greysandwhippets Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 I am going to post what I have said in the general section as others there have suggested that I post here for advise with training and any other idea would be much appreciated. I am wondering if any of you have had success with dog to dog aggression. If so what did you do? I have gotten two males both are desexed and one of them tries to dominate the other. Then the fighting starts. They were ok with the initial meeting at the pound but now there is teeth baring, fighting, snapping etc when they are together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 (edited) I've heard that when 2 housemate dogs are battling for top of pack order.....it helps to pick out the one that shows the most dominant behaviours.....& reinforce that status by treating it in certain ways. Which then settles the argument. It's also necessary, tho' for the owner to establish his or her clear leadership over this particular dog....as well as over the other. So obedience in everyday life is important, too. It's explained well on this site. http://spca.bc.ca/Animalbehaviour/dogaggression.asp Other DOLers experienced in advising on problems....or having sorted this problem themselves....might comment on this. Edited November 4, 2007 by mita Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mushaka Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 I do have a little of this with Lewis and Sage. Sage is 15 and has been with me from 6wks old. Lewis is a rescue and upon meeting Sage was fine,but now he tries to dominate her. I back Sage up everytime,and give her special treatment (allowing her on lounge etc). I also dominate Lewis at feed time as this is when he normally starts up. I "heard" him,and bump him away from Sages meal. Lucky for me Lewis can be read like a book so i can see long before it starts that he is in fight mode and can divert his attention. I dont know if he will ever stop it,or if im fighting a never ending battle. I am treating him at the moment for DA (in public) and SA,and hope that I can assert myself as pack leader so he will stop all of these behaviours completely(fingers crossed)! I would love other readers input on this,but i know from past questions similar that the response to this question can vary greatly. So take what u think will work and give it a try. The problem i see with your situation is that u have two of the same sex. I know bitches hold grudges,Im not so sure about boys though? Anyone?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJean Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 (edited) I am going to post what I have said in the general section as others there have suggested that I post here for advise with training and any other idea would be much appreciated.I am wondering if any of you have had success with dog to dog aggression. If so what did you do? I have gotten two males both are desexed and one of them tries to dominate the other. Then the fighting starts. They were ok with the initial meeting at the pound but now there is teeth baring, fighting, snapping etc when they are together. g&w desexing does not take away a dog's underlying temperment - it will alter it in some ways, but not so to make a dominant dog submissive or more accepting of other dogs - or to have any bearing on how a dog will still sort out 'dog business'. At the intial meeting at the pound, there was nothing to fight over really. However now at home, there is territory and rank to be sorted out, who has right of way where - basically both dogs have to negotiate the 'rules' of their new living arrnagements. You can't have order unless you have structure, and eventhough it may not appear to be there - I believe there is a reason for the way dogs do what they do in their day, even if it no more than 'organised chaos'. Whether the two male dogs can 'live and let live' depends much on the two dog's personalities and how they interrelate. If there is livid unacceptance and no room for compromise, they probably won't get along and will have to remain seperated everafter. HOWEVER with males, I have found that if they really hate each other, and would rather die to proove a point than coexist, that this intense dislike between 'strangers' is immediately apparent - irrespective of where the dog is ie: at home, at the pound, in the bush etc. Can the two dogs be around each other without snarling and then getting into a fight? If so, there is hope that they can coexist. Personally I don't believe people can effectively influence the pack dynamics between their dogs. If you have a dog that is determined to outrank another, IMO it causes more damage to meddle in their business. Edited November 5, 2007 by lilli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 Excellent post, Lilli. I looked at the OP and knew what I wanted to say and thought "now, how to say it?". But then got distracted away from the PC for a while. I return to find you've said it for me and better than I think I might have been able. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 Lilli & Erny, what would you recommend that the OP do? Our neighbour is considering getting a second dog for company for his rather feisty BC X.....& he's been talking about being concerned with dealing with rivalry that arises. Sort of at the step before the OP. Are you saying OP should wait for the dogs to sort it out? And keep testing the extent to which they can be around each other without fighting? Maybe make a decision at some time to keep them permanently separated? If so, what would be the criteria for making that decision? (Like no peaceful moments??) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 (edited) Lilli & Erny, what would you recommend that the OP do? Engage a behaviourist - I will never advise on aggression over the internet. It's an important issue and fraught with injurious potential. If you have a serious illness it's not wise to diagnose and treat only by what you might read in a book. Similar applies here. A bit of advice for the interim though is to keep the dogs apart when they cannot be strictly supervised and controlled. Keep them apart if even this is problematic. Definately feed apart. And the OP should hone his/her leadership attributes to make it abundantly clear who really is the leader out of the lot of them. Are you saying OP should wait for the dogs to sort it out? I'm not saying anything - I can't. Don't know the dogs. Don't know their relationship to the owner. And I will not rely on only what is written to me, because the author may omit some potentially important (but to them otherwise meaningless) information. And/or the written information might be misinterpreted by either party. There are just some things that can't be wisely or professionally helped over the net. Sometimes, people actually do need to engage professionals to help them out. And I'd suggest this is at the very least, one of those times. Edited November 6, 2007 by Erny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah L Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 Erny and Lill I totally agree with what you have both said, having missed a lot of my dogz on line recently due to work and computer problems I read this thread today and thought more information by the op is needed and also a very good behaviourist basically so that the op can be guided to the right person for a home lesson about the dogs problems. Lill you are so right by meddling and forcing a situation between dogs that are trying to establish an order between themselves is very dangerous and will lead to a major fight breaking out in the end. L&L many people think that the oldest dog they have should be pack leader in the dog to dog senario but this is not always the case, I would like to say just be careful in what you are doing in your dog to dog dinamics please, it may all end in tears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greysandwhippets Posted November 7, 2007 Author Share Posted November 7, 2007 I am in Sydney west and I would like to know of any good experiences people have had with Behaviouralists. This why I have posted this question as I would like to get it right. They have managed to be together without growling. Although the smaller dog will grab the greyhound by the muzzle(around the mouth the actual muzzle is not on). I am finding that he is very food orientated as well as people and this is working well. We are keeping them separated when we are not out there to keep an eye out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 G&W, is this the Pom/Sheltie cross boy from HP? In my original assessment of him, I found him to be a problem with my male on first meeting. He appeared to either be dominant or have no dog manners whatsoever. He just jumped straight on top of my small dog without so much as a sniff. If you have only just desexed him it will take about 2 months for the hromones to leave his system. He has corgi in him I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 I am in Sydney west and I would like to know of any good experiences people have had with Behaviourists. K9Force is well known for his expertise and good work in NSW/Sydney area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greysandwhippets Posted November 9, 2007 Author Share Posted November 9, 2007 Yes dogmad it is the Pomxsheltie from HP. He is dominant and he has had no training at all. He is not as quite as bad before as I have taught him to sit. He has learnt that quickly as he is very food orientated and people too. So I think that there is some hope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4leggedvariety Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 Good. You will probably find the more control & respect you have from each dog towards you, the more you will be able to influence their behaviour towards each other. The dogs keep on teaching us new things everyday, don't they! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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