[Laurie]

For those of you that have more than one dog, more specifically, an older dog and a puppy.....if the puppy has the bone and the older guy wants it, do you give it to the older dog because he's the alpha, or do you allow the puppy to keep it because he had it first????

We go through this often with our 3 dogs...in most cases, the puppies will surrender the bone to our older boy but in other case, one of the puppies wants it for himself.....

 

[Bock]

I let them work it out unless there is a fight (a real fight) and then I just take the bone up and no one gets it.

 

[Oaklys Dad]

Personally I would let them work our a situation like that themselves. Unless blood is drawn...then the bone would go in the trash.

 

[BeauShel]

Personally I dont put the bones out unless everyone has their own. Dont have to worry about the fights then. And mine are told to leave each other alone if they get curious about what the other has.

 

[Maggies mom]

If mine want bones or any high value treats, they have to go in there crates.

 

[coppers-mom]

Copper is the older guy, but not alpha. Ever since my other dog has been a pup Copper lets him have and do whatever he wants.

So, they both get bones or no one gets one.

 

[Loisiana]

To keep peace, puppy should never have a bone if alpha does not. If that situation did occur, however, I would not allow alpha to take something from pup. If you saw alpha trying, I would take the bone myself and put it away. Or at the very least take the bone and give it to alpha. But to let alpha take it himself could lead to problems.

 

[FlyingQuizini]

Depends on the situation. Just b/c a dog is older, that doesn't make him the alpha, and the concept of "alpha" is actually more fluid than most people realize. One dog can be "alpha" in some circumstances, but not care about others, so it may seem that another dog is more "alpha" in a different circumstance.

If an adult dog can walk over and calmly get a bone from a pup, I let him. By calmly, I mean, he can walk over and communicate to the pup with a look or body language that he wants it. If he tries to "bully" his way to the bone, it gets picked up and nobody gets it for a while.

Likewise, if I had an older dog who, for some reason, *always* wanted to take bones from younger ones, I'd work on chew sessions where everyone has a bone and nobody was allowed to take from another -- that is, we'd practice, "Mind your own business and chew your bone."