[crazyonehuh]

Sounds like you have a happy dog! She may feel comfort in having a toy handy at all times. Myself, I have toys all over the place for my pup. I keep her favorite kong out of reach as we use it for training praisal (sp). I think its great to have such a happy pup. If you instist on this being "odd" behavior, then you can try to correct it. As with any behavior you don't want your dog to do. You need to teach her the expected behavior. But really...Happy dog!

As for your bitch being dominant...she is doing what comes natural and following her instincts. Every household with a dog has a heirarchy. She is just showing where she is in this area. Just like she knows who the alpha is in your house. Its clear with my pup that I am the alpha here. She was brought to our home at ten weeks. Had her for about 2 months and we rescued a red heeler. Ezabell is clearly dominant over Rascal (rh) but submisive to me.
So its sounds like both issues aren't to much of a concern. Just dogs being dogs