curious..are my dogs, just not normal?

[Giselle]

THAT is the whole deal. The human is pretty much always the alpha...unless the human is just that stupid and doesn't discipline their dogs. After the human is the Alpha dog or "Beta" in the pack. In this case, if the human is a female there is more of a chance that the alpha dog will be female. In most households, the dogs look at the female human as the alpha, not the male. the male doesn't take care of them, but they are a great play and chew toy!!!

When a pack of wild dogs get together, the hierarchy is completley changed around. The oldest male (generally) is the alpha, followed by his bitch, then the list changes all the time. The male alpha is generally the hunter, where the female sorts out pack problems.

interesting topic i must say!

Very true. This is interesting because I've always regarded Lucky as the "alpha", but I've been rethinking that idea because he uses a lot of brute force to control Giselle. However, that wouldn't make sense because true alphas need not use unnecessary physical force to keep their pack under control. Lucky would be one of those quick, but ruthless leaders who rule with dictatorship and not benevolence.

After all my rambling, I guess I understand now that he really is not an alpha, but a middle-class member (which would account for all the scuffles and squabbles in my house ). Giselle, on the other hand, is quite happy being at the bottom of the hierarchy.

[bckrazy]

At this point, I don't know who is alpha between Gonzo and Fozzie. I'm pretty sure that will be much more clear once Fozzie hits adolescence. Right now, Gonzo will just walk away if Fozzie tries to steal his food (if I'm not there and telling Fozzie to wait), toys, and both of them pretty much equally initiate play though Gonzo is usually the one to stop it. I don't know what will happen between them, because Gonzo is just very insecure and he's really a pansey.

LOL Sophie! I can imagine that cute little ball of fluff attacking super-tall Giselle =P poor Gissie, but it is pretty odd/funny.

[K9soul]

Interesting article and thread. Everything is really harmonious here. I lead, Tasha is second, and Tommy is happy on the bottom. Every once in awhile Tash will yell at him about something but it's pretty rare. She still treats him like her puppy in a lot of ways. She will "clean" his face and pull anything that gets stuck in his hair out. She's very tolerant of him when he gets overly playful. But if he has something and she decides she wants it, she will march right on over and just take it, no questions are asked . She will give a low growl if he even eyeballs something she has that she doesn't want to give up.