Sam really wants to be the alpha dog.

[More:]

But as yet there are times when he cannot quite make it.

Sam, a 10 year-old Yellow Labrador, had to yield this position to Jack, a rescued, brown Labrador who came to join Sam, his sister and black Lab Mutt Gem at home near Oxford, Michigan.

Because of Jack’s harsh upbringing, his sometimes fierce approach proved too much for the gentler rule of Sam.

However as Jack grows older and a problem with his hips gets more troublesome, Sam is getting bolder and competes in situations where previously he would have avoided conflict. This can be seen by occasional bloody noses and ragged ears on them both.
When Sam wants a rest from competition he quickly takes refuge underneath the bed – where Jack can no longer crawl to attack him.

[Postscript: Since this was written in 2007, Sam has got his wish. Unfortunately Jack has recently had to be put to sleep. And now poor Sam is going blind. We are hoping his sister will act as his eyes.]