Sorry, this might be a stupid question...but

[Putermom]

Is showing Dominancy between 2 dogs always going to be a concern?

For example, Otis, my 19 month old male, neutered Boxer constantly tries to hump or force Sasha, my 7 month old spayed female Chow Chow, to show submissiveness. Now Sasha will just lay down if Otis tries to cover her and she will lay on her back and let Otis smell her tummy area. But sometimes, every now and then, she has enough of his doings and will "fight" back before giving in. It's almost as if she's saying..."Ok.. I'm letting you do this but I don't like it!"

Now this is a daily occurence. Sometimes 2-3 times a day. It's not like Sasha doesn't give in to Otis either....she does...so why the daily show? We humans (skin kids and parents) all do things to show that Otis is the top dog. We feed him first, give him treats first, love on him first, etc...He's the only one allowed on the kids' beds. Sasha sleeps on her pad on the floor.

Should this be a concern?...this daily interaction? Should I break it up? I try to let it go...let them work it out but if I see it getting a bit too serious, I will make a loud noise and distract them...then, it's off to the crates for down time.

Otherwise, they play together pretty well. The only time I have to really becareful with them is when they get a "High" value treat/toy...then, they have to be separated. Otis has to have what ever toy Sasha has. If we are loving Sasha, then he'll stop what ever he is doing and trot on over to take over the love session! It's like..."Ok..I'm here now, stop loving Sasha and love on me now!" Is it jealousy? Will this ever stop? Or is this the way it's going to be from now on? This is our first foray into the multidog household...so we're on a learning curve.

Thanks for reading this much! Wow! I didn't realize I had so much to type! Thanks again for any advice!
Cathy

Thanks for any advice!!!

 

[boxer]

To a certain extent, yes it will always be an issue. Dogs live in a world based completely around hierarchy. And in a 'pack' situation, not all members always return after every absence - so dogs always go through a ritual of re-establishing or re-confirming the hierarchy after every separation. LOL - that is actually why your dog is excited to see you and wants to jump around when you get home. He's re-confirming his place (be it higher or lower than you).

What you could do to help matters is establish yourself better as the 'pack' leader. For example, when you are giving Sasha attention, he should not be allowed to push in and demand your attention. He's not demonstrating his superiority over her when he does that, he is demonstrating his superiority over you In all situations, it should be *you* who decides who gets attention and when, who is allowed to eat and when, and when displays of dominance are enough. There's nothing wrong with you reinforcing pack order by treating him ahead of her, but if he is allowed to demand attention whenever he wants it, and divert your attention from Sasha whenever he chooses to - then you're actually indicating to him that he's higher in the pack heirarchy than you are. IMO taking a "nothing in life is free" approach to your interactions with both dogs would go a long way toward creating a more harmonious household.

 

[Angie K]

I had kind of the opposite problem. My FEMALE (45lbs) is the Alpha and my male (80lbs) is the subordinate. And he is okay with that because he has such a laid back personality. Well when they start playing he is usually the one who submits and rolls on his back etc. Not always but I'd say at least 2 or 3 times a week during these play times my Female mounts him (either front or back). In the beginning we had to physically pull her off of him. Sometimes he just won't stand for it and gets out of it but most times he is just like "Go ahead big deal your the boss". After a couple of weeks of pulling her off and telling her OFF and NO it seemed to happen less often. Well now if she does it all I have to say is OFF very sternly and she will get off of him. So I guess she has learned that I am the boss and what I say goes. She will still show him she's the boss by taking bones from him or toys once in a while and likewise he will lay and wait and when she is done chewing she will push it to him. So I think in her mind the pack is still in order. Good luck and remember they are just like kids sometimes and want to be their own boss.

 

[sgbtab]

I have that problem with my females and I can tell you that all I can do is try to stop it before it happens my girls get a look in there eyes or their hair starts to stand up as soon as I see this I let them know that I am the alpha by making them go to a sit stay or lay down then it is time to distract them I know it is hard and takes alot of time but if you allow it to go on one of the dogs will get hurt or maybe you if you try to breakup the fight you can usally spot it and hopefully you can stop it before it is to late if I am doing something wrong please let me know but this method seems to work for me good luck

 

[Putermom]

Thanks Everyone for your replies and advice!! I really appreciate it!!

Wow Deb! I didn't realize that by allowing Otis to interfere and essentially take over our time with Sasha, we were affirming his alpha status!! We did what we thought was everything possible to establish us (humans) as alpha, like going in/out doors first, feeding after humans, working for all treats, meals and water, etc.... but I guess we were giving mixed signals too!
When Otis would come over to take over the attention from Sasha, we allowed it (or rather included both in on the love sessions) because we thought it was jealousy at play here on Otis's part. Sasha has been with us since mid-November 2004 and we thought he was jealous and wanted to be part of the fun!

So, yesterday after reading these posts, I went over to where Sasha was laying down. I went and gave her some loving and attention. Right on cue, Otis comes out from where-ever he was and immediately tried to take away the attention from Sasha. So, I immediately made Otis stop, put him into a sit-stay, and continued my play with Sasha. Otis was dying to come over and actually tried a few times. I would put him back into a sit-stay. Then when he actually stuck to his sit-stay, I released him and had him come to me! He got attention on MY say-so, not on his. Then, when he started to get on top of Sasha, I stopped him, told him "off!" and then distracted him with a toy. Hopefully, this will help make things better.

Thanks again!
IF anyone has any other advice or stories to add, I'd love to read about it!
TIA!!