Candy,

I adopted a female mix from a shelter a couple of years ago who turned out being extremely dog dominant. She didn't show signs of any dominance when I took Graham to the shelter to meet her for the first time. It was an aweful situation actually. Her true colors came out when she came home, after she came off the ansthetia from being spayed. She started to push Graham out of the way when he was in mid-pee or mid-poo and frantically LIFT HER LEG to pee over his pee or poo. He had to sneak away from her so he could finish going to the bathroom. It was aweful. She became more and more obsessed with asserting her extreme dog dominance and she started lifting her leg on each and every one of his toys, and the last draw was when she insisted on lifting her leg ON Graham, whether he was inside the house or outside. She also growled at him every time he got near the water bowl or he walked by any of HIS toys!

It was aweful because she was exceptional with people, very, very submissive and gentle...I could even take a slimy rawhide out of her mouth and she'd open her mouth and let me with love in her eyes and a smile on her face. She worshiped me in the short 10 days we had her We named her Ellie Ellie had to go back to the shelter because, as hard as I tried, I could NOT find anyone who wanted her

The fact that Graham has always been a dominant dog made it a dangerous mix. If Graham ever tried to challange her dominance, which he may have because she took EVERYTHING away from him, it would have been a fight, and a possible bad one according to the 2 dog behavorists who I was dealing with I couldn't take a chance with my baby. I had to part with Ellie and pray that she found that home that she deserved

It was an aweful thing. Sorry to get off the subject! The lifting of the leg on another dog reminded me of that difficult situation.