Aggressive with our Pug
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tafftrader
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- Joined: Sat Sep 03, 2005 2:53 am
Aggressive with our Pug
Our 7 month old chow, Bilbo, and one year old Pug have been living in near-harmony since we introduced Bilbo to the family when he was 3 months old. However, recently Bilbo has begun growling at the Pug. This culminated in a full blown attack last night. It occured when my girlfriend was petting both dogs on our arrival home. Bilbo bit the pug so hard I had to force his mouth open with both hands since he wouldn't let go. They are both male.
We have since separated them for the time being. This pains us as they seemed to be such good friends prior to this incident. We plan on taking Bilbo to the vets for a health check and also to have him professionally trained. I also think we may have to have him spayed.
We darent leave them together alone anymore. And even with my close supervision Bilbo gave off a warning growl earlier. Bilbo never bites myself or my girlfriend. It just seems to be our pug he has taken exception to!
The worst case scenario is that we will have to find a new home for Bilbo. This would be heartbreaking for all. Can anyone suggest a solution? Can we get Bilbo to love our Pug again?
Please help.
We have since separated them for the time being. This pains us as they seemed to be such good friends prior to this incident. We plan on taking Bilbo to the vets for a health check and also to have him professionally trained. I also think we may have to have him spayed.
We darent leave them together alone anymore. And even with my close supervision Bilbo gave off a warning growl earlier. Bilbo never bites myself or my girlfriend. It just seems to be our pug he has taken exception to!
The worst case scenario is that we will have to find a new home for Bilbo. This would be heartbreaking for all. Can anyone suggest a solution? Can we get Bilbo to love our Pug again?
Please help.
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IliamnasQuest
Hi tafftrader -
It's always hard to deal with your own dogs not getting along.
The first thing you needed to do was to make your pug safe, which you did by separating them. Some people live with their dogs separated all the time - which I would find really awkward. Just because the two have had a fight doesn't mean they can't still learn to live together.
There could be a number of things that are causing Bilbo's recent reaction to the pug. One is that both dogs are at an age where they're going through "adolescence" with all the hormonal changes that happen during that time. Bilbo, especially, is at an age where his hormones are changing him from a puppy into a more adult dog. This is a time when it's not uncommon for dogs to try to establish pack hierarchy - deciding who will be dominant over the others, including the humans in the "family pack". Having two males at this time can be difficult especially if both are intact males. Neutering may certainly help and I would recommend that. But you'll still need to do some training.
Getting a professional trainer will help, but I caution you to try to find someone that uses positive reinforcement and who works WITH the dog, not against it. Many trainers will tell you they're positive, and then they'll pull out the prong collars, choke chains and shock collars. These trainers use correction to train and can often build resentment in a dog instead of willingness to please. A good trainer who is versed in behavioral science will find ways to work with your dog's good traits while discouraging the bad traits. Expect that training may take awhile. All training should include you and your girlfriend, because dealing with the whole family is extremely important.
If you want to try some things at home, I would recommend that you put Bilbo on a "Nothing In Life Is Free" program (NILIF). You may also need to evaluate the dominance levels in your household, and re-establish some dominance over Bilbo. You may not feel that he's a problem to you at this point, but having a more defined dominance over Bilbo will help him accept your choice to have both dogs in the house. You can read up on ways to help you establish dominance here: http://www.kippsdogs.com/tips.html
Establishing dominance has nothing to do with being really forceful or rough on your dog. It's more a matter of mental control, and setting your dog up to understand that the humans ARE the alphas in the household. The website shows a series of "rules" that will help your dog understand. It also explains the NILIF program.
When you have established definite dominance over Bilbo, it will help when you bring the dogs back together. It may be that Bilbo will naturally be more dominant than the pug - or maybe not. Dogs NEED to have different dominance levels. Dogs at the same level (either low or high) will generally fight. You can help by observing your dogs and seeing which one tends to give in to the other the most. Maybe one is always first out the door, or one gets to the treats first, etc. Your responsibility as an owner is to give the more dominant dog the most privileges. Feed him first, pet him first, let him out the door first - but don't ever let him think he has the right to question your dominance. His right to dominance over the other dog will not mean he can use aggression.
I have five bitches that live together in my house and are loose together when I'm home. At times I have had some bickering and, years back, an occasional fight. By establishing my dominance as the "alpha", I set the rules and they respond accordingly. If I hear a grumble, I drop my voice and say "KNOCK IT OFF" and it stops. If one dog gets grumpy with another, I will take the offending dog by the ruff and push them to the ground, hold them there while I explain (calmly, in a low voice) that I won't tolerate that nonsense. Then I let them up, they shake it off and things are back to normal. I don't let my worries about what the dogs will do affect them, nor do I keep after them for something they've done that's past. Once it's past, it's over.
You will have a hard time not being nervous about bringing the dogs together, and that's understandable. But please also be aware that your nervousness can cause the dogs to be nervous too, which then can make problems happen. While setting up a good pack hierarchy, you might work on some obedience with both dogs. Then when you start to bring them together, have them both sit for a treat, praise them and then separate them again. Do it in small amounts. Take them for walks together on-leash, let them interact briefly (with the leashes loose) and then separate them again. Lots of praise for both dogs when they're interacting peacefully, but not praise to the point of getting them excited! Excitement can also cause aggression at times.
I know this is a hard situation, and I wish you the best of luck in working it out.
It's always hard to deal with your own dogs not getting along.
The first thing you needed to do was to make your pug safe, which you did by separating them. Some people live with their dogs separated all the time - which I would find really awkward. Just because the two have had a fight doesn't mean they can't still learn to live together.
There could be a number of things that are causing Bilbo's recent reaction to the pug. One is that both dogs are at an age where they're going through "adolescence" with all the hormonal changes that happen during that time. Bilbo, especially, is at an age where his hormones are changing him from a puppy into a more adult dog. This is a time when it's not uncommon for dogs to try to establish pack hierarchy - deciding who will be dominant over the others, including the humans in the "family pack". Having two males at this time can be difficult especially if both are intact males. Neutering may certainly help and I would recommend that. But you'll still need to do some training.
Getting a professional trainer will help, but I caution you to try to find someone that uses positive reinforcement and who works WITH the dog, not against it. Many trainers will tell you they're positive, and then they'll pull out the prong collars, choke chains and shock collars. These trainers use correction to train and can often build resentment in a dog instead of willingness to please. A good trainer who is versed in behavioral science will find ways to work with your dog's good traits while discouraging the bad traits. Expect that training may take awhile. All training should include you and your girlfriend, because dealing with the whole family is extremely important.
If you want to try some things at home, I would recommend that you put Bilbo on a "Nothing In Life Is Free" program (NILIF). You may also need to evaluate the dominance levels in your household, and re-establish some dominance over Bilbo. You may not feel that he's a problem to you at this point, but having a more defined dominance over Bilbo will help him accept your choice to have both dogs in the house. You can read up on ways to help you establish dominance here: http://www.kippsdogs.com/tips.html
Establishing dominance has nothing to do with being really forceful or rough on your dog. It's more a matter of mental control, and setting your dog up to understand that the humans ARE the alphas in the household. The website shows a series of "rules" that will help your dog understand. It also explains the NILIF program.
When you have established definite dominance over Bilbo, it will help when you bring the dogs back together. It may be that Bilbo will naturally be more dominant than the pug - or maybe not. Dogs NEED to have different dominance levels. Dogs at the same level (either low or high) will generally fight. You can help by observing your dogs and seeing which one tends to give in to the other the most. Maybe one is always first out the door, or one gets to the treats first, etc. Your responsibility as an owner is to give the more dominant dog the most privileges. Feed him first, pet him first, let him out the door first - but don't ever let him think he has the right to question your dominance. His right to dominance over the other dog will not mean he can use aggression.
I have five bitches that live together in my house and are loose together when I'm home. At times I have had some bickering and, years back, an occasional fight. By establishing my dominance as the "alpha", I set the rules and they respond accordingly. If I hear a grumble, I drop my voice and say "KNOCK IT OFF" and it stops. If one dog gets grumpy with another, I will take the offending dog by the ruff and push them to the ground, hold them there while I explain (calmly, in a low voice) that I won't tolerate that nonsense. Then I let them up, they shake it off and things are back to normal. I don't let my worries about what the dogs will do affect them, nor do I keep after them for something they've done that's past. Once it's past, it's over.
You will have a hard time not being nervous about bringing the dogs together, and that's understandable. But please also be aware that your nervousness can cause the dogs to be nervous too, which then can make problems happen. While setting up a good pack hierarchy, you might work on some obedience with both dogs. Then when you start to bring them together, have them both sit for a treat, praise them and then separate them again. Do it in small amounts. Take them for walks together on-leash, let them interact briefly (with the leashes loose) and then separate them again. Lots of praise for both dogs when they're interacting peacefully, but not praise to the point of getting them excited! Excitement can also cause aggression at times.
I know this is a hard situation, and I wish you the best of luck in working it out.
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tafftrader
- Rank 0
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Sat Sep 03, 2005 2:53 am
That was a great post!IliamnasQuest wrote:Hi tafftrader -
It's always hard to deal with your own dogs not getting along.
The first thing you needed to do was to make your pug safe, which you did by separating them. Some people live with their dogs separated all the time - which I would find really awkward. Just because the two have had a fight doesn't mean they can't still learn to live together.
There could be a number of things that are causing Bilbo's recent reaction to the pug. One is that both dogs are at an age where they're going through "adolescence" with all the hormonal changes that happen during that time. Bilbo, especially, is at an age where his hormones are changing him from a puppy into a more adult dog. This is a time when it's not uncommon for dogs to try to establish pack hierarchy - deciding who will be dominant over the others, including the humans in the "family pack". Having two males at this time can be difficult especially if both are intact males. Neutering may certainly help and I would recommend that. But you'll still need to do some training.
Getting a professional trainer will help, but I caution you to try to find someone that uses positive reinforcement and who works WITH the dog, not against it. Many trainers will tell you they're positive, and then they'll pull out the prong collars, choke chains and shock collars. These trainers use correction to train and can often build resentment in a dog instead of willingness to please. A good trainer who is versed in behavioral science will find ways to work with your dog's good traits while discouraging the bad traits. Expect that training may take awhile. All training should include you and your girlfriend, because dealing with the whole family is extremely important.
If you want to try some things at home, I would recommend that you put Bilbo on a "Nothing In Life Is Free" program (NILIF). You may also need to evaluate the dominance levels in your household, and re-establish some dominance over Bilbo. You may not feel that he's a problem to you at this point, but having a more defined dominance over Bilbo will help him accept your choice to have both dogs in the house. You can read up on ways to help you establish dominance here: http://www.kippsdogs.com/tips.html
Establishing dominance has nothing to do with being really forceful or rough on your dog. It's more a matter of mental control, and setting your dog up to understand that the humans ARE the alphas in the household. The website shows a series of "rules" that will help your dog understand. It also explains the NILIF program.
When you have established definite dominance over Bilbo, it will help when you bring the dogs back together. It may be that Bilbo will naturally be more dominant than the pug - or maybe not. Dogs NEED to have different dominance levels. Dogs at the same level (either low or high) will generally fight. You can help by observing your dogs and seeing which one tends to give in to the other the most. Maybe one is always first out the door, or one gets to the treats first, etc. Your responsibility as an owner is to give the more dominant dog the most privileges. Feed him first, pet him first, let him out the door first - but don't ever let him think he has the right to question your dominance. His right to dominance over the other dog will not mean he can use aggression.
I have five bitches that live together in my house and are loose together when I'm home. At times I have had some bickering and, years back, an occasional fight. By establishing my dominance as the "alpha", I set the rules and they respond accordingly. If I hear a grumble, I drop my voice and say "KNOCK IT OFF" and it stops. If one dog gets grumpy with another, I will take the offending dog by the ruff and push them to the ground, hold them there while I explain (calmly, in a low voice) that I won't tolerate that nonsense. Then I let them up, they shake it off and things are back to normal. I don't let my worries about what the dogs will do affect them, nor do I keep after them for something they've done that's past. Once it's past, it's over.
You will have a hard time not being nervous about bringing the dogs together, and that's understandable. But please also be aware that your nervousness can cause the dogs to be nervous too, which then can make problems happen. While setting up a good pack hierarchy, you might work on some obedience with both dogs. Then when you start to bring them together, have them both sit for a treat, praise them and then separate them again. Do it in small amounts. Take them for walks together on-leash, let them interact briefly (with the leashes loose) and then separate them again. Lots of praise for both dogs when they're interacting peacefully, but not praise to the point of getting them excited! Excitement can also cause aggression at times.
I know this is a hard situation, and I wish you the best of luck in working it out.
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Samorrathis
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