Hi everyone - long time reader but first time writer. I have a question about my new puppy Rosey. She's about eight weeks old now and I've had her for only a week and she's a great little pup. I recently took her to my parents house to meet my family and my mom's two big, even-tempered, standard poodles. I already know that little Rosey has a bit of a dominant streak in her (from my own experiences and from what the vet said) and I've been on top of that to make sure she knows that my girlfriend and I are on top. But the question I have concerns how Rosey interacted with my mom's poodles.
My mom's dog weren't overly interested in Rosey's presence beyond the customary sniffing. Rosey was submissive to the older poodle (almost 5 years old) and even rolled onto her back a couple times after he gave her a little growl when she got near his bone. However, Rosey seemed to be challenging the younger poodle (2.5 years old) and was barking at him and chasing him around - even though he is three times her size and five times her weight. I took it to be that she was just challenging him for his position in the "pack." Am I correctly reading this interaction? or is there some other explanation for Rosey's behavior and this interaction such as an aggression issue? If it helps, Rosey was not aggressive with my girlfriend's geriatric 15 year old beagle but she was nipping at her in a playful way.
Thanks for any help and advice in advance. I've been really impressed with the info and knowledge I've already learned from reading the posts on this site.
My mom's dog weren't overly interested in Rosey's presence beyond the customary sniffing. Rosey was submissive to the older poodle (almost 5 years old) and even rolled onto her back a couple times after he gave her a little growl when she got near his bone. However, Rosey seemed to be challenging the younger poodle (2.5 years old) and was barking at him and chasing him around - even though he is three times her size and five times her weight. I took it to be that she was just challenging him for his position in the "pack." Am I correctly reading this interaction? or is there some other explanation for Rosey's behavior and this interaction such as an aggression issue? If it helps, Rosey was not aggressive with my girlfriend's geriatric 15 year old beagle but she was nipping at her in a playful way.
Thanks for any help and advice in advance. I've been really impressed with the info and knowledge I've already learned from reading the posts on this site.