I read a great book recently called The Secret Life of Dogs. In it, the author observed her dogs over their lifetime and came up with some amazing conclusions about how domesticated dogs still operate under the primal code of the wolf pack. With this new information in mind, I have started observing our Chihuahuas, Sox and Bruiser, much more closely now. We just got Bruiser a few months ago, and from the time he arrived I could tell there was a contest for dominance. I know they see my wife and me as the "dominant pair" to put it in pack terms (At least I hope they do). However, they seem to disagree over who's ranked third and fourth in the family. I never realized how important this is to a dog. They're whole life is literally shaped by what their place is in the pack. This explains the constant stealing of toys and mounting that goes on between the two boys. Even simple things like rawhide bones have become territory and possesions to be fought over. The fighting has rarely become vicious, and it usually consists of the two of them racing to see who gets the piece of bacon that fell to the ground or hording all of the bones. Researchers say that it is the same way for wolves. Vicious fighting could lead to injury and death, which would weaken the pack, so contests for dominance become more ritualistic than anything. It's quite amazing to see these ancient canine behaviors coming through in two little lap dogs. Hopefully they'll come to a conclusion soon. They're going to flip when we actually have kids.
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