[Dailydrool] Wearing down the alpha

[Val Brewer]

We have three dogs currently.  Mariah, the youngest (maybe 8?) and smallest basset of the pack is also the fiercest and the undisputed alpha. what Mariah says goes and the others defer.  Mariah gets first choice of bed spots, for example. second in the hierarchy is Mila, a 12 year old basset who is sweet as sugar but still stomps her foot down to the third member of the pack and gets second choice in things that matter (only Ed spots, really).  the last member,of the pack is 10 year old Ipo, who is a mutt who is mostly a pitbull and twice the,size of the others (and could annihilate them if she chose, but she chooses not to and is generally pretty timid and passive.). 
Last night we had an interesting episode.  at about 2 AM, Ipo, who had been sleeping outside on our second floor lanai, came into the bedroom and started intermittently barking. Bark, pause. Bark, pause. bark, pause.  this is a signal she wants something very much. she almost never barks.  usually it means she wants access to the yard to poop.
  I let her out. great. after a few minutes she came back in and came into the bedroom and started intermittently barking again.  Okay. I gave her a biscuit and filled the water bowl with fresh water. she had a snack and a drink and reentered  the bedroom and started intermittently barking again. Hmm. Maybe she hadn’t finished outside before she came in?  Repeat. Out/in/biscuit/drink. 
 she Returned to bedroom and resumed intermittently barking.  Okay, I haven’t guessed right yet.  I gave her a Gas X and sat up with her stroking her head. all okay. I went back to bed. it’s been 45 minutes now. 
IPO returns to the bedroom, barking intermittently. “ quiet! shh!”, I Say I ( more than once).  it is now 3 AM. I am at a loss.  Bark. Pause. Bark. Pause.
I have invited her onto the bed several times.  there is space in the  middle of the bed on both sides,and there is safe passage past Mariah who occupies the end left space (IPO’s favorite). IPO has,declined. bark pause bark pause.  I begin wondering if she has gone nuts or I will do so soon.
slowly, Alpha Mariah arises from the end of the bed (IPO’s favorite spot) and moves to the middle of the bed. IPO climbs up into her favorite spot, curls up, and sleeps peacefully the rest of the night.  no more barking.   this is clearly what she wanted all along but she would never directly challenge the leader of the pack, Mariah, to move and risk a fight.
 Instead, Ipo chose to drive Mariah  crazy (along with the rest of us) with,sleep,deprivation until Mariah conceded by her,own choice,
well played, Ipo.  Yawn.
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