[AshlynRose]

Hi, so I have 2 dogs who both exhibit typical signs of alpha behavior and I'm wondering whats happening...

So my first dog, Nova, is a rescue with severe anxiety issues. She hates new people, especially kids or men in uniform, and she has always been aggressive towards other dogs. 2 years later, my mom rescued a newborn puppy, Sophie, and Nova didn't know what to make of her. She became protective after days of watching the squishy puppy and even tried to let Sophie nurse.
It's been about 3 or 4 years now since having both dogs live together and they each display their own signs of being alpha. (I should also mention that little Sophie also has anxiety issues, mostly separation anxiety. She can't stand when her mom leaves or when she's completely alone... She can also be very skiddish around new dogs bc she was attacked by a stranger's dog when she was a puppy.)

So here are the alpha signs exhibited:
Sophie will try to mount Nova sometimes, she always has to be first out the door, and she has been known to snap at Nova if Nova barks or growls at someone she loves.
That being said, Sophie also shows signs of submission to Nova constantly. For example, when they play, Sophie ALWAYS shows Nova her belly. When they potty, Sophie waits for Nova to pee first, then pees on top of or next to Nova's spot (not sure if that's alpha behavior or not).
Sophie won't eat breakfast or dinner until AFTER Nova finishes, and then waits for a person to encourage her to eat. She follows Nova through the house and watches her as if waiting to see what they will do next.
Nova honestly seems not to care and doesn't exhibit any particular signs of being Alpha, more like she just lets Sophie do her thing and watches over her like a protective momma dog. That aloofness feels like alpha behavior to me too though.

So I was just curious if anyone thinks there is one that is more alpha than the other? Or is it possible to have 2 alphas?

 

[Curls]

The alpha dog concept is considered obsolete by a lot of serious animal behaviorists. I'll leave you do do your own google searches on the topic, but basically there were a lot of problems with the original observations on wolf pack interactions. Plus dogs are not wolves. It's like expecting human males to behave like gorilla silverbacks just because our two species are closely related.

My experience with dogs is that they form friendships and behave the way one would expect friends to behave. Individuals care more about certain things. One friend might adore sushi and greedily eat the whole plate when they go to a restaurant together. The rest of the group lets her have all the sushi and contents themselves with edamame. Meanwhile, another friend in the same group loves chocolate; heaven help anyone who eats the last brownie at dessert. And, of course, there may be one sociopath who insists everything is always about her, no matter what is going on.

 

[Schnauzaluv]

Your analogy made me smile 😊