Pack Management

Our six-pack is undergoing a transition.
When Pinch arrived, everything was pretty much normal, or as normal as having a dog with Dermatomyocitis and another with Myasthenia Gravis can be.
In other words, no one was critically ill or dying.
While no one is dying, things are changing.
Shiloh is weakening.
Dusty, while very healthy for a 16-year-old, is becoming more frail.
Daisy has been diagnosed with arthritis in her hips.
So the older half of the six pack is frail and needing lots of help and attention.
Amazingly Blitz seems to be enjoying a nice remission from his DM. He's gained weight and is fur has a nice feel to it. While he's always been a happy guy he literally sparkles lately.
Moto is still intact. Shiloh is still intact. Pinch is intact as we await growing him out to see if he'll be eligible for the conformation ring. That's a lot of testosterone.
Pinch is acting like a hormonal teen-ager which means "practicing" on Daisy, which is not appreciated. He's also testing his pack status and trying to move up the ranks.
Moto is coming into his own and is beginning to assert himself too. Daisy used to regularly dominate him and he now flashes his teeth at her to stop it.
Add that to the fact that Dusty, Shiloh and Daisy are becoming more and more frail, we have a powder keg of a situation, as it seems the dogs are vying for a new pack order.
Thank Goodness for early Pack Management on my part. Dogs are fed in the order they arrived here and that never ever changes. They can eat in the same room without any fights breaking out. But now I feel I'm walking a delicate line between letting them work things out and stopping what just isn't right. Example: when I open a door, all dogs must wait until Dusty walks out. This is to avoid him knocking him over. Allowing Moto to stand up for himself is a good thing, but Shiloh pushes that boundary by continuing to try to dominate him and being unable to defend himself.
Plus he still suffers those odd anxiety attacks. When this occurs I need to get him away from the other dogs as they will attack him. Shiloh can never ever be loose with the other dogs without me in the immediate vicinity now because of this.
Dusty is still the Grand Old Dog and I don't know how he does it, but all dogs still continue to treat him with great respect. But he also needs a lot of supervision now as recently he tried to go up the stairs, couldn't support himself and I found him struggling between two steps, trying to get upright. He's a smart guy and usually barks when he wants up or down steps, but I think some times he feels pretty good and thinks he'll just try those steps on his own once and awhile.
So, between keeping Shiloh safe and keeping Dusty from injuring himself, baby gates once again abound in our house.
On a training note it is imperative that the younger dogs respond immediately to my first command, "come" and "sit" must be absolutely and immediately obeyed. It comes in real handy when Shiloh has an attack and the pack is swirling around him. A quick SIT keeps Shiloh out of danger and allows me to get in there quickly to remove him. Speaking of something being amiss in my relationship with Moto, it is he of all the dogs who will challenge this and needs a correction. This lets me know I was correct that I was too soft on him initially and that his respect of me is not where it should be. Dang it anyway, I wish I'd been wrong, but we're working on that now.
I've always known that Come, Sit and Down were the most important things I could teach, and with our new situation it sure has been a good validation.