Anni Comes First

I saw Anni first that fateful morning at the gas station in Winston County, AL. Deuce followed behind her like, well, a little puppy. Anni still comes first. It didn't take long for me to realize that she was top dog.

If someone approaches them while they are in their exercise pen, they will excitedly jump up to receive attention (yeah, we are working on this). But don't even think you will be able to reach out to Deuce, because Anni will push him down so that she can get the attention. The other day my neighbor came over to give them some love. Once Deuce had his front paws up against the side of the pen, Anni came from behind, wrapped her front legs around his neck and pulled him back.

Anni is always the first one out of the pen and the first one to fetch any toy that I provide. If Deuce has something that she wants, he might as well go ahead and give it up. I am so glad that I have two puppies that can entertain each other and learn socialization skills from one another. They do a lot of play fighting. Anni is usually the instigator. Walking them at the same time, even around our yard, can be a nightmare. First we are walking along just fine, and then Anni will lunge at Deuce and wrap her teeth around one of his back legs. Here we go. She has let him know that she wants to play. After he breaks away, she bows down on her front legs (a universal and more polite way of saying, "Hey, let's play" in doggy language) and the fun begins...for them, not for me. She starts running and he follows. She can't go far due to the leash, so she begins running circles around me. I become a human carousel until I can reign them both in. A few days ago I was attempting to walk them both down the street before dinner time. Somehow Anni got away from me. We were near the corner of our street and another, where there is usually plenty of traffic around this time of day. She did her "let's play" routine, but this time she was able to run big circles around us (I still had control of Deuce). She would come almost close enough to be caught and then would take off again. She ran up into a neighbor's yard, then she continued her circular bolt out into the street. I just knew she was going to get run over. I was panicking, Deuce was encouraging her, and I'm sure any neighbor witnessing this was having a good laugh.

Sometimes the puppy playing escalates into aggression. I think Deuce gets fed up with Anni's attacks and starts to put the smack down on her. He is several pounds heavier, so he could easily dominate her physically. She, being top dog, does not like this one bit. She growls, shows her teeth, and looks rather vicious. Sometimes she does this when they haven't even been playing. I have eliminated most of this lately by putting Anni first. I read in one of my many puppy books that when you give attention to dog number two first, it upsets the balance. You are reordering their hierarchy. This applies to petting, walking, giving treats or toys, etc... If I pet Anni first, she supposedly gets frustrated and Deuce becomes confused.

Now, I make sure to pet Anni first. When I give them treats, ice, or toys, I present her with them first. When I take them separately for walks or just sit down with them to give them affection, the order doesn't really matter. But if Anni is in her pen and I place Deuce in there with her, I must give her attention (even if she has already been on a walk, etc...) or she will attack him. Yep, that's the adorable Anni that has been chosen to be featured on The Daily Puppy. Poor Deuce.