And even this is usually done with nothing more than a cold, penetrating stare. Maintenance of Hierarchies Fighting and physical dominance very rarely come into play during the maintenance of hierarchies. On the contrary, the major function of hierarchical structure is to lessen the amount of fighting. Once established, the hierarchy provides many of the answers before the problems crop up. For example, when there are two dogs but only one bone, the ownership of the bone is predecided and therefore, there is nothing to fight about.
Potential problems are similarly pre-settled in established human hierarchies.
I mean, who, in their right mind, would park in the boss s parking place. No one ever does, hence no problem. It is similar with dogs. Misunderstandings about the relationship between rank, dominance and aggression tend to exacerbate fighting problems, which are largely the product of a socialization and the mixing of socially-unprepared adult dogs. What a shame he s so growly.