Initially, the pack was Cosmo, then came Sable and Jasper. Jasper was very protective over Cosmo and often distracted the little lady to prevent her from wrestling with an older Cosmo. I still am always astonished how he would pick up a toy, redirect Sable’s attention, and once she was interested, he could finally relax, knowing he had done a nice job. It never ceased to amaze me, how Jasper could redirect Sable’s attention with toys and games: that boy was so gentle.
Now, let’s shift gears and focus on the current pack relations. As the older, wiser one, Jasper stays on top, and below him there is Rogan, who is the annoying middle child, while Gracie, some might say is overly playful and exuberant. There is something a bit obsessive about Gracie’s behavior with Jasper, but not quite sure how to describe it. Every time, he goes out, she nearly bounces off the walls trying to get out to chase him.
But Jasper? No, he just isn’t having any of that filigree.
Rogan, our knight in fur and teeth, rides in to save the day with great zeal and protectiveness whenever Gracie, quite in her best spirits, gets out of hand! He would grab her, skate a bit away, or even turn his body into one big shield to block her from Jasper. The partnership-and-protectiveness thing can be so breathtaking-it has almost taken on superhero flick status just fresh off, with Rogan being the ultimate shield.
Gracie is definitely learning. I’m teaching her that not all dogs, give or take Jasper, would want to ruff-and-tumble-Jasper really likes his play to be a bit less “aggressive.” Oddly enough, he has only engaged in the wilder kind of horseplay in those wide-open fields, and he’s only done that whenever playing with ladies. Inside and backyards, nope, that’s way too chill for him!
He apparently has a switch that turned itself on during play time and is always thrown in large open fields. Classic Jasper.
Pack dynamics interest me. Watching how each dog assumes another role as it matures or deals with health issues provides an amazing lesson of dog communication and behaviour. Their connection is etched into everything he does, be it a gentle nudge from Jasper, a protective Rogan in between, and a careful Gracie. The cat was invited in on this one-Gracie’s being taught to be gentle when chasing these short games, except when the cat gets its fun antagonizing her, too. It is a wonderful shift in their domestic dynamics that I couldn’t have imagined.
Again, it is of utmost importance to control the pack and teach them the proper way of behaving. While they are two dominant females, Gracie seems sometimes too eager to control them; hence, this constant training has to be instilled. It is producing results, but there is still a long way to go, and, myself, I’m still learning this training stuff as well.
And, really, unless you have seen a pack grow and change with time, you would not be able to understand dynamics. No book or class can teach you that-it’s all experience, one wagging tail at a time.
