Personal question about my dogs?

Question

Hi everyone,

I have two 5 month old male (brothers) puppies. I also have a lhasa female dog and a 1 yr. old bullmastiff male dog (still very puppy like). About 6 months ago we lost our Alpha dog to kidney failure. Our lhasa and bullmastiff were not taking it well, nor were we, so we rescued this two 8-week old puppies from the local shelter. The three males get along seemingly equal in dominance. The female lhasa has full control over their behavior towards her.

My question: How do I find out who is dominant of the three males? Since they are all still puppies and neither of the three have ever previously had Alpha roles, when does this role happen..at what age?

My most curious question is: what does it mean that my two 5 month old puppies always greet the bullmastiff male by licking and nipping at his ears, his mouth and yes..his privates (his anus and his penis). Who's dominating who there?

Any thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks and have a great day!

Answer 1

You don't need to know about the placement of the males in the pecking order. The female has already assumed the Alpha role. Many females will do that once the other Alpha is out of the picture. It probably won't change until she is gone, then there will be another adjustment.