Kyra, part of the pack :)

Kyra is already part of our pack! Once she got settled in, she fit right in with the family. She knows that as the oldest dog, she's lowest rank and she doesn't question it. She'll sleep on the floor while the rest of us are up on the bed (the top dog gets the highest, most comfortable place to sleep. Even when I help her up on the bed she just gets back down), she'll let Briar and Breeze sniff her first and put their heads above hers, she eats last, and we have to go out of our way to give her affection because if we're giving her affection and Briar or Breeze come over, we have to give them the affection. Because she's the new dog and she's old and frail, I want to give her the most attention but we have to let the dogs figure out rank amongst themselves and we have to abide by it. If we don't, if for example we feed the lowest rank first, it causes disrest in the pack, sometimes to the point of dogfights. If Kyra has food and a higher ranked pack member takes it away, it's their right - higher ranks get the most and best food. And if Kyra protests, it'll be seen as a challenge. So, though I'd rather give poor Kyra more attention, we have to follow pack law too, even as the leaders, and especially since Breeze is so dominating. Breeze and Kyra actually did get into a scuffle over food. Breeze got a little too interested, Kyra gave her a small warning growl, and Breeze swiftly silenced that protest. Neither was hurt, Chris was in the room and he quickly broke it up. But I like to give Kyra her twice-daily pain meds while the other two are locked in the bedroom, so Breeze doesn't think it's food and demand it. It's just the law of the pack, and me and Chris follow it too, for the good of our pack.

I also have a hunch about something, though I haven't read it in any of my dog behavior books. I've noticed old Checkers at my mom's house will follow the rest of the pack in the living room or wherever, and get comfortable so that his back is towards the pack and he's looking out the door. Well Kyra does the same thing. And because every dog in a pack has its purpose and the lowest member's is to watch the back and sound the alarm in case of danger, I can't help but wonder if yhat's what Checkers and Kyra are doing. They're so old that they wouldn't be much help if there was danger, but by God they can at least sound the alarm! So if this is the case, Kyra is already looking out for her new pack. She certainly settled in quickly :)

Breeze watching over her newest pack member

Kyra can't get on the bed without help, so she usually stays on the floor. Breeze and Briar were actually playing right before I took this picture and Kyra started play-growling and joining in on the fun!