Dogs are naturally hierarchical. Back when survival depended on coordinating activity, there had to be one dog and one dog only that was the leader. Usually this dog was a male, just because of size, strength and hormonal influence.
Sometimes size isn’t even the most important thing. For instance, dachshunds are often dominant over larger dogs. This can be amusing at times.
The top dog may be the most assertive one in the pack, but the other dogs can be pretty self confident as well. These “subdominant” dogs meet each other without a lot of tension and may end up in a relaxed game of tug of war or some other fun activity.
It’s fascinating how their early pack nature has carried forward to the modern domestic dog.
Posted by: joan
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