Some of you may remember that Ding went walkabout a while back. I know
not if he actually got out, hid in the basement, or visited the
Mothership, but it clearly was traumatic. He's always been the most
timid and submissive of the three.

He is, however, slowly relaxing and interacting more. The first problem
is that he has to be coaxed a bit to come over and be petted, which he
then responds to rather ecstatically.

Unfortunately, Rhonda, a little more than half Ding's size, believes
that if anyone is being petted, so should she. Now, this isn't a problem
with Mr. Clark. 6 pounds of seductress simply do not shove aside 17
pounds of calm. These two accept being petted at the same time, and
often start licking each other -- well, Mr. Clark gets harassed because
he believes he has to kiss me as well.

Rhonda simply needs to hear me calling to Ding, to RUN over and get
under the petting hand. Unfortunately, Ding doesn't stand his ground,
and moves back. I can sometimes reach around Rhonda while talking to
Ding, but she may do everything up to and including jumping on my arm.

Until Ding improves his confidence, any suggestions?  She is much more
of a catnip reactor than he is, so maybe I simply need her to abuse
drugs before I pay attention to him.