Alpha and the Follower

There are many occasions where Max had displayed a subservient body language to Jon. I managed to capture one such moment. More on this video later. These two dogs are like human siblings. When one is being petted or belly rubbed, the other will come over. Most of the time Max is more of the attention-seeker. He will linger at the door at the entrance to the house while I watch TV, and display his puppy-look face. When I give him the attention , Jon will walk over and put his face in front of me, asking me to also pet him. I am just glad he does not put his whole body between Max and me. He has never done it, because he is not that bad a bully. At the point in time when Jon arrives, Max's ears will turn toward the back in fear. If he is already standing, he will immediately go down on his belly and look away. If he is already at the down position during a belly-rub, he will look away from Jon. But I still have to give attention to both of them simultaneously, while making sure to use one of my hands as a barrier between the two dog's faces - in case Jon snaps at Max. Many times he has growled at Max in response to Max having looked at him.

Now back to this video. This was taken inside the car as I was coming back home. They are both greeting me. See how Jon steps in between the gate and Max - prompting Max to give way - and jumps up to the gate.