Does size matter?

[jasper's_mommy]

I have been watching the interactions between my smaller, older (8 yrs.) terrier mix male and Heidi, my 11 month old female rottie. I know that dogs must establish rank between them, and I have been trying to figure out what they've decided. Heidi is a dog IN LOVE with the older, perhaps more sophisticated Jasper. Jasper tolerates Heidi, for the most part, and has even managed to teach her a thing or two. It's all very sweet.

My question is: what determines rank between dogs? Is it size, age, maturity level, aggressiveness, or all of the above? These two have been together for about three months and have only gotten into a couple of fights that I have had to break up, both times it was over toys. It's funny because they seem to get along so well together and they are SUCH different dogs..... They must have worked something out.

[jakesfostermom]

too funny - I wondered the same thing - we routinely introduce a new rescue to our household and size doesn't seem to matter at our house. We have two female dalmatians, a 15 yr old and 7 yr old and a 3 yr old male pit bull mix - and recently added a 3 yr male rottie to the mix. The rottie outweighs and outsizes all of them, along with showing lots of teeth and sounding off initially - but he is low man on the totem pole - the 7 yr old female is IN CHARGE and she is the smallest in size/weight and is deaf to boot! When she says stop - they all stop! it's a hoot to watch as you say "they must have worked something out" - but how? It's teamwork in my opinion - and like us - there are natural leaders and those who prefer to follow! Abby (7yr old) is the 'class monitor' during playtime too - and if the boys get too roudy - she puts a halt to it and they start their "soft play" to appease her. :D

[RottiMomCT]

Ben has a few canine friends that he plays with on occassion - they are all about the same size/weight and they play like a bunch of wrestlers! Bouncing off of each other and rolling around like nuts.

However, I had a 12 week old pup here yesterday for a few hours and once the pup realized Ben wasn't going to eat her :D , she decided to pounce on his head and they began to play. It was more of a jump and nudge play session from both dogs...very gentle compared to what I've seen from Ben.

As for size determining rank - definitely not a factor, as far as I can tell. My sister has a Corgi and a 30 pound mutt, and when we visit, Ben is clearly the biggest and heaviest, yet he defers to them when told to knock it off.

Here at the house, our Lab/GSD mix girl is Alpha but she's not the biggest (quite possibly she IS the smartest!). My mom in laws male outweighs her by about 25-30 pounds...yt she'll put him in his place with just a look...

[spidey]

IMO, in adult dogs, it's attitude more than size. Someone I knew had an enormous Golden and a tiny Westie and there was no doubt whatsoever that the Westie was the boss (terriers, especially female ones, usually are). I think size matters when talking about puppies and adults, but in adult dogs, I think it's all about attitude.

[jasper's_mommy]

It's so weird because I am almost tempted to think the old man is boss, but then there are times, for instance when Jasper gets too close to Heidi's food bowl, that Heidi is definitely not backing down. Jasper is a "mighty" dog, always willing to defend himself when necessary, but never looking for a challenge. Heidi on the other hand, can be a little punk and will bow up with just a quick glance from another dog ....... except with Jasper.

So will a lower ranking dog continue to defend food and toys from a higher ranking dog?

[moondog]

If size matters, Luna missed that chapter! :D She's been manipulated, trained, and kept in tow very effectively by a very smart 9 lb kitty.

From what I've seen with my dog, attitude has more to do with the hierarchy than anything else. Luna will defer to those who are strong, steady and not reactive. She plays great with dogs that interact in fun. She won't start anything, but as her vet said, if seriously challenged by a reactive-type, she'll be more than happy to finish it. :)

[Luvs]

At my house our three year old poodle/brussels x definately rules the roost. She is by far the smallest at only 6 pounds but nobody DARES to even think about messing with her when she is eating or has a bone or toy. The puppies will sit there watching her and waiting for her to finish but they won't go near her food dish until she walks away.

It is so cute to watch Brylee and Akasha play together. Akasha will get down on her belly and push the tug toy in front of Brylee until Brylee decides to play. Of course poor Brylee rarely wins but they really enjoy playing a good game of tug. Brylee refuses to play with Keil no matter how hard he tries. I think she is afraid he will hurt her (he is a total klutz).

[SABELLESMOM]

Size has nothing to do with things, in my opinion. I had Jazmine (Rottie) and Mr Digbee (Cocker). Digbee was "king"...he's always been king even with our other female (Ridgeback/Greyhound mix)...that is until Sable (Rottie) was about a year old. Then she took over!

Funny thing is, I think it was always "in her" so to speak. Some friends brought her and her brother back from the breeder. I picked her up from them. They told me she "held her own" with ANY of her littermates, even the boys who were bigger.

[LavenderRott]

My mom has a standard poodle, a greyhound and a yorkie. You bet the yorkie is the boss. The foster dogs don't even mess with her.

[jasper's_mommy]

I am starting to think that females rule. If not immediately, then eventually. I must say, (i'm sorry Jasper!!!!) Heidi is probably smarter than my little Jasper, and certainly has all of the qualifications for being the boss, but there just hasn't been enough time to establish that rule yet, perhaps? And I wonder if it has anything to do with MY relationship with Jasper.... I mean, I wonder if she knows she is the new kid on the block. Hmmmm.....

Dogs are fascinating. :p

[K-9Girl]

My female is also alpha in my house. She is much smaller than Kodi, he outweights her by 50 pounds. I would tend to believe that it is her "take no crap" attitude that got her this possition.......you go girl! :p

Sara

[Greg_1111]

My experience is that size doesn't matter at all. attitude seems to be the determining factor in rank.. But I have found that most dogs have an inherent respect for another dogs turf. and they seem to know when they have encroached on it,,this is evident by the response they exhibit . Most dogs work out those rank issues in very short order

[Dallasbaby]

I find this information all very interesting.

I own 2 dogs a 2 year old Bull Mastiff nuetered male (late nueter) and a 1 1/2 year old female spayed Rott. Neither really seems to be the dominant one. I also have a roommate who owns a 2 year old Golden Retriever, who isn't the dominant one either. Occasionally you'll see the 3 of them sharing a bone, or stick. Now I have noticed Damer (the BM) casually walk by one of the other dogs and kind of raise his chin over their back.......very very coy and nonchalant-like, and continues on to wherever he was going. I truly have no idea who is the alpha in this house...... well, ME of course...... but the alpha-DOG. Unless they think that I am a dog too........ LOL! They don't fight ever, but will wrestle around at times.

Huh...... this will give me something to ponder this afternoon....

Jilleen Owned By:

Damer: 2 year old BullMastiff
Dallas: 1 year old Rottweiler

[Tarheel]

I have a 20 month old male neutered rott who I had been told by a trainer was dog aggressive. I also own a mixed breed german shepherd who was here first and the two get along fairly well. The shep Michael has learned to "fight for his rights" so to speak and will bare his teeth at Roman(my boy) which Roman respects. For the most part though Roman is definitely the more assertive/not aggressive of the two. The two dogs have never had a confrontation that alarmed me in any way.

My aunt recently moved into my basement apt. and she has two Austrailian cattle dogs. At first the two sets of dogs were kept separate, mostly because of my fear regarding Roman. Eventually I allowed Michael into the yard with the two "strangers", who promptly ganged up on him proving themselves more than capable of standing up for themselves. When Roman was introduced to the mix his only dominant action was to place his head over the necks of the other dogs. He has actually proven himself the least aggressive of the four though he outweighs each of them by about 40 lbs.

Stephanie

[HarleyOwner]

My parents had a female shepard, collie, beagle mix who had been hit by a car and therfore only had 3 legs. She was around 45 lbs and Harley was 95 lbs. She took control over him in about 2 seconds after meeting and he didnt push her around one bit. And this was in the last year of her life when she had arthritis so bad in her one good(still had a leg attached to it denotes good) :) back hip that she could barely walk at times.

I sure dont think that size matters at all. She also had control of the other 2 dogs in my parents house. An english springer (overweight at 60 lbs) spaniel and a black lab puppy.