Hi Jane,

I will be following this interesting thread since I also have 2 dogs and I struggle with wondering which of them is dominant or is it a constant jockeying for dominance that I'm witnessing, lol! Currently, my older dog is crate-confined most of the time due to a prescribed 'rest' for a back injury(has a bulging disc) so I can't presently assess their relationship.

My dogs(both neutered males)when healthy spend much of their time wrestling and seemingly trying to dominate the other. Sometimes but not often it gets a bit serious & we break it up. The younger dog(7 years) is a terrier and has higher energy than the older(9 years) Llasa Apso mix so he uses his energetic nature to dominate. At least this is how it appears to us anyway. The older dog has(had) strength and endurance and he uses this to dominate. He could play & wrestle for hours while the terrier exhausted himself & had to go to bed.

My terrier is much more animated but I don't see that as a submissive behavior as your vet asserted about your older(then-younger)dog.

I mostly think my terrier is dominant since he exhibits behaviors that seem overtly dominant. Witnessed on walks together; the terrier will pee over places his brother peed first, going so far as to pee & re-pee over the area a few times, almost like he's trying to obliterate his brother's scent.

I wish you luck with your dogs. As long as they're not seriously hating or hurting each other, I'm inclined to let them work out their dominance issues. Maybe it doesn't have to be one or the other but maybe they can be both dominant and submissive.

I recently set up a camera in my home so I could watch the pets while we're not there. I can tell you that the stuff I've witnessed my terrier get up to is all about dominating the entire household & that means cats & furniture. It's hilarious to watch but very revealing since he's such a perfect angel when we get home from work ;)

My 14 YO Doxie is too old to dominate 5 YO mini schnauzer. Schnauzer is extremely jealous of any pet other than him and I ocassionaly call him on it. Otherwise I let them duke it out. They mostly play together very well, happy to report.

Puppies will naturally pester other dogs to play. Usually around 5 mo puppies lose their puppy license, and the adultimate will no longer tolerate rude behavior. Usually they have a "Come to Jesus meeting" and adult will look like he is going to kill puppy, but no blood is drawn. As long as no blood is drawn, people should stay out of it. The adult is teaching manners.

Once older, normally adults are dominant until puppy us around 2 yrs of age when puppy becomes mature. At that time you need to watch for more serious fights. Usually females will be more dominant than males.

Well socialized males will normally allow females to come eat out of their bowls, take toys, etc. Same sex dogs might fight for dominance. It can be really dangerous with some female to female aggression.

Your best bet is to keep an eye on them, and make sure puppy gets plenty of exercise, and some training each day to tire her mentally. If your older dog is getting bothered, you can distract puppy, as mentioned above, and play with her, do some training, or even separate them, giving the older dog a place he can get away from her.

But if puppy is play bowing, she's being polite and inviting to play. If she barrels into him, she deserves a smack down from your dog. Not you.

I'd stop with the squirt bottle. Your other dog will do a much better job teaching the puppy proper dog manners than you can. Just be aware of your older dogs health, and age. If he seems to be unable to get her to back off, it's time for you to step in and keep puppy away from him for a while to give him a break.

I would say the female is pushing her boundaries, especially when he allows her to straddle his head while he's playing with a toy. It almost sounds like he's doesn't have the energy to deal with her so do as elpaso1 mentioned and stay aware of his health and age.

What exactly do you mean when you said "I tend to favor the 1 year old, however at times the 7 year old sits closer to me"? I would make sure the dogs are given equal amounts of attention and the same amount of discipline. Make them both sit when you feed them and feed them both at the same time. If you open the door to go out, make them both sit, if you walk them on leash---walk them together. Even if you feed the female first and then the male, then you are giving a certain amount of dominance to the female. I think you get the picture. ; )

IMO, the male is older, and lived there first, and shouldn't be given 2nd position in the household.

I would say the young female likes him and wants to play and interact. The older dog doesn't always want to engage and wants to take his nap or whatever. I would redirect the active puppy. Then a bit later, so to be unassociated, take her for a walk, play, etc. to work off the energy and fill her social needs.

I would let them work it out for the most part, throwing in praise for preferable behaviors. They are good at it.

Be sure to fuss over the older dog just as much and give him his special one on one time.