The Alpha Dog Circus

Last year I bought a book on how to communicate with your dog. I bought it for my niece, Sydney, but as I read it, I realized it was a little too advanced for her. The book said when a dog shows you the white part of their belly, they are acknowledging you as the Alpha Dog. Not in my house!

Cobalt is our oldest dog. We got him December 13, 2001. He had serious separation issues, so we decided to get him a friend. Onyx came home on December 31, 2001. Their birthdays are 2 1/2 weeks apart. Obviously, they aren't from the same litter. We had read that the first dog should be the alpha dog. Onyx had a different opinion, from the moment she set foot in the house. For two weeks, Cobalt had been exploring the house and getting all of our attention. We had a little carrier that I brought Onyx home in. I set the carrier on the floor, and Cobalt came over to sniff it. We opened the door to the carrier, Onyx stepped out, slapped Cobalt on the nose with her paw, and walked into the house like she owned it.

We tried to make Cobalt the alpha dog, but the truth is, he's a wimp. He's afraid of everything (except Thunder & Fireworks, which oddly enough, are the ONLY two things Onyx is afraid of). He quivers and whimpers. Onyx however, is a big personality. There is a part of the breed standard for Beagles which says they must be a lot of dog for the size. Or something like that. Onyx is all that and more. She seems to have two personal mottoes: 'I'm little, but I'm mighty' and 'Bring it on!'.

When they were little, we tried walking them around the neighborhood. Several neighbors have large dogs in their yards. As we walk past their houses, the dogs protect their yards by coming to the fence and barking. Cobalt whimpers and drags his person halfway through town. Onyx plants herself, her legs firmly apart, and barks right back. We usually end up scooping her into our arms and taking off running, hoping that big dog can't scale the fence. Walking your dogs should not be one of those times that your life flashes in front of you; but it does when you walk Onyx. We soon decided to just let them run and play in the yard.

We didn't know how to curb Onyx's aggressive behavior, so we talked to our vet. She told us that if Onyx is the Alpha Dog, to let her go. As long as she's not hurting anyone. Pet her first when we walk into a room, feed her first, etc. So we have been trying. She is a little more manageable. She still makes sure her brother knows that she is the alpha dog. If he is near either of the food bowls, and she decides she wants that bowl, she growls at him. He runs off to the other bowl. Sometimes she wants the food in both bowls, and they make laps around the table as Cobalt goes from one bowl to the other and she chases him off. Eventually they settle down and find a bowl for each of them.

Onyx gets pissed off if you are petting 'that other dog' (we often speak for the dogs, and this is how we believe she thinks of Cobalt). We have two couches in the living room, typically I sit on one and Erich on the other. If Cobalt comes over to me, and I start petting him, Onyx will give me dirty looks from across the room. Then she comes over, and squeezes in between Cobalt and I. Once he is out of the way, she will sit in the same position he was in and expect you to pet her. Cobalt usually then goes to the other human, and the process repeats. If they play this long enough, Onyx will get tired of running across the room, and she will resort to just sitting with whichever human she has, and shooting daggers from her eyes to the other one. It is hilarious!

As for showing us the white of her belly, it is quite possible that the first time she did it, she was telling us we were in charge. But since we did not know this, we thought it was cute. 'Oh look, she wants a belly rub!'. So we gave her a belly rub. Now, 8 1/2 years later, if Onyx lies down near you and flops onto her back, you better be rubbing the belly. If she is next to you on the couch, and you do not acknowledge her, she will nudge you. Maybe with her nose, more likely with one of her outstretched paws. Then she will roll a little further onto her back, all four paws pointing to the ceiling, and wait for the worshipping to begin. If you give her a belly rub, and stop before she thinks you should, she nudges you, and rolls so you can get a better position. So no, Onyx is not telling us she is subservient. She is telling us she's the boss!

Our Vet said to remember who the real alpha dog is. I told her 'Yeah, it's me'. Our Vet has known Erich for many years, but she laughed. Erich said 'it's true'. Of the humans, I have a stronger personality than Erich. So in our house, I am the Alpha Dog, Onyx is the Beta Dog, Erich is the Gamma Dog, and Cobalt is the Delta Dog. I have proof of this, it is not just my ego which says I am the Alpha Dog. Onyx tends to hump others- she's been spayed, it's just her way of dominating. She will do this to Cobalt and Erich, but never to me! I have had to at times scoop her up and keep her away from the boys, and once she's in my arms, she settles down. She knows who's the boss!

Don't feel too bad for Cobalt, we monitor their play time, and when she gets too aggressive, or Cobalt seems not to be having fun anymore, we separate them. Cobalt fights back too- he will chase her and bark at her, and wait for her to come in through the doggie door and then go after her. Those are the nights that our house is a three ring circus. Cobalt also gets lots of loving and snuggles, she doesn't always chase him off. He's a happy little guy, and both are well loved.