Why Does Kodah Drown His Toys? Fred the Bully

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Hello, I’m Dr. Karyn! Read my introduction to study extra about me and my 5 humorous canines, Poppy, Bailey, Kodah, Ned, and Fred.

All canines have bizarre habits – I’m positive it’s not simply mine – and considered one of Kodah’s extra annoying quirks is that he often drops his toys in his water bowl. Now, that in itself isn’t an enormous drawback; it’s that he deposits the soggy tennis ball, furry fox, or knotty bear into the lap of unsuspecting those that I object to.

Till very not too long ago, I had simply written this off as ‘Kodah being Kodah’, however I’ve come to comprehend that the actual cause is much extra troubling: bullying.

Our poor, candy, Malinois x Shepherd has been so stricken by his youthful – and far smaller – brother from one other mom that he’s too paranoid to set his toy down when he’s having a drink for concern of dropping it. Kodah has labored out that the one means to make sure he retains possession of the toy is to drop it within the water while he quenches his thirst.

Who is that this bully? This fearsome beast who has Kodah trying over his shoulder as an alternative of residing his greatest, carefree life? It’s none aside from Fred, the terrifying Chihuahua.

Fred the Terrifying

Fred the Bully

In earlier posts, I’ve launched you to Fred the Broken, Fred the Bed Licker, Fred the Anxious, and Fred the Teapot (as a result of he’s brief and stout), however there’s yet another model: Fred the Bully.

Once you have a look at these huge puppy-dog eyes, full of anguish and innocence, it’s arduous to think about Fred being something however candy and mild. It’s not till you witness the sheer ferocity with which he reclaims all toys from his downtrodden good friend that you just catch a glimpse of the darkness inside. You see, in Freddy’s eyes, all toys belong to him, even these which can be too massive for him to virtually chew or play with.

There’s usually debate round dominance hierarchies inside packs of canines, and, as I have previously discussed, I imagine these relationships are much more advanced than a easy linear development. Nonetheless, with regards to Fred and toys, there’s a reasonably clear line of dominance.

If his cousin Ned, older by 4 months and lighter by 3 1⁄2 kilos, or both of the Labradors (Poppy and Bailey) have one thing Fred desires, his strategy includes sitting shut by and crying piteously. If it’s Kodah who has, or is approaching, a toy – any toy – then the savage beast seems. Even when Kodah is merely strolling previous an merchandise that Fred considers ‘his,’ he’ll fly throughout the room to grab it. He is sort of a spoiled, possessive toddler whose favourite toy is ‘whichever one you need.’

Despite being one-tenth of his size, Fred has no qualms about putting Kodah in his place! — Regardless of being one-tenth of his dimension, Fred has no qualms about placing Kodah in his place!

Why Does Kodah Put Up With Fred’s Nonsense?

Once you have a look at these canines side-by-side, it’s arduous to imagine that the 7-lb Fred not solely blocks Kodah’s entry to toys, however will bodily take away them from his mighty jaws. Clearly, it is a battle that Kodah may win with the flick of an outsized paw, and even only a snarl and bearing of tooth, however he doesn’t – Why not?

As we’ve all little doubt seen or heard about, small canines usually have the most important attitudes, and no scarcity of confidence. Being tiny and meek isn’t going to serve you nicely on the watering gap, so overcompensating is the important thing to success. What these mismatched interactions additionally counsel is that bodily dimension is much much less essential than perspective.

The opposite rationalization for Kodah’s acceptance of Fred’s bullying methods is that he would relatively be the submissive participant of their sport than not get to play in any respect. If Kodah had been to flex his muscle groups and use the total pressure of his 80-lb body to maintain maintain of his toys, it’s fairly unlikely that Fred or Ned would ever go close to him once more. However by accepting a submissive position, he will get two playmates who often let him win a sport of tug, and likewise like to snuggle as much as him when the video games are at an finish. And if there’s one thing he actually desires to carry onto? Properly, he is aware of to not let it out of his sight, even when meaning stashing it within the water bowl when he wants a drink!