Has anyone ever brought a new puppy home and noticed the older dog "standing over" the puppy, very deliberately. Is it dominance or protecting?
It could be a variety of things all of mine behave differently around pups. It could simply be curiosity, uncertainty. Rio my female Dobermann used to follow them around towering over them and constantly drooling, she didn't want to eat them, she didn't have a bad bone in her body, she just didn't know what to make of them.
It takes time for an older dog to adjust to having a young puppy in the house. Chloe my Tibetan Spaniel was 4 years old when I brought 9 week old Georgina, my Shar-Pei home. For the first week Chloe wouldn't have anything to do with the puppy and would growl at her if she came anywhere near the sofa she was sitting on. Then one day I saw her play bow in front of Georgina and I knew Chloe had accepted her. Chloe died when Georgina was 9 months old and was 13 months old when I bought Gwylim a 9 months old Miniature Schnauzer. They'd met on neutral territory a couple of times, but even so she studiously ignored him for the first three days despite him inviting her to play. On the 4th morning whilst I was watching them in the garden, Georgina rolled onto her back and allowed Gwylim to jump all over her. They've been as thick as thieves since then!
I'd view it as protecting the pup. Dominance I would look for more physical contact and roughness with the pup.
