I saw something yesterday that I really hadn’t seen coming. Shadow may not remain our pack leader for much longer. It isn’t that she is retiring or giving up voluntarily, it’s that Aristotle has got rather more spark than I had given him credit for. He was happily chewing on an antler when his mother said she would take charge of it. Aristotle quietly but firmly said ‘No’ and his mother actually got off the settee and found somewhere else to sit. When I say ‘got off’ she was actually so shocked that she jumped off and just stood and stared at him.
Nobody says ‘no’ to Shadow, except my Mistress, of course, and that is entirely different. I hold my small friend in a whole new respect and think it might be a good thing if the boys regain the high-ground. I’ll be standing right behind him when he does it. I could be his right paw dog and have far more say than I have now. I don’t know what it would mean for Shadow as he sees Megan as ‘his’ girl. I guess there is a special honour in being the mother of the pack leader and she would be shown due respect. I know Shadow though and she won’t give up her position without a fight and I know the way she fights, so it may involve a few trips to the vet before it’s all sorted. On the other paw, she’s his mum and she may just send him to bed early and tell him to stop answering back. I think I may now understand why she was so brutal to him when he was tiny. Maybe she could see the problem in the making and wanted to do something in advance.
Alfie Dog with a little help from Rosemary J Kind alfie@alfiedog.me.uk
Alfie’s Diary – the Book is available at Amazon UK –https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00583ZGSA
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