Nature & Nurture

I recently saw a movie on face book about a lab mix female in a shelter who had lost her puppies and adopted and raised a litter of kittens. It was pretty amazing to see the natural instinct despite human intervention take over.
While watching the interaction of a group of my dogs &Sit Stay & Play, I found the subtle behaviors of the dogs very intriguing. There are 4 bitches in this group, 2 lab puppies Bailey & Margaux, litter mates about 18 weeks old, a 16 week old fox terrier mix named Kyah and a lab chow 2 1/2 year old named Emma. Emma and & Kyah live together.
Bailey, Margaux and Kyah are coming into the age where they all want to be the alpha dog. Through their puppy play they make attempts to enforce their dominance over each other. While they all play with Emma they never push the envelope but when Bailey & Margaux get carried away with their play, Emma trots over to them and just stands there, and like magic they stop their escalating play.
When Kyah tries to enforce her dominance over the labs, Emma immediately grabs Kyah by the skin and tells her in no uncertain terms there is 1 boss in this group and I am it.
Being a rescue I'm not sure if Emma ever had a litter of puppies but to see her natural instincts at work is quite amazing. Firm and gentle with some very pesty puppies. "Good Job" Emma.