The Bossy Dog
I’ve had the “luxury” of having a Bossy Dog or two - true Leaders - in my history of being a dog owner. I view these types as a blessing in disguise because of what they teach us. What they tolerate and how to treat dogs like a dog.
Us humans forget to do that. A lot.
Let’s say you live in a house with 2 or more dogs. One dog is super chill. Goes with the flow, gets along with other dogs great, is the “Perfect Dog".”
The other is the type to push her way into the house first. Piece of food drops on the floor? It’s hers. If your quieter dog gets a little too excited at your arrival, she’s the first to start dishing out growls and biting your other dog. It’s not aggressive, these dogs aren’t fighting, but it’s also not play.
Dog number two is taking on the role of the Leader Dog. Some people call it Alpha. Some people call The Boss. And most people are content to let their dog control the other dog(s) in the home.
“She NEVER let’s him take her bone.” or “if I give attention to him, she gets JEALOUS and pushes her way in! So I have to pet her.”
These dogs even try and micromanage other animals in the home, like cats…but I bet if you ask the cat, they’d say it never happens.
We tolerate this behaviour because there’s no conflict.
But here’s the problem with allowing your dog to always manage this relationship:
They assume that is their role with all dogs
You take her on a walk and you encounter another dog who is projecting a certain energy that she is not a fan of: she’s going to want to manage that.
You take her to the dog park and the play starts getting too intense: she’s going to try and shut it down. And God forbid someone try and take her ball…
Because no human has stepped in to direct her on how to have a healthy relationship with the other dog(s) in the home, it trickles into how she has relationships outside the home.
The handsome fellow in the thumbnail of this blog? That’s our Akita/Elkhound cross named Garth.
He’s wanted the position of Leader since day one so it takes consistent work on my part to keep him in check. He’s super friendly to people, albeit he tries to subtly push the humans around, but bring a dog onto the property? He wants to come in hot and not leave it up for debate as to who’s in charge. My job? I have to remind him I’m actually the one who is going to control the greeting and it’s non-negotiable.
If I let him consistently manage the dogs he lives with, it is harder for him to take my word for it that I can manage this new dog on the property.
By leading him in our day to day, we’re “practicing” for when I actually need him to not be reactive and listening to me isn’t foreign.