The Top of the Bottom of the Pack

Our two little girls negotiate status in the pack as we humans establish boundaries–but, I’m getting ahead of myself.  Let’s go back to the beginning.

We don’t have dogs; we have a dog pack.

My husband, 15-year-old son, and I share our home with five, yes five, German Shepherds.

Our pack matriarch, Marta, will turn 12 this April.  Marta is a small black and tan German Shepherd who has always been more concerned about a belly rub than being dominant.  Yet, there she is, at the top of the dog pack by default.

Old Marta with her stick.

 

Then there’s Eva.  Eva doesn’t want to be at the top of the pack.  And Eva doesn’t want to be at the bottom of the pack.  She wants, for the most part, to be left alone.  Eva (Ay-vuh) is our 3 year-old solid black German Shepherd with an even temperament and a strong drive.  She’s a neat dog and striking looking, too.  She submits to Marta because Marta was tough with her when she was a pup.  And Eva remembers.

Nastia looks on as Max stands over their mom, Eva

 

Max and Nastia are Eva’s 1 1/2-year-old black and tan pups.  Max is the alpha male, although he does show deference to Marta.  Max, also known as Maximus vom Haus Nicholas, likes to be in charge. And at 95 pounds and still growing, it’s easy for him to literally throw his weight around.  In fact, since Eva, his mom, never completely put him in his place when he was a feisty pup, he tries to dominate her by chewing on her legs and mouthing the back of her neck.  This is where the humans step in because no one likes a punky kid.  Eva, after all, just wants to be left to herself.  You can almost hear her thinking, “These kids are driving me crazy!”

Nastia is Max’s little sister.  She’s a slim, slender, dainty looking German Shepherd with tiny feet and big cow eyes.  She’s crazy in love with my son.  Nastia is one of those slightly anxious girls, always looking around, sidling up to a guest to sneak a sniff when no one’s looking.  She and Max play rough together, and, although Max is definitely the big man, Nastia holds her own and Max doesn’t push things with her.  That’s the way it usually is with friction between a male and female dog, the male typically gives up.

And now there’s Lilija.  Lilija is a sweet, sweet 9 month old sable German Shepherd who joined our pack four months ago.  Her daddy is a police dog and she certainly has his drive, though she’s very submissive around other dogs. 

Lilija chooses a vantage point at the front window

 

And here’s where the fun begins!

No one was happier than Nastia when Lilija came to live with us.  For the first two months Nastia acted like she had her BFF over for a sleep over and they could play all day and night!  Then Lilija came into her first heat cycle and Nastia started to play rough.  She postured around Lilija and started to mount her.  Lilija just wriggled out of Nastia’s hold, but she suddenly wasn’t enthusiastic about playing outside with her best buddy any more.

Then came their first fight.

My son, Jake was outside with the dogs cleaning up the dog run.  The pack was gathered near him and Nastia went after Lilija, pinning her to the ground and popping a shallow puncture hole into her front right leg.  Dog fights sound horrible!  Fortunately, it sounded worse than it was.  From that moment, Nastia, emboldened by her victory, took on increased dominant posturing. 

But Lilija didn’t like it.  She started lifting her lip and growling at Nastia.  Hair raised along both of their backs.

We, of course, as the real alphas of the pack, put an end to every instance of aggression and established ourselves as rulers of the pack.  Yet dogs are opportunists and, until they have matters settled in their own minds, they look for a chance to re-engage.

And so it was.

The second fight started again with my son and the dogs in the dog yard (something that no longer happens–too many dogs in a tight space crowding around their boy!) and Nastia mounted Lilija.  Lilija said, “Get off!”  And she did this by fighting back with a vengeance.  My son, a black belt in karate, is actively involved in our weekly Schutzhund, knows how to handle the dogs, but it’s not easy to break up a dog fight by yourself. I heard the commotion and came running and we got everyone settled down and checked for damage.

Lilija, now emboldened from her strong defense, adopted a dominant posture around Nastia.  And Nastia looked confused.  We knew it was time for heightened control–we were not going to let the girls settle this on their own.  We started watching their every move, supervising their interactions, and keeping them on a short leash.  We stopped every instance of aggression and braced ourselves for a long process.

And then something interesting happened.  I took Nastia and Lilija outside alone.  Nastia tried to engage a hesitant Lilija in play.  When she realized Lilija wasn’t willing, she took a submissive play posture.  She tapped Lili on the shoulder and bounded away a few steps, “Chase me!  I’m it!”  From Lilija, “Um, no thanks.”

She tried again, throwing herself on the ground at Lilija’s feet, “C’mon, youngster, tackle me!”  Then Lilija took a hesitant step forward and play began.

For the past four days we’ve witnessed the same behavior.  And now the two of them are playing like best buddies again and really enjoying each other!

Still, Nastia postures a bit and Lilija complains a bit–but the humans are here to establish healthy pack hierarchy.  Someone has to be at the bottom of the pack–it’s the dog way.  The question is who’s at the top of the bottom of the pack.  For now, the answer is Nastia.