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Alpha Dog (or She who must be obeyed!)

© Donna Eliassen

She Who Must be Obeyed, otherwise known as Alpha Dog, or in this case, Guinny – all 78.5 kilos of her – is a hound to be reckoned with. When she is displeased with one, she lets one know! She does this by simply refusing to acknowledge us. She won’t talk to us, cuddles are shunned, eye contact is minimal. It’s as if we don’t exist, but it’s different if you’re a dog. Then you’ll just get your ear bitten, leaving a perfect sized hole for a large ear-ring… after that experience, you won’t challenge Alpha Dog again!

"Aw, c'mon, Guin! Give us a smile!"

"Nope! Don't want to. Besides, I'm all dirty and you've got my wrong profile!"

It’s a funny thing about Irish Wolfhound Alpha Dogs… I’m sure male alpha dogs do exist, but I’ve asked about 30 owners and breeders this past couple of weeks and it has been their experience that the Alpha Dog is female. A couple of people even admitted that it is their female Alpha Dogs who lead the hunt. What does this tell you!? It tells me that these dogs have known the answer to emancipation long before our sister suffragettes ever took to the streets waving a banner!! I’m sure I’ll meet someone, one day, whose Alpha Dog is a male – and I’m talking Irish Wolfhounds here, but for now, let’s enjoy the fantasy that at least one feminine species on the planet has got things under control.

Guinny, or Madam Alpha to us mere mortals, carries her massive frame with a certain air, a dignity befitting the number one head honcho. Other dogs act submissive before her, kowtowing like humble little slaves. Did I say little? When the food bowls hit the concrete, the others stand back hesitantly while Guinny sniffs first one, then the other, before deciding that perhaps today, she just might eat out of her own bowl.

But that's not to say she can't share togetherness moments... here she is with Wookie, sharing a togetherness moment!

Of course, when it comes to treats, it's every woman for herself! When mother brings large marrow bones home from the butcher, sliced in half right down the centre to expose the yummy marrow, she gives one half to Alpha Dog and the other half to Ahrran. (Wookie is waiting for us over the Rainbow Bridge, so alas, he cannot partake of marrow bone anymore, and Kelsie, poor, smelly old thing, has hardly any teeth left and her bone eating days are long gone.) All seems well, while mother looks on contentedly. But as soon as mother turns her back, satisfied that her furry children are happily occupied with healthy sustenance, Alpha Dog springs into action.

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