Anudder dog question:; Baby Chloe bosses Damian around???

[BusynMember]

She is all of six months and a very feisty, strong personality doggy Who is part yorkie and acts terrior. Damian is a sweet dog who is afraid of her. If she barks to keep him out of a room, he will look at me to help him go into the room. If I throw a toy and she gets it first, he lets her. In other words, she is the pack leader, although Damian has been with us for two and half years! So far no fighting or anything, but she will growl and bark at him if he goes somewhere she doesn't want him to go.

Last night I fell asleep on the couch watching TV and the dogs usually sleep in our bed. Well, I woke to find Damian on my rump and I got up to get him to follw me to the bedroom. As soon as he got near the door, Chloe jumped up, barking and growling and him and he looked at me like "Hey, Mom, HELP!"


Suggestions?

 

[Hound dog]

Has Chloe been getting more attention being the baby of the family? Might be giving her a superior attitude if she has been. I have to force myself not to smother a new baby (furbaby or not) with attention/affection due to this.....especially with a furbaby. You're the pack leader......and if he's getting less attention/affection she might think it is because she is higher ranked in the pack.......that he seems more passive will reinforce it. In time, when Damian stops thinking of her as a baby he might correct her on his own. It used to look like puppies bossed Molly around.......until the day came she decided they weren't too little to discipline, and that stopped that immediately because she'd Momma spank them. Molly never hurt them, but it made her look scary. lol As boss, you can also correct Chloe if necessary, although I usually like to let dogs work their relationships out on their own. Damien may be watching to see if you'll get mad if he corrects her too. If he sees you're not going to get mad......he may start correcting her. And it will sound and look ferocious but it really won't be......it's mostly bluff.

 

[BusynMember]

Thanks for responsing. Actually, Damian acted like a kind big brother at first and did correct her. But she did get attention, although we always tried to split it in half. She is a bigger personality dog than he is and gets jealous easily, much more so than Damian. I'm hoping, now that she's been fixed, she calms down.

 

[Hound dog]

There are techniques to get rid of jealousy issues but I'm not familiar with them enough to even begin to offer advice in that direction. I've seen the training being used on some shows on tv on occasion. So maybe there are books or something of that nature? Maggie and Rufus do pretty much everything together. Maggie still gets plenty of playtime with mom.........but Rufus (unless napping) is usually romping in and out of that play as well, same with affection, eating, and now on the walks. Honestly, it's the only way I can manage to get enough playtime/snuggle time in with him. lol

 

[nerfherder]

One thought - have you recently changed the sequence where they get their main meals? One thing we learned is *never* change who gets fed first.

 

[witzend]

Gently tap Chloe and make a noise when she does that, then go on with what you are doing. Do this every time Chloe pull it. They both need to know that YOU are the pack leader. Watch this video - the two dogs are further into their bad behavior than yours, but they could get that far if you don't deal with it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppSOZoGomUo

 

[Jody]

I had a friend who had a yorkie who would not allow her husband to get in the bed. I told her to virtually give this dog very little attention at all. Only give her positive attention when she does good, other wise nothing. Didnt take long for her to finally get the picture and she became the dog in the family and not the boss. Some dogs don't need this but some are just wired a little differently and need a little more help. difficult child doggies. lol.

 

[BusynMember]

Thanks, guys. Will take all advice and do some reading too

 

[Hound dog]

I have, thus far, been fortunate with Maggie and Rufus. I hope it lasts.

They share all the toys. They share all the bones. (except real ones, but he's not ready for them quite yet) They both sit politely when Travis and I are eating and wait with manners to see if they might get a little tidbit when we're done. Tonight they shared steak and baked potato skins in their bowls. No fussing......nothing.

Nichole on the other hand is having some issues, although not the same ones as were with Betsy. Still *might* be Betsy caused, however. When Rufus' brother Vader joined her family Baily was happy.....but didn't want to share....Betsy rarely wanted to share. Baily would try to wolf down all the food, treats, and hog the bones.....to the point where it was making her physically ill. She didn't growl or show aggression.......just this wolfing thing. So seems Vader thought he wasn't going to get anything if he didn't do the same thing. Only time either gets snarky is if people food is involved. Nichole didn't worry much because over time Baily stopped wolfing the food, bones, treats.......she figured she'd quit on the table foods too.

Only one problem. The dogs come to visit Nana. Vader came along today. Everything was great.....including Rufus and Vader eating dog food together......until lunch time when the grands were eating and someone dropped something on the floor near Rufus. Seems Vader wasn't far away and he went full blown aggression on poor Rufus. Rufus defended himself until I got to them and removed Vader by gating him in another room. Nichole said it's the first time he's ever done it. I said well.......he and Rufus are the same size......and he's always been sort of bossy with Rufus. lol So she's going to keep her dogs away from people meal times until "hopefully" they unlearn this wolfing business completely. But from now on........Mr. Vader will not be in the same room with people eating in my house. I have Maggie and Rufus getting along just fine together..........even munching steak bones (her idea to share a part of it with him) together. I don't want something messing that up.

This is Betsy caused because Betsy would share with Baily one minute and turn on her the next (literally). Baily need to learn not all dogs will treat her that way...She's learning while forging her relationship with Vader. But Nichole must be careful Vader doesn't pick up the same behavior.

Maggie growled once over a toy. I corrected her with a No. She growled at Rufus once over the food dish. I corrected her once with No. She's not done it since on anything. I do have 2 food dishes......just because it's easier. Once I introduce the homemade food.........which is extremely popular......I will have to supervise to make certain Rufus is getting his portion. Once I'm sure it's not going to be a problem.........I leave them alone and don't worry about it.

Bottom line? I'm top dog in this house.

 

[InsaneCdn]

Bottom line? I'm top dog in this house

And that is the single most important element in the dog world.
They NEED to know that you are the boss, and exactly where they fit in the hierarchy.

 

[BusynMember]

Ok, so update is we've been using various gentle but firm methods to get Chloe to stop bossing Damian around and she's been a lot better. I have not had many female dogs, but the one I did have was also the dominant one. Man, the boys gave her a wide berth...lol. But she did know WE were dominant over her.She was a great family pet and very compliant to our wishes. She just thought she was Queen Bee of the three dogs. I have read that female dogs tend to be more dominant. Chloe is NOT vicious nor does she bite Damian or fight with him. And now, since she's backed off, Damian seems to feel more in his comfort zone and will "correct" her again. They do love to play together and basically get along pretty well. I was concerned because of Chloe's behavior that one night. Fortunately, she never did it again. I don't want what happened with my other dogs to happen to Damian and Chloe and, if necessary, will hire a dog trainer to avoid it.

For those of you who know I took my other three dogs to a sanctuary because they did not get along at all and peed and pooped in the house, I have some news as I've kept up with the sanctuary. Both Prince, my marker, and Rufus, who used to fight with Prince all the time, found forever families. Prince and Rufus are both only children, which is best for them, and Prince stopped marking there after 24 hrs. Of course, there is no other male dog to mark for...no dog at all. Rufus is doing great as an only child and is reported to spend most of his time sleeping on the couch in the sun. Sounds like our boy! He has not marked either and is more relaxed not having to compete for attentnion.

Lucky, my lab/cocker mix, has Cushings Disease and since a vet owns the sanctuary is as healthy and happy as could be expected. They report she loves the volunteers at the sanctuary an d we have plans to go out and visit her soon.

 

[Hound dog]

Sounds like a really good update MWM all the way around!

I understand your concern.

After Precious and then later Betsy turned aggressive...........it made me wonder if I was doing something different or if it was something wrong with them. Now with Precious, I've no doubt I probably mucked up the waters so to speak. I got her shortly after my Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and frankly I wasn't "right in the head" for quite a long while. I over protected her from Molly (which wasn't necessary) and gave her mixed signals. I do not think that was all of it, though. Not by a long shot. Most of it was Precious' personality/temperament and I should've had a red flag go up when the breeder told me Precious was not up for adoption, nor was she going to breed her. She must've seen something that concerned her even as a small pup. Know what I mean?? I did promise not to breed her.....and was going to spay her.....but Nichole aided in her getting pregnant via Rowdy before I had the chance........she went into heat and vet wouldn't spay her at that point. She was spayed immediately after the pups were born. Betsy was not over protected like her mother. She adored Molly until suddenly she didn't anymore.......at least when people (mainly me) were around. Precious went on to a nice home in the country.........and started a basset obsession with the people who adopted her. (they now rescue bassets to some degree......I ran across the woman we rehomed her too not long ago) Betsy......well, you know how that turned out. Precious' new owners kept her an only dog until she passed away, which was sudden and unexpected like Cleo (Betsy's sister). My guess, and vets guess, is they all 3 had the same heart defect........Cleo didn't feel bad enough to have it effect her personality, the other two most likely were just miserable enough to turn aggressive.

I opted out of 2 female dogs, however, because Molly and Rowdy in all those long years never ever had an issue with each other. He was top male dog. She was top female dog. Mom was pack leader period. Everyone else fell under that, even the cats and other critters that entered the home. lol

Maggie and Rufus so far appear that they will be the same way.