Brooks is a flashy, feisty little Long-Haired Chihuahua. Her big “brother” Dunn is a sweet-natured Lab mix.
The dogs sleep together in a single bolstered dog bed. They play frenetic games of chase and
keepaway. They take jovial walks with their owners together. They race to answer the door, sliding across the polished wood floor of the foyer. Though their owners feed them separately, they drink companionably from the same water bowl.
Brooks is younger than Dunn, and smaller, and added to the household long after Dunn was adopted. Still, she has appointed herself the arbiter of Dunn’s day-to-day actions.
If Dunn wants to go out the sliding door, Brooks fields his attempts to exit with a snarl and a body block.
When Brooks discovers a lone sock in the laundry room, she sternly admonishes Dunn for looking at it.
She prevents Dunn from walking past her empty dish with a baleful eye and a lifted lip.
Should the dogs’ owners call Dunn over for a treat or a caress, Brooks is there first, shouldering her brother aside to hoard the attention.
“What the heck, Brooks” exclaims their owner in frustration. “Let Dunn have a moment’s peace,” this as Brooks snaps at the bigger dog for daring to go up the stairs ahead of her.
You’ve heard of resource guarding? Well, Brooks may not care if a human being takes the sock, walks near her kibble, or exits first, but she thoroughly objects to her canine brethren encroaching on anything she perceives as HER turf.
How did Brooks end up such a Mean Girl?
Her owners may not be aware of it, but they crowned her Princess from the day she arrived.
Cute and cuddly, pocket-sized and portable, she’s been coddled, carried, and cossetted for her entire life.
And so, Brooks believes she is the lady of the manor, and poor Dunn is her lowly serf.
If one of your dogs is relentlessly bossing around the other, start leveling their playing field.
Treat both dogs the same.
Same rules, same boundaries, same amount of attention paid.
For more information about helping your dogs get along with each other, click HERE!
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