Hi, I've got two medium sized mixed breed dogs. My partner and I split up 4 months ago and she took one of the dogs with her (Dexter). After 3 mths she decided she couldn't look after him anymore and gave him back to me. He was always the dominant over our other dog (Shordy) while we were together but while they were apart it seems Shordy developed a taste for being an only dog. He is acting aggressive - growling, barking and starting fights - towards Dex as well as being possessive of toys and beds. They've both got their own bed but which ever one Dex lies on, Shordy goes and lies on too. They still play like they used to but not as much and it usually ends in a fight. Shordy's got a couple holes in his ear now as a result of today's play. Dexter is 2yrs old and Shordy's 1.5 yrs, both males. They've both just been desexed this week. I've never raised dogs before, my family are cat people, but my ex has had dogs all her life so this is all new to me. What can I do to correct this behaviour? Should I reinforce Shordy as being above Dex in the pack? Or the other way around? How do i do this? Do I keep them separated or together? Any and all advice will be very welcome! I'm having a few issues with them but this aggression is definitely the highest priority at the moment.

Cheers!
Angel

Maybe this didn't come through on people's newsreaders...just in case
someone might want to respond...


On Sun, 27 Mar 2011 02:24:56 +0000, Angel
wrote:


Hi, I've got two medium sized mixed breed dogs. My partner and I split
up 4 months ago and she took one of the dogs with her (Dexter). After 3
mths she decided she couldn't look after him anymore and gave him back
to me. He was always the dominant over our other dog (Shordy) while we
were together but while they were apart it seems Shordy developed a
taste for being an only dog. He is acting aggressive - growling, barking
and starting fights - towards Dex as well as being possessive of toys
and beds. They've both got their own bed but which ever one Dex lies on,
Shordy goes and lies on too. They still play like they used to but not
as much and it usually ends in a fight. Shordy's got a couple holes in
his ear now as a result of today's play. Dexter is 2yrs old and Shordy's
1.5 yrs, both males. They've both just been desexed this week. I've
never raised dogs before, my family are cat people, but my ex has had
dogs all her life so this is all new to me. What can I do to correct
this behaviour? Should I reinforce Shordy as being above Dex in the
pack? Or the other way around? How do i do this? Do I keep them
separated or together? Any and all advice will be very welcome! I'm
having a few issues with them but this aggression is definitely the
highest priority at the moment.

Cheers!
Angel

On Mar 26, 10:24*pm, Angel wrote:
Hi, I've got two medium sized mixed breed dogs. My partner and I split
up 4 months ago and she took one of the dogs with her (Dexter). After 3
mths she decided she couldn't look after him anymore and gave him back
to me. He was always the dominant over our other dog (Shordy) while we
were together but while they were apart it seems Shordy developed a
taste for being an only dog. He is acting aggressive - growling, barking
and starting fights - towards Dex as well as being possessive of toys
and beds. They've both got their own bed but which ever one Dex lies on,
Shordy goes and lies on too. They still play like they used to but not
as much and it usually ends in a fight. Shordy's got a couple holes in
his ear now as a result of today's play. Dexter is 2yrs old and Shordy's
1.5 yrs, both males. They've both just been desexed this week. I've
never raised dogs before, my family are cat people, but my ex has had
dogs all her life so this is all new to me. What can I do to correct
this behaviour? Should I reinforce Shordy as being above Dex in the
pack? Or the other way around? How do i do this? Do I keep them
separated or together? Any and all advice will be very welcome! I'm
having a few issues with them but this aggression is definitely the
highest priority at the moment.

Cheers!
Angel

Dog aggression is one of those things that often is best handled
through in-person evaluation by a qualified dog trainer or
behaviorist. Part of this is because what is aggression to one person
may be rough play to another - and this is especially true when people
don't have a lot of experience with dogs - and it can take some close
observation with an experienced eye to tell what's really going on
between the dogs. That being said, if your dogs are having encounters
resulting in holes in one or both of them, it's unlikely that they're
playing, or maybe they're starting out that way but it's escalating.
My suggestions:

1) You can't choose which dog will be the alpha within their pack. If
you aren't sure who's really the alpha dog - and it's not always
obvious, as some dogs are alpha-wanna-bes or simply bullies - don't
worry about reinforcing the alpha at this point.

2) You need to make clear to both dogs that you are the Big Cahuna
Leader Over Everyone, and that Fighting Is Not Allowed. That's the
bottom line, no matter which dog is the alpha - it's your house, and
there's no fighting. Obedience training will help establish yourself
as leader. You have two adolescent male dogs, so you need to get this
going asap.

3) I have multiple dogs, including a bully, and when there's snarking
or growling I just say "knock it off", or whatever, rather than
reprimanding a specific dog by name. I've had weird things happen
over the years where a dog decided that the Boss (me, or my DH) needed
help in establishing order and took it upon itself to punish another
dog. So no matter who started it, it's a generic "knock it off" in
your best low growly voice. If the dogs can't play without it
escalating into a fight, restrict their play/interaction.

4) Without observing firsthand what's going on, it's difficult to say
whether the dogs need to be separated at this point, whether this is a
situation that's going to require one dog being rehomed or whether,
with some training and leadership on your part, the dogs will be able
to co-exist and play peacefully. Find a dog trainer, ideally someone
who can observe your dogs together at your home, and start some
obedience training. Veterinarians are usually not very helpful with
behavior problems but can refer you to the right trainer, if you need
a reference.

Hi, Angel. I've been through this one before. ACK! Keep the boys
seperated. Certainly, do Not attempt to enforce your idea of pack
position on them... you could make it worse. Call your vet clinic and
ask for a referal to a local trainer who has worked with same-sex dog
aggression, or a credentialled animal behaviorist. Yours won't be the
first request for this type of help. Many times this can be modified to
a simple truce. The neutering may or may not help (been there, too,
both ways). But you need expert help; this is not a do-it-yourself
project if you are not an experienced trainer, and very experienced at
"reading" canine body language.... and if you live alone, it's dangerous
(to both you and the dogs; I have scars to prove it) to try.

The simplest approach would be to have the expert evaluate both dogs,
and place one in a new home. A home where the adoptor understands that
this Must be an "only canine kid". The expert knows the local resources
and can counsel you on the correct way to procede.
Neutering one dog solved my first problem with this, but I think it was
because I had this done the day after he first went after his older
brother.... and a strong correction for even trying.

The second time both were neutered already, and despite 30-odd years of
working with dogs, mine and those of thousands of obedience students,
and having expert and objective behavioral guidance instantly available,
it boiled down to keeping them apart. Period. One of the dogs, the
younger, died after a few years of this complication of daily routine.
The older is fine with a second, neutered-before-he-arrived, younger
male, and with two younger male foster dogs I've had here in that time,
and two foster females. Previous foster males had never caused a
problem for this older guy, nor had males older than he, earlier. It
was a bid by the younger male to move up to the
dog-in-charge-of-dog-stuff that started the whole mess. But, I
understand my younger dog well enough to know that if I ever bring in
another dog, it Must be a female; even a submissive male would be at
high risk.

Jo Wolf
Martinez, Georgia