[yorkietalkjilly]

I think they act protective or a bit dominant when they don't feel that their leader is the strongest. A lot of times they feel they need to protect a not too strong leader or feel that they can act the leader part themselves by giving another dog lack of permission for approaching - a clear breach of his roll. You are the one to make decisions about who approaches the two of you and tells another dog to back off or gives the approach signals - not your little one! If you haven't already, try some Behavior Modification Training techniques with lots of patience & love & fun rewards and re-establish yourself as the leader of your team and giving Pnut clear ideas of just who calls the shots in all situations. Once he knows you're in complete control, he'll likely relax & let you do the decision-making.