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War and Peace

August 19th, 2008

I recently visited a household with two dogs.

Not so strange, right?

It gets interesting.

I am always fascinated by the dynamics between dogs living together, the strange play of jealousy, dominance, friendship.  Throw in a cat and you have a drama that should grace the silver screen.

In this case, there were two dogs.  One was a male Labrador and the other one was female and half coyote.  We’ll call them Lucy and Ricky.  Lucy is seven and Ricky is a little over a year.  Lucy used to be the only dog of the house until recently when the new roommate brought his dog, Ricky, to live with him.  Both dogs are obedient and well trained, give or take a quirk here and there.

Most dogs living in the same house create a pack, an order, a hierarchy interrupted only by the rare brawl over dog food or affection.  In this house, there are two packs, each with only one member.  In the house, they stay on different sides.  In the yard, the occupy different corners.  They snarl and growl and wrestle with tails wagging.  They both have battle scars.  And after fighting viciously all day, they fall asleep on top of each other.  They have lived together for over a month and there is no sign of submission from either one.

Can two dogs agree to disagree?  Is the situation dangerous?  Is it just a matter of time before one gives in?

The owners are trying to allow the dogs to work it out themselves.  In the meantime, they have taught them the command “SPACE!” when they start to fight.  Most of the time, it works.  They separate and go brood.

Have you guys seen anything like this?  I know the owners are tired of playing referee and tending to wounds.

Tell me your thoughts.

Posted in K9 Stories | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “War and Peace”

1. jan says:

   August 19, 2008 at 10:42 pm

   Like you, this one puzzles me. It’s like they are both puppies wrestling for the fun of it. Maybe they need a third dog, an alpha, to come in and establish order.
2. Saint Lover says:

   August 20, 2008 at 6:44 pm

   Honestly, this is a time bomb waiting to explode! Coydogs are solitary unsociable animals not suitable for pets (so they say) – They are really playing with fire IMO

   From Wiki – Coyotes are solitary by nature; this trait is carried across to coyote-dog hybrids. This can result in problematical and unsociable behaviour which makes them generally unsuitable as pets. As a result, they may be abandoned or allowed to stray and be absorbed into the feral dog or coyote population. However if the coyote (or dogote) is found at a very young age and raised properly they can, in fact, become a pet much like some wolf-dogs are kept. Much time and effort must be put into them for this to occur.
3. Lindsay says:

   August 21, 2008 at 7:14 pm

   Yeah, perhaps it is because one dog is half coyote.

   But what I think, though, is the humans should be the dominant ones. If the dogs look to the humans as their leaders, then there is no need for one dog to be dominant. Both dogs should be submissive. It is the humans who need to take control.