My doodle started fighting with my other dog. Advice? Suggestions? thanks! I want to teach them to get along. i love them all and had my Doodle first, about a year before the other was adopted by me. I hate to lose her but I may have to re-home the doodle.
mp
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To add to the details, they are each rescues, from different situations.
The Labradoodle is very dog-aggressive as of late. She gets along fine with my border collie/spring spaniel mix but she lived with a small german shep mix and that dog dragged her around by her flews/lips, all day, tormented her as a young dog. The Doodle's puppy teeth and stubborn streak were the original problem and it was not addressed; I think that older shep began dragging the puppy by the lips to save her own soul. The whole situation was one of everyone, dogs included, being overwhelmed. There were 3 or 4 children under the age of four/five. the elderst was autistic and screeched when the dogs ran wildly through the house. the housekeeper/Nanny/helper woman was afraid of dogs so she kept the puppy penned all day and night or she locked her outside. Sigh. I have overcome so many issues of unwanted behavior with this dog , now this. I saw the dog aggression problem when I took her for obedience classes. She felt very threatened by the other dogs so we left the class immediately. We tried distance but it didn't help. Ok, so she is not for crowds /packs but she was fine with my dogs who live here. Except for the shepherd. And once she starts the fighting, she goes for the throat and wants to kill. attacks lwith shaking, back n forth, etc, will not loosen her grip. I hate to give her up but safety of my dogs first. Now my husband tells me she has been lunging on walks at other dogs and at people, even strollers, children, etc. He allows no contact, just tightens up the leash which I think is a very bad way to cope with this behavior. I have the # of a behavioral vet. What do you all think of that idea? At least for evaluation of each dog, I think would be good. DH is against it; he feelsjust sick of dogs now. I am in a state of fugue. I will figure it out but ideas are welcome. thanks friends! mp
Thank you so much, my dear Lynne. You needn't worry; it all took place after the foster, the night I picked him up. Or wait... the afternoon I took him back . That was when it went down. Hard to believe they can get so viscious so quickly; the level of escalation is right up into the red zone, like a fire cracker going off, immediate and no thinking going on, just killer instinct. I only had one dog like that in all my fostering. He had some kind of neurological damage and had to be euthanized. But this is more than sibling rivalry gone bad. I believe the insecurity of the doodle is what causes the fighting. The shepherd is also a dominant personality but she is not as highly reactive as this doodley girl; the shep was never abused! I believe Kyleigh goes into ''it's you or me, baby, and it ain't gonna be me!'' mode. She is definitely the aggressor, every time. The shepherd is gentle and can be exuberant but not in the reactive way of Miss Kyleigh. She is in the cujo class.... but the sweetest little cuddle-bug when she is with me. Thanks for your comments and faithful support, Lynne. I appreciate everyone jumping in here because truly, I felt devastated for 2 days. A little cheerier today, although keeping this sitch my top priority. I enrolled in Feisty Fidosat St Hubert's. Let's see how THAT goes, right? : ) mp. oh and PS.. I have those books/ thanks/ great recos..I like the broom stamp! We are beyond that now but it is a good idea for lower level aggressive dogs and for pups, todistract/ break them up and redirect.
I have had to use my broom only once to break up a fight but now I just carry it and they know it will go in the middle. My little bratty mini will bite the brush part of the broom and he's hysterical when he does it. It's hard to be mad, with my mad broom and mad voice when he's trying to be so tough.
Anyway, has this happened frequently and can you tell what may have caused it? Like was it around dinner time, going out time, mommy or daddy time. Maybe if you can figure the trigger, you could change something about it. Like my Rippy was a bone resource guarder. It was recommended that I eliminate bones. Instead I gave him tons of them. There were so many bones here, he realized after awhile that there was no sense bothering to fight over them. Sometimes it will still happen with a rawhide or some great prize, like a sock, but mostly I can just say, "No Growley" to him and will stop, now. He has been here just about a year, now. Maybe if you can understand why she is being this way, you can change her thinking. Another thing, and it might not be for everyone, is to let them fight it out (if they aren't drawing blood), they will work out the hierarchy on their own. How long have you had them together? Could it be they are still working that out, especially as Kyleigh ages, she may be pushing her boundaries?
the vet bill from the surgery to save the shepherd's life is very high. she needs two more surgeries...
one dood is 2 yrs 4 mos old. the shepherd is 1 yr, 7 mos old.
the triggers are many, stemming from insecurity/jealousy is my thought.
the specialty classes are not in synch with my schedule until july!! augh!!!
so I enlisted the behavioral trainer to help until then. I have 4 family events/weddings in may and june.
thnx for the supportive words, Lynne--I feel I just have to train her INTO good behaviors-- SO MANY PEOPLE ARE OPPOSED TO THIS, SAYING SHE CANNOT BE HELPED AND NEEDS TO BE RE-HOMED. Very frustrating as I alreeady trained many bad habits into good ones. Typical chewing, jumping up, acting overly assertive (not aggressive but dominant ) and she has turned around beautifully. However, if she cannot get along with my shepherd... well, we shall see. Meanwhile, I have two huge crates with brand new orthopedic beds so they are very comfortable. I take turns walking them, doing obedience , short happy sessions, so far only a few days but working out fine.
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