Big brother....jealous or overprotective?

[Biff]

Well, we took the dogs to the beach for the weekend, and being Button's first time out to run freely, they had a great time.

There were other dogs on the beach, all of whom were friendly, just as well as our wee Buttons jumped all over each and every one of them. No fear in that wee girl!

We met another boxer, a female who had a litter of pups last year. Her nipples were quite prominent, and it was soooo funny to see Buttons try to latch on to them! The female and Buttons were acting like long lost pals

At this point, however, our Biff started acting very strangely. He kept putting himself in between the two, and trying to push his wee sister out the way. He wasn't at all aggressive, but it came across to us that he really didn't like the way Buttons and the female boxer were bonding.

Could he have been jealous that Buttons was making such a fuss over the other boxer, and was trying to say, "No, you're MY wee sister - play with ME, not HER!!" ????

 

[Roscoesmommy]

I dont know if this will help or not, but Blayne is the same way with Roscoe. Everytime another dog comes around him, she has to get right in between them and she gets very vocal, barking and "talking" (not growling though, it's hard to explain). It's weird because apparently before we adopted her, she was very submissive to other dogs and since she has been with us, I think she has become more comfortable about defending "her" dog and "her" territory. Of course, we dont encourage this behavior and give her a "time out" (sit/stay or down/stay) when she begins to do it. I think it may be normal for Biff to be protective and/or jealous of his wee sister. I dont really have any advice besides if you dont want to encourage it, put him in a sit/stay or down/stay for a minute to let him relax and then maybe try it again. If he isnt getting aggressive, I dont know that I would worry too much, but then again, I'm no expert :D

 

[SSpiro]

I'm curious what other replies there are on this one.

 

[Murp.mm]

He's probably a little bit jealous and protective at the same time. I bet he was so cute though!! You got two beauiful babies.

 

[Lola's mum]

My three adore my brother's dog so when they come over my three all vie for his attention. Lola especially, she gets quite snappy with Zeb or Casper if they're playing with 'her' Vegas :o