Dogster

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Rocky

Mommy's devil dog

I don’t believe there is any such thing as a devil dog. I’ve always had good dogs, really good dogs. My dogs come when they’re called. They don’t get into the trash or onto the counters or the furniture. I can walk them without dog leashes with good control and recall. I believe in dog training, and I enjoy it. It’s no accident that I make dog training toys for a living. I think dog training is play and I do it for relaxation.

I know dogs have untamed and natural instincts which lurk in all of them. It’s only a matter of perspective and circumstance to be able to see the devil in our furry ‘kids’.

It wasn’t a surprise that when I saw the devil in one of my dogs, it was Rocket. He’s my bad boy, lover dog.

Endlessly frustrated with his position in life, he maintains a sweet and compliant attitude towards me while holding a bit of a grudge against the rest of the world.

His grudges appear to be born of frustration and attitude miss-alignment. It seems to irritate him that he is not the top dog in this household. He constantly picks at Annie who is dominate by virtue of being the oldest and largest and female. As such, she is naturally top dog. But she’s so relaxed in her role, she doesn’t discipline Rocket. She leaves that to me.


My floor looks like a kindergarten gone berserk; dog toys litter the floor like trash in a trailer park. When Rocket takes a toy another dog has, they just let him have it and a pick up new one. Mr Mean Streets is the only guy who thinks toys are a precious resource. He seems to delight in taking things away from the others. I know it’s all about climbing that social ladder.


Status matters to Rocket, and it always has. Ever since he joined us, rescued from the mean streets of a bad neighborhood, he has tussled over objects with our other dogs. Finally they gave up and now they just let him have his way. He’ll walk up to another dog and take a dog toy, just to take it. Then he goes to his bed and lies down on the toy. The other dogs just watch him, kind of quizzically, like they don’t get him. Then they go back to whatever they were doing before Mr Grumpy showed up.


My other dogs don’t seem to care about status any more than they care about which dog toy they have. They work things out; they share resources and share space.

They all get treated equally in our house; they all get the same treats and walks. They all get the same food, and obey the same rules. I have my favorite of course, but I don’t let it show. I don’t treat them differently and I think that’s the important thing. And maybe someday that’ll be enough for Rocket too.