Rawhide!
To you and Chatty, this may look like a simple rawhide chew toy...
But it is far more than that.
It is a symbol of power for the one who possesses it.
Yes.
Cleo, the 3.2 pound Chihuahua, usually eschews rawhide chews of any kind, be they ever so small – oooooooh, Chatty, how clever…”eschews”….”chews”…ahem – her high school English teacher would be so proud.
OK. Probably not.
But Cleo’s “little” sister Toot (who at 9.5 pounds is 3 times Cleo’s size, if Chatty has done the math correctly) LOVES a rawhide chew. ANY rawhide chew.
So, here’s where the pecking order comes in.
Cleo is the “Alpha” dog. She is not the “Alpha” of the whole pack – that honor goes to our cat Fluffy - but Cleo is pretty much the boss dog/elder sister when it comes to showing Toot - the baby - the ropes of life chez Chatty and The Wiz. When Toot isn’t barking at Cleo like a maniac or egging her on to a game of chase, that is. (Toot has issues with being bossed around…)
Our Cleo is very sweet, very quiet, very gentle, and very kind. And, as mentioned, she doesn’t even LIKE rawhide chews.
UNTIL…
Chatty, figuring that Toot would love a rawhide chew while Cleo would just leave hers on the ground for Toot to steal later (a not uncommon occurrence, although it works both ways - because Cleo can steal a T-bone away from Toot in a heartbeat), decided to give Cleo a couple of biscuits instead of a chew like she had given Toot.
WELL!
Cleo was gobbling her peanut-flavored biscuits and Toot was happily gnawing on the rawhide when Chatty went back to the kitchen.
Two minutes later, in comes Toot, begging for food.
“Something, Mommy! Anything, Mommy!”
Toot was obviously going to expire of hunger if she didn’t get some sustenance FAST.
Chatty pointed out to Toot that she had just been given a rawhide chew; that there was yummy yummy dog food in her bowl; and that therefore she was getting no more treats in the immediate future - so she should just go back to the family room.
Did you know that dogs can look sad? Yes, of course you did. Especially a dog with a missing eyebrow and only half a moustache.
When Chatty came into the family room a few minutes later, Toot was lying on the floor looking despondent and Cleo was in her bucket - chewing on Toot’s rawhide bone.
Hmmmm. It seems that suddenly beauty was in the eye of the beholder.
It also seems that even though you are out-weighed, if you are the Alpha dog you can snatch a rawhide chew from the Beta dog at will – with no crying, yipping, or whining on the part of the much larger Beta dog. All that results is despondency and pathetic glances at the mama on the part of the Beta dog.
Interesting.
Being a well-trained mama, Chatty immediately went to get Toot another rawhide chew.
Because if Cleo is the Alpha dog, and Toot is the Beta dog, well - that must make feeder-groomer-mama-caretaker Chatty the GAMMA dog…and she has to share third place with The Wiz, to boot.
And, of course, we ALL bow to the great and powerful Fluffy - who is totally above such characterizations as “alpha”, “beta” or “gamma”.
Fluffy just IS.
And she knows it.
As do all of us who serve her.
“Woof”!
“Sigh”…
“MEOW – and don’t you underlings forget it!”*
* this message approved by Fluffy
Cleopatra is on my lap and purrs her approval of Fluffy. Toot and Cleo crack me up! (I wouldn't eschew a chew toy...)
There is nothing quite as wonderful as pets, is there?
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The same in this house: Buster and Jack, 100 plus pound dogs each, are subservient to little Penny the beagle, at 19 pounds!
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Great Post Chatty! I must say the cat is always the ruler. Always. They don't let you forget it either.
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Cats do rule, Heather's right. We are powerless about this... Just ask Mr. Rodney. He thinks he is the one paying the house note.
My dog, Sal has very discerning taste regarding dog bones for some reason. Guess he thinks HE's THE ONE Buying the Groceries! Ingrate... LOL
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