My supermarket finally had large packs of wings for sale today. I bought one for my two Bouviers, a mother and son. Son had always been subordinate to Mom. I could put a plate of table scraps on the kitchen floor, and no matter how delectable, Tycho would ALWAYS let Ouija eat first.

These dogs are house pets and have always been fed side by side with no problems.

I pulled out two wings and gave one to each. Neither dog wanted to touch them, and Tycho barked at his.

I put one in each dish. Still neither dog wanted to eat a wing. Ouija wanted to walk past the bowls to get into the house, but Tycho was lying next to the door and would not get up to let her pass. It was like having the wing in his dish made him very macho and brave.

A while later I heard a fight in the garage, where the food bowls were.  Tycho (age 3) had Ouija (age 8) on her back and was bullying her. The fight did not result in any wounds, but Ouija was cowed.

A couple of hours later, my daughter, age 5, reached for Tycho to pet him, and Ouija attacked her son, making a red mark on Rosemary's hand.

I threw the uneaten wings away after the first fight, but the hostilities remain. We have never had a problem with aggression or power struggles before this. This wing thing was a big mistake and I'm afraid I have damaged the equilibrium in the family. I have never heard of a young male fighting with his mother. They didn't even want to eat them.

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