Skeptic, how is Freckles doing, and the rest of your dogs?

[Mary Plummer]

I've been thinking about all of you, and hoping things have calmed down!

[ShelbysMom]

Me too..........how is Freckles doing??

[TheSkeptic]

Naturally she is very sore, but recovering well. I don't know what set off the pack, but things appear to be calming down. One guess is changing pack dynamics as the pups reach maturity and some of the older dogs start losing thier status in the pack due to arthritis and age. Just a few observations. The Male Alpha is Prince with Apache as female Alpha. Former Female Alpha Prissy is now much lower in the heirarchy. Kaiser and Ginger have maintained thier status, with Ebony, Ivory and Pea Pod next in order. Inky, Dottie and Freckles are at the bottom of the pile. On the Male side, Mr. Dawg is second and Bernie is at the bottom of the heap.

[k9Karen]

I'm glad Freckles is recovering well.

You said Bernie is at the bottom of the hierarchy. I bet he has a really sweet personality. I think Angel would be there with him - she doesn't seem to care if anybody gets something before she does, just as long as she's included. She goes along with everything.

You know, even with my small 'pack', I've noticed a difference since Mickey is gone. I know I posted it before, but Allie has become even more alert (I didn't think that was possible) and more protective. Angel seems more relaxed, but also more assertive and playful (and whiny). Mickey definitely held the alpha position, even to the end when all he could do is bark at them (and Allie couldn't even hear that - I guess it was body language). If either of them had wanted to challenge him for the top dog position, it woudn't have been difficult. I guess since they are both female, and he was the only male, it worked for all of them.

[TheSkeptic]

We talk about Alpha dogs, but there are actually two intertwined and interacting hierarchies in a Pack. If there are animals of both *beep*, then there will be a male Alpha and a Female Alpha. I have done a lot of reading at the LSU and UNO libraries on Pack Dynamics and Canine Aggression. (You will have to do your own literature searches as I haven't saved the paper with the Journals and titles. Have FUN!)

Here is some info available on the web. ...

An article by one of the leading experts on pack dynamics.

http://www.mmilani.com/canine_pack_dynamic.html

From the Dog Owners Guide.

A list of books dealing with dog behavior and aggression. (Most should be available from your local library.)

http://www.canismajor.com/dog/bagress.html

A series of Dog Owners Guide onsite articles on behavior and aggression.

http://www.canismajor.com/dog/tagress.html

I don't know the qualifications of the person who wrote this article so

take it with a grain of salt (Maybe even a whole shaker).

http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/archives/many.txt

This is just a site I like.

http://www.rrvetclinic.com/library.html

[Beth Va]

Thank you for the updates & info.! I didn't spot this post earlier. I am very glad Freckles is recovering.

I often wonder if I will have a similar conflict here. My oldest is slowing down she is also my most dominant dog. I wonder if my other two girls will try to compete for the oldest's rank when its time.