The publish Why Does Kodah Drown His Toys? Fred the Bully by Dr. Karyn Kanowski, BVSc MRCVS (Vet) appeared first on Dogster. Copying over complete articles infringes on copyright legal guidelines. You is probably not conscious of it, however all of those articles have been assigned, contracted and paid for, so they don’t seem to be thought of public area. Nonetheless, we respect that you simply just like the article and would adore it when you continued sharing simply the primary paragraph of an article, then linking out to the remainder of the piece on Dogster.com.
Hello, I’m Dr. Karyn! Read my introduction to be taught extra about me and my 5 humorous canines, Poppy, Bailey, Kodah, Ned, and Fred.
All canines have extraordinary habits – I’m certain it’s not simply mine – and one in all Kodah’s extra annoying quirks is that he commonly drops his toys in his water bowl. Now, that in itself isn’t an enormous downside; it’s that he deposits the soggy tennis ball, furry fox, or knotty bear into the lap of unsuspecting those who I object to.
Till very lately, I had simply written this off as ‘Kodah being Kodah’, however I’ve come to understand that the actual cause is way extra troubling: bullying.
Our poor, candy, Malinois x Shepherd has been so suffering from his youthful – and far smaller – brother from one other mom that he’s too paranoid to set his toy down when he’s having a drink for concern of shedding it. Kodah has labored out that the one approach to make sure he retains possession of the toy is to drop it within the water while he quenches his thirst.
Who is that this bully? This fearsome beast who has Kodah wanting over his shoulder as a substitute of dwelling his finest, carefree life? It’s none apart from Fred, the terrifying Chihuahua.

Fred the Bully
In earlier posts, I’ve launched you to Fred the Broken, Fred the Bed Licker, Fred the Anxious, and Fred the Teapot (as a result of he’s brief and stout), however there’s yet one more model: Fred the Bully.
Once you have a look at these massive puppy-dog eyes, stuffed with anguish and innocence, it’s onerous to think about Fred being something however candy and mild. It’s not till you witness the sheer ferocity with which he reclaims all toys from his downtrodden buddy that you simply catch a glimpse of the darkness inside. You see, in Freddy’s eyes, all toys belong to him, even these which are too massive for him to virtually chew or play with.
There may be typically debate round dominance hierarchies inside packs of canines, and, as I have previously discussed, I imagine these relationships are much more complicated than a easy linear development. Nonetheless, in relation to Fred and toys, there’s a reasonably clear line of dominance.
If his cousin Ned, older by 4 months and lighter by 3 1⁄2 kilos, or both of the Labradors (Poppy and Bailey) have one thing Fred desires, his strategy includes sitting shut by and crying piteously. If it’s Kodah who has, or is approaching, a toy – any toy – then the savage beast seems. Even when Kodah is merely strolling previous an merchandise that Fred considers ‘his,’ he’ll fly throughout the room to grab it. He is sort of a spoiled, possessive toddler whose favourite toy is ‘whichever one you need.’

Why Does Kodah Put Up With Fred’s Nonsense?
Once you have a look at these canines side-by-side, it’s onerous to imagine that the 7-lb Fred not solely blocks Kodah’s entry to toys, however will bodily take away them from his mighty jaws. Clearly, this can be a battle that Kodah may win with the flick of an outsized paw, and even only a snarl and bearing of enamel, however he doesn’t – Why not?
As we’ve all little question seen or heard about, small canines typically have the largest attitudes, and no scarcity of confidence. Being tiny and meek will not be going to serve you nicely on the watering gap, so overcompensating is the important thing to success. What these mismatched interactions additionally recommend is that bodily dimension is way much less essential than perspective.

The opposite rationalization for Kodah’s acceptance of Fred’s bullying methods is that he would fairly be the submissive participant of their recreation than not get to play in any respect. If Kodah have been to flex his muscular tissues and use the complete drive of his 80-lb body to maintain maintain of his toys, it’s fairly unlikely that Fred or Ned would ever go close to him once more. However by accepting a submissive position, he will get two playmates who sometimes let him win a recreation of tug, and in addition like to snuggle as much as him when the video games are at an finish. And if there’s one thing he actually desires to carry onto? Effectively, he is aware of to not let it out of his sight, even when which means stashing it within the water bowl when he wants a drink!
- Learn her earlier article: What a Complete Cock-Up – Ned Does It, Kodah Doesn’t, And Why I Wish It Was The Other Way Around
The publish Why Does Kodah Drown His Toys? Fred the Bully by Dr. Karyn Kanowski, BVSc MRCVS (Vet) appeared first on Dogster. Copying over complete articles infringes on copyright legal guidelines. You is probably not conscious of it, however all of those articles have been assigned, contracted and paid for, so they don’t seem to be thought of public area. Nonetheless, we respect that you simply just like the article and would adore it when you continued sharing simply the primary paragraph of an article, then linking out to the remainder of the piece on Dogster.com.
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