Laddie is a sweet, loyal boy. He is, however, still learning about proper etiquette with our new kittens, since he's almost 2 and these kittens are, I believe, his first exposure to these oversized "rodents". As a result, he's only allowed around them while under supervision. I had some time the other day to work with him, so took a few videos of the encounters. Video 1: I'm marking 'yes' when he stops focusing on the kittens and looks towards me. Video 2: Laddie gently sniffed, then chose to leave the kittens and turn towards me.
Video 3: In this one, he had the extra temptation of a kitten going after his wagging tail. Again, I marked him when he chose not to pounce on the interloper and looked at me. Given how gentle & submissive Laddie is in general, I'm fully expecting that with a few days of work like this, he will accept these critters into our home & yard.