What Does Jealousy Mean in Dogs, Anyway?
When people call or email me asking about how to fix their dog’s jealousy, my first question is always to ask:
“When you say your dog is being jealous, what does that look like? Pretend I’ve never seen a dog before in my life and describe it to me in as much detail as you can.”
I ask that because jealousy is poorly defined in dogs.
Many scientists and trainers don’t believe that dogs are capable of feeling the complex emotions that we call “jealousy,” though we’ve all seen dogs act in a way that sure looks like jealousy. The actual science is rapidly changing, so it’s just hard to say!
When people say their dogs are being jealous, they often mean that their dog:
To really be considered jealousy, we should only see these behaviors directed towards another dog in the presence of a person or treasured item.
A 2014 study titled Jealousy in Dogs reports:
In other words, the dogs were more likely to act in a way we’d call jealous when the owners were paying attention to another dog, versus when the owner paid attention to an inanimate object.
These dogs might not be feeling jealousy the same way we do, but it sure looks similar.
This won’t surprise you if you’ve watched your dog wiggle between you and another canine, or even get a bit snarkier with some growling or snapping.
The exact behavior(s) that you’re calling jealousy matter, though! It’s one thing if your dog is just following you around asking for extra pats – and quite another if your dog is growling, snarling, or snapping at the new puppy.
Trainers (like myself) get a bit nervous about the term jealousy because the term downplays the serious issue of resource guarding.
Resource guarding is a serious problem where your dog reacts aggressively towards perceived or real threats to her access to an object (like her food bowl, toys, or your lap).
If your dog is “acting jealous,” she is probably guarding resources. The two are closely related, and it’s hard to draw a line in the sand separating them.
9 Signs of Jealousy in Pets
Here are some jealous behaviors in pets that you should be on the lookout for:
“This can often be in the form of biting or nibbling of the animal or person getting attention over them,” says Dr. Scarlett Magda, founding president of New York City-based Veterinarians International.
Tips for Preventing jealousy between dogs
It is important to understand the 3-3-3 rule of bringing home a new rescue dog. The new dog will need time to decompress, give him as much time as he needs to adjust.
It sounds like you read the introducing a second dog into your pack article, which is a great start. The introduction period is critical to a happy ending.
Keeping them separate for as long as it takes to create a calm introduction. This can be as short as 24 hours, but don’t be afraid to wait several days or weeks if necessary.
Because Piper has shown jealousy in the past, you will need to be hyper-aware of her behavior during this transition period.
You may feel sorry for the new dog, or maybe even Piper, but don’t! Sorrow never helped anyone. Show them both that you can be there for both of them, you can protect and love both… equally.
You can achieve this by not allowing either one to bully the other.
Take both for walks together and separate. If you have a family member that can help you take walks, each of you should take turns walking each dog.
Do not allow Piper to push her way in between you and the new dog. If she starts showing any of the signs of jealousy, instruct her to wait, continue petting the new dog, then go to Piper on your terms.
Signs of a Jealous Dog and How to deal with it?
It’s been proven that dogs do feel jealousy. So what can you do when you have a dog that you know gets jealous and you want to adopt second dog?
According to the AKC website: “Research indicates there might be jealous bone in your dog’s body. Tests showed dogs can be quite possessive when it comes to being the focus of their owners’ attention.”
Each week of 2020, I am choosing a question from a Rescue Dogs 101 community member.
We are preparing for the arrival of a rescue. Our biggest, #1 concern, is building the relationship with our existing dog, Piper.
Piper came to us when she was 1-1/2. She is a timid and loveable King Charles Cavalier, who is now 6-1/2. She is very small, only weighs about 13 pounds.
NewDog (not yet named) will be roughly a year old, also a spaniel of some type, possibly mixed (but who cares), and is about twice the size.
Piper has had us all to herself for 5 years. She is exceedingly well behaved and causes zero trouble, so she is welcome in laps, on sofas and sleeps with our daughter (aged 16, not a child).
You have some materials about introducing two dogs to each other; the first meeting and walk outside, then inside. The new dog should be crated with a limited, baby-gated, space in the kitchen until she is trained and learns the house rules.
Newdog will need to be securely leashed and harnessed. Piper needs to enter the house first to welcome NewDog. Got it.
NewDog will be very frightened at the beginning but needs to be formally trained sooner rather than later. Got it.
We already have the crate, the baby gates, the lessons all lined up at PetSmart and the vet waiting eagerly to meet NewDog.
I know we will have a million questions, and we don’t yet know what those are before NewDog arrives. But can you go a little deeper on the topic of best practices in handling two dogs together?
If I was going to predict what will happen, it is that our sweet, docile little Piper is going to turn out to be a resource guarder, and the resource she will be guarding will be us.
I have noticed that when we bend down to pet another dog, Piper gets jealous. She will jump up and start whining for attention.
She is usually a completely silent dog, but she doesn’t like it when we pet other dogs. I can just see what is going to happen when NewDog moves in permanently.
What if she becomes disruptive to try and get rid of NewDog and starts barking every time we pay attention to NewDog?
Any further tips you can give us on getting this relationship off on the best foot possible and removing the threat factor for Piper while we start to make NewDog comfortable in her new home would be great.