"Ozzy vs The Doberman!"

Since taking on the responsiblity of another canine, the battle for "Top Dog" in the pack pecking order has taken on a more intense demeanor. Our new Doberman pup "Roxie" is still growing. Although she is clumsy she towers over the smaller, more nimble min-pins. These sawed-off masteminds have found that strength-in-numbers is a better alternative than going one-on-one with a much larger animal. However, somebody forgot to teach this strategy to Ozzy!

To prevent Roxie from chewing on the house, I bought her a large beef bone from Tractor Supply. It is the nearly the same size and weight of the small dogs. Yesterday Ozzy grabbed the big bone by it's end and dragged it from the living room and under the kitchen table so he could knaw on it in peace. Upon discovering her bone was no longer in her posession, Roxie followed the sounds of min-pin ecstasy to Ozzy's "safe" location.

At first the confrontation was a Mexican stand-off. For several minutes young Roxie was trying to figure out a way to quietly relieve Ozzy of the bone. Unable to do so, she resorted to a more agressive stategy. Lunging at the oposite end of the bone she attempted a sort of "snatch and grab", but Ozzy was determined to hang on to his loot. He manueverd the large treat under a chair, making it more difficult for Roxie to find an opening. Desperate, Roxie finally threw caution to the wind and engaged in a no-holds-barred assault. What was once a small exchange of growls and low-intensity barks suddenly became World War III!

From my perch in the living room I heard the noise of battle as the table rocked and chairs flew in the kitchen. Ozzy provided a defense that would have impressed stategists at the US Military Academy. I would never have imagined my little brown buddy would be able to keep the much larger Doberman from gaining the upper hand in this duel, but Ozzy used cover and terrain to his advantage. After several minutes watching this confrontation, I heard Ozzy scream "Woman, go get your own chewy treat... This one's mine!"

At this point it was necessary to step in and negotiate a settlement. Roxie would be required to stand down, and in return she recieved a handful of Milk Bone Dog Treats. Both dogs could live with this compromise, or so I thought. I dropped the treats on the floor in front of Roxie and went back to my activities. A moment later Roxie let out a quiet moan, and I looked over my shoulder in time to see Ozzy trotting back to his place under the kitchen table with a Milk Bone Treat.

After all my efforts, it turns out I have raised a little trucebreaker and a thief!