Dogs originally lived in packs. Dogs can be very territorial, especially terriers.

Who would guess that this cute face could be so territorial?

That’s where their name comes from! Bella and Bubby, both yorkies, may respect the “lead dog” in our family, but when they play it seems like that’s the only point to their games- who is the most dominant.

Bella and Bubby really seem to think its fun to play “King of the Mountain.” Of course, after they play like this for a long time they get pretty rough. Bella makes a fun, playful but slightly threatening growling sound sometimes. And Bubby bites Bella’s neck and pulls on her hair with his teeth, but he doesn’t really hurt her- its equivalent to a mother dog in the wild picking up her pup with its teeth. Its just what these dogs do.

Take the leader of the pack dynamic amongst dogs, the social hierarchy of dogs, for example. Even domesticated dogs truly integrated into a family still show obvious signs of identifying early on a leader, a no. 2, no. 3- all members within the family are assigned a number in that hierarchy, and the dogs are included. Just watch Caesar Milan’s Dog Whisperer show- he speaks of this important dynamic all the time. It’s key to his “whisperer” strategies.

A couple months ago puppies that were barely old enough to leave the house were seen gallivanting around on the sidewalk. They were tiny Shitzu- Chihuahuas that would run out of the opened garage where they made their home and bark at passers. Seriously, these puppies were tiny. And so cute. Bella and bubby seemed to see the tiny puppies as a threat. They would bark at them like they thought the little things, showing they believed the puppies were on their turf. Eventually Bella and Bubby sniffed the puppies and then quieted down. Such is the yorkie dog way.