cartoony pic of older girl
seductress pic
our puppy napping under bed frame
Posted on 12/01/2005 5:45:40 PM PST by avg_freeper
We have two house dogs.
One is a Lab mix we rescued from the pound about a year ago. She was picked up as a stray at 8-9 months old and wasn't fixed (she is now). She was always gentle and non aggressive.
In August we picked up a pure lab 1 month old male puppy. At the time we thought our first lab would like a friend. That might of been a bad idea.
They had always play fought and puppies tend to bite at everything. But recently the older Lab mix who's 1.5-2.0 years old has become aggressive against the younger pup.
I can definitely tell the difference between play fighting and the real thing. She'll start growling then spring to kill. There were 2-3 episodes of this last month. This week it started happening every day. Today was the worst. She takes hair and for the first time we found a cut on the puppy.
We just had an attack and the "little" 40 lb guy wont leave my lap he's so frightened. (really hard to type)
The aggressive adult Lab mix is a small dog, about 35 lbs. Although she was very gentle she was territorial, barking at sounds outside our house. She is also very submissive around us, sometimes I think too submissive. As if she had been beat or mistreated before she was picked up.
The puppy had just reached her size and now he is surpassing it. He is pretty laid back but has started avoiding her because of the attacks.
So far we scold the aggressive dog and send her to her crate. That doesn’t seem to be working.
That photo series of the play toys "Oh, you have a disgusting object that's been in the back yard soaking wet for months . . . that's MUCH nicer than what I have" still makes me laugh when I think of it.
We had company tonight, and Shelley was sitting at my side while I was talking with one of our guests. The cats got curious and wanted to come investigate this new person . . . but whenever they tried to approach her Shelley would simply lie down and stretch herself out in their path. If they tried to walk around her, she would nudge them away with her nose. The kitten tried to leap over her but thought better of it . . . they never did get past the dog to the guest . . .
That would be "get-between behavior". Gidget's big on that too :~D
The cats do the "get between" thing too, when there's something they really want to defend from the dog (like their food).
HairOfTheDog has it right. We have a 2 year old Golden, and we brought a Bichon puppy into the home. Pearl, the Golden, did the same as your older dog. A friend, who is a breeder, told me to treat Pearl as the queen. Let her do everything first. Out the door first, eat first, treats first, etc. Always pet her and show her attention when petting the little one, also. Take your older one for walks, alone, and spend special time with her. Pearl attacked, and cut Archie (the Bichon), also. But it was really unintentional. It took a good 6 months before I was comfortable, but I let them go at it, unless it was way to much. I also use a spray bottle filled with water when it got too rough. The Bichon is 9 months old now, and you can't separate them now, they are best buddies. The still play rough, but he holds his own. Be patient, I'm sure it will work out.
Same thing happening at my home now. 10 yr old Golden and a 7 month old Cocker, your older dog is just making sure the little pup knows who the Alpha is........don't send older one to crate, the pup will get the message soon enough. And all will live happily ever after. :)
Good Luck
cartoony pic of older girl
seductress pic
our puppy napping under bed frame
What, no partridge in a pear tree? ;)
You've received much sound advice on this thread, so I will only add the recommendation that you try to locate yourself copies of the following books and apply the principles, therein. I've found they greatly enhance my relationships and communications with my dogs and virtually all dogs I encounter. In the case of the second book, it's actually enhanced my people skills as well...Good Luck!!
You already received a lot of good advice from some very knowledgeable freepers. The only thing I will add, is that you should get your hands on "Good Owners, Great Dogs" by by Brian Kilcommons, Sarah Wilson. You can get it at Amazon, here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0446675385/qid=1133533547/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-0043965-1150460?n=507846&s=books&v=glance
I think you could really use the knowledge that they offer.
That pup doesn't look liks such a monster at the moment!
The yellow lab mix has great eyes.... those high-set little triangle ears say terrier to me, but I'll stop short of saying she's part pit bull (though she might be) because I don't think real animal aggression is what you have going on here, I think it's just normal pecking order squabbling.
Is it possible the female is protecting you or your wife?
From what you said --- "One of us makes a move to pet the male puppy or he slightly shifts his weight and she attacks, literally launching her self at him."
Also are there any toys around that she may be possessive about?
Are you eating? Is there food around?
The two dogs have worked out their issues. I pretty much stopped interfering with their fighting unless it got out of hand (too much noise, bumping into things, etc.) and didn't show favoritism.
The 30 lb. female is now comfortably dominant over the now 65 lb. male. The male has a whole set of complex rituals he carries out to comply with her superiority. For instance he'll sit and wait for the female to check out his food bowl before eating any and leaves a few bits for her when he's done. He can still be a bully because of his size and weight but he knows what her limits are and doesn't cross them.
It all just seems to work out now. They play fight all the time but never aggressively and she sometimes whines when she can't be near her big buddy.
Thank you for the advise.
Really glad they worked it out without bloodshed or needing to find them new homes. :~) Most times, they can if we only intervene in the right way.
This is off topic, but you seem to know a lot about handling dogs and I have a question.
Our sweet lab will eat anything. He ate a small bar of soap yesterday ! I don't think he meant to, but ...
Anyway, he's of the infamous breed of dung eaters. It drives my husband nuts, but it happens very rarely as we have him trained to potty after breakfast and supper and I pick it up immediately.
Today, well, we're dog sitting my daughter's Golden and Bubba decided his potty looked yum, yum good ... the worst thing is, he ignored husband's command to stop.
Now this guy wants to get one of those electric collars to train him not to do this. I am leery of those things. Does anyone else know anything about them?
Growing up will help a bunch.
That play fighting should continue to become less frequent.
I had to labs raised together as puppies.
It was constant when they were under 2.
Now it only happens when they are in high spirits.
Congrats on both of them surviving one another.
You can get dietary supplements that discourage this behavior. Makes the unthinkable unpalatable to dogs.
You can also try a doggie vitamin...
The "aggressiveness" is to determine which dog is dominant. You may have to let it run its course. Protecting the puppy may be a good idea now, but if it becomes larger than your current dog then SHE will be the one getting picked on...better to let her stay in charge.
Better to get more ideas, though.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
