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<DIV>Any long time basset owner will tell you that there is a pack order even if
it subtle. I have always had multiple bassets and when fostering at one point
had my five and up to 3 fosters. At that time Spanky atb was my very benevolent
alpha. He never snarked anyone but they all looked up to him. I was down to just
Crackers and Loki when I adopted Jordan, a female, 4 years ago. Jordan is
extremely submissive to me (won't go through doors ahead of me or down the
stairs) but after a couple of weeks here, she realized that Crackers and
Loki had no interest in being alpha so she assumed the role. She promptly kicked
the boys out of my bed and snuggles with me every night. She does allow them to
share the bed in the morning while I am getting ready for work. When I watched
TV she was not letting either of them on the couch but I have gotten her to the
point where one of the boys, usually Crackers can get up too without getting
snarked. The funniest is when she wants the recliner, she simply stares at the
occupant and that basset immediately gets down. She has never laid a tooth on
either of the boys but does make an angry shrieking noise if she thinks
one of them has broken her rules. I have had to scold her sometimes as she will
sit at the head of the stairs and the boys will sit at the bottom and whine
until I make her move. Same thing with my computer room; they won't come in
unless I intervene. That being said, I do not reinforce her being alpha in
anyway. She gets fed last, gets treats last, and I won the couch battle by
lifting the others up until she accepted the new arrangement. She is also crated
when I am not home. This has taken some of the edge off her bossiness. She is
very demanding of me for pets, bellyrubs etc and will worm her way in between me
and whatever basset I am petting so I have been ignoring her when she does this
in hopes she will learn to wait her turn.</DIV>
<DIV>This is just my experience.</DIV>
<DIV>Kathy with Crackers, Loki and Jordan who thinks she is in charge.
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