Hierarchy in House

Sadie is top, then comes Brenda, and at the very bottom is Porter. Porter turns his head away whenever Brenda enters a room. He isn’t always so passive, though. Lately, when Ben approaches Brenda with the leash in the morning, Porter starts barking wildly at her. It doesn’t help. I think he can hear some low rumbles imperceptible to the human ear. We have to lock him out of the bedroom when the transport takes place.

Whenever I give the dogs a treat Sadie works for and gets hers first, than Brenda and then Porter. Porter won’t take his until the other two are chomping away. Sometimes he doesn’t take one at all, opting to snuggle with us on the couch as his treat. I know Porter is stressed when he claims a discarded, half eaten marrowbone as his own. Sadie had lost interest until Porter takes interest. Chewing relieves stress and so whenever Porter starts chomping I get worried. Not as worried as when he humps his bed in the other room. The poor guy is anxious a lot.

Brenda gets so many chews in her crate that whenever she is let free and the crate door is open (or if she’s untethered and her bed is left unattended) Sadie rises to the occasion and pilfers what she can. She pays attention to exactly where Brenda is and when it’s safe, stealthily makes her move. Sadie is very proud of herself as she either backs out of the crate, or trots in from the bedroom, with her bounty. Brenda wouldn’t dare take it away from her.

During the first month that Brenda lived with us, she and Sadie got in a gnarly fight. We were all out for a walk, Ben, and I and the three dogs. I sent him upstairs with the dog as I fumbled down with the mail. Ben accidentally locked me out and so I knocked. The dogs were alarmed, and because of the knocking, didn’t expect it to be me. When I entered, Sadie was relieved it wasn’t a stranger and so was Brenda. They both rushed to say hi but Sadie wasn’t pleased to share. Brenda charged through without heeding Sadie’s warning growl. Sadie grabbed Brenda by the base of her ear and started shaking her around. The squealing was horrendous and the puncture Sadie’s grip left behind warranted a trip to the vet a few days later after infection set in. From that moment on Brenda and Sadie have been OK, except for the occasional minor spats, but I haven’t had to tear them apart since.

If Porter or Brenda has something that Sadie wants, Sadie snaps and snarls at them. Brenda usually drops the coveted item and lets Sadie have it, and for the most part that’s Porter’s reaction too, except, of course, when he’s stressed and he runs away with his jaws clamped on the item. I silently cheer him on when this happens since he’s so pathetic otherwise. I’m supposed to reinforce the hierarchy but sometimes it’s really nice when the underdog wins.