Establishing Order in the House of Queens

The introduction of Char Siew into the House of Queens posed some concerns in the household.  It’s been almost two years when Midori joined us and her growing up was not easy to adjust to.  She has destroyed a lot of our furniture, shoes, clothes and even mobile phones.  This is why we are very careful with Char Siew – ensuring that he gets as disciplined as possible while he is still a puppy.  This is important so we can prevent the same experience with Midori from happening all over again.   This is important also because Shar Peis are actually bigger than Beagles --- so an undisciplined Char Siew can lead to disaster.

The most concern that we have is on the dynamics between Midori and Char Siew.  Midori as a Beagle is naturally friendly and they are actually pack dogs.  They like other people and dog’s company.  That is why it’s typical for a Beagle to suffer from separation anxiety.   On the other hand,  Shar Peis are known to dislike other dogs.  They are not as anti-social as cats but they are definitely not like Beagles.

As early as now – we can see this difference.  Midori almost always eggs Char Siew to play with her.  Char Siew on the other hand will play a bit but easily gets bored with it and walks away.  For now – is not a problem – but when Char Siew gets as big as  Midori or worse – when he gets bigger than Midori --- Midori might end up injured if Char Siew gets annoyed with Midori’s clowning around.

I was concerned about this enough that I immediately sent a message to one of the most popular dog behavior specialist in the country:  Jojo Isorena.  He said that the dogs are fine.  One of the best decisions we made is to bring in Char Siew as a puppy.  This actually helps in establishing the order between the two.    I do hope he’s right and while he was able to calm me down --- I’m still watching the two dogs closely.   I allow them to wrestle but I make sure that Midori establishes that she is top dog and Char Siew accepts it.  This way – as Char Siew gets older – he learns to respect Midori’s authority and even if he gets bigger,  he will not act aggressively towards her.

I wonder how many readers of the House of Queens have dogs or pets.   Do you have your own stories to share?  Do let me know and write about them on the comments sections.  I’d be very interested to know if there are other overly concerned pet owners like me.