Alfa dog problems

Hello, I have two dogs, one we have had for 2 years and the second one was my uncles dog that I took when my uncle past away back in Jan. Problem with the my uncles dog is that he is twice our other dogs size and he is trying to show her he is the Alfa dog but he is being to rough and biting her, needless to say I'm not happy about him hurting my baby girl and my husband has grown fond of my uncles dog. Is there anyway to stop him from being so aggressive? He is not fixed yet and my husband thinks that by having him neutered will fix the problem but I know it won't cause we had a smaller dog before we'd gotten Lacy and she did the same thing. Humping head thing .I forgot Lacy our female has been fixed when she was 6 months old she is a golden retriever mix and the other dog our orpan dog is a black lab and rottwielder mix and weighs in at about 90 lbs.Our little girl weighs in at 40 lbs so you can see she is way out matced and besides she is a snuggler not a biter or fighter.
TIA, Barbara

 

Start by having the dog neutered. This will help. Whenever the dominance issue is settled, the bullying will stop. The mounting of the other dog is a show of dominance when she is not in estrus. Even neutered females will mount to show dominance.

Presumably, the male dog is trained to follow human commands as the true dominant leaders. This being the case, intervene when the dog tries to bully the small dog. The humans are the true alphas and all the dogs will respect that if properly asserted.

In order to lead the pack, you need to act the role of leader.

 

Ok I will have that done ASAP this week I do not know if it matters but the male dog is already 6 years old and yes he is a good dog and minds myself and my wife pretty well.
I just do not want to come home and see our little girl hurt or worse killed by him.(she is our baby and spoiled rotten).
His head is very big and quite strong compred to hers she is more dainty and acts like that also.
I have only seen him go off on her one time and that was when she got to close while he was eating but that is to be expected and she now leaves him be when he is eating.
I sure hope getting him cut will calm down his testosorone.

 

Physically keeping the dogs separated when the humans aren't around seems like a good idea to me.

 

Neutering often helps with aggressive behavior, but it sometimes does not. Closely supervising dogs when they are together is important. If you are not home to supervise, then putting dogs in a dog crate when not at home may be necessary. Teaching the aggressive dog a command or two to distract it from aggressive behavior is recommended. You may be looking at a lifetime commitment to training and redirecting for aggressive behavior.

 

Update he is going in this Wednesday to get fixed.He is really just a big baby and loves attention.
We adopted him from my wifes uncle who died in January and he would take the dog everypace he went they were a team.(he died suddenly) and the dog was very sad for a long time.However a few people wanted him but after a screening process my wife and I decided he should live with us and our other dog.we have a big yard and even a pool that the other dog loves ,he sleeps inside and has the life of a king.
The only thing we broke him of is my uncle used to feed him raw meat (not at my house).

 

What type of food are you feeding him? Though it might seem gross or weird, raw turkey, chicken, lamb, and fish are all extremely good for dogs (and cats, too), though it needs to be mixed with veggies and supplemented. Most 'grocery store' dog food is considered toxic because of byproducts, preservatives, and food coloring. Wild dogs eat raw and have far less medical problems than our domesticated dogs who are fed commercial food. No, I don't feed raw (yet), but will be within the next few months. Best alternative is a high quality food without byproducts or soy.

Check out this article from the Animal Protection Institute about dog food. It scared me into at least feeding a high quality food. http://www.healthyhappydogs.com/APIarticle

 

No, commercial dog food is not toxic, and millions of dogs all over the world do perfectly well on it - including one dog that I know who recently passed away at the age of 22. Feeding raw also has its disadvantages, including the potential of food poisoning illnesses such as salmonella, and requires very careful storage and handling of the food in order to be safe for dogs and humans. With any dog food, whether raw or commercial, the bottom line is how your particular dogs do on it. If the dog is maintains an appropriate weight, is bright-eyed, energetic, has a good coat and gets a clean bill of health from your vet, what you are feeding is fine.

Has the female been actually injured in any of these squabbles? Dog disagreements can be very scary with lots of growls and snapping teeth, but dogs that have learned good bite inhibition won't injure each other. These sorts of verbal disagreements are the equivalent of a human shouting match. You mention that your female is spoiled and used to being the only dog. Please keep in mind that she may not necessarily be the totally innocent party in your situation. If she hasn't had a lot of contact with other dogs, especially as a youngster, she may not have had an opportunity to learn good dog manners. A dog can be very friendly and sweet, and yet still have very poor dog manners that really annoy a lot of other dogs. Many owners are baffled when their sweet, gentle, friendly little dog seems to draw nothing but snarls and growls from other neighbourhood dogs - often the 'friendly' dog has very poor dog-to-dog manners and the other dogs are responding appropriately to its rudeness. Some examples of rude dog behaviour include attempting to take another dog's bone when he actually has it in his mouth, jumping on or stepping on another dog when it is sleeping, and barging uninvited into a strange dog's face. Even staring at another dog can be very rude in dog language, and the dog that persistently stares at another dog is quite likely to trigger growls from the dog being stared at.

If she shows poor manners towards the new dog, it is quite natural for him to use growls, snarls, snaps and body language to let her know when she is being rude. As long as your female is not being physically injured, consider the possibility that rather than being a bully, the male is simply showing her, in dog language, what his boundaries are and how much canine rudeness he is prepared to tolerate. If this is the case, the squabbles should die down as she learns better manners and respect for him by experience.

Size of the dog does not matter in terms of the hierarchy. Plenty of big dogs are kept in line by the little dogs in the household, and my own big young male is very careful to show deference to my senior female, who is only 3/4 of his weight.

 

As mentioned in the above post are the two actually fighting? I have two dogs that play very rough. The lab will push/pull/drag the Aussie around by the scruff of the neck, looks and sounds scary but they're playing. The Aussie goes and lays ontop of the lab and doing whatever it can to antagonize the lab into chasing her. I'm suprised the Aussie hasn't had bite marks.

On the flip side I adopted a previous dog that never learned how to interact with other dogs she was the sweetest angel around people and a real lover, kids could poke her, pull her ears/tail and she'd let them do anything, but if she saw another dog she'd change and her goal was to destroy the other dog (she never got that far but I know she would have if I let her).

I worked with her for 5 years to change and it never worked.

I don't know how your two are interacting but it is possible they are playing rough. Something to watch is does your golden rough house back or just cower down? Does she do little things to antaganize the other dog?

Good luck

 

I agree with all the above postings (and I'd avoid the raw meat diet too) If YOU wouldn't eat it- don't feed it to your dog~
it's not the fact they can't digest it- but most of it's from Europe or elsewhere and one doesn't know how well it's stored/kept frozen, etc... you could do more harm than good in the longrun. I had my dog on it for a month- he loved it- but something inside me just felt wrong (I'm a nurse and after reading the label I decided that millions of dogs eat REGULAR kibble or canned food and thrive) Plus, it's super $$.
Anyways, start watching the Dog Whisperer to learn dog psychology. I understand your concern due to size differences- but your little one's likely spoiled in more ways than one and IS likely the culprit some of the time in their "fights". Usually, they'll work it out and establish Top Dog. Don't pick yours up a lot and protect her- she needs to learn how to do this for herself with your supervision if things get out of hand.
Until you're sure they're safe alone- I agree to separate them when you're not around.
My parents had 2 cocker spaniel brothers (fixed) and every once and a while they "went at it" I guess just to see if it was time to change places of dominance OR if my parents showed preferential treatment- the Alpha dog doesn't like this... and may take it out on your smaller one.
Again, people and dog manners differ- but YOU should be the one who sets the tone and not tolerate behavior in your home that makes you uncomfortable.
Try walking them together every day (pack style) with YOU as their leader and soon it'll become a habit. Feed at the same time and make them SIT and WAIT for you to serve their food.
If the big one wants to dominate at mealtime- LET HIM.
The other one will learn to eat AFTER the Alpha dog and that is just the way it is in the dog world.
I have a GSD and we also had a Rotty here who even though it was MY dog's house- made sure he was Top dog from day #1 and believe me- my dog cowered/avoided direct eye contact and ALWAYS allowed the Rotty his way 1st (or he "paid" for it by getting a quick nip or growl) which is usually all it would take to put my dog back in his place (my dog would test him on ocassion). I understand it FEELS AWFUL to watch- but in the long run- it will create a more harmonious environment for everybody.
Good luck,
deb

 

Well good news is we got him fixed a few months back and I do not know if this is what did it or maybe me showing him that being a bully toward our little girl dog Lacy will not be tolerated but they now get along fine and even rough house together in the yard.
We now leave them outside alone when we go out and all is well when we get back.
He has dropped about 15 lbs after getting him off the meat diet and is now 75 lbs and sleek lookin.
It is great to see them playing and roughhousing as they should be. Thanks all for the great advice and I still go by my saying I would rather have dogs as kids then the real kids.

 

I am so happy to hear things have worked themselves out...
Maybe neutering did help or maybe just your change in attitude~ Now they can enjoy each other and you can relax.
(and I hear ya on the KID thing!)
deb (GSD owner)