Jahzara was one of our Greyhounds. She was very unsure about everything when she originally joined our family. She was afraid of people, other dogs, pretty much everyone.

When she joined our family, we had Joxer, our Smooth Collie. She settled in ok with him. She attached to me quickly. She was very unsure about my husband.

She was bred to be a racing Greyhound, but she never actually raced. She was “retired” at around 1.5 years old because they could not get her to chase anything. (Which I always found hilarious, because she LOVED to chase bunnies and squirrels!)

When she first joined us, she did not know what it was to live in a house and have a family. She was very insecure and had no clue how things worked in a household.

Very early on, I saw signs of resource guarding toward the other dog, Joxer. Giving out food, she would growl over it. Joxer walked near a toy, she would growl and get worried about him trying to take it.

She didn't know yet that Joxer didn't really play with toys. He never tried to take toys from her because he really didn't know how to play with toys.

She didn't know yet that she did not have to fight over food because I would always make sure she got plenty. And she would get more for sharing so there was no need to guard it.

But when you don't know how things work, and you don't know the rules, you worry. You worry that you might have to fight for what you want. You worry that you might go hungry if you are not willing to fight for what you need and want.

Jahzara was super smart, so she learned the rules quickly. We have clear rules and boundaries for our dogs so that they do not have to worry about those things.

Once she understood that I would never let anyone bother her when eating meals, she stopped worrying about food.

Once she understood that I would make sure she got her fair share of treats – and plenty of them – she stopped worrying about treats.

Once she understood that we share toys (and that her brother Joxer didn't really play with toys anyway) she stopped worrying about losing toys she liked.

Once she understood that I would provide for her and make sure no one bullied her (and that she did not bully anyone) she relaxed.

She realized life was good when someone else set clear fair boundaries and that you got everything you needed and plenty of what you wanted. And you never had to fight for any of it.

Not knowing those things is stressful. Worrying about food and toys and other stuff is not a fun way to go through life. But having someone take care of all of that for you, and trusting that they will, well, that's a pretty good life.

Early signs indicated that, if she did not have clear boundaries and some good structure in her life, she would easily have developed resource guarding and some aggression issues. It could easily have gone the wrong way. But because we provided what she needed, and made sure things were clear and predictable, those things never developed.

She was a wonderful brilliant and loving dog. But things could easily have turned out differently.

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