Misplaced Aggression

Training and behavior topics, guidelines, and tips for Chow Chows.

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RayannaDeerfox
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Misplaced Aggression

Post by RayannaDeerfox »

We have two chows, both who grew up with each other since they were puppies. The male is older by a few months, and is a real sweetheart. The female is much smaller, but much tougher, and smart as a whip!

Two years ago, my husband and I got a divorce. Since he got the house, I left both dogs with him, so as to give the dogs a better lifestyle and not split them up. (Technically the girl belongs to me and the boy to my ex-husband.)

My ex and I have remained good friends "for the sake of the kids" (i.e. dogs), and I see them as often as I can, which is not nearly as often as I like.

Recently, however, my little girl (who is now 7 1/2 years old) has started attacking her brother. Last week, when our boy went to bark at people walking past the house on the sidewalk, she jumped on him and in his attempt to defend himself, he put a tooth through his lip and needed three stitches.

My ex says something's got to be done. We don't know what is causing this behavior.

I was over at my ex's house last night visiting the puppies. My ex went outside to take a phone call, and when the door shut, our boy barked and my girl attacked him. I had to pull her off of him (he still has a cone on his head from the last time). I've never seen her act this way.

Both dogs have always been real sweethearts. As I said before, the two have grown up together. SHE is definitely the boss of the house (we jokingly call her Princess Pretty Paws). The two have played and fought, but never nearly as agressively I saw her last night. My ex assured me that this is what she has "been pulling" lately.

I live in an apartment that does not allow dogs, but I would be willing to move before I'd be willing to put her down. But of course, those are two of the last resort options. We have discussed muzzling her, but I think this would have to be mostly a temporary solution.

Does anyone know of a reason this might be happening to her? Both dogs are fixed. Does anyone have any suggestions for us? I really would hate to split the two dogs up. But then again, we don't want her injuring her brother any more than she already has.

She has never displayed any aggressive tendancies towards people. Even when I was pulling her off of her brother, she did not try to turn on me in her aggression.

I'm at my wit's end. I just want the best for my baby girl.
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Zhuyos mom
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Post by Zhuyos mom »

Hello!

This is a little tough, but I'm sure it's correctable. It's tough because you don't live there. So make sure you share this with your ex and see if it helps some.

Miss Pooh Bear (the cinnamon one) was a rescue. She would show crazy behaviour like that to Zhu from time to time. What I do to "cure" the insanity is once I separate them, I give her a good talking to! A very stern talking to, a talking to that would even hurt my feelings, eye to eye. Then I make her go to her corner to think about it and I leave her alone. Once she comes out I give her lots of hugs and give her another talking to but with a little more reason to why she had to go to her corner. To stop the actual act.... I'm given a warning sound, like a low volcanic eruption grrr, I usually say/yell "hey, stop" and grab the shake can and let the shake can separate the two. So try the shake can with your girl. A couple of dimes or pennies in a soda can. Tape up the hole. Shake once, twice or three times if you have too. Once for stop, twice for "I mean it", three times for "knock it off right now!". Usually the noise is bothersome to their ears so they respond instantly.

Good luck! I hope what works for my two works for your two. The sooner you nip her bad behavior in the bud, the better! But always make sure you give her a talking to and then when all is calm, whisper something sweet in her ear. I truly am not a nutcase.... the talking to and ear whispering works for me!

Take care,
RayannaDeerfox
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Post by RayannaDeerfox »

Thanks for the advice. She's just too smart for her own darn good. And we all know that smart = naughty.

As for loud noises, well, let's just say my throat hurt for a good 1/2 hour afterwards from yelling so loud. The girl has no fear.

Generally speaking, our form of discipline has always been the same. We grab the dog by the scruff and put them into a submissive position (laying on their side). We keep them in that position until a) they've calmed down and b) they've stayed longer than they want to. For barking or nipping, we hold their muzzle (not tightly) and use the gutteral noise "uh uh" like a mother dog correcting her pups. We also use the "uh uh" for other minor corrections. Last night I used all three.

She was upset but still lovey-dovey after her correction.

Keep in mind we're talking about an ultra-tough dog here, too. Once, out of desparation to get her under control, we got a shock collar. We put it on our male (who is a big wimp, and we call him "Boo-Boo" cuz when he doesn't get his way he'll actually give a "boo-boo lip"). We waited to see if he'd do something that needed correction. Eventually he did. On the absolutely lowest setting, he wimpered and was a perfect gentleman thereafter.

We tried out Ebony, making sure the contacts were against her skin. It wasn't long before she needed correction (too independant and smart for her own good). Reluctantly we zapped. Nothing. Not a reaction at all. We turned it up and waiting for another correction. Again, nothing. She kept up like this until we had the collar all the way up at it's highest setting. She continued her naughty behavior and the most reaction we got out of her (when the collar was at the highest setting) was her confused looking around to find out where the 'tick tick tick' sound was coming from.

I'll tell my ex about the shake can, but I don't know if they'll even hear it over the growling and barking.

Thanks for the suggestion... :?
OHGuest

Post by OHGuest »

you might want to have her taken to the vet. Specifically to check her thyroid levels. Any time there is a sudden change in behavior you want to rule out medical causes. (another example could be a housebroken dog thats gone years without having an accident starts urinating in the house. Yeah, it could be behavioral, but it's better to rule out a UTI first)
RayannaDeerfox
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Post by RayannaDeerfox »

Do you happen to know how they test for those sorts of things? And how much those tests tend to run? If it's too expensive, my ex and I will have to work something out.

It's interesting that you suggest the thyroid. When she was younger (for the first year or two), she had the tendancy to shed her fur. (What's unusual about that?, you ask?) She shed ALL of her fur (yes, I mean she'd go totally bald), and she'd do it in the winter months. (poor gal) The doc at the time oddly suggested it could be a hormonal thing (this was before we had her spayed). We had her spayed (since we had to plans to breed her anyway) and it seemed to have corrected the problem.

I guess it would all make sense....

Thanks!
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