Hello Blogland,

I was hoping to enlist your help today.  One of my dear friends Laura has turned into a dog magnet.  Laura and her husband Don have built a retirement home in a rural area; one morning they were surprised by a dog in their yard.  Long story short Candy; a sweet little pittie mix, has wrapped herself around their hearts.

Two weeks ago another dog showed up, exhibiting signs of being totally starved and having recently had a litter of puppies.  Laura and hubby were getting ready to return to their home, but happily fed the dog two large bowls of food and left some food out as they left.  Their one week trip home turned into two weeks but when they got back and Candy had scouted the yard, guess who she brought with her?  Yes, the other dog.  So far no sign of the puppies.

Laura and Don have pretty much decided to keep this little gal, but so far haven’t invited her into the house (they want to have her checked by the vet first and see if she is chipped) but she has been hanging around the deck.  Laura reached out to me  about introducing a new dog to the pack and also questioning some of the behaviors she is seeing.  Originally Don was calling her Sandy, but they have since decided that is NOT the best name for her, I am calling her Twinkle Toes because she does a little dance when she sees them.

These are snippets of our FB conversation.

A couple of Laura’s concerns were Candy growling or barking in a not friendly way when they were feeding the new dog; and Candy going “nuts” when the new dog jumps on Laura.

My response was enlist Don’s help when feeding, one feed the new dog while the other treats and pets Candy giving positive reassurance that it is ok.  Switch it off so it is not the same person feeding either dog.  That way Candy doesn’t feel like the new dog is being favored over her.

Reminder I am NOT an animal behavior specialist and if it gets out of control you should consult a professional or find someone who can take Twinkle. Generally they can work it out themselves.

The next correspondence went like this:

Don wants to know if you know WHY these two female dogs keep humping each other. Also, they seem to be playing BUT they are always biting AT each other. They lick each others noses, but then they start, for lack of a better word, wrestling. They each grab the others hind leg OR they seem to be biting each others lower jaw. No one whimpers or yikes or acts like it bothers them – it probably bothers me more. But it seems like odd behavior.

My response:

Humping is done for one reason and one reason only, it has nothing to do with sexual, the humper is trying to show dominance. They are basically trying to establish who is the “top dog” no pun intended.

My dogs “play” the same way, some day I will get a video of the two of them playing. The noises are unbelievable, they play with their mouths open and often times almost look like they are french kissing. They run and wrestle about and at times they have looked like two deer challenging each other; chest to chest. When Sampson frustrates Delilah, she goes for the back of his hind leg.  BUT here is the key, the first time one of them yips the playing stops.

It sounds to me like they are just establishing the pecking order and (without seeing it) I’m guessing they are playing. Some dogs play a bit rougher than others, but I don’t (as long as no-one is getting hurt) think it is anything to worry about.

So there you have it.  I know some of you have more than one dog and some of you foster, so you are very aware of what transpires when a new dog joins the pack.  I’m not entirely convinced I introduced Delilah in the correct way (but it did turn out) so I am appealing to you for your advice and thoughts.

Laura, Don, Candy, Twinkle and I would be ever so grateful.