is it common/possible for dogs to fall out with each other or have grumbles but not actually mean they end up holding grudges?

i have two young bitches who i have owned since the age of 6 weeks, there is 3 weeks between them.
they do everythign together, yet are independent enougth to do things seperatly witch is something i have always encouraged.

from the begginign we could tell who the top bitch was out of the two of them, and this still stands.

however sometimes they seem to get a bit more gobbier than usual with each other and i find them sleeping appart from each other in diffrent parts of the house.

they then appear to make up and the next few hours later and back sharing a bed together.

is this an early sign of the underdog trying to challenge the top bitch?
of is this quite common behaviour between dogs?

Hi Wolfwoman,

I have a pack of sibes so hierachy (spelling ) is always an issue.  Our two young bitches are best of friends one minute and having a grumble the next.  We had this with our boys until they got a bit older and decided who was "higher up the pack".
How old are your girls?

3 1/2 months and 4 months. old.

Hi Wolfwoman,

I'm curious to know "from the beginning we could tell who the top bitch was out of them" at all of 6 and 9 weeks of age

regards, Teri

Hmm

I'm a bit doubtful of being able to tell who is top dog so young there's a world of difference between being bossy/bolshy and being top dog ;)

With the crossbreeds you have, it could be more complex than you think ;)

you are lucky anyway, my two arent siblings and theres 18 months between them but they have never slept together or knowingly touched each other!

Hi wolfwoman,

I am sure that you have read all the threads of warnings of two young bitches growing up together. There will be a lot of in-house fighting. You have them now, so all I can say is keep an eye on things, it will be pot luck as to whether they will live together happily, or not!  At this age they will not fall out for long, they could continue to have little niggles and vocal fall outs for the next 2 years and then may have a very serious one. Seasons will make them a lot more fractious and niggly with each other in the future too.

I do know young bitches that have grown up together and everything has worked out fine, but there are many stories of this not happening too. A good age gap between them would have been better.

Once you do discover the dominant bitch, brush her, feed her and fuss her first to install her hyerachy status. I hope that you are one of the lucky ones.:-) I'm afraid if you are keeping both, it will just have to be a case of wait and see you also need to be prepared with the foresight that perhaps they will need to live seperately in your home in the future.

Dominance between bitches doesn't always extend to all situations - for one of my two, fuss and attention is her 'right' and she will bulldoze anyone who gets it before she does, for the other, food is all important, so being too ridgid wouldn't work with these two, and infact could set off more disagreements.  The more different they are in their priorities, the better the chance of them being able to live together IMHO......

Heirarchy in female dogs is actually quite fluid - whilst males have a rigid heirarchy; that is, one dog is always above another - females sometimes switch, so one day one girl is top bitch, and may be most of the time, but other days she'll allow another girl to assume some top bitch priveledges.  It's a fascinating thing, I think.

As for the grumbles - I don't see why dogs wouldn't have the odd tiff, after all, we don't get on with all our friends all the time, do we?  I know my girl certainly does get miffed with my lad (both the same age) from time to time if he's getting a bit pushy or persistantly wanting to play fight, and they do make up quickly.

i have 2 females aged 18 months and 3 years and 1 male aged 5 years they love to play all the time and have never had a fight, there bed is a double quilt in the hallway which they all sleep on curled up together ( they look so sweet)

Also they are puppies at the moment and not dogs. 

Cuddling etc is a puppy thing, and with many dogs does not carry on into adulthood. 

My thick coated dogs never cuddle up unless in a confined space like the car, a crate or on the sofa with us, but given the choice they will lie away from each other or close but not touching. 

My friends dobes on the other hand have always liked to pile up.

In my experience thew first issues with heirachy of any importance will likley occur at sexual maturity, and if all goes well then the next time things cold turn sour would be at full social maturity at about 3 or 4 years old.

Another conflict can occur if a bitch has been bred from as it will naturally make her feel higher ranking (in the wild only the alpha bitch breeds), but this shoudl not be an issue for yoru cross breeds.