Please help

Hi
This is going to seem a bit long winded but I am hoping someone can help me.
We have got two Staffies, Betty and Boris they are brother & sister and will be 1 year old in a couple of months.
They have had a few arguments in the past but on the whole they get on really well to the point if they are seperated they pine for each other.
Until just recently that is, Boris now seems to want to dominate Betty to the point if she tries to lay down and he dosnt want her to he will either bark or grumble at her until she does what he wants. Betty is by no means an angel and has her moments of tormenting too but just wondered if anyone had any suggestions to make Boris realise he dosnt have to bully her all the time, we dont really want to seperate them all the time as I said they really do get on well most of the time and hate being away from each other.
Thank you I look forward to some suggestions

Very sorry cannot help as I have only ever had one dog at a time.

Sounds like sibblings sorting things out between them????

I'm afraid he's growing up & testing the boundaries. He's basically letting her know who's boss.

If you're not happy with it, or if Betty isn't happy with it, then you will have to step in & stop any unwanted behaviour. I'm afraid that it isn't unusual for a little brother & sister to behave this way.

Agree with Caryll. Also keep a close eye on them in case it escalates. I'd also advise keeping them seperate if they were going to be left alone.

Thanks everyone. We are keeping a close eye on them, we dont really want to seperate them if we can help it, they do get on really well most of the time I just hope they can sort it out sooner rather than later. If he carries on or it escalates we will try time outs for him I think?
Has anyone else tried a type of naughty step thing?
Thank you

a crate could come in handy if you need to leave them for any time

We do have two crates, so this wouldnt be a problem. Would you think a behaviourist would help or is it a case of waiting it out?

if it was me I would, cause I would be worried on what could happen, but you could wait a while just to see if there is any improvement

Thank you Lynne, I might start a bit a research on behaviourists in my area xx

good idea, keep us informed and hopefully everything will work out

I have a brother and sister, they have little moans about chews etc but they have worked out certain ways things are done. Like Sisko walks next to me with Kasidy next to him, if they are called over Kasidy has to sit on my left with Sisko on my right if they arrive the wrong way around they switch before sitting.They have never had any kind of fight and they do play rough when they are allowed to, if either of them are getting carried away i say "quit it" and they know they have to stop what ever they are up to.They hate being apart and seem to have easily worked out how to interact?.

Thank you Stiofan I think maybe Betty & Boris are just sorting things out between themselves, I will let them get things sorted without too much interference from me but if they get out of hand I will of course step in.
I was reading something interesting yesterday about sibling aggression and it basically says that they have to sort out a kind of order between themselves, as much as we would like them to be equals it is not healthy for them to be forced into being equals as the less dominant one will always challenge the more dominant. This will always cause conflict but as soon as they know their order things will settle down and they will be much happier.

I read a bit about that myself and it sounds logical enough. One thing i regret is not having seperated them a bit more when they were younger as it would make vet trips etc easier on them. Betty and Boris will probably settle into a routine like Sisko and Kasidy have

I am hoping they do, they really do love each other a lot of the time and like you, I think we should have seperated them a little bit more when they were younger they hate even 2 mins apart

I have 3 staffies which all have their moments of sibling rivalry even the oldest 2 who are like brother and sister due to age gap.
I initally allowed them to work it out between themselves and the bitch soon gained the dominant status, and I didnt have to step in much as they sorted it quickly.
However, when I introduced Gizzi to the clan, I had to step in several times or we would of had blood baths, but that was before she was diagnosed with canine ADHD.

Since she got her diagnosis I have been able to train her better and she has learnt respect and knows who out of the other 2 are in charge yet she still pushes it sometimes. When she does push it, that is when I step in, take charge of all toys chews etc they are squabbling over and give them all a time out.

This method works really well for me and it calms them down pretty quickly and never gets to the escalated fights we had before.

I get alot of call in my behavioural work for rivalry between pack members and it is easily sorted.

If you want advise or help please give me a shout

Claire

ruby bullies murfy i just give her time out
usually 5 min sorts her out. i tell her sin bin
and she goes to her crate and i close door for 5 min
next time i ask her dose she want sin bin
she stops lol