Just as we entered the forest to descend into the ravine, an acquaintance drove up with her two dogs and it took her no time at all to catch up to us. She drives over because she lives too great a distance to walk over and in any event now that her son no longer lives with her, she drives over first to pick up his dog, a large black Labrador mix.
Her own dog is a female 11-year-old Portuguese Water Spaniel. Both those dogs tend to emit deep threatening-sounding growls when they come across other dogs. And their demeanour is definitely that of dominating dogs. They rarely pay much attention to one another, though when they're together, as they always are for ravine walks in the woods they often argue with one another and engage in fairly robust physical tussles. The Lab is an alpha female, the spaniel is an unobliging follower.
So when they're around their behaviour tends to alarm Jackie and Jillie. First thing the black Lab does is go into intimidation mode, hovering over and 'nudging' each in turn as they take turns cowering, making themselves submissive to the larger dog's aggressive demand. After which the Lab insouciantly takes off disporting herself happily in the joy of freedom to romp and roam where she will.
At one point we came across another of our ravine walking friends with his three dogs, all of them non-assertive, and comfortable company for Jackie and Jillie to be around, though not on this occasion, when all seven dogs were together, so to speak, five of them suspicious of the intentions of the assertive two with the will to dominate.
Every time the Lab would make for Jackie or Jillie, they responded by trailing my heels and leaping up at me and my husband, to be picked up and given warm haven in our arms. Better we didn't, and we didn't; hoping that ignoring their pleas for protection would give them a clue to the effect their own similar behaviour on occasion affects other dogs who feel just as they do when they're being imposed upon.
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