hey guys... i like to think that my wife and i are good parents to our furbabies... they are not perfect and are still learning... make their mistakes... they both seem happy i think... and we treat them very well... bryson is a happy go lucky dog and so is braeli usually... but she does things that make me question if we are doing something wrong or if something is wrong with her... like this:

the routine in the morning has always been the same. 6am pee/poop outside, breakfast and then pee/poop at 7am. lately braeli will pee outside but refuses to walk around and poop. she stands there with this look, ears back, and will not move. i do get frustrated as its early and i need to get ready for work... i will sometimes have a "tone" to my voice but will usually have a nicer voice and pet her under her chin and try to coax her to go. either way after 15 mins we are back in and no poop. bryson does both and sits patiently at the door. btwn that time and 7am we put their food down and where she used to eat right away and fast, she doesnt anymore. bryson will eat and she will sit under the bed in the room and not move. she will come and greet us and then go back under the bed. i guess its her "safe" spot... but safe from what? maybe she is just tired and cant be bothered there? she has become very possessive over food with bryson and will sometimes lay next to it even if shes not eating to make sure he doesnt. she also in that time period goes to poop on the pee pads we leave for them in case of an accident which they use thankfully! she has always been submissive to guests and tucks her ears and stuff... but it seems that that submissivness is becoming her personality. at least we feel that way.

another note... they have been chewing on bully sticks and rawhides alot... they love'em... we wont give them when we are not home because they fight over them... i have noticed more "stuff" being chewed... i alwasy thought it was bryson but i caught braeli in the act. so she is now chewing on furniture (old stuff we intentionally put there for that reason). maybe her mouth is bothering her?!

In the afternoons she is fine to go out and do both pee/poop and will play all night... but at feeding time its the same thing. bryosn eats/finishes... she eats (picks) and guards the food unless you sit with her. she does walk around with her ears tucked alot now. my wife babies her alot. im not sure if that plays into it. I am the alpha in the house and have the "look" and "stern bark". when they are bad its me they hear and she gets very afraid if she does here me wether its a stern voice to her or bryson... i look at her and i think she acts like a dog that was abused before but i know she wasnt... she was never like this but for a month or less now. am i overreacting?  has she just formed her own schedule at this point and i push the issue of pee/poop/food? maybe she only needs 1 meal now? maybe she can hold it better than bryson?

oh and let me say this... im not sure which of the 2 are dominant over the other. sometimes braeli takes control and bryson sits back and vice versa... i think they are happy as equals... bith are jealous when one gets attention over the other... but i dont know if that plays into this.

any advice will help. ideas. what we are doing right/wrong. her actions. dont beat around the bush. say whatever good/bad. thanks in advance! gianni

A couple of thoughts.  Maybe only feed at night...that might inprove her appetite and she might not have to poop in the am.  Also, rule out anything medical....could she be teething?  Don't remember how old she is.  Maybe she has a tooth problem.  JMO but I wouldn't feed the rawhides...I know some people do and their dogs never have a problem but many do and it's not worth the risk.

Some dogs get fairly rebelious, pushing their boundaries, at 1-2 years old.  Not saying it's that but something to consider. 

thank you both.

winni... i never thought of that. her way of "not" saying goodbye.. or having resentment per say... i will try the treat thing and see what happens.

mitzy... she is 7mos... that is why we are still feeding 1/4 cup 2x a day still... we were told until about 1 year.

she lost and grew all her teeth in already... i know they will chew./teeth until about a year... the only prob dentally is that she has all 4 top canines (baby/adult). i will not feed rawhide bones... we do feed them the rolls... no small parts that break off like the bones ones... very tough... MADE IN USA!!!! some in brazil depending on what i can find.... but they love them more than bullys!!!! i always fed my shuh tzu the bone ones and 19 years no probs. i know its an opinion thing... she is STUBBORN to say the least.

Since this was not posted in the training section... I'm just now seeing it.  I often don't look at the "just chat" section.... (just so you'll know...)  I see several things in your words that I'll try to address.  I'm not there so obviously cannot know what is triggering the behavior... so I have only your description to go on.

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hey guys... i like to think that my wife and i are good parents to our furbabies... they are not perfect and are still learning... make their mistakes... they both seem happy i think... and we treat them very well... bryson is a happy go lucky dog and so is braeli usually... but she does things that make me question if we are doing something wrong or if something is wrong with her (could be a bit of both!)... like this:

the routine in the morning has always been the same. 6am pee/poop outside, breakfast and then pee/poop at 7am. lately braeli will pee outside but refuses to walk around and poop. she stands there with this look, ears back, and will not move. i do get frustrated as its early and i need to get ready for work... i will sometimes have a "tone" to my voice but will usually have a nicer voice and pet her under her chin and try to coax her to go. either way after 15 mins we are back in and no poop. bryson does both and sits patiently at the door. btwn that time and 7am we put their food down and where she used to eat right away and fast, she doesnt anymore. bryson will eat and she will sit under the bed in the room and not move. she will come and greet us and then go back under the bed. i guess its her "safe" spot... but safe from what? maybe she is just tired and cant be bothered there? she has become very possessive over food with bryson and will sometimes lay next to it even if shes not eating to make sure he doesnt. she also in that time period goes to poop on the pee pads we leave for them in case of an accident which they use thankfully! she has always been submissive to guests and tucks her ears and stuff... but it seems that that submissivness is becoming her personality. at least we feel that way.  Although we'd like for all of our dogs to be on the same schedule (and it's often accomplishable)... sometimes it just doesn't work that way.  But what I'm hearing is that Braeli is NOT doing her business and then the dogs come inside and you feed them.    Since you have an hour between 6 and 7 (and yes... I do realize you have to get ready for work...) I would try taking Bryson out first and let him do his business and then bring him back inside.  Then I would take Braeli out and see what happens.  If after several minutes she does not poop... bring her in and place her in her crate while you proceed to get ready for work.  (You don't mention a crate... I would hope you would have one).  I would NOT put any food down for her.  In about 15 minutes... try again.  Take her alone.   If she still doesn't do anything, I would return her to her crate.  I would not feed her. (I only feed my dogs in the evenings.  Your dogs are old enough to be fed only at night... plus at night you aren't as rushed and have more time for supervision).  It sounds like you have unknowingly encouraged this behavior... which we humans often do!

another note... they have been chewing on bully sticks and rawhides (I would not feed rawhide... do your research and find out why) alot... they love'em... we wont give them when we are not home because they fight over them... i have noticed more "stuff" being chewed... i alwasy thought it was bryson but i caught braeli in the act. so she is now chewing on furniture (old stuff we intentionally put there for that reason). maybe her mouth is bothering her?!  (if this is happening while you are at home... sounds like closer supervision is needed).

In the afternoons she is fine to go out and do both pee/poop and will play all night... but at feeding time its the same thing. bryosn eats/finishes... she eats (picks) and guards the food unless you sit with her. Do NOT allow her to do this.  If she doesn't eat her food... put it up.  Don't allow her to guard it and certainly you don't need to be sitting with her.  By doing so you are encouraging the behavior.  I also would feed her in a separate room... if she doesn't eat her food, take it up.  she does walk around with her ears tucked alot now. my wife babies her alot. im not sure if that plays into it. I am the alpha in the house and have the "look" and "stern bark". when they are bad its me they hear and she gets very afraid if she does here me wether its a stern voice to her or bryson... i look at her and i think she acts like a dog that was abused before but i know she wasnt... she was never like this but for a month or less now. am i overreacting?  has she just formed her own schedule at this point and i push the issue of pee/poop/food? maybe she only needs 1 meal now? I always move to one meal a day... evening meal... after the puppyhood stage is over.  maybe she can hold it better than bryson? That could very well be.  Some dogs DO "hold it" better than others.  But I think she's also pushing your buttons.

oh and let me say this... im not sure which of the 2 are dominant over the other. sometimes braeli takes control and bryson sits back and vice versa... i think they are happy as equals... bith are jealous when one gets attention over the other... but i dont know if that plays into this. It could be... but not being there to see... I have no way of knowing.  Jealousy/rivalry does often play into our dogs' behaviors when there are multiple dogs in a home.

any advice will help. ideas. what we are doing right/wrong. her actions. dont beat around the bush. You will find I seldom beat around the bush when it comes to training issues... haha say whatever good/bad. thanks in advance! gianni

PLEASE if you haven't already.... crate train your dogs.  It can prevent  numerous unacceptable behaviors.  Braeli should have her own "safe place" (her crate)... which should NOT be underneath your bed.  I would discourage this behavior... keep the bedroom door closed if you have to.  Bring our your dog's confidence... play ball.... play tug of war with a rope.  Reward  her for the good behavior she displays and reinforce it with verbal commands.  I would NOT leave them loose together alone during the day, because you aren't there to supervise and there may be things going on that is helping to develop this behavior.  You can't possibly know what those things are if you aren't  there.  Since you never mentioned crates in your post... I am assuming you don't use them.  If I am wrong... I apologize... but I'm not seeing any mention of them whatsoever.  You need to work on building Braeli's confidence level.. and there are TONS of things you can do towards this goal.  It sounds to me as though her personality is developing as she matures and  there are obviously some genetics that play into this also.

Good luck to you!

 Individual personality, as well as breed characteristics, are important factors.  The dog that demands to be fed first, petted first and through the door first is usually the dominant dog. Remember that the rankings may be different in different contexts (one dog may control food, while another may control resting places) and they may change over time.  So yes... within a pack one dog is usually at the top of the pecking order... BUT you need to be alpha over both dogs.  Dogs usually establish their dominance hierarchies through a series of "ritualized" behaviors that include body postures and vocalizations that don’t result in injury.  For example... one dog may "stand over" another by placing his paws or neck on the shoulders of the other.  This body language indicates his dominance over the other dog.

You are right ... you DO need to support the dominance hierarchy.  You need to support whatever dominance hierarchy or what I call "pecking order" your dogs establish for themselves.  Don't "undermine" their pecking order by attempting to treat them equally or by preventing the dominant dog from asserting his position.  Dominant dogs can... and should.. be allowed to take toys away from subordinate dogs... and to push and receive attention and petting from the owner... to control favorite sleeping places... toys and other valuable resources (from the dog's point of view).  We humans need to support the dominant dog's status by allowing this to occur.

You cannot choose which dog you want to be dominant. The dogs will establish this among themselves, and any attempt to interfere may result in conflict. 

The problem arises when rivalry occurs and this happens sometimes within the pack.  Humans cannot and should not allow any injury or extreme "bullying" to occur and that's why it's important to keep the dogs separated (in my opinion) during our absences.  

I know of a situation, (although I did not know the people personally)... where a couple owned two Boston Terriers and they were littermates... both 8 years of age.  They were never crated and were well behaved being left along at home during the day while the people worked.  They came home one day ... the female Boston was dead and blood was all over the place, and was all over the male Boston.  They never knew what happened.  (the male was the dominant of the two).  I realize this is an isolated incident... I also realize the rawhide situation was one incident... the same as my friend's dog Ellie who was left uncrated in a hotel room and got into a bag of pretzels and suffocated and she returned to the hotel room to find the dog dead on the floor with it's head in the bag ... (another isolated incident).  We all have our own "horror stories" we can relate....

Much of what I've learned throughout the years has been thru trial and error, unfortunately.  Until I was 40 years of age, I never crated a dog... and fed my dogs pretty much whatever I had on hand... whenever I wanted to feed them.  I'd like to think I've come a little ways since then! LOL