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dominance struggles
yeah, i knew it was bound to happen...
Manu and Lola are both 18 months old this week. and life has been getting a bit more interesting around the house. when Manu first came to live with us, Lola submitted to his bullying and life was pretty good. he ate first, went outside first, left his crate first, and got the first hello pets in the morning. he watched her food bowl diligently, and as soon as she was done, he licked it clean. he stole her toys, and she let him, most of the time. their play was rough and tumble, but not scary. and once in a while, he'd mount her, and she'd just stand there, as though she didn't notice. things have recently changed. we're still treating Manu as though he's in charge, but Lola as stopped acting like she agrees with us. it started innocently enough, he'd get excited at something outside and go to mount Lola, and she just sat down. didn't look at him, didn't snap, just sat. so obviously, he couldn't do much of anything. then she started getting possessive over toys. and not just toys she had in her mouth, any toy he looked at. she started snapping at him if he glanced at her wrong. just now, Manu was laying on the choice spot in front of the fire. normally Lola would lay behind him, but she just sat on his head, so she could be closer to the fire. this is new behavior, and it's worrying me. yesterday, we were playing with a soccer ball in the yard. i'd kick the ball, both dogs would run for it, and they'd nose it around between them until i kicked it again. sounds simple enough, right? apparently Manu looked at the ball inapropriately, because Lola just freaked out. they've made scary noises and showed teeth before, but no one got hurt. this was not like anything i've see either one of them do. they got into a fight, and i was alone out there with them. i picked up Lola by the chest, and tried to pull her off, but that didn't work. so i grabbed Manu's jaws (upper in one hand and lower in the other) and opened his mouth, then i kind of inserted myself between them and pushed Lola away with my body. i put them both in a down stay, and they just lay there, panting, as though nothing had happened. but something had. Lola has a puncture completely through her ear, and several scratches on her mouth. Manu has scratches around his mouth, and the webbing between his toes is cut and keeps bleeding all over my floor. and i have a nice C shaped bruise, about the size of a pit bull's dental imprint on my arm. and it's swollen to about half again it's size. *sigh* what used to be little "i'm in charge" signals have recently escalated to the dogs not being allowed to play together without two adults to supervise them. i know that having two dogs of this breed can be difficult, so i don't need any "i told you so's" there. i know that having two adolescent dogs can be a challenge, regardless of breed. and i know that Lola is obviously not happy with being the bottom dog here. the question is, what can i do? i've always supported Manu as top dog, because he's always been the one that showed the signs, while Lola passively sat there. if it's going to change, do i need to change my behavior? or do i just "let them work it out" and hope they don't kill each other? recently, i've been keeping a close eye on them, and if a toy becomes a point of contention, i put it away. if they start getting snappy or growling, i give them the "easy" command and they go to their separate corners. am i managing this right? is there something i'm missing that could make this easier? it will get better when they decide who's in charge, right? any good books that go into this? -kelly |
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