Alfie's attacking his friend

Hi

We have Alfie, and also Sam, 2yr old labrador, both neutered males, normally they get on fine.

Alfie has attacked Sam twice this morning, never happened before, both times he jumped on Sams neck and was biting him, Sam was really crying but can see no wounds.

First time was when Alfie left a little food, Sam finished it off then Alfie tried to nuzzle back into the bowl, so i reckon thats just food possesion, and i wont let Sam do it again.

But the second time was a couple of hours later when a delivery man rang the door bell, they both ran to the door, then suddenly Alfie attacked Sam again, much worse than before, i had to drag him off by the collar.

So has this started something awful? They are fine together now, both a bit doleful. 

What should i do?

The one thing i can think of is that Sam didnt have his collar on, he normally does, Alfie will jump up and bite Sams collar when excited so do you think he just bit his neck cos the collar wasent there, then got too worked up with Sams (understandable) reaction?

Thanks

Hi,

I've never had two dogs so have never experienced this, I'm sure someone will be along with great advice shortly x

Hope they are both okay!

I have just taken them out for a walk and they were fine, chasing each other, play fighting etc so thats encouraging.

Just want to know if there is anything i can do to stop it happening again?

As a guess, it could be a dominance thing in the heat of the moment maybe? I would keep a close eye on them and just separate them before anything gets too heated.

It may be an idea to feed them separately in different rooms if you can. How old is Alfie ? He may be trying to push his luck and wanting to be top dog ?

Did they bump into each other when they ran to the door ? This may have provoked a reaction from Alfie.

He's 12 months, there is no obvious leader at he moment cos although Sam is older and bigger he is very placid. We reckon Alfie will be in charge when hes grown up. 

Is 12 months a possible age for Alfie to start showing he is boss? Dont think Sam would challenge it much if it was.

I'll feed them separately though in case.

Thanks

Alfie is still very doleful, and after the second incident he was crouching under sams chin, licking his mouth, in a submissive puppy style.

Have just read a thing though and it said a younger dog may start challenging by lying on the other dogs bed, Alfie has just started doing this !

It also said i should give Alfie food etc first if i think he is going to be the eventual boss, presumably to hurry things along and not prolong the power struggle.

Should i do this?