I haven't had occasion to make a Parent's Corner post, since my daughter is an adult. But today I want to share a proud moment I had with one of my dogs.

She is the older of our two dogs. Although she is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, whose pitbull look intimidates some people, she is an absolute sweetheart. She is almost 6 six years old, and I have never heard her growl, show her teeth, or exhibit any signs of aggression towards any living creature. She is incredibly affectionate. She whines or cries when she's unhappy My sense has always been that she's a passive pushover, and I tend to be overprotective of her.

We adopted an American Bulldog 5 months ago. She is also a sweetheart, but she was an outdoor kennel dog who had to fend for herself, and she is still learning house manners. She is much bigger than the Staffie. Since she arrived, she has tended to assert herself, pushing our smaller girl around a little. It was never really threatening, but there were signs of dominance. Our smaller dog seemed intimidated. This made me upset, but from everything I knew about dogs, it was best for humans not to get involved. They would have to work things out themselves. As the months passed, they became closer and started enjoying each other's company. The dominance issues seemed to lessen.

Still, during moments of excitement the younger dog would shove the older, smaller, more timid dog around.

Yesterday, when my daughter came home from work both dogs were excited to see her, and craved her attention. The younger dog literally stood on the Staffie's back and used her as a springboard. I was surprised that the Staffie growled, which I have never heard her do, and literally got in the younger dog's face. The younger dog immediately backed down. This had never happened before.

Within minutes the two of them were playing happily with each other. They both had moved on, as if nothing had happened. Dogs have the whole zen thing down. If you want to really understand what living in the moment means, get a dog.