[MamaAllNatural]

Is it just to be ignored completely? Dog on dog mounting, that is. My adult girl dog does this at least twice a day to the almost 4 month old puppy. She does a growl while she's doing it too. It's kind of a play growl, but I think she's semi-serious.

She's definitely bitchy with him every day. She enjoys playing with him and is excited to see him after they've been separated. She does give him things sometimes, toys, sticks, bones and she'll even let him eat out of her bowl sometimes w/out even flinching. However, he is not allowed to walk anywhere near her when she's resting, ever. She growls every time. It doesn't even matter where she's resting. She's not having it. He's also not allowed to walk by her when she doesn't feel like it and she'll growl and curl up her lip at him.

She's tempermental for sure but he's also pretty naughty and doesn't listen to her. He just keeps doing whatever he's doing. She can chase him off pretty well sometimes but he is one persistant pup.

I think he may have a naturally dominant personality. He doesn't pull any crap with me because I've never given him an inch and he knows I'm the big boss. He did come home at 6 weeks old thinking he'd be the boss though.

I'm just a little worried because I read these threads of dogs starting to fight when the puppy reaches adulthood. I would never be able to rehome either of them. Also, he is quickly gaining on her. He's now at 36 lbs. and she's only 40. She's still a good 6" taller than him but I don't know that she'll be able to take him out when he outgrows her, kwim? I guess I'm getting scared that it could end up that way because she growls at him daily and also humps him daily.

*ETA: She only shows aggression toward him in the house, never outside.

 

[thekimballs]

She's being a good dominant bitch. Male dogs do best when they take cues from an older dominant girl, and he's at the age now where he needs daily reminders that he's a bratty puppy and doesn't deserve any slack. Remember how accepting and generous she was to him when he was an infant? She's responding just as healthily now, but he's at a different stage and needs different treatment.

I firmly believe that by interfering we screw up far more dog interaction than we fix.

 

[MamaAllNatural]

When he was little, she was still a bitch to him though. I do see how she knows he's bigger and can handle her being more stern with him though.

I had him playing with my sister's 9 months old Golden. They had a lot of fun but he has *tons* of energy and is used to having lots of exercise so he kept going. I think her dog started getting tired after 2 hours and I think she tried to growl at him when he went for her neck. I was thinking "Good, he needs to know how to behave around older and bigger dogs." But my sister immediately corrected her and stopped her because she was behaving "aggressively." It probably reinforced his idea that he really has a chance at being the boss of someone someday. I respect my sister's style of raising her dog and I don't think it's my place to say anyting. Her reaction to that barely audible growl from her pup did make me wonder if my dogs are too aggressive with eachother.

It's true that she didn't start the mounting until about a month ago when he was getting in to the bratty 3 month old stuff.

 

[shannon0218]

Yep, she's doing a good job.

 

[MamaAllNatural]

Well, she'll be happy to hear this. She (and her mom) think highly of both your opinions.