Aggressive Puppy
 

As some of you may know, I got Canyon a brother on Friday. He's adorable but we are having some problems and I'm looking for advice.

Canyon is extremely passive and loving. The new puppy is rather aggressive and dominant. Canyon is 6 1/2 months, the new puppy (Phoenix) is 3 1/2 months.

They've gotten along pretty well for the past two days. Today however (Phoenix) the new puppy has become really agressive and their playing has turned into Phoenix the new guy charging Canyon and backing him into a corner and biting him to where Canyon yelps each and every time. there is growling going on from the new puppy and he is relentless in his pursuit as Canyon is running from him and hunkering his butt down with his back to the new puppy. As soon as Canyon moves, the puppy charges him again and gets Canyon by the ear, tail, throat, whatever and won't let go. I've had to pull him off of Canyon several times as Canyon seems afraid and he's yelping from being bitten.

Is there something I'm doing wrong, is it a personality clash. I know Phoenix is being a puppy but it's like he never learned that when one yelps, that means it's time to stop playing so hard.

I'm afraid Canyon will get hurt and I know that might sound silly but if he's running away and hunkering down and the new puppy keeps coming and even after Canyon yelps, the new puppy doesn't stop.

How do I stop this behavior, what do I do?

If the mother of the litter doesn't properly socialize the litter the dominance issue is more common. Even if she has socialized them this particular puppy may just have a dominant personality. A good mother will step in and take the offending puppy by the scruff of the neck and give him a shake while growling slightly to assert herself as dominant. As the new pack leader you will need to take her place and assert yourself in the same way so that there is an understanding of exactly who the boss is. They will establish a "pecking order" and you must respect it as well....as long as you are at the top.

Thank you - I've had to grab him by the scruff tonight twice and get in his face and growl making eye contact saying "no bite" and held him until he stopped struggling and put him back down. He's not gone back over to Canyon immediately. He settles and then a little while later, he does it again. I will continue to do this until he learns that this behavior is not acceptable.

Also
 

He drinks water excessively, to the extreme and urinates every 5 mins. It's clear, not yellow, almost as if the water just runs right through him. He drinks 2 - 3 bowls of water per day and I know he's a puppy and they potty ALOT as I've just gone through the Puppy Potty Alot phase but this is the extreme. I'm on my second roll of paper towels since Friday cleaning up urine. He also urinates in his crate at night (though slight) on his blanket, it's like he can't hold it for any length of time. I'm trying to find information on google as to why a puppy would drink so much and urinate so much. I'll be making a vet appt for tomorrow to try to find out why or if this is a health issue.

You can also see how dominate he is by hold him on his back, if he struggles and doesn't calm down after a few minutes, he is very dominate, so when he does that again with Canyon hold him down on his back and let Canyon stand over him for a few minutes.:)

Thanks Peanut - I'll try that too. I want this to work out.

This is similar to the problem I am experiencing with Gus, starting from the time I got him until now. Initially, he was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection which was treated with antibiotics. The problem lessened after treatment. After numerous tests, I am currently watching his diet (foods that don't create excessive thirst - no eating things off the ground outside), and behavior.

Let us know what your vet finds. A UTI is an easy cure. Good luck.