Top dog question

ok, 3 dog household, kai my little fella is 8
Jess my 2yr old newfloundland
and my new girl bianca newfoundland is 3.

Jess is top dog, she rules the roost with everyone. Bianca and kai both know this.

She is fed seperately to the other two as she feels all food in the house should be hers and hers alone.

If i am eating, i seperate jess because god forbid one of the others looks in the direction of my plate jess will go for them

Today i dropped something of the kitchen floor (wasn't food ) as i went to pick it up jess came running over thinking it was something tasty and then bianca plodded over, she was snapped at immediately by jess.

Tonight my son was smoothing jess and bianca togeather and it seems that because bianca had a slight bit more attention jess snapped again at her.

Bianca backs off all the time and is no threat at all.

Jess seems to take her "top dog" thing too far and it bugs me.

Jess always knows to listen to me and when she goes i tell her off and she seems to listen to me. She knows i am boss and when it does kick off if i have to get in the middle and shout she will stop.

How can i relax this situation. It annoys me as i am on edge sometimes if i give bianca a lot of fuss i have to make sure jess gets just as much.

Is this normal or is jess on one a bit too much and needs a few more rules in place.

Good question and I'll look forward to the replies as we have a similar situation with our three.

Skye gets the biggest dinner and eats the slowest so I put his down first.

Fingal get's the least and I put his down perhaps 20 seconds later.

Breagh eats like a pig and wolfs it down so quickly I put her food down another 20 seconds or so after Fingal's.

My 'method' is that they should all finish at about the same time so there's no chance of them going in for anothers food.

As for the top dog thing - nobody pinches Skye's food but I think he has the respect of the other two. Breagh and Fingal on the other hand will fight over food. We've had to pull them apart several times recently.

Just wanted to add, has anyone read any good books about doggy behaviour and how to read them if you know what i mean.

I have always been a 1 dog family and with 2 years suddenly have 3 I am still learning all the time with them.

I use to think that when jess went she was going to kill as thats what it sounded and kinda looked like. I now realise it is a warning with a lot of sound and body language as she has never yet bitten.

I watch her often and she doesn't relax, always the first to bark, or run out in the garden and make a noise if she hears anyone and suppose she is just doing her job but i wish sometimes she would relax down a bit as she doesn't have to be checking everything for her pack as she see's it i am sure.

glad i am not the only one, if jess ate with the others she would eat hers and then immediately go to the other bowls and demand theirs, it would then cause a fight. Because kai is little he takes longer to eat so him and bianca eat togeather as she never ever tries to take his food once hers has gone.

Jess is very food obsessive though,

What you are thinking is Jess being top dog is the opposite A genuine top dog is placid, relaxed, and rarely ever uses an forceful approach, usually just a look is enough.
What you describe is an `underling` unsure of her place with the other dogs, [ take humans out of the equation, we are not seen as pack by dogs, they know full well that we are a different species and have a different role to play in things in a human way, not a canine one ].
It sounds like she is putting herself under pressure to take on tasks she is not equipped to fulfil so she seems to be exhibiting frustration and insecurity, not dominance over the other dogs. Try taking the pressure off her, keep things lighter, distract her with play or training at the times you can tell she might otherwise spark off, and rather than tell her off, set her up to get things right with management over meals etc until she relaxes and takes the pressure off herself too.

Scrapping over food can often because because there is`nt a clear, [ canine ], pack leader in a multi-dog household in terms of the other dogs having confidence in that leader to ensure there is enough for everyone, [ in instinctive mode I mean ], so again is often an insecurity thing, not out of `naughty` type inappropriate use of force or dominance based.

The barking first and running to check things first is the job of a sentry, not a pack leader, so she either does`nt have faith in the other dogs to keep them safe or is trying to appease them by appearing bold enough to take on the sentry job. [ Pack leaders would be at too much risk if they did the sentry job, not a good move for a leader to be doing ].

In that regard, try introducing a `cue` which lets her know you are glad she `alerted` you to something but that you have `checked it out` and all is well. My Gremlin used to be the same and my Fluke too but both have learned that when I look toward what they have barked at, [ or just the same general direction ], and say `thank you`, [ as their cue word ], they then stop and relax again because to them it means I have taken over to deal with `the situation` and have released them from that look-out task at that time.
[ Hope I`ve described that in an understandable way ].

**I`m going by what you have written which although is something I have seen in action many times, without seeing her in front of me can only be suggestions given by experience of other dogs and should not be taken as an absolute for any dog not directly seen in person, these are general speculations only - she really needs to have someone observe her to confirm or otherwise if I`m reading her accurately enough just off your description as given.

Wonderful answer, Patch.

Hope it works, Kirstie

I don't think YOU can decide who's top dog... You don't speak 'dog'... I would let sort it out for themselves, and then appreciate what they decide..

I think we can do a lot of damage, interfering with nature...

That made very interesting reading Patch, Ruby was just like that and we assumed she was being "Top Dog" but alot of what you have said makes perfect sense, not that it matters now shes not here but good for future reference

I actually think who is top dog is irrelevant, snapping and food guarding should never be tolerated whatever the position in the pack. Mine are never allowed to steal each others food, I won't tolerate it. I feed mine in order of calmness, the calmest is fed first, they have to be sitting and waiting and can't start eating until I say ok.
Rio is fed second after Syd and is always finished first, (she would finish first if fed last tbh) she would eat everyone else's food if allowed, but she is called away until they have each finished, only when each dog has walked away from their own food bowl can the others lick empty bowls.
Frankie when he first arrived was very aggressive around food, treats, toys etc. and would fly at anyone who ventured anywhere near him while eating, he now knows he is safe to eat in his own time without having to fight for it, and he is much more relaxed and will let the others stand right next to him, almost touching his bowl, because he knows they wouldn't dare try and nick it. He might not be able to stop them but he knows I will. Same goes for Milan who had a bit of a rough start, she was very protective of her food and will still quietly warn them off. She is usually fed 4th and finishes last, usually a couple of minutes after the others as she now eats slowly.
Syd my top dog doesn't care who puts their nose in his food tbh, he's happy to share but I won't allow it. Frankly Rio would be enormous, she would scoff hers and then eat his.
I don't tolerate bullying or aggression of any kind it can be a very slippery slope.

I think allowing two bitches to sort it out between themselves could escalate into something far more serious.

I think patch and Trouble have given good advice....

Good luck I am sure you will sort it out.