Rescues Hurting Another

[Mathteacher]

I may not be posting this in the right spot, but since it involves rescues, I thought it might be ok.

I rescued two "possibly" Silkies on Aug 24 that were found as strays so no history was known. The rescue group would only adopt them out as a pair because they thought they were bonded. One is a small female and the other is a bigger male that is about 2 to 3 times her weight.

They have been a tremendous challenge for me since day one for various reasons. In fact, I was/am seriously thinking about returning the male.

He is playfully aggressive toward the female, though she seems to handle it ok when they are outside. However, every night, if I have them crated together (which the rescue group said he would soil his crate if he was separated from her), then I hear her squeal as though he is killing her. When I run to her aid, then they both act like nothing has happened. At that point, I put her in her own crate by herself.

Tonight, however, they were crated together (for some reason this doesn't happen during the daytime) and I again heard her squeal as though she was hurting. When I ran to see what was going on she was laying on her back and he was sitting next to her. She seemed very subdued and I held her and cuddled her, then put her in her own crate. He seemed timid, as always.

He is not an aggressive dog at all, though he DEFINITELY acts like a terrier!. I feel sorry for him, because he looks scared sometimes. There is a cat outside that he runs from and yelps even though the cat barely looks at him.

The dogs were both JUST fixed right before I got them. I have never seen him try to mate with her. It is a real mystery to me what is going on when she squeals.

Anyone have any suggestions???....PLEASE!

[4doggiemama]

I'll bump this for you. I don't claim to have any training skills.

Just have one question. Does the male soil his crate when he is alone in there after you remove the female? If not, I would crate them separately at the beginning rather than wait until the female squeals. Of course they know you are coming so I guess I wouldn't necessarily think that nothing had happened even though they are looking innocent. IMO, if she is on her back then there is definitely a dominance issue going on. You might possibly look into obedience training. I don't crate any of mine at night. We have all four with us, but then we also have a king size bed. I hope you can come up with some solution. If you want to re-post, you might want to put it in the "training" section. Good luck. Joanne

[ladyjane]

They are crated all day and all night? Maybe you might try letting them out at night? I would think that would make them be a bit stir crazy. But then, I am not a fan of crates.
If they did well in a crate together while with the rescue, then they might have just learned how to get your attention!
Mine all find their own little spots to sleep...on my bed which all dog trainers will tell you is a no no. But, they are happy and healthy! They know where my spot is....so that is all that matters.

[kt_luvs_kitties]

My yorkie Dora and my chi Joey are x-penned together day and night. They adore each other, and will whimper and whine if seperated.

BUT Joey can get a little protective/obsessive if he is asleep, and Dora spooks him or invades his space, and he will nip her, making her scream and squeal (sometimes he does not even bit her, but he will give her a look and she knows its coming and she starts yelping beforehand).

Maybe that is what is happening? If so, and you dont want to seperate them, get a much larger cage like a xpen with two seperate beds, or one larger bed. Hope this helps!

[Mathteacher]

Originally Posted by 4doggiemama

I'll bump this for you. I don't claim to have any training skills.

Just have one question. Does the male soil his crate when he is alone in there after you remove the female? If not, I would crate them separately at the beginning rather than wait until the female squeals. Of course they know you are coming so I guess I wouldn't necessarily think that nothing had happened even though they are looking innocent. IMO, if she is on her back then there is definitely a dominance issue going on. You might possibly look into obedience training. I don't crate any of mine at night. We have all four with us, but then we also have a king size bed. I hope you can come up with some solution. If you want to re-post, you might want to put it in the "training" section. Good luck. Joanne

Yes, I guess I should have mentioned the MAIN issue with the two of them is that neither are house-trained! Ugh! So...I can't let them run free in the house. And, yes, the male was soiling himself in the crate, when separated from the female (at night), but he seems to be getting over that somewhat. (I hope!)

They are not in the crate all day. I take them outside frequently and they run in the backyard a lot, and I take turns taking them around inside the house under supervision, but there are times throughout the day that I crate them together, like during "chew time", for example.

I have already posted some of this on the training forum, but since these are rescues, I thought some of you might be able to add something to the aggression issue.

My guess is, that the rescue group was probably not even aware this was going on because no one was there at night with them.

I should also mention they have not had a fair trial. I got them 4 weeks after my 25 year old son went to Heaven, so, part of the time, I haven't felt like taking the time to train them as I would otherwise. In addition, my father-in-law went to Heaven and we had to go out of state to his funeral and were gone for an entire week, right after we got them!

There HAS been improvement, but still a long way to go. However, I don't want to keep two dogs if one has aggressive behaviors toward the other. Someone mentioned obedience training, and I have considered that, but I don't think I can muster up the strength or time for more appointments in my life right now. I'm living one second at a time.

I just wanted to know if any of you have encountered similar problems with rescues that came as a "bonded" pair.

[TLC]

Unfortunatley it does take time....Their past in truly 'unkown' and there really is no way around 'not training'.

My advice would to start using Positive Praise and Treat Rewards for 'EVERY' Good Behavior that they do, but even more so for the male. You can get Honey Nut Cherrios and Praise, Praise Praise!!!! Trust me, they, HE will start to do things that he knows will earn him a treat.

[PrestigeousYT]

One thing when you rescue, you really have to give it time and a lot of patience and understanding. IF they since you are frustrated it will make it worse because they pick up on our vibes.
Big hugs to you for rescuing them and best of luck.

[Patti]

I don't know anything about rescues but 2 of my girls fight/play all the time and it gets pretty heated. One of them is always squealing, but if I stop them they just go right back to it. So maybe that's their way of playing. I am so sorry for the loss of your son and FIL. I hope you can get some help on here.

[PrestigeousYT]

I am sorry I didn't see the part of your son and father in law going to heaven.
Times are tough for you right now and I am sure you are having a great deal of emotions and dealing with dogs that need a lot of patience has to be very trying for you at this time.
Big hugs to you