Do you believe in pack hierarchy?

[jenn D]

I use to believe multiple dog households had a pack hierarchy. With my beagles you could defiantly see dominance and submissive behavior play out with specific dogs. But with PB&J I really see no hierarchical structure at all. Not sure if this is because that is an old dog theory or if may only exist in certain breeds. Also maybe it's personality based? My three all seem to land on the submissive side of the spectrum. I don't really have a dominate dog in my bunch. They all take each other's toys, chews, etc with no anger or possessive reactions. And really I could not say which would be called a leader.
Thoughts?

[Deborah Brown]

This is an interesting subject and like others have said, fairly complex.  My secret to a happy dog pack is to treat all the dogs equally and with respect.  That being said, they work out any type of hierarchy amongst themselves without much of a fuss.  I see different dogs take the lead in different situations.

Because Wayne is fearful and a bit socially awkward, Charlie has always been protective of him.  In group play, he will guard Wayne and cut off any dogs that try to play with him.  It's taken awhile to convince Charlie that Wayne has learned to play with other dogs and it's ok.  When it comes to food, you see a totally different dynamic.  Penny has take over Wayne's role as food boss.  Wayne used to watch Charlie eat and wait for leftovers.  Now this is Penny's role.  If you want to analyze it, this probably puts Penny as the beta behind Charlie.  Wayne is very content to be protected.

Anyway... while it find it all interesting, it probably isn't important that us humans to figure it all out.  The fact that you don't see any struggles with your pack is wonderful.  They are all young and are probably growing into their roles in a very positive way.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Deb, I'm betting that Penny is going to "rule the roost" over those two boys one of these days. :)

[Deborah Brown]

Penny came in like a cyclone and you may be right.  She gets away with a lot of nonsense.  (She must have an extended puppy license!)  But Charlie and Wayne will still put her in her place if she gets out of hand.  And, as I said, it is really very complex.

As long as they all get along and are happy, then I am happy!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Even though Tacky barks and puts Peri in her place, Peri is the alpha for sure. She rules the roost and she knows it.  She sits back and protects us, rounds up Tacky to go outside, etc... Even though T. might have the little Napoleonic complex, Peri is the true alpha.

[Adina P]

Our late border collie, Cass, was 100% Alpha, but not in the bossy way, as Karen mentioned.  She had a presence and didn't take crap from any dog, but she never tried to start anything.  She was a strong willed dog, but truly alpha in the BEST way :-)

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

It may seem strange but my guys seem to take "alpha" roles depending on the particular situation.  Murph is a pushy guy who believes all the toys are his....so he often will chase Guinness and take whatever toy he happens to have.  I sometimes find him sleeping on top of all Guinness's favorite toys...just so Guinness can't have them.  There are beds all over the house and they share them...if one dog is on a bed the other just picks a different one. They totally respect each other's food...they will never go near the other's dish unless that dog has finished and actually walked away.  Guinness has now decided that Murph has better food (he does) and so he'll lay down and just watch to see if Murph is going to leave any in the dish.  Often Murphy will look to Guinness to decide what he should do if I'm not around.  If someone is at the door and I'm right in the area, Murph will come running to me....he'll woof and then he wants his Mom.   If I'm not in the area Guinness will bark and then Murphy joins in.  So it's kind of hard to say....I think Murph knows that Guinness is smarter and he respects him (except when it comes to being a bully with the toys).  Guinness is so confident that I think he believes that he runs the world.  So in our little "pack" it's hard to tell....bottom like I think they see me as the leader then Guinness because he's so confident and then Murph who is really kind of an insecure but totally loveable bully.  Oh wait a minute....I forgot about DH...hmmm.

[Joanna, Zoe & Bender]

Jane, this sounds like my house!  

Bender is such a toy bully and thinks everything is his!  If Zoe is playing with one toy he MUST have that toy and then he drops it and wants whatever she has next.  Sometimes she gets mad at him and "play" growls and lunges at him and chases him all around the house then outside and won't let him back in or up onto the deck.  Then he will sit there and cry until she lets him back up or in.

I know Zoe is the boss because she is the smart pants and he follows her lead with almost everything.  Going outside, barking, eating, and he follows her from room to room.  He has to be where she is.  The funny thing is that whenever he knows Zoe is going to go outside…he rushes ahead of her and leaps through the doorway before her.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

That's so funny......really the same as Guinness & Murph.

[BG and Gavin]

The only experience I have here is when I look after my friends dogs.  Over Christmas I had Cooper the aged yellow Lab, Miley the BFF doodle and Gavin.  None of them are the least bit dominant.  However - Cooper slept in Gavin's bed, Miley slept in Coopers bed and Gavin took the remaining bed which belonged to Miley.  When we just have the two, Miley always takes Gavin's bed and Gavin settles for Miley's.  When just one bed is down and Gavin is there first, he will share it with Miley or just let her have it and he will sleep on the floor. Cooper is clearly the leader when it is just him and Gavin too.  It is subtle - nothing nasty about it, but there is respect.  When Gavin stays at the dog sitters, he is once again at the bottom, with the two resident cats being the Alphas.

[Cyndi, The Boys & Callie]

We have three males and there is definitely a hierarchy.  Tank (who is 3)  is the alpha (very confident), followed by Beau  (who is 2 and likely would be an alpha if not for Tank) and then Sully (who is also 3).  They all seem very comfortable in their "place".  Everyone shares toys, beds and all pile together to sleep.  But the toys are a take turn thing, they don't snatch (unless it's outside and they are playing chase).    House rules are once you walk away (toys, food, etc), it's fair game for the others.  Until then, it's hands off. 

[Lynda Kamrath]

I find this topic very interesting.  And what is the hierarchy for the play dog?  My Harpo is definitely a play therapist with other dogs and he wants to play and wrestle all the time.  He was devastated when Groucho passed over the bridge but would come to life with another dog to play with.  He had play visitors for five weeks, and then was alone again.  He just walked behind us with his head down.  He was obviously depressed.  We got him another wrestling pup and he was fine and happy again.  Isn't that strange?  You need to have a play companion for a dog?  None of mine were obviously alpha dogs but they all set the rules for the new dog or puppy.  Harpo, however, does not want the alpha role and wants other dogs to tell him the rules. 

[Deborah Brown]

Charlie always wanted a friend.  When he was small I would arrange play dates for him.  Eventually we started fostering for IDOG and we have a stream of doodles stay with us.  We finally kept Wayne as he and Charlie seemed so perfectly matched.  We've had dogs before that were content being only dogs but Charlie seems like Harpo in that he needs a companion.