My puppy sits on my adult dog. What does that mean?

by Simon
(Dominican Republic)

My husband rescued a puppy (APBT) while we already had an adult dog (3 year old Dachshund), both males (the adult is neutured and the pup will be too). The puppy, now 3 month old, always sits on top of our adult dog, or sometimes our feet. He does not do this in a playful way, more like in a resting mode, he sometimes even falls asleep shortly after. My other dog does not seem to bother about it at all.

Somebody mentioned this might be a sign of dominance. Should I stop it?

In general they get along great and the older dog has shown a lot of patience and care about the new pup - such as cleaning it, etc.

PS: The puppy is a rescue dog and was very, very young (5 weeks old) when we got him. He has been doing this behavior since day 1. Might this have anything to do with it or is something I should correct immediately? PLEASE HELP!!!!


Dear Simon,

Thanks for your question!

Short answer: don't worry about it... it doesn't sound like a dominant behaviour per say, especially as you say that this is typically when he is resting.

The only reason you might want to discourage it is that when the puppy is physically mature, he will be a lot larger in size and weight, and it could become an annoying habit. If this is not a concern for you, I wouldn't worry about this behaviour.

And as for dominant behaviour, one of the dogs will be dominant over the other - you can't avoid it. This is natural behaviour, and they will figure it out on their own as the pup grows up.

Good luck with your new little guy!

Shannon Pennings

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