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Pupforum presents your training questions answered by professional dog trainers.
Fran grew up teaching everything from chickens and goats to dogs and horses. These days, Fran works with DOG GONE IT rottweiler rescue, is registered with AKC as a Canine Good Citizen Evaluator and continues to train dogs in Las Vegas, Nevada. She also writes a canine question & answer column for a local news paper, The Hilltop & High Desert Shopper News.
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Fran Williams
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[Edit]
7/21/2005
Fran... I submitted a question a couple months and you fixed my problem! Thanks so much. Now I have a more serious problem... We have a 1 year German Shepherd and a 1 year Siberian Husky - both spayed females. Just recently the dogs started brawling when they ate. We started feeding them separately and it didn't happen again at feeding time. We give them raw hides daily and they had been fine eating them in the same room together without supervision.
The Shepherd tries to hide hers in the house and waits for the Husky to finish before she eats. Just the other night we were outside and the dogs were inside. The got into a big brawl and starting attacking each other and drawing blood My husband tried to break them apart and got bitten as well. They each had tiny tooth bites on their paws. So we decided that we would no longer allow them to eat their treats unsupervised.
I work from home most of the time and my husband works long hours. The Husky is "his" dog and the Shepherd is "mine" and the dogs seem to know that. When my husband comes home they get so excited to see him. We were outside last night and the Husky started attacking the Shepherd when she got near my husband. We broke up this brawl by pulling their tails. Now just minutes ago I let them in the house after they had been playing fine outside. They both went to the water dish to drink and the Husky started growling at the Shepherd and I could tell by her body language that another fight was about to break out. I split them up and am completely frustrated. I don't know what to do at this point.
I would never in a million years think of getting rid of either one of them but they need to live in peace together. They are best friends most of the time but lately it has been awful. Now I'm beginning to get scared to even let them be around one another. The Husky is in the garage and the Shepherd is inside and I'm sad! I know that my feelings will pass onto them and probably make the situation happen on cue! I should also mention that the Shepherd is mellow and the Husky is very hyper. Just like my husband and I. I have done a lot of training with the Shepherd as she used to have issues with walking on a leash and listening to me. Since I had to devote so much of my time to the Shepherd - the Husky rarely gets to go on walks as my husband usually works late. I would really appreciate any feedback that you can give me on this.
I've read (after we already got them) that it is a very bad idea to have two dogs of the same age and even worse to have two females at the same age. Is it inevitable that this is going to happen or is it something that I've done by not giving the Husky as much exercise as she needs? Thanks so much!! Donna (donnab9, Oregon )
Hi Donna, So nice to hear that I have been able to help you in the past. Sorry to hear you are having such troubles, but take heart we can work this out and with a few changes on your part we can turn this is in to a happy household once again.
The most important thing is to understand what is really going on here-it's not about treats-it's about Power-it's about who is going to rule the roost and my dear that should be YOU and your HUSBAND. These dogs are not sure who t
he leader is and it sounds like the husky has no respect for you or your dog. You combine that with lack of exercise and you get pent up energy with no where to go but into anger aimed at the other dog.
So you need to start realizing you have two children oops I mean two dogs that YOU need to treat as equals if your husband cannot be there and only YOU are then YOU have to be in charge. So I would start not only walking the husky but teaching them BOTH to walk together-you can get a brace and walk two or three dogs at one time-it has straps that you hook one leash to and it hooks to two leashes at once. But both dogs have to be good at walking on a leash or you might make a correction on the dog who is not making a mistake, but this would help you so very much in so many ways.
In the long run it will be great fun because you will be gaining respect from both while helping them Both to understand YOU are in control.
As for the daily rawhides-I see no reason to give them to a dog since they have nothing much to offer. I prefer raw bones or nylon bones.
The dog fight that got your husband hurt; you are really lucky that pulling tails did not get you both badly bitten. When a dog is in a fight they go into a zone that tells them they MUST bite every thing that touches them, because they are being attacked-they do not know its your hand. The way to safely break up a fight is grab up the back legs of each dog off the ground and put a leg on each side of your hip. Then simply move the legs and it will cause the brain to get a whole new set of messages and in that moment they will break their hold and you can get each into a separate room or one out side what ever you can do. It's not hard because with their legs like that you guide them like a wheel barrel and their spine acts as the drive line, they CANNOT turn and reach you and in that few seconds their brain kicks back in and they understand it's YOU and not an enemy to attack. Now be aware that they can feel your fear so if you are afraid there will be an attack they do often pick this up and then there is an attack.
Now you talked about having two females etc and yes it's better to have one of each sex-however I have nothing but males and all 3 of them know without a doubt I AM THE BOSS, now my little untold truth. I use an empty two litter 7 up bottle and if they so much as curl a lip at each other (I don't care if a piece of steak has fallen between them) I bop all concerned on the head. It's really kind of funny because of course it doesn't hurt them but it makes enough of a impact and enough of a sound that you get there attention. Of course you at the same time YELL "NO" in an "I am the BOSS" voice and belive it yourself. Do not allow this to even start. I mean first sign of a growl or curled lip and bonk on the head or muzzle with the empty bottle-it works like magic.
It's so much better than living in a house divided-or having to get rid of one. I of course do not mean BEAT the dog, just a quick bonk gets the point across and after a few times they are more apt to lisen when you say "NO".
Sure hope this helps and I 100% know it can and will if you just do it right. Sure hope your husband's hand is ok. Take Care. Fran Dog Gone I
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