Dog jealousy issues...

[E!!]

Our ACD Josie has adapted very well to life with us. She is such a sweetie, but she tends to bully the other two dogs around. Nothing bad, just some dominant humping and posturing. There is one behavior that I do have a problem with though; she can not stand for anyone else to get attention. If she is within ear shot of someone getting petted and talked to she will run right over an knocked whoever it is out of the way. This is mostly just annoying, but I really would like to be able to pet my other animals without having to hide from Josie! She does it with the cats as well as the other two dogs. So far I have just tried to not pet her when she does this and walk away, but it hasn't done anything to deter her.
I feel bad because I know she wasn't use to getting attention in her previous homes. She has had 4 different homes (including ours) and I know that in at least two of those home (the two most recent) she spent almost all her time locked in a cage, so her life with us is a completely new world. I also have to be very gentle when correcting her because she will just turn into a pitiful little bundle on the floor with her tail tucked. I know she means well, she is *such* a Sweetie, but she acts like I am hers and she doesn't want to share.

Any ideas?

[nakedrats]

Does she have a 'go lay down' command?  If she gets turned right back around and sent away whenever she rushes to usurp another dog's attentions, perhaps she will figure out how it works and wait her turn.  Perhaps you could pair this with calling her over to pet her.  If you didn't call her by name, she's not getting petted and obnoxious behavior will just get her sent to bed.

[Ratwings]

All she wants is attention... but you have every right to let her know that her rude demands are not appreciated by you.  If you respond to her in any way-- pushing her away, talking to her (even if "scolding" or telling her go away), even looking at her-- you are only reinforcing her demanding behavior. As soon as she approaches and starts getting pushy, you should get up and walk away without a word.  She will learn that there is a consequence (your disappearance) to her pushy behavior.

Nakedrats also has a great idea to teach her to go to her bed when you want to have some time with your other dogs without her interfering. First you have to teach her the cue, then practice a lot so she has a quick response and a very positive association with the bed. Then you should have her go the bed before you start petting the other dogs. If you could have someone rewarding her for being on the bed while you are giving attention to the other dogs, that will help her learn that she does not always have to be the center of attention.

[strangeduck]

I am having the exact same problem with my dog, Charlie, a shih tzu/poodle mix we rescued from the pound last August.  He hates it when we pet Cera.  I have to ignore him when he does this.  Unfortunately, I didn't correct it immediately when he first moved in with us, because he had been dumped several times, and is very sensitive to corrections.  I love nakedrats idea of having the dog go to bed when he does this.  He still doesn't really like his crate and if he has to go there every time he interupts I bet he'll learn quickly.

I hope to hear how your dog does with this.

[ZooKeeper83]

I definitely agree with correcting it with either of the suggestions given here.  My basset does the same and has since he was a pup.  Unfortunately, I wasn't very knowledgeable at dog training and correcting behaviors when I first got him over 7 years ago.  It, also, wasn't a big issue for the past 4 years or so due to not having another dog for him to compete with, but now it's starting to become a problem again.  Definitely would have been easier if I had just addressed it from the start!

Good luck!