Leader of the Pack

Before we begin, let’s set some mood music…

We got a new dog three weeks ago. Her name is Rebel and she’s a pretty good girl. She’s quite a bit different from Laszlo, her brother (not in blood). Laszlo is a monumental coward, ironic since he’s supposedly 8% Wolf. This is a dog that was scared by a bird landing in a tree and runs away after barking at something. Rebel is not that. She’s part Pittie, with a dash of Chow Chow. She’s bold, regal, and tough as heck. The opposite of him. Here are their DNA tests:

They say opposites attract and that couldn’t be truer in the case of Laszlo and Rebel. He’s gained confidence from her. She’s learned how to relax and have fun. He’s begun to understand how to bark at things, and she’s understanding what it’s like being part of a pack. She wants to be the leader, at least of the dog division within the pack.

Leadership isn’t all about power and domination. Yes, that’s part of it, but good leaders show empathy and help the other members out. That’s one thing Rebel has done in spades. Whenever Laszlo isn’t doing what he should, she doesn’t hesitate to let him know that he needs to act right. Of course, since THE HUMANS in the house are the actual pack leaders, we don’t let her push him around. That’s our job. But the bond they’ve developed in just 3 short weeks has been incredible to see.

Having only ever owned one dog at a time during my life, I am getting to see the pack mentality unfold in real-time. They play with each other. They help each other. They comfort each other. There is a real thing happening between them, and between all of us. It makes my heart swell at times.

The other night, Rebel was having a tough time. We don’t know what was going on with her but she was very much on edge. And having a 70lb. Pittie with Chow Chow guarding instincts on edge leads to a lot of false alarms and agita. It was tense. Every sound and movement elicited a reaction from Rebel. As the night wore on, she didn’t seem to be getting any better and nothing we humans did seemed to help.

That’s when Laszlo stepped up. On a trip outside, Rebel was frantically looking around the yard for some unseen threat. She was anxious and seemed convinced something was going to get us. When Laszlo noticed this, he tried to engage her in play. She wasn’t really having it and let him know she wasn’t interested. He was undeterred. He went over and picked up their favorite outdoor toy: a rubber Kong stick. They love to each bite an end and play tug of war. But mostly, they just hold it in their mouths and walk around the yard like two show ponies pulling a wagon. It’s adorable.

Laszlo picked it up and brought it over to her. She took it into her mouth and they just sat there together, each holding an end until she calmed down. Then they played a little. It was remarkable to see. He could tell she was upset and he wanted to make her feel better. Even after we went inside his work as a loving brother wasn’t done. Rebel is a cuddler. And she loves to be snuggled and snuggle others. So once they got settled onto the couch, Laszlo pushed against her and let her spoon him for the rest of the night. She wrapped her legs around him and was relatively calm from then on.

But that isn’t the only instance of this behavior I’ve seen. One thing we’ve been working with a trainer on is helping Laszlo get over his fear of water. It hasn’t been going great. He gets super anxious and nervous and kind of loses his mind. But after one particularly rough session, Laszlo was pacing around the yard, breathing heavily, and quite upset. What did Rebel do? She went over to him, stopped his pacing, and just kind of comforted him by being close. And when the humans went over to help him calm down, Rebel took up what can best be described as a protective posture for the pack, moving a few paces away from the three of us with her gaze focused on our blindside. While we helped Laszlo calm down, she stood guard and made sure nothing would hurt us.

It hasn’t been all roses. There have been some definite learning opportunities for everyone involved. Rebel wants to be the dominant force in our house. Laszlo doesn’t even know what domination is. So we’ve had to really step up our assertiveness with her and let her know that “hey, the humans have got this.” We’re blessed to have an amazing trainer who’s given us the confidence and tools to be the best pack leaders we can be. Laszlo, ever the puppy, has had to learn about giving people (and dogs) space and that not every waking moment is for playing.

It’s been a rewarding journey and I’ve learned a lot about myself and my family throughout this process. There’s a give and take between them and they compliment each other well. If Laszlo was more assertive, I think it would lead to more conflict. If Rebel weren’t as confident, we’d have two misbehaved dogs instead of just the occasional one. We got lucky. They got lucky.