Use this space to discuss training issues -- brag about successes, lament setbacks or bounce a question off the group.

I'll go first ;)

We had an incident at the house two nights ago that upset the balance of the pack for a couple days. It was a true Keystone Cops episode: Jillie stole Eddie's toy and Eddie set out in hot, angry pursuit. Normally that's not a problem -- Jillie is faster and sneakier than Eddie, so she can either escape safely or give me time to intervene and put away the toys.

But this time, with the energy level at fever pitch from Jillie running and Eddie chasing, Jillie ran smack dab into Lucy, who was lying across Jillie's poorly chosen escape route.

Lucy reacted as any dog would when plowed into at full speed by a frenzied Yorkie and another coming 2 steps back. She figured the Great Little Dog Armageddon had come. She flashed her teeth at Jillie and squared up to face the oncoming two-dog assault.

Meanwhile, I was watching and trying to get out of the Lazy-Boy and had 10 steps before I could get there. I knew it would escalate when Eddie caught up. When he's in that mood, he bites first, asks questions later.

So I screamed, top of my lungs, "NOOOOOOOOO!" I have no doubt the neighbors were calling 911. I reached the melee in Olympic record time -- well, in the over-50, out-of-shape and overweight division.

Thankfully (I think), my scream had defused the situation. Eddie wasn't biting. He had backed up a step and was snarling. Lucy wanted none of it -- she obediently came back to me. Jillie was shaking like a leaf, her grand plan to steal the toy blowing up in her face.

The rest of the night all of them were bent out of shape. I put the toys away, and Eddie didn't like that. He was sulking big time. Jillie was shaking for a good hour afterward. I checked her out and couldn't find any injuries. Lucy was on edge, too, and was pacing more than usual.

I tried not to pamper Jillie, and I didn't give in to Eddie. After a cooling down period, I spent a little 1-on-1 time with all three of them. By morning, everything was close to normal. Two days later, it's like it didn't happen.

Just another chapter in the lives of a three-dog family.