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Originally Posted by Wallee Thanks again Jeanie. I am trying very hard to follow all the advice you give to make this transition work out for both of them. I understand that Wallee is jealous and we are trying to give him his time to do the thing he likes best as well which is play ball. In speaking about the other little dog who was here, there is no doubt she was the dominant one. She came in here jumping on Wallee, taking his toys out of his mouth and nipping his heals every time he ran. He did try humping her a few times but other than that, he let her be in charge. Summer on the other hand is just the opposite. In the morning, she eagerly tried to greet him with a kiss on his face and he would have no part of that. The other doggie did that to him every day with no problem. I am trying to balance giving him time and letting him know when I think he is getting out of hand. I pray I can do everything right so that he eventually learns to like her. Even on walks I can see her always trying to walk very close to Wallee and I am trying to walk them on opposite sides of the sidewalk as he doesnt like her in his space. |
It's very hard to know what that other dog's behavior truly was like from your description but it doesn't sound truly dominant to me. Maybe I'm misreading your description of him and how they interacted but going by your words only, not having seen them, from the sound of it, that other dog was super playful and puppy-like - not truly dominant. The other dog sounds like it exhibited more perennial puppy-like behavior - as Tibbe at 6 years old, still does around other dogs - rather than real, dominant behavior and that's what Wallee accepted - a fun-loving dog who was exuberant and fun-loving, puppyish, a little out of control, maybe jumping up in play but not to control/truly intimidate him, not a serious threat, not a dominating dog who truly tried to rule over him. Dominant dogs are usually not very playful or fun but always trying to prove they are the big guy in the room - a bully.
So he accepted the puppy-like play nature of that dog and didn't think of it as trying to show him how powerful it was. Dominant dogs typically keep their tails up high at all times, ears alert, eyes are eagerly focused, they never lick the mouths of other dogs, work at trying to mount them fairly often, repeatedly stare at them and always win the staring contest, repeatedly irritate the other dog in little ways, attempt to hold a paw or place its head on the other dog's back or head in a proprietary manor or make's other dogs back off or leave the area in subjection, moves into their space or crowds them(dogs usually hate this from a dominant dog) or heads them off when they want to do something, act jealously if anyone shows another dog attention, works fast to always go first ahead of the other dog, guards the toys/resources and even shows teeth, growls, barks or nips if he senses a breech of his authority. You know a dominant dog when you see it. They are definitely dogs on a mission to intimidate and not actually play with the other dog but send a message!!!
Maybe I'm wrong and not having seen them I probably am, but that other little dog sounds like it acted like a rambunctious, fun-loving puppy which never seriously challenged Wallee's actual authority with true dominant-like behavior or likely Wallee would have flexed up on it like he does with Summer. Dogs will accept a lot from a dog who acts puppyish, even a dog that playfully jumps up on them, irritates them, accepting growling or nipping gestures, knowing they don't mean it and of course, depending entirely upon the dog's friendly body language.
For the time being, Wallee probably sees Summer's trying to move in close on walks as an attempt to dominate or crowd him - move into his space/head him off and will take some time to accept she thinks she's just as important as he feels he is. Most dogs don't need or want to walk very closely to other dogs and normally keep some space between themselves during the walk out of respect. I'd begin to try to stop that behavior in her. In time, they should define their roles and each take an alpha role in different things if they can coexist in peace.