Subscriber Archive

Last in a series
Jerry was already getting help with his own struggles when I met him, Charlene, and their dogs Izzy and wee Rosie and Willa.

Fourth in a series
I could only help Charlene and Jerry with the fighting among their dogs if I had their buy-in. They were both feeling pretty low. So, I shared the game plan.

Third in a series
If one event quickly follows another, every time, our dogs connect the dots. Jerry’s past rage-infused tirades against Izzy, when he caught her menacing the smaller dogs, taught her to avoid them in his presence.

Second in a series Izzy, Willa, and Rosie could have been allowed to fight it out until the last dog was standing. Wouldn’t the thumping the smaller dogs endured teach them to mind their place in the pecking order? Really? Some people actually believe that. The more common mistake is to punish the perpetrator. Izzy had been severely reprimanded but not for a long time; it had been over a year since she’d been busted for bullying. Back in the day, though, Jerry had gotten really upset when seeing her push the small fry around. He’d yelled and contorted himself until he risked a hernia. Each time, Izzy appeared duly chastened. It seemed to work; nobody had witnessed her odious behavior in quite a while. They’d moved on. Our dogs share a lot with us “higher” mammals but there are differences. Canine hierarchies, whether free-living or domestic, are about survival.…