Cats vs. Dogs - The New, Intellectual Warfare

In my household, I have two very intellectual cats and one sweet Golden Retriever. When my family first got our dog, I immediately assumed there would be an on-going war between the dog and cats in a harsh and sometimes violent way. As if to prove my point, when it's mealtime, the cats will start to bug the dog. They will walk underneath him and slap him with their tail, playfully bat at his nose, and occasionally claw at his tail fur and tug lightly. The only time that this behavior occurs is during their meal time, which I thought was very peculiar. After sitting and watching this scene play out many times, I started noticing that the dog cleverly plays back. When the cats aren't looking, he will quickly gobble down their food and much to my surprise, the cats will do it back.

I think this behavior is a result of the cats taking advantage of the dog's calm disposition. In classic cat vs. dog battles there is mostly fighting and chasing. But in the case of my animals, the dog is interested in no such thing. The behavior should be attributed to the cats intellectually taking advantage of the dog's calm mood. They tease him until he walks away and then eats his food. And when the dog is not in the mood to be teased, he'll gobble down the cat's mean and leave them hungry as revenge.