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.
I could really use some advice.
I have a friend whose dog has turned inexplicably aggressive against people--
was thinking something similar....
Hey--it looks like you already knew who to ask!
You have to have an HK though ;^)
PS: I don't have anything against dogs lol. Just a joking type post....I'm sorta drunk rofl.
He needs to get over his "youthful stupidity" and she will only put up with so much before she puts him in his place. It will sound much more vicious than it really is, but it has to happen. DO NOT favor her, or him in the process, ignore unwanted behavior, and praise the behavior you want (peace and play between them).
First question... When the puppy has been 'playing' (ie "being a pest") and the older dog has gotten on her case in the past, have you interfered? Or have you let her plotz him without punishment, or coddling of the pup?
Second question... Do you respect the pecking order, or do you conflict with it? When there is a dominant dog, it's vital that you honor the pecking order. Feed her first, pet her first, and give her more attention than the other dog (at least while she's looking) It's easy to be tempted to pick up and coo over the pup, but it sends both of them a mixed message and prolongs and elevates the conflict if you don't honor the pecking order.
Those are my first two questions...
And here's the ping to everyone else..
I missed this before...
Whether this is the right thing to do depends on the situation. If she's truly attacking unprovoked, it's OK to punish her. But if the pup was egging her on or invading her space, you have to let her plotz him. She may not ever like him, and avoiding her is what the pup needs to learn to do.
If she's truly going to be dangerously aggressive, you may end up having to make a choice. But usually they'll work it out.
That's different... I'd have to know more...
Check out the Dog_Whisperer. On Cable TV. Channel 162 in my area. Ceasar is his name! Clifton, NJ Cable Vision.
I've seen that with strays and with puppies from large litters. They finally have a home only to lose it to another dog and are often very aggressive in re-establishing their place in the pecking order. What's worse, the more you pet the second dog and give it attention, the more jealous she will be toward it and most likely, the more aggressive. (think two women after the same guy) If the new dog is shy anyway, it will get even more abuse.
The easiest thing to do is to pick one and find the other a good home. Otherwise, you'll have to spend much extra effort giving both equal time.
You have to treat her like she's the "Alpha" dog. She may be getting nervous because she feels like she's been displaced. You know how women are!
You and I said much the same thing... And I agree, seperating them at the moment of the conflict isn't helping. They need to work this out without a lot of interference, and the wrong kind of interference can be detrimental.
It takes a good eye watching the situations develop to see which of the two is really going to be the dominant personality. It may be the female or the male, but whichever it ends up being you can't really change it.
That said, when I've had issues with my dogs not accepting a new one, or not playing well with others, I've interfered only when it got too rough and was excalating. and then I've interfered with a "HEY! CUT IT OUT!" and/or a spray bottle in the face to the aggressor. That will usually break the tension of the moment. But I dont' coddle either dog afterwards.
You also don't want to try to introduce dogs on a tight leash... the tight leash triggers all kinds of aggressive/defensive adrenaline in a dog. If they must be on leash, it must be slack... don't introduce them already straining.
Spoken like an astute dog person! You know your dogs!
I've seen that program before. That guy works amazing wonders with troubled dogs.
I Googled for it and the link is below. You'll have to do a "tv schedule" search for times in your area:
When we first got the puppy he would pretty much have his way with her with nipping and trying to stand on her and the like. My wife and I didn't interfere and I was hoping she'd give him a good wop but that never happened.
She would just play bite back and this would go on for a while. That's been the story up until last month. These attacks never happen when they're already fighting.
It's like this, we're watching TV, the female is on one side, the male puppy on the other. 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. Everything goes pretty fast after that. One of us probably says "No Saffron!" (her name) or something like that when it happens.
We never interfered when they were tumbling around on each other biting and chasing each other. But I guess I'm afraid this new behavior is too violent.
Second question:
I guess together we might of been doting on the puppy more. The female is kind of a daddy's girl and prefers to spend time around me. And I'm sure I give her more attention. But during the day when I'm at work my wife might be giving the puppy more attention because, well.., he's a cute little puppy. She also feeds them and I'm not sure how she orders them.
So I guess the wife and I need to be better about respecting the female's status?
I love dogs. But when they forget who's boss, well, they can become trouble. I read somewhere that a six year old got killed by a dog today on the way to school.
It just happens so fast though. In a blink of an eye her mouth is on him. But when we say something she all of a sudden becomes submissive again ducking as if we're going to hit her (we've never so much as spanked her).
"But I dont' coddle either dog afterwards."
Afterwards the puppy generaly tries to jump in our lap or hide behind my wife or I.
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