Such fierce predators they are.

There are currently 3 dogs in the house. There's our dog Buddy, well known to all as the most neurotic creature on 4 legs. There's the one housemate's half German Sheperd, half Husky Rain, who is absurdly playful and friendly. And there's the other housemate's small yappy thing named Blue, who is generally calm and loving to humans but a crotchety old man to other dogs.

Buddy is convinced that he is dominant over Rain, because she completely ignores his dominance displays. Since she doesn't challenge him back, this leaves Buddy with the warped impression that he's Top Dog. For her part, she thinks it's all a game, and she's always up for games. Both dogs seem happy with their mutual misunderstanding, so yay!

Blue is unmistakably dominant over Buddy, despite being only a third his size. Buddy is resigned to this sad fate. Blue is not, however, dominant over Rain. The same cheerful indifference that Buddy interpretes as acquiescence, blue sees as an insurmountable counter-challenge, and he knows there's no way for him to dominate a dog so much bigger than him that won't cooperate. So Blue is meekly subordinate to Rain. Again, she thinks it's all a game, so she's happy.

So there's this strange circle of dominance that's endlessly amusing to watch. And then there's the cats...