PLAY A dog story, for a break from the news

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summerthyme

Administrator
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I've been meaning to tell this one for a few days...

DS got an Akita puppy last Spring... his name is Tubbs, and he just turned a year old on Valentines day. He's big... probably 110#, reaches to my hip when standing, and he still hasn't filled out completely. Despite that, he's all puppy.

Our dogs... 12 year olds Dixie and Prince, and Maggie, who is 4, weren't impressed with the newcomer. The older dogs got things straightened out pretty quickly... set limits, but despite the fact neither are small dogs (about 65 and 70#), they never really challenged him.

Maggie... she *might* weigh 30#... skin, bone and sinew. And she not only believes she's the pack Alpha, she thinks she's the Queen of the world! There is NO backup in that little dog. I've seen her back down a 1200# bull just using her Border Collie laser glare.

Well, the irresistible force met the immovable object... and we've had an ongoing war between the two for 8 months. Maggie is faster... We've clocked her on the 4 wheeler at over 30 mph! So if she can wiggle away from him once he's got her on the ground, she knows he can't catch her. And she also can duck under the electric fences... Tubbs tail gets caught!

But sometime this winter, she finally gave up, and admitted he had her beat. Apparently, that didn't set well with her ego, though, so she started "tattling" on him every time he'd start playing rough... the slightest nip or him rolling her on the ground would lead to screams that sounded like she was being killed.

Which, of course, inevitably led to the nearest human yelling at Tubbs and scolding him. It wasn't until I noticed a sly look of satisfaction on Maggie's face that I realized what was going on!

So, lately, Tubbs apparently figured out if he even touches her, she'll scream. I watched one day as he (with a look on his face that clearly said he was experimenting) jumped on her... instant scream, even though he jumped off as quickly. A feint and nip... same result. Then he tried bopping her on the head with one big paw... yep! So, he tried that again... another yelp.

He spent about 10 minutes playing with what he clearly thinks is his own, live squeaky toy!

I just hope he doesn't remove the stuffing and try to get the squeaker out, like he does with the rest of his toys!

Summerthyme
 
dawgofwar10

dawgofwar10

Veteran Member
Reminds me of Spanky, we were visiting my inlaws place and they are SPCA adopters. So we are visiting and the new dog jumps up between my wife and myself and started wagging his tail. Needless to say he left with us that night, he was a mutt, looked like a mix of Chihuahua and a doberman. He stood two feet tall and took no crap from any dog, ever....
 
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summerthyme

Administrator
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Hfcomms said:
What is the saying.....it isn't the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog?
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True... to an extent. But if Tubbs actually had fighting instinct (and thanks to American GIs using them for dog fighting in occupied Japan after the war, too many Akitas do), Maggie would have been dead months ago.

As it is, the only reason I haven't had to stitch both of them up several times is because they have heavy, double coats. But his jaws are so big and powerful, he could crush her ribcage with one chomp, if he wanted to.

Summerthyme
 
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Hfcomms

Hfcomms

EN66iq
Also because he still is a pup. I’ve seen little scrawny dogs boss around dogs 5x their size because as a pup he learned obedience to the older animal. My Mal was scared of a small yappy terrier when she was 10 weeks old. That dog weighed about 12 pounds. Karma now is 7 years old and the little dog up the street is 12 years old now but she will still give deference to the little dog although Karma weighs over 70 pounds.
 
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summerthyme

Administrator
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Hfcomms said:
Also because he still is a pup. I’ve seen little scrawny dogs boss around dogs 5x their size because as a pup he learned obedience to the older animal. My Mal was scared of a small yappy terrier when she was 10 weeks old. That dog weighed about 12 pounds. Karma now is 7 years old and the little dog up the street is 12 years old now but she will still give deference to the little dog although Karma weighs over 70 pounds.
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Yeah... usually! Maggie was certain she was the boss from the minute we brought her home at 6 weeks. Until then, Dixie had been the Alpha, even taking that spot from Red a couple years before she died. NOTHING Prince and Dixie did to try to put the pup in her proper place ever worked. For awhile, I'd let them out of the bar you go to the house for the night, and Maggie would instantly attack one or both. They'd end up "escorting" her through the snow by each grabbing an ear and marching her along!

She'll still attack Dixie randomly out of the blue... fortunately, the thick coats on these dogs have prevented serious injuries. The size difference is striking enough that it's more funny than alarming.

One day Dixie was trying to get 30# of snarling, biting fury off her back. Maggie slid partly off, then hung on with her jaws to Dixie's ruff, as Dixie dove frantically through the dog door. Thunk! Maggie hit the frame headfirst, hard enough that she was clearly woozy when she got to her feet. I laughed until I cried!

Most of this is probably due to Maggie's litter being orphaned at 18 days old, when their mother got hit by a car. She didn't get the all important weeks of manners training and socializing a good mom provides. It shows!

( she also nurses on the dog blankets on the dog bed in the house... definitely has psychological issues!)

Summerthyme
 
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Griz3752

Griz3752

Retired, practising Curmudgeon
Lots of Odd Couple mash ups around here. When I see one I always ask which is the boss. Invariably it's the smallest particularly if there's any terrier in that one and no unsocialised PB in the others.
 
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