Should I be worried about 'fair'?

[Shalista]

So i have a 1.5 year old rat terrier named Bax. My sister has a 3ish year old chihuahua named Ki. I just have a quick question about the concept of 'dominance'. If I try to give Ki a treat Bax will lunge for it. He'll push Ki out of the way just by being near him. If Ki is on my lap getting pet Bax will walk up and Ki will just slink away. Bax wont snap or snarl at Ki but Ki just kind of walks away from bones, toys, a human giving affection, even the tastiest of treats and Ki is ridiculously food motivated. I feel bad for Ki and i suppose i'm wondering if this is me as a human putting emotions on Ki. Bax seems to be a bully but Ki is letting him do it. Should i be trying to get Bax to be more accepting? I've been practicing having Bax wait next to Ki while Ki gets a treat and then Bax will and I'll alternate but I'm not sure if I'm screwing with some kind of pack mechanic. Is Bax just being 'dominant"? is that even a thing? Should i be worried?

[Dibbythedog]

I think Bax is just being pushy so carry on asking him to wait etc. Its useful for him to learn some manners in case he meets dogs that are less tolerant than Ki.

[katej215]

I'd actually be managing the situation so Ki always feels safe when being petted /getting treats. Maybe distract Bax with something else when Ki is getting cuddle time, so Ki gets a break from the emotions of feeling intimidated when Bax is around. It might not be Bax is doing anything wrong, if he is a strong confident dog, and Ki is super sensitive and shy then that might be enough to create this inbalance...I'd be trying to build Ki's confidence.

One thing I've been doing with mine is if both are on the ground and getting a treat , body blocking and pushing away my bigger pushy dog when little shy dog is getting her treat..he is now getting the message and not pushing in, in the hope he can score something.

It is my understanding (and other hopefully will correct me if wrong) that dogs brains do not do 'fair' ...if you break it down, feeling unfairly treated means putting yourself in someone else's shoes and then comparing yourself to them, and as dogs are 'amoral' in the sense they don't do empathy, this is not an emotion they feel.

They do as we all know feel frustration , so I guess it's up to us to manage the chances of this happening by keeping our dogs occupied if we are doing something with one and not the other...

[Nettle]

Quite right - dogs don't do 'fair' - and after all, we have to be taught about it too: it isn't natural. Good advice from the others to avoid frustration and overt conflict.

[Shalista]

Thanks, I don't want Bax to be a bully with other dogs but i just wasn't sure if he was doing something wrong in the first place, or if he was, how to correct it.

thanks for the advice i'll keep working on them!