The words Dog Breed Info with the letter D inside of a black paw print

Dogs displaying “Top Dog” behaviors

A large breed, perk eared, tan and black thick coated dog laying down on a tan carpet facing the left growling and baring its teeth. The dog has a black nose and graying around its snout. The dog's eyes are locked on what is in front of him.

Tequila the Chihuahua is trying to tell whoever is near him not to eat his food, as the leader of the pack always eats first. This is an instinct that lies within every dog.

Deep within every dog is the instinct to have a pack order, a leader. Dogs do not think along the same lines as humans. It is important to understand their way of thinking in order for humans and dogs to happily coincide. The more you understand your dog, the higher the chances are that you and your dog will live a long, happy life together.

A small tan dog with a black muzzle and large perk ears in the arms of a person in a gray shirt who is laying on a couch. The dog is turned and bearing his teeth at a second person who is wearing a green shirt next to them.

Pepe the 7 pound Chihuahua protecting his owner.

Close up - The front right side of a tan Chihuahua that is aggressively eating food off of a tiled floor. The dogs teeth are showing.

Tequila the Chihuahua is trying to tell whoever is near him not to eat his food, as the leader of the pack always eats first. This is an instinct that lies within every dog.

Front view - A yellow Labrador puppy is laying across a grass surface, it is looking forward and its head is slightly tilted to the right. There is a hoof chew in front of its paws.A yellow Labrador puppy is standing across a brick surface and it is barking towards the right with its tail up.

Female yellow Labrador Retriever at eight weeks already wants to be Top Dog.

Tilly, my eight-week-old puppy, is already showing signs of trying to take over the top-dog position. As you can see from the two photos she can be very, very sweet and very, very bossy. Tilly will be going into training, a puppy socialization class, in two weeks so we can both learn how to co-exist happily together.

Close up - Topdown view of a tan with white and black dog looking forward and showing its teeth aggressively. Top down view of a red with white dog showing its teeth while it is laying on a tiled floor behind a hambone. A tan with white and black dog is standing across a tiled floor. It is barkign aggressively at an item in front of it. Close up - The back left side of a big brown with white and black dog. It is laying across a tiled floor and its mouth is open very aggressively with its teeth showing.

Do you have a photo of your dog displaying ”Top Dog” behaviors? Send it in for possible posting on DBI!

©Dog Breed Info Center® All Rights Reserved