Need help on how to get two female dogs to get along.
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Thank you for all your responses. Since posting this cry for help we have started doing things different with things with the dogs. They now have their own area for sleeping and eating.We have also tried to do a few other things. Our older one listen's to my husband very well and that is who she is jealous over and what is causing most of the fights. So I have tried to give my attention to the younger one and allow the older one to have her time with my husband and not fight for his attention. Whether this is right or wrong I don’t know but had to try something. So far so good. No more injuries and the younger one knows she can now come to me to get attention and not have to fight for it. Fingers crossed it all stays good.
Here, this gives some good info:
(I will caution, this page shows some graphic bite photos that people have received when mishandling or misjudging how to deal with a dominant dog.)
I have a 3yr. Old border collie mix and a 1 or. Old lab mix.the birder collie u
Is a rescue and we have had her for a little over a year. They used tie get along great..eat out of the same bill together sleep together, everything then just out of the blue the border collie started attacking the lab. Its to the point that we have to keep them separated. Nothing has changed and we have no idea why she is doing this. We have gotten her sprayed and she still is being aggressive.we just don't know what to do to get them to get along again..Any advice would really be apprecitive
I have a 3yr. Old border collie mix and a 1 or. Old lab mix.the birder collie u
Is a rescue and we have had her for a little over a year. They used tie get along great..eat out of the same bill together sleep together, everything then just out of the blue the border collie started attacking the lab. Its to the point that we have to keep them separated. Nothing has changed and we have no idea why she is doing this. We have gotten her sprayed and she still is being aggressive.we just don't know what to do to get them to get along again..Any advice would really be apprecitive
Something changed. One could have a health problem - maybe the border collie. Could be thyroid. Makes them unreasonable. Nervous. Start with a vet visit for both. Then get a dog behaviorist in to see the interaction with EVERYONE home.
Make sure they both get enough exercise and walks not just acting crazy in the yard. Especially the BC. But this is beyond that point.
The original poster ended up creating two packs. One dog + husband and the other dog + wife.
THIS will end up being bad for her - but it was all she could do/ think of at the time.
Separation is also temporary. You need integration but for the sake of both dogs, you can't do it right now. But being separated will only make things worse in the long run, sorry to say.
Females can be difficult. They are the first to bite in a powerful breed like German Sheps.
Meanwhile, muzzle the BC if necessary, during times where there may be a problem. NO YELLING that will make her worse. You have to be the leaders of the house not the dogs and not cause them to be "concerned" by you seeming emotional or whatever. Of course if it's medical, that changes the game but the same rules apply about being calm and assertive.
THIS should be permanently pinned to the dog forum as it is the solution to 90% of the behavior problems people come with.
Quote:
Originally posted by foxywench
id say you need to find a Private animal BEHAVIOURIST (not a dog trainer, not someone whos going to come in and yank them around or correct them, or "teach" them tricks, but instead someone who can come in, properly observe them interacting, watch body language and se if they can find a root cause that can be changed, or managed...
I'm very glad to see your advise on dealing with the two dogs, especially when they started to fight. I have two shepard mixes. He is very tall and rather calm and looks like a supersized german shepard. She is rather small and looks like a malinious (sp?) but she also is a mix. She hit her second heat this last week. The two dogs and my older beagle coexist quite peacefully, until.... She started going after him. I was having to keep them in seperate rooms, but she got out and went straight for him. Both on the back legs growling and barking though there hadn't been any contact. I pulled on the lead she was trailing, but also got a back leg so she had to pay attention to me dragging her away. He started following but then stopped, and took back his chair. Since then they didn't even get the chance to see each other which is a problem in a small house. But yesterday, all calm. They ignored each other. He sniffed and went back to sleep. Game over.
She's got an appointment for a spay in a week, so she's out of heat and hopefully much less drama. But the advise on if dogs are fighting is something I don't think I've seen and it was much appreciated.
I'm very glad to see your advise on dealing with the two dogs, especially when they started to fight. I have two shepard mixes. He is very tall and rather calm and looks like a supersized german shepard. She is rather small and looks like a malinious (sp?) but she also is a mix. She hit her second heat this last week. The two dogs and my older beagle coexist quite peacefully, until.... She started going after him. I was having to keep them in seperate rooms, but she got out and went straight for him. Both on the back legs growling and barking though there hadn't been any contact. I pulled on the lead she was trailing, but also got a back leg so she had to pay attention to me dragging her away. He started following but then stopped, and took back his chair. Since then they didn't even get the chance to see each other which is a problem in a small house. But yesterday, all calm. They ignored each other. He sniffed and went back to sleep. Game over.
She's got an appointment for a spay in a week, so she's out of heat and hopefully much less drama. But the advise on if dogs are fighting is something I don't think I've seen and it was much appreciated.
An update. My beagle passed away not too long after, and its been less agression and more noise. She was the weakest and I had to watch her closely. Her weakness might have helped create the situation. She was having trouble walking and in pain, and it wasn't getting better, then didn't want to eat much. She was ready to go to the doggie afterlife. She was 14 and mostly slept in the bedroom or a corner, but was having a lot of trouble getting up and down. I've used painkillers from the vet with elder dogs, but they only work so much.
With the younger two, since then I've been firmly maintaining rules. Food goes out when they sit where they are to stay. I do fasten them but they don't try to pull themselves loose. No barking at cats either. I feed the cats first as well, not close. Nobody is released until everyone is done. And both dogs are fixed.
I found my larger male took to commands easily. His job is to sit by the front door. At first I tied him up but all he had to do was pull it loose. But I feed cats first, out of the way. Then my boy. He's gotten where he stays by the door without a leash. She still barks, but she can't get anywhere. She acts up she isn't permitted up and lose and doesn't like it, but is still when she gets her food. When she calms down I let her go and she stays calm. Its a lot better now, but still a project in works, though she's doing MUCH better.
But at any sign of agression she is stopped and must be still and calm before she's released. It happens rarely, but my boy is unimpressed, and that helps a lot. Mostly I have to watch him or he'll mooch all the cat's food.
I also changed their diet to the majority meat food, and not only have their coats improved drastically, but their behavior has too. Maybe they were itchy, its hard to tell. And as you give them so much less than the food with grain the actual food cost is only a bit higher. They seem much more relaxed. If someone is in the yard or especially near the porch of course both dogs get to bark. Across the street are a shepard and slightly smaller dog and they rush out to bark too. I open the front door, keep the storm door shut, and tell them its okay. I DO Want them to bark but quit when the intruder has been notified.
If I was to do it again, I'd start with the bigger dog and training right away, as a puppy. He didn't seem to be such a big dog then, though, so it was hard to tell. And I'd work with the small one more and with some advise. Once I was working with her, when any undesirable move got her sitting tied up for a time out, it started improving, so it would have been better earlier. Both dogs are part shepard, so they have both the drive and the intelligence to make them a challenge. I'd still have another, just start better and earlier.
I think because my boy was going to be so big a lot more control and training was given and as she was smaller it was assumed she wouldn't be as pushy. And my boy has never been agressive, more extra energetic which for such a big dog can be read that way.
But... I was always worried about bigger dogs and now would not be afraid to have another.
I am hoping someone can give me some good advice. I have a submissive and super sweet 16 lb. Shih Tzu that I acquired at 8 weeks old. She is now almost three. She loves everyone and every dog but sometimes she seemed to be bored and lonely. I adopted a 6 lb. Shih Tzu I told was submissive and like Lolly, really sweet. Not so. Although she is super cute she is a real miss bossy pants and snaps at my larger Shih Tzu. She scratches her back feet like a male and pees over Lolly's urine outside. So, I know she is thinking she is going to be miss dominant and in charge. How do I change this? How do I let her know that i am the one in charge, not her and that she is going to have to get along with Lolly? This isn't what I had in mind. I thought they would get along, hangout and be there for each other. Boy, that was a pipe dream. Can anyone tell me what i can do to change the situation for the better? Lolly was spayed at three months, but Layla, the new one is almost four and has not been spayed. i plan on spaying her very soon. She has never come into heat and that is why they were getting rid of her because they wanted a breeding female. i do not.
I am hoping someone can give me some good advice. I have a submissive and super sweet 16 lb. Shih Tzu that I acquired at 8 weeks old. She is now almost three. She loves everyone and every dog but sometimes she seemed to be bored and lonely. I adopted a 6 lb. Shih Tzu I told was submissive and like Lolly, really sweet. Not so. Although she is super cute she is a real miss bossy pants and snaps at my larger Shih Tzu. She scratches her back feet like a male and pees over Lolly's urine outside. So, I know she is thinking she is going to be miss dominant and in charge. How do I change this? How do I let her know that i am the one in charge, not her and that she is going to have to get along with Lolly? This isn't what I had in mind. I thought they would get along, hangout and be there for each other. Boy, that was a pipe dream. Can anyone tell me what i can do to change the situation for the better? Lolly was spayed at three months, but Layla, the new one is almost four and has not been spayed. i plan on spaying her very soon. She has never come into heat and that is why they were getting rid of her because they wanted a breeding female. i do not.
yes, you should be in charge, but you can't, and shouldn't try, to change the fact that she is dominant over Lolly. So, is she just snapping at Lolly? Is Lolly not listening and heeding the snaps? You cannot determine that you want Lolly to be in charge....that would be a disaster. Dogs determine their own pecking order and you must respect and adhere to it.
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