[Dailydrool] Multiple dogs

[Beverly Szaton]

I have three Bassets, all male. Two are littermates: Llewis and Nigel. The
third thinks he is Mother Nature's Gift to Dogdom: Conley. Nigel and Conley
are intact.
We also have a Belgian who has always been our Alpha dog.
As an alpha, he rarely really fights but will grab someone by the throat and
bounce them around, and there is never any damage.
All the skirmishes I have had have been over food or rank. The food fights
are probably the worst: the hardest to break up and the fastest to break
out. The fights for placement in the household ranking usually have signals.

Suddenly we will have a week or ten days in which there is a lot of
posturing, tip-toeing, bristles, ears forward, eyeballing. If a verbal
warning does not stop this then I separate the two--almost always Conley and
Nigel.

The Belgian hates Nigel. Nigel used to challenge him constantly and now does
not do so any longer but the Belgian has cancer and is at a disadvantage
with only 3 legs so he roars whenever Nigel comes close, or even into the
same room, warning him off. Nigel does the appropriate gestures: he turns
his head away, he curves his body away, he drops his eyes and is careful not
to look in Cooper's direction but usually I have to move Cooper into the
other room.

I have never been sure what sets off our week or so of general hostilities
and tension, whether a bitch is in season someplace or they are bored, or
what, but after weeks of relative peace I find myself  breaking up arguments
all the time. Combatants or unrepentent pushy boys are crated. This means
Nigel and Conley spend a LOT of crate time. They also fight over me, and so
I am careful never to be caught in the middle. If I am petting one and
another comes and shoves his way in, I leave. If I don't, there will be a
fight. If I leave, they're fine.

I believe a lot of "discussions" that Nigel and Conley have are over rank.
Nigel is older, heavier, probably stronger, and no pushover. Conley is two,
thinks he's hot stuff, is faster and more agile and wants to be top Basset.
The Basset who is there is not going to give that spot up easily.

MomPerson to Nigel, Llewis, Conley and Cooper
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