A tale of 2 dogs

SixPapaCharlie

SixPapaCharlie

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I have 2 dogs. Female is 12, kinda bitchy but she's 12
2 yrs ago put our bloodhound down and got a puppy because we hate having nice things.

The two dogs have gotten along ok but over the last 6-8 months they have been getting into fights and they are bad. I got in the middle and have never been bit that hard.

They fight when we are cooking or when they are being fed. Maybe 1-2 times a month they pass each other and growl when they are near their bowls. Tends to be worse when we are cooking around the same time they are feeding or are hungry.

The other thing that is just weird. It only happens in one room in our house (the office) no food at all.

Female lays in her typical spot and if he gets close, she will growl some times and sometimes they will play and groom each other and what not.
Every once in awhile, she they will both be laying down in that room 6-8 feet a part and he will just lunge at her out of the blue and one of these big fights starts.

These bouts are infrequent but we have to separate them If we let them keep going, they will keep going. Last time, The 2yr old just locked down on her ear and would not let go. I was lifting him completely off the ground and he still hung on to her.

90% of the time, they play and do normal dog things but I am scared one of my kids (6 & 7) is going to get between them during that other 10% in which case, I will destroy the dog myself.

So the ultimate question: Is this something that can be trained out of the dog? The 12 year old isn't going to last much longer and the 2 yr old may just have to be an only dog. but if I can get this behavior corrected I would like to.

Are there things we can do? Feed them outside, or in separate rooms, etc?
I am thinking of calling the rescue group where we got him and letting them know but both kids started sobbing when I mentioned returning him to the group.


Also, I am not sure what caused it. Like I stated she has always been a little bitchy (just growling at other dogs, never barking or biting) He was a perfect puppy but as of late is becoming more aggressive toward her and other dogs.

Sorry for posting this on a pilot forum but I am not a member of any dog forums.

thoughts?
 
I'm no dog expert, but my only bits of advice is a lot more activity for the 2YO dog. He's possibly getting bored or restless because the older dog doesn't do much. Next, you've invaded the females space. Dogs are often very territorial. She needs her own safe place where the young one can't intrude.

That's all I got. Nothing scientific of course.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
..........

Female lays in her typical spot and if he gets close, she will growl some times and sometimes they will play and groom each other and what not.
Every once in awhile, she they will both be laying down in that room 6-8 feet a part and he will just lunge at her out of the blue and one of these big fights starts.

........?
Click to expand...

I had a wife like that for 32 years ..:yes:..

She is now my EX wife....;)...............:D....
 
My long time brother and sister rescue have had some major fights, even though they're both kissy, kissy, gentle puppies. He's a frisky and fast Daddy's boy and she is laid back and easy going. They were foster brother and sister when I adopted her. I went back 14 months later to get him when Jake left us.


Holding onto the other dogs ear is defensive, strictly to keep from getting bitten.

I would try to grab them by the collar, avoiding the whirling choppers and only succeeded about 59% of the time. (Yeah. I got wounded.)

One theory is that if you lift the back legs the dog can't lunge so it can't fight. Being on my own that only meant that I was making one dog defenseless.

I would get them apart and give the boy a time out.

They would always be kissing each other in minutes.

It became obvious that it was a jealousy problem and food aggression. They also fought over who could have prime position next to Daddy.

With the food I was sure I had it under control because I would keep them 10 feet apart and until they were both done eating. One evening I put down her bowl and headed out. When I got home the house was shambles and she was badly torn up. Never again.

Several times I decided that I had to find a new home for him.

Now I feed her in a closed bedroom with the door closed.

I think I cracked it by catching the last spat early and yelling at the right dog - her. She's very sensitive (she can CRY!) and didn't like being dressed down.

Now if she even growls at him as he closes close while she's chewing on a toy bone - and she decided that they're all hers - I give her a HEY! and she stops.

They've worked out him defering to her to the point where at bedtime when she decides he's too close to the prime spot she jumps down and barks, he gets down, she goes up and claims her space and comes back. The only problem there is that we do this during the night even if it wakes up the Daddy.

If you watch closely you can pick up the body language - they look eye to eye right before the war, have ears up and back raised. Ears down and back low means "lets play." They do play by growling and nipping, too, so you have to learn what's harmless.

I think you can get them to get along but if it gets bad get help from a professional trainer.

The boy is in Canine Good Citizen class and doing really well.
 
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Mike has the key. You have to learn to read the body language and stop it way earlier than you think. Once the fight starts it's way too late.

Also he hit the other part I think too, food aggression. You can train that away in various ways.

It can be VERY time consuming with some dogs.

The two links below have some ideas.

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/food-guarding

http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/treatment_of_food_possessive_dogs_is_about_finesse_not_force

The real key is that both dogs must know you (Alpha) are in control of the food. They are not. They think they need to guard because they feel they are in control of food. This is where the root of the trouble starts. Breaking the chain where they think once you set food down they are not required to behave to have it, is the first step.

Dog always performs some act for dinner. Sit. Down. Wait. Whatever. It seems "cruel" to some that don't quite get dog behavior. It's not. They actually RELAX when they know Alpha is in charge of things, including food.

The hardest part is training yourself to see the behavior start. The eyeball lock is the absolute first, fastest, and number one sign that anything is going to start with dogs. When I see dogs staring at people or other dogs, it triggers the "break the eyeball lock" light in my brain. For most dog owners it doesn't trigger anything. Dogs almost always stare at what they want.

Good luck. Holler back and let us know how the desensitization training is going.
 
I had a pair of dogs some years ago that were like that about food, we just went to free-feeding them and kept food available 24 hours. The fighting stopped and they stayed active and didn't gain weight, so we called it good. Since then I've always free-fed my animals and haven't had any problems.

Exception - my barn cats - we live in the country and have a healthy population of semi-feral barn cats to keep the snakes down. I've learned that the cat population will quickly expand to absorb the total food budget, so I put out a daily supply of food in the mornings and that's it - no more. They can hunt for more, or scrounge for the neighbors food, or disappear to another house, but that's the total food budget at my house. I maintain a steady 12-15 cat population that way.
 
Variable intensity shock collar. Test in on yourself first. That thing worked wonders in under two weeks.
 
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