Pecking Order

Fo those that have read previous posts, I have one dog and one cat.  They are both equally attached to each other, play like brothers, fight like brothers ect.  Ace, the dog, my pseudo first born acts like the first child.  For those that don't believe me here are some examples: he is an over achiever always doing what I ask, he is the leader, like things in order, like to boss others around.  Since we brought Coon home, pseudo son number two Ace has been acting up.  Ace now shows jealousy, acts out for attention and tries assisting B and I with punishing Coon for misbehavior.  I wish I could have caught it on tape when B was reprimanding Coon, and Ace was reprimanding B for being mean to his poor brother Coon.  

Coon, the cat is everything thing that resembles a second child.  The "Baby" that gets away with everything, has no rules, and the spoiled one.  This works for Coon and causes pouting by Ace.  I try to keep Coon in line and expect the same from him that I do from Ace.  FYI - it never works. Coon continues behaviors "just because", he knows he is bad but continues to do it out of spite, much like a second child who pushed boundaries.  

In my mind I have a choice to make that could disrupt our already difunctional pecking order. 

Current Order:

Coon

Ace 

B and I 

It should not be this way, but it is.  Coon rules the roost, he is the baby, the one with no rules.  Ace depicts what everyone does through-out the house, if its not the way he likes it barking and circling ensue.  Lastly B and I are on the bottom, we should be on top, we let them live here, feed them, clean up after them. But our one problem is we can't stay on top for more than a day, the manipulate situations to show there dominance and whoosh back to the bottom we fall.  

The biggest problem I have with this is where will Baby Bean fit in? Before anyone thinks I'm crazy it is a very serious question.  With B and I of course we will be on top, we are the parents, with the pets it will be different.  The cat who has no rules will ultimately turn into the middle child, Ace will remain at my side continuing to build jealousy but wanting to remain in my good graces he will behave.  And lastly the baby will be the baby the third child but first human one, who will be wrapped around our fingers the second we lay eyes on him/her.  

Stay tuned for my post about how to be an effective fair parent.  ( this is a joke in itself as I have never been a parent, but 5 years from now I will be able to laugh at what I thought would make a great parent)