Originally Posted by alaskayorkie  This is one of the most frustrating areas of dog ownership, IMO. We want our dogs to get along as we'd expect our children to get along, but the canine world doesn't always work that way. It's risky giving advice because, unless we're accredited behaviorists, it's hard to know all that's going on in your pack. It's science. I have no doubt people will take exception to my advice because we're talking psychology and I'm not a psychologist.
I'll tell you what I've read, and what I've done, and you can take the advice or leave it.
* When to intervene: If the dogs are not physically hurting each other, cuts, red marks, etc., experts often recommend that you let them work it out on their own. Often, owners intervene and we falsely elevate the status of a lower dog in the pack. That makes the leader jealous, and he or she takes it out on the other dog. The other dog, meanwhile, doesn't want that status. They'd just as soon give it up to the leader. But when you show any favoritism at all to the non-alpha, you're creating the problem. By favoritism, I mean first through the door (after you), best spot on your lap, first to get supper, etc.)
* If there are injuries: I had a different situation. My 2-year-old turned into super-alpha the moment we got our 10-year-old, frail rescue. The 2-year-old would administer occasional beatings that would risk serious injuries. I lucked out and ran into a licensed behaviorist online. She had me send her a detailed report of all the confrontations, then she sent me back a multi-page report on how to address it. Here's what she had me do in a nutshell:
* Make sure they were all getting plenty of exercise. A tired dog is a happy dog.
* Since my alpha was toy aggressive, she had me take control of all toys in the house. Don't leave any lying around. (Your situation sounds different. It sounds like your alpha is possessive of your attention.)
* When it was toy time, she had me leash my aggressor and supervise the play. I gave my alpha the best toy and gave my non-alpha a low-value toy. It took weeks, but I finally got to the point that both dogs could play with their own toys without any beatings.
* I followed that routine for at least a month and was happy with the results. We'll occasionally have setbacks, but then I go back to the beginning.
I'd encourage you to read up more, though, and see if you can find examples on the 'net that are more like the kinds of problems you're having.
P.S. If the "Cesar" who gave you advice above is actually Cesar Milan, disregard everything I've said. :P |