I think I remember from the dog whisperer that showing favoritism for one dog can also cause aggressive behavior from another.
I also know from experience that it is very difficult to tell which dog is the one starting it. If you notice that they are staring, or growling under their breath. I used to put my boys in time out - one in the bathroom, one in the laundryroom. The 'top dog' actually ended up turning over the dominating position - it was a power struggle. It was a little tough on us as we had accepted Teddy was the 'boy boss' and we didn't like it when Quattro took over. Now it is just fact.
We did have to give my mother one daughter - the mother began to hunt her down. It was terrible, Trina would attack Zoe back, so they were hard to separate. Trina was already 2. We visit her often, but a year later, they came to visit - after a couple of hours, zoe attacked her. Like an elephant, she hasn't forgotten. |