Bossy Boy And Submissive Girl. Should We Intervene?

[Guest burgerandfrey]

We had our first greyhound, Aries, for ten wonderful years. We always wanted a second greyhound, but we lived in an apartment at the time. About a year ago we lost Aries and after a couple of months decided to adopt another greyhound: Zeke. We live in a house now, so we knew we would want a second greyhound sooner or later. Zeke adjusted to his new home quickly, and about six weeks after that we adopted Lola, a younger and smaller female. Generally they get along well, but we are new to the two dog dynamic.

 

We took Zeke with us to the greyhound rescue and let him meet about six different dogs. He seemed indifferent to the boys, but was more interested and playful around the girls. He and Lola seemed to mesh the best, and we adored Lola as well. The decision was unanimous. Unfortunately that didn't mean the transition was perfect, but there were no real problems either. Zeke did seem a little confused for a few days... like he was trying to tell us, "I liked her just fine at the rescue, but I didn't know we were bringing her home with us!" Nevertheless they got along with hardly any snarking whatsoever. They are both very sweet dogs. Lola is a bit more independent, while Zeke likes to follow us around everywhere. We feed Zeke first, and he generally lets Lola know he is above her in the pecking order. Zeke is definitely more alpha, while Lola is mostly submissive. She is a bit smaller than Zeke and not as heavy or as muscular. Fortunately Zeke does not try to claim exclusive rights to any particular dog bed or toy, but sometimes he will decide that he wants to sleep where she is sleeping, or that he wants the toy she has. He will just quietly stand over her until she gets up and moves along. We rarely interfere since the interaction is almost always without snarking or even the slightest growl. It's just a simple posture thing. We do try to avoid trouble by making sure that they have equal treats and toys... especially when it comes to high value things. We quickly learned that you really have to watch the high value stuff when you have two dogs. One time we made the mistake of giving Zeke a treat-filled Kong to keep him busy. Lola was sleeping in the other room, so we didn't give her one. We left the room and Lola entered. Zeke had left the treat-filled Kong on the floor after he got distracted by something else. Lola picked it up and Zeke went over and we think he saw him nip Lola on the neck. He didn't break the skin and he didn't growl or bark at her. He just wanted to get her to drop the Kong and move on. Unfortunately it scared Lola so much that she started shrieking and my wife and I could not get her to stop for about a minute. The poor thing was just terrified. An hour later she was standing next to Zeke with her tail wagging and no fear at all. That's the only seriously negative interaction they have ever had. Most of the time they like to stick close together and seem to have a bond.

 

They do chase each other around in the yard or at the fenced in park where we let them run off leash. Zeke prefers chasing tennis balls to playing with other greyhounds, but if Lola urges him enough (which she usually does) he will chase her. She is quicker, and maybe a little faster, so he has a hard time catching her unless she runs out of steam or space. Sometimes when he does catch up he will corner her and she will let out a little cry. He never hurts her, and she just shrugs it off and then immediately tries to get him to chase her again. Sadly he rarely tries to get her to chase him. Sometimes, but usually he is the chaser and she is the chased. We muzzle them for this kind of play, but even when they are out in the yard Zeke never tries to bite Lola or jump on top of her.

 

On walks they are actually very sweet together. They like walking side-by-side, sniffing the same things, etc. Lola is more interested in greeting other dogs and their owners, but if it's a big dog she doesn't know she will get behind Zeke as if she wants his protection. When they are just standing around Zeke will often put his head on her back, which I believe one of our books says is a subtle sign of dominance, but also a sign of acceptance. She will sometimes do the same to him and he allows her to do so. They also do a sort of simultaneous neck hug thing that is really cute.

 

So I don't know if there is any behavior here on Zeke's part that needs to be corrected, or if it is just your normal pecking order type of behavior. I do wish he wouldn't try to intimidate Lola the way he does. She is starting to take less of it. Sometimes he will stand over her and she will refuse to vacate the bed he wants. Then he just looks at us like, "Make her move!" We also sometimes try to distract Zeke with some attention, and he will forget about making Lola move. She has gotten pretty savvy as well, often taking a prize like a cookie or a toy to another room. Zeke usually doesn't go looking for her.

 

So should we be making an effort to intervene when Zeke decides to get bossy? Or should we just accept it as the order of things? Of course we would intervene if things escalate, but what about when it's just a bullying type of posture or chasing that gets a little intense? For the latter we do use a squirrel call when we quickly want their attention. Sometimes that snaps them out of chase mode and makes them both focus on us.

 

The funny thing is that we always thought of the girls as bossy and the boys as more submissive, but that's probably because our previous greyhound was a very sassy alpha girl whenever she got around other dogs.

 

Sean

[ivon]

Wow! You just described to a T the scene at my house for the last 6 years! Big boy gently dominating smaller female, the standing over the dog bed to get her to leave a bed he was coveting, etc. Never had an injury or a fight thought, also the chasing in the yard I discouraged, the size difference just scared me, even with muzzles. As Darla got older and more fragile though, I noticed Spud would be more careful, more considerate, less crazy at the door, making sure he didn't step on her or bump into her, and I think he just didn't like the beds, but the last set of dog beds I got she loved, and he never, ever even once wanted to lie on them. They did the neck hugging too, mostly while waiting at the vets or boarding kennel, its such a Greyhound specific behavior, and so cute.....

I think your guys sound fine, I would watch them around high-value treats and toys, and muzzle in the yard, but they should be just fine....I would give treats or bones only while one was in the crate, and take the bones up once I released the one in the crate, but then, I am paranoid....

[silverfish]

Yep, I agree with Ivon. They sound fine, and you shouldn't try to interfere - things can go very wrong when people try to alter the natural order of things in a human/dog pack. However unequal things seem to us, we need to let our dogs work out who takes the top slot.

 

I wouldn't do anything other than watch them, and make sure if one gets something, the other one does too, and I probably wouldn't ever go out and leave them alone with something they might argue over. Some people like to separate for treats, and if you feel more comfortable then by all means do so. I never have because I prefer my dogs to develop a set of working rules for themselves. Sometimes a pair won't come to an agreement and you have to do something, but it's usually when they haven't been allowed the opportunity to choose their companions and it doesn't seem to me that this is the case here.

 

Yes, if one dog consistently places his head over another dog's back, that's usually a dominant thing, but the fact that they 'neck hug' together and spend time amicably sniffing the same stuff on walks is a good sign and almost certainly means that they are basically good friends. But dogs are opportunists by nature, and if Zeke has an upwardly mobile nature, and thinks he can push Lola around, he will try to do so. Once she's properly settled in, she'll let him know how far he can go.

 

She may be perfectly happy to be bottom of the heap - many dogs are - or she may be a little sneaky in the way that the girls can be: it's possible that her shrieking is a strategy. She may have learned at some point that it makes the bigger dogs back off if she does her 'puppy yelping'. I'd be interested to know how Zeke behaved when she did that!

[Guest 2greytdogs]

Hi, I agree it sounds pretty normal too. They seem to be working it out themselves. It is similar to my two. Here my female Cassie is the boss (or should I say the Queen?). She is 8 and is my first Grey. She is a big girl (68lb, 27 inches) so there is not a size issue. Logan is 74lbs and 28 inches, he is 4 years old. They have been together for a year. She will stand over him too if he's in "her" bed. He sometimes ignores her and she will lay down in front of the bed hoping he moves. Sometimes he does move, sometimes he does not. There is no fighting, one of them usually gives in. They tried sharing a bed a couple of times but she is snarky about her space. She ended up growling at him. She is also that way in the van. I muzzled them if they are together in the back, she just does not like another dog touching her when she is laying down. They are fine running around outside in the yard. Perfectly normal behavior and she usually instigates him to run, sometimes he is lazy. As for the high value items such as rawhide I ALWAYS crate Logan (Cassie never crated well, hence the Queen reference) when they have them. I wait until they are both completely done before I let him out. Same goes for kongs. They are fine with treats though for some reason. I have seen Logan go over to Cassie when she is in her bed and lick her face. They have also licked each others faces and rubbed faces when they get excited about treats or going for a walk. I have seen them gently mouth each other in the face when excited or playful. They too will rest heads on each others backs. There has never been any nipping or fighting. Overall I would say they get along pretty well and all their behaviors are typical dogs living together and working things out naturally.

[Guest kydie]

all is normal "dog" behavior, I never get involved in this, as a pack has an order, and they work it out themselves, as long as the discussion is not too loud

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Personally, I think you are reading way too much out of the situations. Feeding one before another? I have three of my own and I have a continuous rotating foster in the house as well. There are two "alpha" in the house (if you want to use that term), myself and my wife. All the hounds are required to get along. They are all fed in crates, they get cookies during training time (train one at a time). I currently have 3 females and 1 male. My male sometimes stands over other hounds, but it is not a dominance thing as he stands over me when I go outside and lay in the yard, actually all three of my hounds stand over me when I am outside laying in the yard. I hear a grumble every once in a while. I rarely correct the growling. There is a threshold of growling that I will accept. I allow the growling for about 2-3 seconds max, any longer, and I step in. My boy Bart and Olive play rough, allways have, I allow them to play rough. I am more along the lines of allowing them to do what they want. I dont restrict them very much. I believe that a lot of issues that multiple hound households "can" potentially have depends on the leadership in the home. If you do daily obedience traning, keep them stimulated, allow play time, and above all, provide consistent leadership, you shouldnt have to worry about much.

 

Chad

[Guest burgerandfrey]

Personally, I think you are reading way too much out of the situations. Feeding one before another?

 

By feeding one before the other I mean that Zeke's food hits the bowl before Lola's does. We feed them at the same time, but Zeke gets to start eating first. If we were to put food into Lola's bowl first, Zeke would start eating it and she would let him... while trying to eat from the same bowl herself. If we put food into Zeke's bowl first, he starts eating and Lola waits until we put food into her bowl. Either way mealtime is always peaceful... it just seems to work better giving Zeke his food first. That said, we can tell them to stay and they will wait until we give them the go to eat (Zeke is better about this), but in the end it's just easier to give him the food first.

 

You're absolutely right though... I am probably reading way too much into their behavior with one another. It just got me wondering if there was behavior going on that I needed to mitigate before it got out of hand.

 

I have three of my own and I have a continuous rotating foster in the house as well. There are two "alpha" in the house (if you want to use that term), myself and my wife. All the hounds are required to get along. They are all fed in crates, they get cookies during training time (train one at a time). I currently have 3 females and 1 male. My male sometimes stands over other hounds, but it is not a dominance thing as he stands over me when I go outside and lay in the yard, actually all three of my hounds stand over me when I am outside laying in the yard. I hear a grumble every once in a while. I rarely correct the growling. There is a threshold of growling that I will accept. I allow the growling for about 2-3 seconds max, any longer, and I step in. My boy Bart and Olive play rough, allways have, I allow them to play rough. I am more along the lines of allowing them to do what they want. I dont restrict them very much. I believe that a lot of issues that multiple hound households "can" potentially have depends on the leadership in the home. If you do daily obedience traning, keep them stimulated, allow play time, and above all, provide consistent leadership, you shouldnt have to worry about much.

 

Chad

 

Thank you for the advice. I imagine that four dogs can be quite a handful at times! We do keep our dogs stimulated and active. They play a lot together in the yard, and once a week or more at a local fenced in field where they can run off leash. They also spend about two hours a day, or more, on long walks in a hilly neighborhood. They can both get a bit bratty if they are allowed to get too bored

 

Fortunately Zeke responds very well to obedience training, and he just always seems to get what you want him to do very quickly. Lola is more of a challenge, but we're working on her! When it comes to interacting with us, Zeke and Lola both act submissive. It's only when it comes to each other that Zeke gets all alpha-dog.

 

Sean

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Sounds to me like you are a greyt owner. Definitely care enough to come here and seek information. It does sound like you are doing things correctly. I know greyhound homes that have 5 females, or mixes up to 7-8 hounds. There are people here that have close to 20. Point being, my last sentence, it really all boils down to the leadership in the household (at least that is what I firmly believe).

 

Chad

[Guest burgerandfrey]

She may be perfectly happy to be bottom of the heap - many dogs are - or she may be a little sneaky in the way that the girls can be: it's possible that her shrieking is a strategy. She may have learned at some point that it makes the bigger dogs back off if she does her 'puppy yelping'. I'd be interested to know how Zeke behaved when she did that!

 

As Lola was shrieking we of course focused on her. I was in the other room and by the time I can in my wife was on one side of the room with Lola, and Zeke was on the other side of the room just lying in the dog bed with the Kong next to him. My wife said that as far as she could tell, Zeke nipped her once and she ran off. Then he picked up the Kong and got into the dog bed. I don't know if he felt bad about the interaction or not, but it didn't take long before he and Lola were standing next to each other and touching noses. It's interesting to think that it might have been a strategy on Lola's part. She certainly got us to come running to her rescue! It wouldn't surprise me given how much of a drama queen our previous greyhound was. Aries had once cut her foot badly enough that she needed to wear a bandage for awhile. It had pretty much healed up and she had been walking normally on it for days without a limp. One day we were out for a walk around the block when we encountered a neighbor Aries was fond of. As soon as Aries saw this person she folded her ears back and lifted her paw for some sympathy! And that was pretty typical...

[inugrey]

Just wanted to add another "you're not alone" post.

 

I'm mom to a punk (not a natural alpha but he sure wants to be) and a reserved girl. We see a lot of what you described and honestly sometimes we just feel so bad for Salem. We want to intervene and move Inu away from intimidating Salem off a bed but we try hard not to because it's how their order has been established from day one. Like I said sometimes I hate watching it but these scenes are increasingly rare so I just wait it out.

 

She takes treats gently whereas he's been known to take skin along with the treat so we actually usually give her a cookie first to give her a chance to get away before the machine gets going.

[Guest burgerandfrey]

Thank you for all of the helpful replies!

 

I just wanted to make sure we weren't doing anything wrong by letting Zeke and Lola work out their own arrangements. We will of course intervene when things escalate a little too much, and we will be careful with the high value treats. Fortunately they are both pretty laid back and seem to be very happy. We do run them with some other greyhounds we know, and Zeke and Lola really seem to be some of the more socially relaxed hounds in these groups. Lola was definitely a bit more shy when we first got her, but now she likes greeting other dogs even more than Zeke does. They really are sweet dogs and we couldn't be happier with them.

 

This is a pretty rare thing to see, but sometimes they will actually share a dog bed:

 

This is pretty typical... both just happy to hang out next to each other:

 

Sean

[Guest burgerandfrey]

Just wanted to add another "you're not alone" post.

 

I'm mom to a punk (not a natural alpha but he sure wants to be) and a reserved girl. We see a lot of what you described and honestly sometimes we just feel so bad for Salem. We want to intervene and move Inu away from intimidating Salem off a bed but we try hard not to because it's how their order has been established from day one. Like I said sometimes I hate watching it but these scenes are increasingly rare so I just wait it out.

 

She takes treats gently whereas he's been known to take skin along with the treat so we actually usually give her a cookie first to give her a chance to get away before the machine gets going.

 

The treat thing is interesting to watch. Zeke generally eats faster than Lola. We give them treats at the same time and fortunately they are both gentle when it comes to taking treats from us. In the past we could give them each a cookie and they would eat them right on the spot. When Zeke finished his cookie (he always finished first) he would start eating the pieces of her cookie that fell on the floor. So Lola started taking her cookie to a dog bed where she could finish it up before Zeke found her. When it comes to something like a chew, Zeke again always finishes way ahead of Lola and will try to intimidate her into giving him whatever she has left. Now Lola heads to another room with something like that, and Zeke usually doesn't try to follow.

 

Where Zeke gets really bratty is with toys. Zeke is more into toys than Lola, but sometimes Lola likes to bring a ball or some other toy to her bed. Zeke usually doesn't care, but sometimes he just has to go take the toy away because she has it, even if he wasn't playing with it in the first place. The funny thing about this is how it plays out in the yard. Lola would rather play chase with Zeke than play with a toy, so she deliberately picks up a toy that she knows he loves, and then she taunts him with it in order to get him to chase her. It works and they are both happy: Lola gets him to chase her, and when Zeke catches her she drops the toy for him. Then she might sneak up and steal the toy again just to get him to continue chasing. It's pretty funny to watch, and to Zeke's credit he almost never tries to prevent her from taking the toy and running with it. I guess he likes the game as well, but we wouldn't allow this type of thing with high value treats... and only when we are there to supervise.

 

The only toys Lola really likes are fuzzy plush toys, but unfortunately Zeke will destroy toys like that in a matter of minutes. Lola never chews things up... she just tosses them around and sleeps with them. I wish we could let Lola keep toys like that out, but Zeke just rips off pieces of them and swallows them, so most of the time those toys stay in the closet. We just get them out for short periods.

 

Sean

[greytpups]

She may be perfectly happy to be bottom of the heap - many dogs are - or she may be a little sneaky in the way that the girls can be: it's possible that her shrieking is a strategy. She may have learned at some point that it makes the bigger dogs back off if she does her 'puppy yelping'. I'd be interested to know how Zeke behaved when she did that!

 

As Lola was shrieking we of course focused on her. I was in the other room and by the time I can in my wife was on one side of the room with Lola, and Zeke was on the other side of the room just lying in the dog bed with the Kong next to him. My wife said that as far as she could tell, Zeke nipped her once and she ran off. Then he picked up the Kong and got into the dog bed. I don't know if he felt bad about the interaction or not, but it didn't take long before he and Lola were standing next to each other and touching noses. It's interesting to think that it might have been a strategy on Lola's part. She certainly got us to come running to her rescue! It wouldn't surprise me given how much of a drama queen our previous greyhound was. Aries had once cut her foot badly enough that she needed to wear a bandage for awhile. It had pretty much healed up and she had been walking normally on it for days without a limp. One day we were out for a walk around the block when we encountered a neighbor Aries was fond of. As soon as Aries saw this person she folded her ears back and lifted her paw for some sympathy! And that was pretty typical...

 

I just wanted to add that dogs live in the moment and get over things very quickly. It's sad to read when owners stay mad at their dog for any length of time because the dog has no idea what they've done. Lola didn't feel "bad," rather she lives in the moment which is why you saw them standing together. Many times owners attribute human feelings and emotions to their dog's behaviour and that is wrong. Furthermore, dogs are often reacting to how the owner is feeling, e.g. anxiety, fear, etc. However, I have seen the healed limp in action, and can't explain that one

[Guest burgerandfrey]

I just wanted to add that dogs live in the moment and get over things very quickly. It's sad to read when owners stay mad at their dog for any length of time because the dog has no idea what they've done. Lola didn't feel "bad," rather she lives in the moment which is why you saw them standing together. Many times owners attribute human feelings and emotions to their dog's behaviour and that is wrong.

 

That's certainly what we've observed! It didn't take long before all was forgiven between our two. I do think that some interactions stick with them longer though... or maybe it's that they stick with me (see below). One time Zeke was attacked by another greyhound at a local greyhound playgroup. The dogs were muzzled, but the other dog jumped on Zeke's back and tore his skin in two places with his nails. Zeke did not try to fight back and just attempted to get away... but the other dog continued to attack him until I and the other dog's owner broke it up. Afterwards they were calm with each other, but Zeke did not want to get too close. For weeks after that Zeke was kind of fearful and defensive around other dogs, behavior he had never previously displayed. He would even growl and bark at some other dogs on walks. This behavior gradually improved and he hasn't growled or barked at a strange dog since. Now he just wags his tale when he meets other dogs, as he did before he was jumped. We have been happy to have our old Zeke back, although he still bears the faint physical scars. I think this is why we were worried that he might pick on Lola too much and turn her into a fearful dog. But what they do isn't fighting... it's just asserting dominance... maybe bullying, but not fighting. And while all is forgiven after the moment passes, Lola does learn some lessons and uses them to figure out how to avoid conflicts... by running away with a treat for example. She has even become a more outgoing and confident dog despite Zeke's occasional bullying. In fact, the more I think about it the less I worry - because Lola is doing a pretty good job taking care of herself She's a smart girl.

 

Furthermore, dogs are often reacting to how the owner is feeling, e.g. anxiety, fear, etc. However, I have seen the healed limp in action, and can't explain that one

 

I totally agree, and honestly I don't know that Zeke's behavior after he was attacked wasn't simply a reaction to the vibes he was getting from me or my wife. Dogs really do pick up on how their owner's are feeling and act accordingly. I'm convinced that one of the reasons they interact well with strange dogs is because we do our part to keep the interaction controlled and safe, while at the same time appearing relaxed and happy... greeting the other dog ourselves in a happy voice, petting our own dogs, etc. After Zeke's attack I know I was more suspicious of strange dogs... especially big dogs with owners who didn't seem to have much control over them. Maybe Zeke was simply detecting my own discomfort and acting accordingly. He certainly didn't react that way towards every dog we encountered during walks... just the ones I was already suspicious of myself.

 

Sean

[Guest Mom2Shiloh]

I just wanted to add that dogs live in the moment and get over things very quickly. It's sad to read when owners stay mad at their dog for any length of time because the dog has no idea what they've done. Lola didn't feel "bad," rather she lives in the moment which is why you saw them standing together. Many times owners attribute human feelings and emotions to their dog's behaviour and that is wrong.

 

That's certainly what we've observed! It didn't take long before all was forgiven between our two. I do think that some interactions stick with them longer though... or maybe it's that they stick with me (see below). One time Zeke was attacked by another greyhound at a local greyhound playgroup. The dogs were muzzled, but the other dog jumped on Zeke's back and tore his skin in two places with his nails. Zeke did not try to fight back and just attempted to get away... but the other dog continued to attack him until I and the other dog's owner broke it up. Afterwards they were calm with each other, but Zeke did not want to get too close. For weeks after that Zeke was kind of fearful and defensive around other dogs, behavior he had never previously displayed. He would even growl and bark at some other dogs on walks. This behavior gradually improved and he hasn't growled or barked at a strange dog since. Now he just wags his tale when he meets other dogs, as he did before he was jumped. We have been happy to have our old Zeke back, although he still bears the faint physical scars. I think this is why we were worried that he might pick on Lola too much and turn her into a fearful dog. But what they do isn't fighting... it's just asserting dominance... maybe bullying, but not fighting. And while all is forgiven after the moment passes, Lola does learn some lessons and uses them to figure out how to avoid conflicts... by running away with a treat for example. She has even become a more outgoing and confident dog despite Zeke's occasional bullying. In fact, the more I think about it the less I worry - because Lola is doing a pretty good job taking care of herself She's a smart girl.

 

Furthermore, dogs are often reacting to how the owner is feeling, e.g. anxiety, fear, etc. However, I have seen the healed limp in action, and can't explain that one

 

I totally agree, and honestly I don't know that Zeke's behavior after he was attacked wasn't simply a reaction to the vibes he was getting from me or my wife. Dogs really do pick up on how their owner's are feeling and act accordingly. I'm convinced that one of the reasons they interact well with strange dogs is because we do our part to keep the interaction controlled and safe, while at the same time appearing relaxed and happy... greeting the other dog ourselves in a happy voice, petting our own dogs, etc. After Zeke's attack I know I was more suspicious of strange dogs... especially big dogs with owners who didn't seem to have much control over them. Maybe Zeke was simply detecting my own discomfort and acting accordingly. He certainly didn't react that way towards every dog we encountered during walks... just the ones I was already suspicious of myself.

 

Sean

 

I'm really working on that last myself.. my Staghound was attacked and hurt pretty badly when he was a 4 month old puppy, and then later in life has been attacked 2-3 times by aggressive dogs who got loose in the neighborhood. It did create a fearful reaction to strange dogs but I'm trying to work through how much of it was his fear and how much was my fear and protectiveness. I've had to realize that I AM over-protective and I am also carrying around some fear from when I was the victim of a dog attack back in the 6th grade (many many moons ago). Dogs with their owners acting responsibly and dogs I know-- are fine; loose dogs attacking or even threatening I'm not-- and that transfers to him. We're just beginning to deal with that -- it's not fair to my dogs that I'm so paranoid.

[Guest bluefawn]

You've got some good advice and observations here, so nothing new for me to add but just wanted to say what beautiful greys you have! And, I sort of have the same kind of situation going on here. I've had Penny for 12 years and she has been the only grey here now for 5 years, so she's pretty darn spoiled, rotten, and queen of the house. I just adopted an 11-month old, Candi, who is pretty laid back but often wants to be playful. She's also quite tall and bigger, and I think that scares Penny. Penny is snarking a fair amount, but I am hoping they will settle into each other before too long. I don't intervene unless Penny is obviously serious when she reacts to Candi. I don't want either of them injured. They are always muzzled when they go outside or when I put them both in the car for travel, just for safety. It's probably ok to let them work out their relationship and muzzle them when they're playing as you mentioned. So I would say just watch your two and intervene if the situation escalates to a safety issue.

[Guest LindsaySF]

It sounds like they are working things out really well. I would just continue to monitor to make sure things don't get out of hand. They are pretty girls.

 

Heidi arrived recently and she's dominant over Honey, and Honey is NOT pleased! There is plenty of growling that goes on but as long as one dog submits I let them work it out. If the growling lasts more than a few seconds, or is accompanied by other posturing and it looks like it is escalating, then I intervene. I also give food and bones in crates to prevent fights.