Alpha Dog?

So we got this Sheltie for our youngest, who proceeded to name him Laddie.  Seems innocent enough.

But as a male Shetland Sheepdog, Laddie is both intelligent and very dangerous.  Why?  Because from day one he assumed he should be the Alpha Dog in the house, and as the only other male nearby, I was immediately deemed a threat, an interloper, an imposter.

That’s why every morning, when I get up, Laddie leaps on the bed and proceeds to scrape his head and neck on my pillow.  A subtle move, to be sure, but still I think, very revealing.

Then, after dressing, as I make it downstairs, Laddie attempts a tackling maneuver, adding a vicious growl, challenging my authority and strength, to see if perchance with a new day, a new top-dog has emerged.

Maybe it’s just me, but over the last several months it seems if I sneeze, cough, or even just clear my throat, he takes special notice — a knowing, analytical stare, that initially seemed endearing, even cute.

At first I though it was canine compassion, but now I think he is looking for the slightest indication of the onset of some fatal disease.  Or at least a malady incapacitating enough that my ability to defend against the morning pounce might be sufficiently compromised to enable a swift, but definitive shift in power.

Perhaps I am over-reacting, but I think we may be getting in way over our heads.  Thus, before it is too late, I have suspended all of Laddie’s phone privileges indefinitely and he’s lost the use of my recliner for at least a month.

He thinks he’s so smart!  Well, we’ll just see about that!

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