LMK17
Loving the herd life
We recently adopted 2 puppies to grow up as farm dogs. They're about 11 weeks old at this point, German Shepherd mixes. We also have a 9+ year old chow-chow mix named Sam.
Sam has a long history of aggression toward other dogs. I imagine it's the chow in her. She's attacked a neighbor's dog in our yard, a friend's dog in that dog's house, and also the two rescue dogs that we temporarily took in. And now she attacked one of the puppies, Ruby, and split the bottom 1/4 of Ruby's ear in two. We've tried on and off to better socialize Sam, trips to the dog park, and public places and such, but she was always obviously stressed in those places, and it was easy enough to keep her at home where she was the only dog. But now we NEED farm/outside dogs and it's necessarily the end of our one-dog days.
Mostly, Sam seems to be guarding "resources," but it's hard to tell what she might consider valuable. One of her dog fights seemed to be over the kids' sand/water table, which Sam likes to drink from. The other fights made more sense to me-- two were over food and the other was when the other dog got too close to Sam's crate and toys. The attack on Ruby happened over an ice cube on the deck, which I had carelessly brushed off the picnic table.
Until I figure out a better solution, Sam is muzzled and wearing a shock collar around the puppies. (The training collar is not new. We use it frequently when she chases the kids' cats. The muzzle is something that we've only occasionally used.) Even muzzled, she's been chasing and snarling at the puppies, and I have no doubt she would've sunken her teeth into them had she had the chance. I think the muzzle is stressing her and making the aggression worse. And the puppies are clearly stressed, too. They cower in the corner or immediately roll over and show their bellies when she gives them the "look." I think we're all pretty miserable right now.
I have two books on dog-dog aggression on the way. In the meanwhile, any suggestions? I'd really like to get this under control and go happily on our way, but at the same time, I'm not going to keep an aggressive dog. And with her as stressed as she seems to be, I worry that she might try taking her frustration out on a person, even though she's never been aggressive toward humans before. Help?
Sam has a long history of aggression toward other dogs. I imagine it's the chow in her. She's attacked a neighbor's dog in our yard, a friend's dog in that dog's house, and also the two rescue dogs that we temporarily took in. And now she attacked one of the puppies, Ruby, and split the bottom 1/4 of Ruby's ear in two. We've tried on and off to better socialize Sam, trips to the dog park, and public places and such, but she was always obviously stressed in those places, and it was easy enough to keep her at home where she was the only dog. But now we NEED farm/outside dogs and it's necessarily the end of our one-dog days.
Mostly, Sam seems to be guarding "resources," but it's hard to tell what she might consider valuable. One of her dog fights seemed to be over the kids' sand/water table, which Sam likes to drink from. The other fights made more sense to me-- two were over food and the other was when the other dog got too close to Sam's crate and toys. The attack on Ruby happened over an ice cube on the deck, which I had carelessly brushed off the picnic table.
Until I figure out a better solution, Sam is muzzled and wearing a shock collar around the puppies. (The training collar is not new. We use it frequently when she chases the kids' cats. The muzzle is something that we've only occasionally used.) Even muzzled, she's been chasing and snarling at the puppies, and I have no doubt she would've sunken her teeth into them had she had the chance. I think the muzzle is stressing her and making the aggression worse. And the puppies are clearly stressed, too. They cower in the corner or immediately roll over and show their bellies when she gives them the "look." I think we're all pretty miserable right now.
I have two books on dog-dog aggression on the way. In the meanwhile, any suggestions? I'd really like to get this under control and go happily on our way, but at the same time, I'm not going to keep an aggressive dog. And with her as stressed as she seems to be, I worry that she might try taking her frustration out on a person, even though she's never been aggressive toward humans before. Help?