Hi

Have some doggie issues. We can't seem to get a hold of them.

Here's the story;

We have three dogs.

Max - 12 Year old male Lab/Shepard X - very good disposition, loves kids, loves people in general except for tha occasional squirrel.
Still has lots of character but doesn't play most of the times, likes to watch us, while sitting on the couch.

Maddie 9 year old female collie/Keshond X - very dedicated companion to my wife, loves to play, and very possessive. Visitors coming to the house can be noisy at times. We never had a problem with her taking to visitors.

enter... the new pup...

Rico - 7 month German Sheppard - very good disposition, friendly loves to play like any normal pup. Has taken to Maddie like a mother, loves to play with her.

What our problem is Maddie at first loved the pup and played with her but now within the last two months, Maddie is distancing herself with the pup..now it will attack and rip fur out of the pup. Rico(the pup) always goes back. I am thinking wanting to get acceptance from the female???.. i dunno?

We scold Maddie telling her bad. But she doesn't listen to anything we say anymore, almost like she is in a world of her own?.. When she is outside
and we tell her to come in and she won't come in, you have to physically go out and grab her by the collar to get her in the house. She doesn't listen to us anymore. Healthwise, she is very overweight (she is on a diet) She had a spell with vommitting and diarreha, but that seems to have subsided. Right now, her urine is extremely yellow but her poop seems to be fine and she hasn't vommitted in awhile.
We did take her to the vet and got her checked out and they did a whole series of tests they all came back except one showing that her kidney levels are a little elevated. Nothing to be concerned about. The vet wanted us to do more tests like MRI etc. But the vet told us that we could spending well into the thousands for treatment. We are not prepared to do that right now.

Basically, the vet thinks that with the new addition of the dog its tough on Maddie's system both mentally and physically???

We have spent more quality time with Maddie, trying to walk her, just being with her. But everytime the other dogs come around a dog fight ensues.
Luckily the other dogs don't fight "that much" just enough to protect themselves and back off.

Now, the older dog Max stays in the basement because he is scared he is going to get attacked.

The dog fight are always in the morning (once we get up) and in the evening. Never during the day...which is odd.

My wife and I are at wits end. We are wondering what we can do?

Thanks for any suggestions!

Dave

It sounds as though it is a dominance issue. Your new pup is coming into maturity, and your existing female may be concerned that the new girl is going to make a play for alpha bitch.

It sounds as if the new pup does not start altercations, but merely defends herself. If this is the case, then you may be able to calm the situation by recognising the pack structure and giving some positive reinforcement. For example, always greet your old girl first when you walk into the room. Put her bowl down first when you feed them. If you give them titbits, always give her titbits first. And so on and so forth - I'm sure you get the idea. If she begins to realise that you (ie the pack leaders) recognise that she is still above the other dogs in the pack structure, then she may calm down and stop behaving aggressively.

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Until you've been hugged by a bergamasco you've never lived!!!

That's what we do with Milo, not because he's aggresive but because he's mardy!

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Aw, he's not mardy - he's lovely, is Milo! Give him a hug from me

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Until you've been hugged by a bergamasco you've never lived!!!

I would but he's being grumpy under the bed! Think the hot weather has taken it out of him!

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Hi!

Thanks for the suggestions and replies, i truly appreciate it. So we are getting a behaviorist to come into our home next week and see what they can help us with our problem.

I talked to the behaviorist already and he mentioned that he could help out with the problem and he assured me that, with a commitment from us, you will notice improvements right away.

So my wife and I are glad there is a solution!

I will most definitely let you know how we make out!

Thanks again!

Dave

You've got complete confusion going on here. Maddie has been dog pack leader for however long (whether you knew it or not) now this little upstart comes along and is getting ideas above their station and she's getting mixed messages from you.

Im assuming Rico is a male, which is easier to deal with.

People often assume a puppy will be bottom of the pack on its arrival, and are surprised when the older dogs are very tolerant, maybe allowing them to take food or toys or just jumping on top of them, seeming that the older dog has been overtaken in status. When the puppy gets older and continues this behaviour, the older dogs will tolerate the behaviour much less.

Now, here is where the mistake has been made. You tell Maddie off when she snaps, this is completely the wrong thing to do. Firstly, you shouldn't be allowing the pup to be pestering her until she gets to the stage where she snaps. She cant be bothered with puppy games.

She may play with the pup but once it gets too far, you need to separate them. Maddie's status needs to be reinforced. You're punishing her for something she's well within her rights to do. If Maddie snaps at the pup, then it will be for a good reason, so you need to take the puppy away from her, praise MADDIE and ignore RICO. I would feed her first and give her privlidges that the others don't. If you start like this, the other problems can then be addressed, i suspect her change in behaviour is in response to the confusion she is feeling right now.

So many people treat their dogs equal or reinforce the wrong dog, leading to big problems.

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