They allowed cats to take over the domain.

When we had dogs and cats in the house at the same time, the dogs generally were very respectful of the cats. The cats were the dominant force. The last dog we had, Dottie, the German shorthair, had a blanket out of which she made a bed. Pawing it, into sort of a circular bed. Maybe she'd take 2 or 3 minutes, making it just right. Then she'd lie down, all curled up. So relaxed. But sometimes, when she got up, one of the cats would take over the bed. And Dottie would come back, and she'd be crestfallen. Instead of chasing the cat away, she'd hover over the bed. And whine. Such a plaintive, pathetic whine. Dottie was hoping that one of us would come to the rescue and chase the kitty out of her bed. Because she was afraid to do it. The cats had Dottie bamboozled. Dottie thought the cats ruled the roost. So funny. Our dogs were cowards. They allowed cats to take over the domain. --Jim Broede