Dog friendships

One of the things I like about having a lot of dogs is being able to see how they interact with their dog pack fellows. It helps me understand my pets better, and in the process, learn how to be a better pet owner and their “pack leader.”

I’ve long noticed that my dogs have community and a hierarchy of their own. They have a pack leader (old Spike) and a “queen” (Tootie). But one of my favorites in watching their behavior is how they forge friendships with one another.

Little Shantee and big black Coal

That’s Shantee and Coal in the picture. Coal is big Black Labrador Retriever, while Shantee is a Tiny Shih Tzu. Though Shantee is sometimes scared of Coal’s size (she’s just way too small), she considers him her “big brother.”

Coal protects Shantee from the neighborhood dogs barking at her from our gate. He’d intervene whenever they scared her, barking to scare them off. He’s also very gentle with her whenever Shantee’s in the mood to play and run around Coal like a crazed maniac

Shantee is naturally very friendly (she’s even friends with our pet hamster, Peter), but Coal isn’t. Shantee is actually the only dog he got along well with (aside from my late Sheero).

Harry and Choknat are also inseparable. Probably because they are brothers, but these two is way too difficult to separate. They won’t leave each no matter what. I’ve seen Harry escape through a fence but Choknat unfortunately got stuck. Instead of running off and playing with the other dogs, Harry stayed beside his brother all throughout and even whined in worry while Marc and I freed Choknat.

Kutonbol and Patatas, another sibling pair (they’re sisters), are also inseparable. The other even helps take care of puppies whenever one of them gives birth to a litter.

Dogs are just amazing, aren’t they? They show loyalty not only to their human best friends, but with their fellow dog friends as well—the same unconditional love and loyalty to their canine buddies.

Ah. If only humans can be like dogs in this aspect… There would be less severed friendships that are usually broken up by an abuse of trust.