Lexi attacked Mia..

[Staceyvd]

Yesterday, Lexi jumped off the couch and grabbed Mia unprovoked and threw her around like a ragdoll. She punctured Mia in two places and left tooth mark bruises along her back. My poor little girl. Has anyone else ever experienced this with their chow? I have never seen Lexi do anything like this. Was she just playing or??

[Tippsy'smom]

It could be a dominence issue... My late chow girl, Tippsy, was always top dog in our household and in 10 years was only challenged by 1 dog that she lived with in her lifetime(she lived with 11 different dogs in her lifetime) and that was Dixie. There were quite a few fights between the 2 after Dixie hit 6 months old and it was all because Tippsy felt her "alpha" position in the group was being threatened, so Tippsy was making sure Dixie knew her place. After a couple weeks they ended up working it out (I always broke the fights up. I NEVER let them just go at it.). Tippsy was "alpha" until she passed, and I made sure she knew it (she was the first fed, got treats first, went through doorways behind me but before the others, slept in bed with me, went for her walk first, and got in the car first). After Tippsy passed, Dixie took the position and gets the same privileges that Tippsy had.

So, to me, it sounds like Lexi wants to be "alpha" over Mia. I would personally just break up fights and make sure Lexi knows she is "alpha" over Mia. And I'd probably put Lexi in time out as soon as you break them up.

[Merlin]

What you need to change in your mindset is that there is no such thing as "unprovoked". There is always, always, always a reason for one dog, to attack another. Not being in the moment with either one of then, you simply did not see what they saw - or what one of them saw. Also, it seems that you aren't aware of the internal relationship these two dogs are having with each other right now.

One of them did something either disrespectful, unwelcomed or unwanted to the other. Forget all this "alpha" this and that. If anyone is "alpha" it should be YOU and nobody else. You need to remove any idea from Mia's head that she has any claims to stake over anything. The fact that she jumped down off the couch to attack another means, probably, most likely means the other dog accidentally walked over some invisible line that was established by Mia. Make BOTH of them stay off the couch. Don't let either of them claim any space around you or objects, Insist that that Mia is in a downstay right now at quiet time more than the other dog, Start paying attention to your dogs and start looking for Mia "starring" at the other dog, and when you see her do that, stop the action immediately by deferring her behaviour. Ensure to work them outdoors together, so that they learn to work side by side harmoneously without all their personal nonsense.

This kind of thing only escalates and ultimately one of them can get badly hurt. You need to let both these dogs understand that neither of them makes decisions or is in control of anything, and I can tell you that this happens when you are not at home, so until you change the mindset of these two dogs you may want to consider separating them when you are not around.

[cherriemater]

Stacy ... first of all ... I'm sure it was shocking and scary for you and I'm glad you came here to ask for help. The first time this happened with our boys I was a bit scared, too. They are brothers from the same litter and their play can get rough at times. We are very careful to say "Easy!" or "Play nice-nice" so that they know we're watching them and this started with the moment they arrived in our household. By being consistent with what we feel is too rough, they learned some bite-inhibition from us. They are 15 months old now and, actually, all I usually have to do is LOOK at them and they'll chomp less hard.

Max walked over to Leo the other day, I think out of sheer boredom (we hadn't had our second walk of the day yet) and just started chomping on his head. OFF! I said loudly but he merely looked at me stubbornly. I put my hand between Max's mouth and Leo's ears and said it again, OFF! He complied.

I don't know the age or your two girls, or if they're siblings or who you have acknowledged as #2 below you (uh, that would be ALPHA of the dogs with YOU as the family ALPHA or if there is a spouse, parent there, too) but with two girls, I agree with Jess, there may be a challenge going on there. Again, consistency will go a LONG way in easing those tensions. You, as the ALPHA must assert yourself and kindly discipline any behavior of which you do not approve (If you have a spouse or other members of the family present, you ALL must discipline consistently together). When our boys were very little (actually, before they came home) someone on this site said, "Don't allow your pups to do anything you wouldn't want them to do as an adult." Great words of wisdom there and since our pups should always be turning to us for approval and direction it is, therefore, YOUR responsibility to show your displeasure in this type of activity ... whether you were there when it happened or stumbled upon it mid-action. NEVER HIT OR SCREAM, but you can vocally show your disappointment ("No, noooo .. be nice-nice to Mia" or "Easy ... play Eeeeezeeee" in a moderately low, calm tone). So, if this is some new bad-behavior that Lexi is expressing, jump on it quickly and be consistent. You can ALSO praise, praise, praise when she's playing correctly, calmly and nicely with Mia. Again, this reinforces YOU as the almighty and let's face it, our pups really want to be doing the right thing ... most of the time ... it is we who do not give them the proper cues.

Our Leo sits on the sofa by me or Joe and Max sits at my feet (he will actually BARK and WHINE at me if I sit in the LazEboy ... silly boy). Never had an issue with that arrangement. Leo is very high-strung and bouncy while Max keeps his feet on the ground, quite literally. He doesn't jump up on much of anything, so in this we are very lucky. I have read elsewhere on this site about the "invisible line" and also the whole stare-down thing among chows. In this I will agree, you'll need to pay extra close attention to your gals over the next couple months to be sure to correct this type of behavior. George mentions having a newspaper handy to swat in your hand or on the sofa arm (makes a big, startling noise and gets their attention on you) in the event that your words are not enough.

I hope that helps you some. Keep us informed of your progress.

[Staceyvd]

The thing that freaked me out is that Lexi never tries to play with Mia. Mia is 5lbs and lexi is 45. We never ever let Lexi touch her and in an entire year she hasn't. Mia was laying down doing absolutely nothing. Lexi got agitated andstarted jumping in the window, then just went crazy and grabbed Mia in her mouth and was shaking.g her around like she was dead prey. It was really scary and my poor Mia will not even go close to Alexis right now. Lexi is a very gentle dog and everytine she plays with another dog and it starts getting a little rough, I tell her no and she listens. This was very out of character and very confusing. The next day, almost like lexi was embarrassed by her behaviour, she laid down all day and was very distant and mopey. She even walked up to Mia and licked her wound while Mia was sleeping. (I then cleaned the wound.d of course and put some vitamin e ointment on it)

[Rory's Dad]

Like Merlin said, you may have a power struggle on your hands, and the end result should not be that either of the dogs feel as if they have the upper hand. Lexi cannot be the Alpha, that has to be you. The dogs can still have a pecking order, just not #1. You need to establish the rules and acceptable behavior. If you leave it to them, the stronger dog will always win and you will have a tragedy with the weaker dog. They dont play for a score like in sports, and if not a physical disaster, it will result in emotional issues.

[wokman]

Sorry for Mia's wounds from Lexi. You say Mia weights 5 pounds, is Mia a Cat? I joined earlier this year and must have missed your past post. I sparingly use an antiseptic ointment after cleaning a wound with a 1 to 2 mix of hydrogen peroxide and water, diluted to avoid discomfort.

[Cam Atis]

Hi. Its been a long time since I've been here - really busy. How is Mia's wound doing? I hope she is recovering.
Not to add up, just to tell you now you have first hand experience how unpredictable dogs can be. Keep an eye on Lexi's temperament. It does not mean Alexis is neurotic or something. I dont see a serious behavioral problem for you. There is something that triggered and let us hope it won't be repeated.

Cassie wounded Blue one night and his lower eyelid got ripped. And the moment it healed I let them out again and again the old wound opened up after a fight. Since then I regimented them. It is over food and Blue is over agitated when it comes to his food bowl. Cassie has cooler head but would fight back for whatever reason she only knew.
Also another one time when Cassie bit me when she was a puppy. I did not knew Blue was consuming her food first, thus she attacked my hand when Blue walked behind me. She was reprimanded by me and have never repeated it but I have pinpointed the problem by being able to observe during meal time and the routine Blue was doing to her. Now she is a year old, she would growl back at Blue if Bue started growling for no reason except intrusion of his privacy whatever!

[Victory]

The thing that freaked me out is that Lexi never tries to play with Mia. Mia is 5lbs and lexi is 45. We never ever let Lexi touch her and in an entire year she hasn't. Mia was laying down doing absolutely nothing. Lexi got agitated andstarted jumping in the window, then just went crazy and grabbed Mia in her mouth and was shaking.g her around like she was dead prey. It was really scary and my poor Mia will not even go close to Alexis right now. Lexi is a very gentle dog and everytine she plays with another dog and it starts getting a little rough, I tell her no and she listens. This was very out of character and very confusing. The next day, almost like lexi was embarrassed by her behaviour, she laid down all day and was very distant and mopey. She even walked up to Mia and licked her wound while Mia was sleeping. (I then cleaned the wound.d of course and put some vitamin e ointment on it)

This is not about who is boss. It is about being over excited. My Firesong does this, she gets all excited by something outside, a bird, squirrel, or other prey and will then go after Dreamdancer, (she went after Darkwind too) Now the big difference here is that Darkwind was twice her size and Dreamdancer is just a bit over her size, so they could/can take it. Your Mia is small and therefore in danger. One thing I would do is exercise lexi more, get more of that energy worked out. Also provide more toys, nice squeaky ones, this helps Firesong, at times, I'll shove one of her duckies at her and she'll leave Dreamdancer alone. The other thing you can do is when you see lexi getting wound up, take Mia into another room, give Lexi a toy and tell her to chill out. Don't allow her to go anywhere near Mia until she has calmed down. This could take a few moments as she's in full prey drive, and the adrenaline has to wear off.
I would also do as Merlin suggested and seperate them when you aren't home. Because of the size and strength difference between them Lex could seriously hurt Mia, without really meaning too. I knew Firesong was like this when I got Dreamdancer and when I wasn't home when he was a little guy, they were seperated by a baby gate. They could see each other, smell each other even lay on either side of the gate and bond, but she wasn't able to grap him in a fit of excitment and hurt him. I did this until he was about six months old and could hold his own with her.

this is a difficult one because it isn't about pack standing, but you can step in and be a stronger leader, by cutting off the behavior at once, telling her to knock it off, or chill out or just sharply calling her name and making her come to you and then sitting can kick in the other part of her brain, where she has to obey the alpha, YOU. The other thing is to find some place where she can have a time out and not be stimulated, for Firesong it is a room without windows in each of the apartments. I also caution you against thinking she will grow out of it, Firesong is almost 12 and still does it.

[cherriemater]

Victory ... I just LOVE the perspective you put on this. I can TOTALLY see this behavior in Leo to Max. Leo is our High-Strung boy and the first to bark at the local stray cat or a leaf blowing by. Max is happy to sit with me until Leo barks in a certain way, and then he'll go check it out. Our boys get walks in the AM and the PM before dark and we allow them in the back in our "playpen" (fenced in yard) whenever they want. I seriously attribute their good behavior on the fact that they get multiple chances to wear themselves out and then (happily for Momma) take a nap!

I do the same thing with either boy if they're "chomping" and the other looks at me like, "A little help here?"
because they're not in the mood at the moment. I tell the other to stop or say "Off" the grab one of their chewies for them. That works wonders, too.