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So yeah, things began to change.

The lively little puppy who ran around & around & around began nipping at everything & everyone – while she ran around & around.

It was a puppy phase – I knew that.

Her baby teeth were still growing & the overwhelming urge to stop the pain turned into sharp, prickly little nibbles when she jumped up to see you – or play with you – or sit still with you (if you could get her to sit still).

We bought every kind of chew toy under the sun…well, under the sun of the PX at Humphreys & the BX at Osan (which isn’t many, let me tell you). But it still didn’t help.

As the problem started to get worse, I ramped up my efforts to help break her of the habit.

I worked & worked with her. Trying everything I could think of & them some.

The neighbor & her boys even volunteered once or twice to help me break her of it.

And while they say ‘practice makes perfect’, it wasn’t the case with Libby.

It got to the point that the neighbor could no longer allow her boys to come visit or play – even with our gentle goliath, Moo. Libby was just too rough & getting bigger.

The little pin-prick nibbles of her sharp teeth were beginning to hurt. They were for all intents & purposes “puppy bites”. She was biting me, Eric – even Moo…some days mostly Moo. And while I kept working at breaking her of the habit, it got worse.

It got worse because she was finally losing her baby teeth & her adult teeth were coming in.

So remembering the ‘nibbles” Moo used to give me at that age…

…(and I use that word loosely)…

I reassured myself that this phase was almost over.

Libby was going to be this “great dog”.

I saw a spark of potential in her – the potential to become a wonderfully smart, calm, gentle dog who could & would protect us, if the time ever came.

And as the puppy phases got harder (as they do with all pups before they mature)I began to seek out other Jindos in the neighborhood. Older, mature Jindos – hoping to see a common thread of a calm surface, an intelligent gaze & a maturity that knew when to be protective but preferred to be gentle.

And I saw that a lot, actually. It’s what kept me going while working with Libby.

She was going to be a great dog. I knew it. It was just going to take work.

When her teeth finally came in, the nibbles stopped. But by this point we were already starting to deal with separation anxiety issues.

She was fine as we left the house. There’s a routine to it.

“Come sit. Pay attention. Watch the house. Don’t bark at the cat. And be good girls.”

And each – Moo & Libby – would get a dog treat as we walked out the door. No issues at all.

The issue was when we returned home. Be it 5 hours later or 5 minutes.

She would jump & jump & jump & jump & jump & jump & jump &….

…well, you get the point.

It would take a good couple of minutes just to calm her down. And to make matters worse, Maggie was beginning to pick up her habit.

It became a daily struggle – a frustrating, constant, seemingly never-ending struggle – and one we continued to work on. That’s what you do when you own a puppy. You work & work until the good behavior is learned & the bad one is unlearned.

And in the midst of that struggle her prey drive started to kick in.

Kitten became a constant target – something to watch…and stalk…and practice “the hunt” on. Add in the thrill of chasing Stanely in our backyard…and sometimes out of our backyard…and well, you could see she would make a great hunting dog.

But in her frustration of not being able to get either Kitten or Stanley, Libby began turning her focus more & more on Maggie.

It was about this time that the spats between Moo & Libby started to occur. They started small – and escalated. Moo was trying to stand her ground at being top dog & Libby was pushing it – wanting to take over that role. And soon she did.

Not long after Maggie began going after Paco. And I honestly believe it was Maggie’s frustration over all this – losing her spot, no longer being the only dog – that had her focusing on the little neighbor’s Chihuahua.

Our big, goofy, silly, sweet, 125 lb. Bullmastiff was being bullied by Libby. And Maggie was frustrated with having her in the house.

Give them both a pig stick at the same time & Libby would race off to hide her’s in the blankets, then go off to find Moo & take her’s from her.

We’d get up, take the stick away from Libby, walk it back to Moo…and within a minute or two, Libby was doing it again.

It got to the point that Maggie wouldn’t even take a pig stick from us.

I want you to stop & think about that for a moment.

Moo, the wonder dog who chewed through half the house, half our shoes & ten tons of toilet paper, would refuse to take a wonderfully smelly, stinky, dried piece of pig skin wrapped around a sweet potato filling.

Refuse!

My days would be spent constantly managing Libby & finding ways to help her release her energy.

And just when I was ready to pull my hair out over the culmination of dealing with so many puppy phases all at one time, a new side of Libby emerged.

And I knew things would never be the same.

[read what happened next]