Back to normal does not necessarily mean it's all good. Around our little piece of the Earth, 'normal' means we don't let La De play with Kharis (Pharaoh Hound), and we don't let Nena (Schnauzer) play with Ananka (PH).
If we did let them play, I think only our vet would be happy, because he'd get more business from us. Girls will be girls and boys will be boys. That's the way it is. In any pack, there is a hierarchy and our dogs are a pack. We are just not willing to pay the cost in heartache, pain and money for the natural result of just letting the dogs sort it all out.
If our dogs were a pack of wild animals, out in Nature, then the young male (La De PH) would have left home, maybe to come back when he'd grown bigger, and he then would have challenged his father Kharis. The oldest girl, Rangler (Sch) may have stayed with the pack as a kind of aunt, or she may have been left behind. She is nearly thirteen years old, which means she could still have three or more years of life left, but out in the wild, who knows?
Ananka, as the most dominant girl may have had a huge fight with Nena and sorted out the question of who was alpha girl for now. But it may have continued simmering below the surface, ready to boil again at the least sign, as it is here now.
It's difficult to know really because having a real job to do in the wild can lead to truces which make it easier for the pack to catch the prey to feed them all. So Ananka and Nena may have ended up being great allies, and both been respectful of the other.
Any younger dogs, especially when they are puppies, are usually treated well by all members of the pack, which is certainly how it works here. All of the dogs love the puppies, but we have to keep watch so that nobody gets hurt. Sometimes adults play too rough, and when the pups are salable and cute and cuddly creatures, we don't want any of them getting hurt.
It's fascinating watching the dogs, seeing how they interact. I just wish they could do it without barking!
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