The Dynamics of Canine Pack Structure
By Myrna Milani, BS, DVM
(Originally written for DogWatch, a newsletter for the general public from the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine)
My dog, Crisco, and I just moved into a house owned by a friend who also owns a dog, Radar. Both dogs are neutered males of about the same size and age, but Crisco is a wimp. Radar keeps trying to jump on Crisco and I keep stopping him because I don't want him to hurt my dog. My housemate insists I'm only making things worse. Who's right?
Watching dogs wrangle to work out their pack structure can frazzle our nerves to the point we feel driven to abort the process any way we can. And nowhere do we feel more driven to do this than when our own pet seems likely to get the worst of it. However, it makes sense to resist that urge for several very sound canine behavioral reasons.
First, as noted before, dogs need a stable pack structure to feel comfortable. And dogs establish that stable structure via ritualized behaviors designed to conserve energy and keep the peace. For example, if Radar wants to be leader, he may place his front paws on Crisco's shoulders to signal his dominance. If Crisco goes down, rolls over, exposes his abdomen, and maybe even urinates, he signals his willingness to accept a subordinate position and that ends it.
Although Crisco's response may break his owner's heart, consider what happens if he doesn't go down. Under those circumstances, he and Radar most likely will fight until one dog manages to pin the other to the ground, i.e, forces him to assume that subordinate posture.
Owners or other people who try to interfere with this natural and essential peace-keeping process make life more difficult for their pets on two fronts. First, they force their dogs to live in an unstable pack environment relative to each other. This creates tension and stress that may undermine the animals' behavioral and/or physical health. Second, the human interference feeds more energy into the process. Where Crisco and Radar initially were willing to circle, sniff, and otherwise exchange more subtle body language cues with each other to communicate their status and possibly head off a fight, the awareness that someone may try to stop them may propel them immediately into the fight mode.
As if all this weren't bad enough, owners who yell, swat at, squirt, or otherwise try to break up fighting dogs also may incite their pets to fight more viciously than they would if left alone. This occurs because canine pack-establishing and predatory behaviors occur on the same continuum, with the former being a less energetic version of the latter. If Crisco's owner feeds a lot of sound, motion, and other stimuli into the process, the two dogs who under calmer circumstances would just try to hold each other by the neck may be driven to sink their teeth into each other as deeply as they would if they were attacking prey.
Such owner input may also precipitate even more disaster if Crisco doesn't recognize his owner's leadership. Under those circumstances, and wimp though he may be, he may interpret her distress as a reason to attack Radar even more fiercely in an attempt to protect his owner. If she tries to pull Crisco off Radar, she stands a good chance of being bitten by her own pet who would, quite rightfully, view this as gross insubordination on her part.
So what should owners do when dog fights occur? Ideally you should stay out of it, especially if you know you're not the leader in your human-canine pack. If your own emotions are so strong you just can't do that, then observe the fight long enough to determine who's getting the worst of it and yank the loser's hind legs out from under him. Because the dogs are fighting to determine rank, helping the winner assert his position can shorten that process.
For those who don't recognize the vital role a stable pack structure plays in canine well-being, sticking up for the underdog seems like the only caring response to a dog fight. However, once we realize what a wonderful energy-conserving, peace-keeping system those canine scuffles represent, we can respond in a manner that will enhance rather than undermine this process.
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