Good Boy, Hix, Good Boy! (Cracking the Alpha Code)

   

Hix, My Ever-Growin' Boy

     While therapy for me to process out loud various challenges that go along with life on the farm, I am deeply moved when people write or post comments about my critters. Be they prayers or some tidbit of advice I am grateful for the information and I marvel at the time people will take to show they care.

TJ Meets Hiccapup for the Very First Time

     Several weeks ago I wrote about dominance challenges between my 2 male Pyrs, TJ and Hiccapup (a.k.a."Hix"--the pup that keeps on growing). At issue: TJ (brother to Rosey) has been my established alpha. Hix (son of Rosey, brother to Rosebud) came into TJs world as an 8 week old puppy, and as such, simply became part of TJs charge. (Since he was the size of a goat, TJ viewed him as such, but what happens when the thing you are protecting shoots past you in growth? Food fights for starters...and now dominance issues that has Hix vying for alpha rights.)
     Having decided to love the big guy through it (a human if not spiritual approach to what most will tell you is a primal issue dating back to the dawn of time), my former radio colleague and fellow dog-lover Lee Swain reached out to offer this keen insight:
       Your dogs will NOT obey you BECAUSE you actively give them love all the time ....they will obey because they recognize you as the natural supreme Alpha (via food, etc) and they will will respect your authority from your CONSISTENTCY of commands, play, love, treat and food giving ....... dogs acclimated to human co-existence still respond to the primal instincts of pack order ....ie who eats first in a feral wolf pack .... the alpha male and female ..... and as regards elective neutering, the younger male wolves are "encouraged" to leave the pack when they are mature enough to challenge the alpha's breeding rights
      (One can see right away why Lee was such a good talk show host.)
      I still maintain my one-on-one, eyeball-to-eyeball, heart-to-heart time with Hix is an investment worthy of cultivating as it reinforces, 1) he has a place in this family and will not be abandoned over what I perceive as bad behavior and 2) around here, we choose love reinforcements over fear. That said, Lee makes a valid point that, much as they are my babies, their wiring is that of dogs. Furthermore I agree that left to nature, Hix, by now, would have left the family pack rather than give up his shot at alpha because TJ got there first (something he can't do while domesticated as he's fenced in).

Brekfuss: Most Important
Meal of the Day (We take it
very seriously around here. )

     Lee went on to suggest that given I'm in charge of the food around here (minus the occasional bird or a possum) the order in which I call the dogs each morning, and the order in which I place their bowls sends a powerful message as to alpha reinforcements, something I had not thought about, but something I was eager to try. (And I must say, it is making a difference --3 days and no fights. We shall continue this practice.)
     Until these past few, the "brekfuss" ritual consisted of Rosey bolting out with me, eager to get in the pen with the others, as this is where brekfuss is served! (For the sake of consistency and to be able to get her in the pen for when I need her there, Rosey must eat with all the others. Fortunately, she wants to.)
     But based on this newfound info, what I failed to notice, is that it's neither Hix nor TJ who is alpha, but ROSEY...something "I" have affected owing to the fact that Rosey's goat to guard is me.
     As she enters the pen, everyone comes to greet her.  Hix and Rosebud are happy to see their mom; TJ comes out to inspect his sister. They romp, they run, they wait for me to put bowls down --bowls Rosey has had the honor of watching me prepare, again, I suppose, reinforcing (in her at least) just how alpha she really is.
      Until now, I simply placed the bowls several yards apart, as to allow any dog the bowl of his/her choice...As far as who went first, the order has always been Rosey first, then Hix or Rosebud... (Sometimes Hix wanders to see if someone else got more in their bowl, or goes to turn one over, either way losing time to Rosebud who hunkers down pretty early once she finds a bowl to call her own.) Last but not least comes TJ. (As a matter of practice, TJ normally doesn't start eating until he sees EVERYONE eating, including the goats; he stands beside his bowl and watches. Whether this makes him alpha or tenderhearted, it's what he does.)
     So by way of the alpha message, what has happened is, I have clearly messed with the pack.
     For starters, TJ took over Rosey's role when the pups came into the pen. Alpha, maybe. But mostly TJ is maternal. He took Rosey's role, after Rosey's pups were weaned and Rosey resumed her role back with me. TJ does not as a rule eat first, but now, something about Hix annoys him (as Hix is no longer WANTING TJ's protection, but wanting to be in charge himself. Only Hix isn't Tj. TJ's got more feminine in him. He's a nurturer. Hix, is a fighter and I think it's that fighting energy that's making TJ wonder if he shouldn't be more aggressive as well...So recently, he's started showing his teeth. (As a side note, I have to smile. TJ LOVES stuff toys. Hix, loves bones. At any given time, you'll see TJ toting his teddy bear over to his favorite shade tree; you'll see Hix hauling his bowls into the woods. They are VERY different dogs; both male; both protectors, but in very different ways. (You'll note it's TJ who follows the babies around, nudging them to their mothers. Meanwhile it's HIX who growls ferociously when those babies are first born making sure nothing gets anywhere near until their mother has her baby totally cleaned of afterbirth --a scent that draws predators like nothing else).
     So I tried a new theory (and so far it's working). If I'm the main alpha, and Rosey's second (after all, I am her primary focus), how do I acknowledge who's next? (For when Rosey and I are inside, this is the pecking order that rules the great outdoors.)

TJ and Hix, Sharin' the Shade
(any idea how happy this makes me?)

     Before when stepping into the pen to feed everyone, I called them by name as they showed up. Some mornings Rosebud might come out first; others might find TJ already in his shady spot. It never occurred to me that whose name I speak first sends a signal to THEM. This time, I called for Hix. I did not place any bowls until Hix was in the mix and if Hix showed up first, I gave him his first. (He's still a little bumfuzzled right now...Kinda like winning the lottery and not totally believing it. He's got this "What just happened here?" look about him, as there's nothing to fight over since I said it was so.)
      First morning, Rosey bolted to her food as I tried to give Hix his bowl even BEFORE Rosey. (Didn't work, but I tried.) What DID work was I finally figured out the alpha isn't the boys, it's Rosey.
      Day 2, I spoke to Hix. (Rosey gets talked to in the kitchen...She's so focused on what's in the bowl by the time we get to the pen, she doesn't need to hear her name anymore. As I've always said, Rosey's a dog most comfortable in her own fur.) While preparing to set the bowls down, I intentionally (i.e while making eye contact and speaking his name repeatedly, which dogs love) placed Hix's bowl down at precisely the same time I set Rosey's down as if to say "You two are alphas together--Rosey outside of this fence; Hix inside." Again, Hix looked a bit perplexed, but he was plenty pleased.

TJ:Keeper of the Sock-Monkey

     Question became, what about TJ?
     Curiously, because TJ is such a sweetie (to be so big and scary when he snarls) all it took for TJ was for me (after Hix was eating) to take his food to him (not make him come to me) ...Place it on the ground and (yes, with TJ I can do this) I pet him while he eats. Given a choice, TJs a softie. He's rather have my undivided attention (even if it means Hix gets to eat first) than fight for alpha.  In short, everybody wins.
     Rosebud (who is wired a lot like her mom, but with even more of an independent streak) is focused on her own bowl. Like her mother, she doesn't need all this coddling. She's the beta of the bunch (or the delta...or whatever the baby of the family is called in dog kingdom). The only time I've ever seen Rosebud come unglued was when Layla was here as oddly enough, Layla was a threat to her "lowest pup on the totem pole" position and she didn't like it one bit.

Rosebud: My Go-Along, Get-Along Dog
(except when it comes to Layla)

     But now that Layla's in a paradise of her own, Rosebud is happy in last place (in pecking order only). Rosey's focused on her food. TJ gets my undivided attention until he's done eating, by which time Hix is toting his bowl to the woods and everyone's back to doing their favorite thing.
     Long way of getting here, but this is the update. As of now at least, we're cracking the alpha code one day at a time.