Part of me is very, very, sorry.

People run Google searches for things like "can Sheltie be alpha" and "can I make a dog stop whining," and they end up here. The short answers, of course, are "yes" and "no."

But Google's search algorithms ought to allow for places like this, because those questions probably bother some folk.

So. Here come the long answers:

Even though half other things, this Sheltie cannot be Alpha. Alpha pays the bills (Sometimes. When he can get me away from the keyboard - I avoid the numeric keypad). Alpha puts the food in the dish and the water in the bowl. He's cool that way. On the other hand, any dog with the natural skills can be the alpha dog in the pack. Breed has nothing to do with it. Why else would I let that half-blind, snaggle-toothed munchkin Ankle-Biter chase me off the bed? He's just a natural, authoritarian, bark-till-you-cover-your-ears distorter-of-reality. He should have been a principal or a superintendent or the Secretary of Education. Or a union president.

A dog will quit whining in response to a variety of stimuli. Attention is usually good. Tummy-rubs and ear-scratchings are effective, as long as you concede that an indication of pleasure might, occassionally, sound like a whine. Or a whinge. People get those confused, sometimes. Alpha, however, has learned two sure ways to shut down my occassional whine: lemmechasesquirrel (that one always works), or throwthehairysqueektoy (that's good to have as a backup, in case my mood changes).

If those answers don't suit you, have fun here.