Tag Archives: pack behavior

Who’s The Boss Now?

Dogs are pack animals; pack behavior has been genetically handed down to our domesticated little pups. In the wild, a pack has one alpha male and one alpha female who lead the bunch and a distinct hierarchy for everyone else. A canine can move up or down the ladder, often by fighting the next dog up the line and winning. In the home, things are slightly different. I’ve noticed over the past three years plus with Lally and Moose that the hierarchy is slowly changing. At first, Lally was ultra-submissive; I used to see a lot of omega dog characteristics … Continue reading →

The Three Dog Circus

This week, I’m dog-sitting for the wonderful wiggle-pup Casey. Okay, I can’t really call her a puppy anymore — she’ll be two this year! But in my mind, she’ll always be the little puppy who I could carry around in one arm. Casey’s human parents headed off to Florida on Monday, and will be back on Saturday… so I’m in the home stretch of the Three Dog Circus. It hasn’t been too bad — lucky for all of us, it’s only rained one day this week, and that was yesterday. The other days have been warm and sunny and perfect … Continue reading →

Instinct vs. Medicine

My brother’s dog Kuma, a pit bull/lab/boxer sort of mix, had surgery on Tuesday to remove what the vet believes is a skin tag from her shoulder. Apparently labs and lab mixes are prone to getting random fatty lumps on their bodies. The folks at the vet are going to biopsy the lump, which must have been pretty big — Kuma came home with five stitches in her shoulder. She also came with a hip new fashion accessory — the Elizabethan collar, or as I like to call it, the conehead. Kuma has been sentenced to wear the conehead for … Continue reading →

Why Do Dogs Howl?

Posted on by

My shepherd/husky mix Miko used to howl a lot. Any time he heard the fire sirens, he would run out into the yard to howl. He would even lift his voice in song with us when we sang Happy Birthday! In fact, if I had gotten to name him as a puppy, I might have named him Raoul, because that’s what his howling sounded like: RAOOOOOOOOUL! Howling is a form of communication for dogs. Some dogs like to bark and some like to howl; some do both! What the howl may be trying to communicate is a different story. Howling … Continue reading →

Pet Scuffles: When To Get Worried

Lally and Moose and I did some pet sitting for friends this past weekend. For just about twenty-four hours, it was the three of us and one very rambunctious eight-month-old puppy named Casey. For the most part, the time we spent together went remarkably well. Lally had someone to run around with. Moosie had someone to wrestle with. It was very cute to watch all the dogs romping around in the yard. I took eighty-five pictures. That is not an exaggeration; that is an exact count. Hooray for digital cameras! We had a couple of tense moments, like at dinnertime … Continue reading →

Table Scraps

I would think that most veterinary professionals would put forth a strict NO PEOPLE FOOD line. It was surprising to hear my own vet say that sharing food from the table is actually necessary once in a while. This is not to say that your pet should be gulping down your dinner from your plate! But sharing food from the table is a way to reinforce the pack dynamics, and make your pet feel like a part of the family. You, the alpha in the family, shares with the lower members of the pack. Including the dog. When we first … Continue reading →

Alpha Dogs

My brother’s dog Kuma is an alpha dog. She likes to demonstrate her dominance over her people by putting her chin higher than your chin. It’s kind of funny to get into a chinning match with Kuma! If your dog usually wins at tug-of-war with the other dogs, or steals and hoards toys and treats, she may be an alpha dog. Kuma is the most devious treat and stuffed toy stealer I’ve ever met. The other dogs let her take the things away because she is Boss Dog. Once she acquires her treasure, she’ll usually lay on them to keep … Continue reading →