medicine - I squirt water in Ringo's mouth like he's getting medicine. Keeping everone on an even keel.

Lucy, of course, gets more attention from strangers when we are walking or when we have visitors. I try to ask them to pet Ringo as well or perhaps I will give him a little extra attention myself. He's very in tune to being slighted and you know who will pay the price if it goes too far.

A dominant, jealous dog - is hard to handle. But, as I say, as long as we make sure everyone is treated fairly, his ego stays in check.

Walking them together helps their bond - but I do think you need a second pair of hands for now. Another thing we did was remove Ringo from the room for bit when he started getting cranky with Lucy. Just popped him into another room for a few minutes. It didn't take him long to figure out that as long as we all play together - we all stay together - otherwise, he will spend a little time alone. (This was early on).

Whew. After all that - there are still some rare evenings (it's always evening) when I can tell that Ringo is out of sorts. That if Lucy did one thing to make him mad; he would jump her. I can't explain how I know; it's just a look in his eye; the way he holds himself; and he just seems very 'intense'. On those evenings, I keep them separated. Ringo likes to be in the fenced yard and will stay out there several hours. Lucy gets our attention separately then. Ringo comes in about 9:00 and Lucy goes up on my bed (her favorite spot); she is content and out of harms way.

I don't know what triggers those 'evenings; if something happened during the day ~ I just don't know. A long walk - tiring everyone out will help that too.

Good Luck.