Adopted chow is going after my labs jugular!

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dbean
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Adopted chow is going after my labs jugular!

Post by dbean »

Hi. I adopted an adult Chow who is very loving and taken to me immediately. He was in a shelter. He did go after my small lab/boxer mix once and I thought we nipped that in the butt. Apparently not. My lab mix is a goofy luv bug not a fighter at all. My chow went after his jugular tonight and I for a 2nd time had to pull him off. There is a 3rd dog a female lab he just give low growl to on occasions but seems to be ok with her and doesn't get upset when I give her attention.. Its the 2yr old lab who is a boy which is probably part of the problem but he's not trying for pecking order. he's goofy and even tries to be friendly with him and wants to play.

I've had chows before and NEVER had 1 attack another dog. I don't want to find a chow rescue for him. I'd like to keep him here. He is a mix. They said with lab but his physical appearance once you get past his coat looks to be shepherd build and maybe a tiny lab. My previous was same mix but more lab.

He does view me as his hero. sticks to me like glue, follows from room to room as do my other 2 dogs. I need to be able to get him to understand the rules. NO fighting! Going after my little guys jugular is not OK.. It may be entirely possible that he needs to be with a female with no other animals in the house.

I need help!
Rory's Dad
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Re: Adopted chow is going after my labs jugular!

Post by Rory's Dad »

I think you have 2 issues...1st off he is competing for the females attention, 2ndly he is competing for yours. The Chow mix is competing for the pecking order and if the male lab is not he sees him as a weak link.

Best suggestion for now is separation. From each other, but also from you. Put them on even ground and show that you have no favorite. Then I would start a reward regimen. Side by side by side. Have each of them baited and waiting for a command. Reward and go through the rotation. Make sure they all eat at the same time. If you walk them, make sure to rotate the order. Don't favor one over the other with the '1st out'. Make sure that nighttime isn't any different. Don't allow one to sleep upstairs if the others cant. All the rules have to be equal.

Encourage them to play together, but they should have their own favorite toys. You don't want them to compete for the same item. Exercise is a great equalizer. Tire them out. If you can, have another household member keep one on leash and alternate with a game of fetch (Chows are typically not a great player, but try it). Chow is going to tire much faster than the lab...
dbean
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Re: Adopted chow is going after my labs jugular!

Post by dbean »

Have a question for you. Since he growls n will lunge at the lab will muzzle worsen situation. I know he can pull a cloth type off. Another that happened last night when bear went for skyes throat was he went to take skyes biscut after he finished his. He dose seem to have food issues and somthing i didnt pay too much attention to till now is the other 2 eat out of each others bowls. Obviously doesnt fly with bear. To keep apart means crating. Is there an issue of shelter syndrome giving it that name with crating

Small place but a difference. Little guy ended up in crate for not listening. Bear was cautious noting change in attitude. I think I may have created a monster in the little guy without knowing it. He's not aggressive BUT doesn't mind being pushy for attention. My female is VERY unsure of the chow. I guess all this takes time. Still want your opinion on the muzzle and crate use for the time being.

Thanks!
Rory's Dad
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Re: Adopted chow is going after my labs jugular!

Post by Rory's Dad »

Personally I do not favor muzzle at home. I think it can create and atmosphere that is adversarial if used without discretion. There will be times when needed, but I would think that should only be used for vet visits or special grooming situations. You don't want to build a negative experience at home, and yes you are right, they can learn to slip the muzzle. I had a male a few years back that could slip ANY type of muzzle in about 15 seconds. Houdini like.

Food issues and resource guarding can be tough, but are something that you can work with. It can take time, but the dog needs to learn that he is not going to go without. Teach him that you control the resource, but are generous. For feeding, you do not have to crate. Just separate areas. Mine eat less than a foot apart from each other, but I lean a baby gate across the doorway. It's not even latched. They respect that even more than the fixed separated because it makes a huge noise if knocked down.

To work on the resource guarding, feed only a portion of the Chow's meal at 1st. If he protects it, wait until he finishes and then give him the rest. Work on this until he will let you pick up the bowl without complaint, and refill. You should be able to work up to the point where you can reach in and pick up the bowl with food still in it, he knows that his food is not at risk and will come back with more to eat. Toy or treat sharing will follow the same philosophy. Reward the dogs as a pack. With my dogs, I send them both out (individually) to do their business. Once both are out and done, they get rewarded. They both love cheese. So after the ritual, I have them both sit and wait for the reward. And the same with dinner. They don't just get a bowl, they have to earn it. Simple, but nothing is free. They need to sit, down, or paw before the bowl is placed down.

As for crating. I am in favor of crate training (not always a favorite position on this site), but not as a punishment. I show my dogs, and crates are a way of life at times, so they must be used to spending time in a crate. There may also be times in any dogs life that a crate is a reality. Whether it be for shows, grooming, emergency vet visits, or travel. I think every dog should be used to and accepting of crate time. No sense in stressing a dog out if not needed. By training a dog to be tolerant of being crated, it becomes a much easier situation.

So, for correcting bad behavior, do not use the crate as a time out. If you do not like his interactions with the other dogs, I would leave his collar and leash on. Since he is attached to you, use that in your favor. Allow the other dogs their normal space and keep the chow at your side. Step on the leash to control unwanted approaches to the other dogs. Use verbal commands as he tries to get toward the labs. "NO", and step on the leash to stop is progress. Then have him 'sit'. Give him a treat or affection reward as he begins to listen. Allow more or less leash space as he figures it out.
dbean
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Re: Adopted chow is going after my labs jugular!

Post by dbean »

Roys Dad,
I wanted to let you know Bear is settling in pretty good now. It actually took me getting down to his level and letting him know who is boss. The 2 boys are doing very well together now! My only problem now is not enough hands to pet 3 dogs at the same time!

Thanks for your help and suggestions as a few really did work with him. He is at his Forever Home~! we are still working on the food issue but all comes with time. He now shares the water bowl!. I do keep them apart at feeding however I am working with treats being near each other with food. The 2 already here 1st actually will eat out of each others bowls which Bear is happy to do as long as they don't eat out of it again. Simple. I remove his bowl. He's getting the idea! It turns out according to the vet he is actually young. about 1.5 at most. SO he is at a good age to teach new things. Walks wonderfully on a leash. Still working on him telling me every time he needs to potty. Actually not sure if he's actually marking as I've never had a dog do that in the house before. Bear does kiss my other dogs so I think he's pretty happy here.

Some of your suggestions I am trying with the lab boxer mix who is a forever puppy in personality which does get on the other 2's nerves. He apparently is the biggest issue.. and sadly some things Skye does Bear is picking up on.. Sigh.... Not bad things just 2 doing them..

My female full blood will have to be fixed, this will be a bone of contention once she's back in the fold and out of heat!. She has already snubbed Skye whom has been here since he was 9 weeks old and is 2 now. It's not over but all in all I think will work out. I do feel that I will always need to be watchful of Bear and Skye and not leave them unattended with each other, at least for a long time. Skye does not fight back and Bear will give him the "look". Skye is viewed as being weak.

I will keep you updated an let you know how it's going. If at anytime you want to write or give advice, i'd love to hear from you.

Thanks Again for all your help!
Rory's Dad
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Re: Adopted chow is going after my labs jugular!

Post by Rory's Dad »

Good to hear of the successes, even partial ones. Sometimes our dogs have strong personalities. Sometimes they don't mesh, and we have to train them to what is acceptable. Tolerance of the others is certainly one of those.

As to not having enough hands, boy do I hear that. We have 3 chows now...just added a new male pup. Got a totally different response than we expected. Our 2 year old female is very pushy (not aggressive really, just pushy) with our 3 year old male. Figured she would take the same approach with the new dog. Nope, she totally went into mother mode with him and allows him to pull and nip at will. I try to separate them to give her a break and she heads right back over to him. She has even stopped doing the same thing to the older male. Go figure!

But, she is still needy. At times she decides she wants to go upstairs, or climb the furniture. She is very stubborn and once her mind is set, she is tough to stop. At about that same time, the 3 year old male will decide to play with the pup (mostly good, but he wants to mouth him and the pups whole neck fits into his jaw). Talk about juggling and skipping rope at the same time.

Anyway, nice to hear of the progress. Keep at it. Try not to show any favoritism. Having the female fixed will probably improve matters as they wont compete for attention anymore.
CocoLeBear
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Re: Adopted chow is going after my labs jugular!

Post by CocoLeBear »

Oh, I am so happy to read all about the successes! It sounds like you are doing a great job. I am always an advocate for calling out a trainer/behaviorist, as they deal with these types of problems a ton and have great and practical solutions. Babygates are also very helpful and you don't even have to latch it -- just lean on a doorway so you can easily walk back and forth. Also, do you think the lab was not giving the chow appropriate space before? If you really watch, you might notice that the lab is somehow getting on the chow's nerves, and if you can pick up on that, then you'll know when you need to redirect the lab to leave the chow alone (if that is the case). You are the parent and have to be the ref to make sure everyone is being fair sometimes!
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