Now that Gypsy is 7 months old and Tatze 20 months there is a lot more 'posturing' during their play fights and less play. They have mouths wide open and no grabbing fur. But, once the bitey stuff is done they stand and 'posture' to each other - hard to describe but they sort of strut around until one goes off. I leave them to it. Is this the right thing to do? What do you think is happening? Are they establishing a pecking order now that Gypsy is taller than Tatze? Is it because they are both females (both neutered)
Re: 'Posturing' play fights I think it's a bitch thing, regardless of neutering. But there ends my knowledge of two-bitch-household behaviour!
Re: 'Posturing' play fights We don't have a great deal of posturing here, because of the difference in sizes I think, we tend to let them sort themselves out when playing while watching to make sure no one gets too rough, I draw a line at Betty being dragged around the room, or Elsie having her nose bitten to the point she is squealing to be let go. Other than that they seem to have learned how to play without bloodshed or trauma. One thing Elsie took a while to realise but seems to have got it now is if she accidentally hurts Betty, it is not forgotten and Betty will chase her down and inflict harm and can run faster and be quite deadly in her attack. So she now makes sure she is more careful around her. Shouldn't laugh but a 5lb Chihuahua chasing a terrified 25lb Labrador is quite funny What posturing we do have is pre play or during play and IMO nothing to worry about as it is clearly friendly, only time it wasn't was when Elsie came into season and Betty really didn't like her for about a week, then posturing was different and clearly we had to make sure no one got hurt.
Re: 'Posturing' play fights I have no idea, but all I can say is that the relationship between Willow and her sister is a LOT more confrontational than the relationship between her and her brother. It's all in play, but there's just a lot more of it and it's a lot rougher, and I'm somewhat inclined to believe it's because they're both bitches. In packs, it's normal to have an alpha male and an alpha female, so they don't have to work out their places with each other. Of course, they're still too young for the hormones to be at work, but it wouldn't surprise me if their play was based on that instinct. It could also be because Shadow doesn't have an alpha bone in his body I've been wondering about this as far as the aggression with littermate syndrome go. I can't find any real information - there is so little fact out there! - but most (certainly not all, but *most*) of the anecdotal evidence seems to be based around two dogs of the same sex. Of course, that could also be because people are more inclined to take on two puppies of the same sex to avoid unwanted pregnancies later, or simply because they have a preference for one sex over the other. Anyway, not wanting to hijack your thread... in summary, I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest, nor worry me if it doesn't progress beyond posturing.
Re: 'Posturing' play fights One reason I'm musing is I'm wondering whether to have a male or female for the next guide dog pup (which will be in the summer) [covers Gypsy's ears!] Males are harder to train as you have to train them not to lift their legs on lead walks (!) and OH prefers bitches but maybe it would be kinder to Tatze to have a male pup? Like I say, the behaviour isn't worrying - I just was wondering what it signifies.
Re: 'Posturing' play fights I have had several mixtures of boys and girls over the years, I think it's more about personality than sex whether they will get on or not. I had one boy girl combo who barely tolerated each other and girls who were inseparable. So for me it's whether their personalities work together or not.
Re: 'Posturing' play fights Two boys here who behave very similar to how you've descrbed Gypsy and Tatze. I only step in if things get too rough because I feel when they are posturing I could cause problems. My friend has two bitches, Rottweilers. Again they behave in a similar way but I think she steps in more than I need to. She has also had bitches that really don't get on. They used to really fight and rip chunks out of each other !!! My friend has a lot of experience with both sexes living together and she's told me when bitches decide they don't like each other they are worse than two dogs. Her dogs are not spayed Having said that I agree with Julie. I think personality and temperament is more important. Also Tatze will be older for each new pup (sorry gypsy :-\) so that could make a difference how they interact anyway. PS. My old lab was attacked by as many bitches as he was dogs
Re: 'Posturing' play fights My parents used to have all bitches at home until last year and my boyfriends parents have 3 bitches currently including one Rottweiler. I would agree with Julie that it's more to do with personality and it can be surprising sometimes which ones get on and which ones don't. The troublemakers are not always the ones you expect. Inca met all our parents dogs at Christmas and dad's lab, which is normally very friendly with other dogs, took an instant violent dislike to her. It makes me think that they probably all interact differently and you can't really predict it.
