Leader of the Pack

I don’t refer to them as my dogs, or “furbabies” or, oh god I can’t even say the word… pets. We are all members of the same pack. I'm now the alpha, since Spot died.

I would tell you their names, but they can’t be pronounced in English. They are pronounced in a series of yelps, and throat growls. To a “non-pack” member, I guess you would refer to that as “barking” although that’s a bit of a derogatory term.

Because I’m the alpha, I provide for the pack, which means I require a biped job, (mine is in IT) where I function fairly well, but once I get back to the den, er, house, that’s where I really feel I belong. Where I can be myself. I shake off the stresses of the day, give myself a good scratch, and just curl up on my pillow.

Our home life is pretty much like everyone else’s, I guess. I hunt, kill and bring home dinner, and depending on the weather, we will eat on the lawn out back, or on the dining room floor. I eat first, and then everyone else partakes when I’m done. Usually it works out well, as long as everyone remembers where they are on the hierarchy. Then, we all spend time outside, voiding our bowels, re-fragrancing ourselves with backyard detritus, and then, the fun begins!

We have a lot of games we play, the most popular is “tug of war - stick” wherein we all fight over the choicest stick in the yard. You can tell which stick is the best, as it’s the one your packmate has. This game can go on all night… and sometimes does! We also play “tug of war - rope”, “tug of war - ball” and “tug of war - kitty that wandered into the backyard by accident”. The fun times we have….

Then, once we get tired of chasing and vocalizing to the neighbors, it’s time for sleep. We all share a bed (keeps us warm), and have our nighttime rituals, usually, we groom ourselves, which can take a while. Then, we walk around in a circle and lay down.

Sometimes I will engage in dominance mounting, but only if I feel my status has been challenged, or if I’m lonely.