[Dailydrool] unrelated wolf/dog packs

[Susan Kitz]

When we brought Buttercup home we had 2 mixed breed dogs in the family.  They were siblings.  We had recently lost their brother Vega to bloat.  For a good 8 yrs previous  Vega and Bruno, littermates and both neutered fought.  It was often ugly and usually bloody and cost us many vet visits.  Buttercup was told with a lip curl to keep her distance from Francie so Bruno became  Buttercups "nanny".  Francie allowed the puppy to follow her around but never would snuggle with her.  When Buttercup was about a year old Francie devloped a nasty cancerous tumer under her tongue and we helped her over the rainbow bridge.  In time we added Beau, a gift from our breeder.  Once again Bruno became the unwilling "nanny", though Buttercup seemed to enjoy the puppy, too.  I was very surprised when Buttercup decided to charge Bruno over food dishes at about a year and a half of age.  Bruno picked up his bowl and took it to the bedroom and refused to eat with Buttercup after that.  Buttercup and Beau played nicely together and she tolerated a lot of puppy chewing.  To this day he is the only dog who is allowed to walk near her when she is eating from her dish and while they wrestle and almost seem to fight they never get  so rough as to draw blood.  When we added Honey last year their were tiffs, mostly over food issues.  Honey was so submissive that their were seldom  problems but occasionally Beau will get too rough and once Honey charged Beau.  She is not so submissive that she gives up her space next to Dad without al least a snap at Roxanne. Honey is also good at wriggling herself in-between the other dogs and whichever human is up for petting. Roxanne's entry bought the same tiffs and one nasty fight, over food issues, this time Buttercup engaging Beau to help as well.   All 3, Buttercup, Beau and Honey seemed to conspire to give poor Roxy a hard time, not letting her have a toy or a preferred bed or even walk in the living room.  When we fostered Memphis they accepted him very nicely at first  but there were the usual food issues.  For awhile Buttercup had to eat outside on the deck she was such a snot.  I still feed Roxy in the utility room.  Now with Memphis gone Buttercup is eating in the kitchen and her whining-that-leads-to-attack has abated.  So I have had littermates who were constantly fighting and non-related duo that get along even though Buttercup finds Beau's attmepts to dominate her very annoying.  Miss Submissive has her, and food issues in a dog that never missed dinner.  We had a huskey/collie mix that refused to get along with our spaniel, got along with a stray who bequeathed us with puppies and even though she (huskey/collie)tolerated kitty paws and baby fingers in her food and water dishes bit one of the stray's puppies who dared to come close to her food dish.  No maternal instict there. So it seems with dogs, in my experience at least, family members can act like enemies and unrelated dogs accepted.  Male dogs can be maternal and felmales quite nasty.  I just wish I could convice Buttercup that another dog getting a treat in her presense is not cause for attack.  Sue K MomPerson to Buttercup ( ALLfood is mineminemine)  Beau (I'm the king, I'm the king, I'm the king, I think, hunh Buttercup?)  Honey (Daddy is mineminemine)  Roxanne(Except when I get the sofa first) The beleagered kitties GW,Jordy and Loki) and Mickey the cockateil ( I am not speaking to my mirror today)
 		 	   		  
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