Packs

I am not a canine professional, but I have spent a little bit of time around just a few dogs. I "get" the pack concept in theory, but watching it all play out is a constant source of bemusement.

Growing up, we always had only housedog at a time. The only exception were the Bullmastiff Years, but then we had a son and his mother, so that was pretty much a non-issue.

When I got Casey back in 2000, she was the only dog in the house. She knew I outranked her, but she was pretty sure she outranked the loser housemate I had at the time (she was right - she did). When we moved in with Mr. Abby, she tolerated him, but as he was neither female nor canine, she wasn't really concerned.

Sparky came to live with us about seven months later. At the time, he was a year old, and (for about five days) un-neutered.

Sparky tried for about ten minutes to establish some sort of position in the pack, and lost every attempt. Mr. Abby was unwilling to let him be the household Alpha Male, despite Sparky's habit of standing on his chest and barking in his face. Casey made it very clear that Sparky was merely an annoyance to her.

So there he sat, at the bottom of the pecking order, for years. He's not really into other dogs, so he didn't seem to mind. We go to the Dog Park, and he's the one hanging out at the picnic table with the people.

But then came Jack.

Casey reminds him quite frequently of his excessively junior status. And he seems cool with that. Not that it would make much difference if he wasn't. Sparky, however, has to work to keep his position. He's definitely Senior to Jack, but since Sparky weighs nine pounds, making this point sometimes requires a Laying On Of Teeth.

But he's hanging in there. And I'm rooting for him. Sparky is little and cute, but he's going on seven years old. It's nice to see him bossing another dog around.

The Dog Park is a great place to watch this pack dynamic in action. Casey is obsessed with dominance, to the point that I have occasionally removed her from the park when she's laying down too much whup-ass. She'll ensure every dog in the park knows she's Alpha Bitch, and most of them seem to get the picture fairly quickly.

Jack is trying to figure it out. He loves to play, and he loves to play rough. But he'll flop right over on his back the instant another dog feels like putting him there. Then, of course, he bounces back up to play some more. I think he'll do well in groups, and I'm going to keep ensuring he gets lots of time with other dogs.