What Can I Do About This Situation?

[Kaffy Magee]

I have 5 dogs, 17yo jrtxcorgi, nearly 5yo bullmastiff, 4yo papillon, 18 month jrt, and a 7 month dobie. Pack order goes as follows(i think) Bullmastiff, Dobe, Jrt, and either papillon or jrtx next. Now the issue i have is sniffy is always making sure pepe knows shes above him, always asserting her dominance and often has a go at him. It has been nothing too serious as yet. I used to treat pepe like he was above her, but have since realised he is not and i have to treat him accordingly. Ive been letting her domainate him but felt if it was getting out of hand i would put a stop to it. I always thought its best to let dogs sort it out themselves but im not sure.

Anyway today whilst on the couch i hear sniffy and pepe having a scrap outside. I expected it to stop as quick as it started as it usually does once pep submits, but it didnt. Pepe started screaming, so i ran to oustide to see sniffy getting really stuck into him and ended up attacking until he fell off the verandah, upon which she tried to go him again!!! SO i rescued him and brought him inside upon which i find he is bleeding from the back of the neck

Whilst it went on the other dogs tried to get involved and tried to attack him too, but werent really connecting. It was just like they were excited and were missing out on the action. Theyve never attacked pepe before(or any dog for that matter), im not really worried i think it was the pack mentality coming out in them, am i right. Should i be concerned?

Anyway what should i do regarding the sniffy pepe issue. They usually sleep together at night and are always together either indoors or out. That will change, they obviously need separating, especially when im not around. What should i do with sniffy? When she starts acting all dominant should i reprimand her, has me allowing her to assert her dominance over pepe created this? So should i not tolerate any dominant behaviour over each other from any of the dogs?

Or am i worrying about nothing, things like this happen?

Advice would be much appreciated. Thanks

[Erny]

It might be less confusing if people know which dog Sniffy is and which dog Pepe is.

[Kaffy Magee]

LOL, OOPS, Sniffy is the 18month old jrt and Pepe is the papillon!

[RealityBites]

I once had 4 dogs at the same time, which was a nightmare BUT I never allowed them to run toghether, they had seperate yards and had seperate runs at different times of the day. On once occasion, my yorkshire terrier decided to escape and got out while my bullmastiff was out, and the bullmastiff chomped him. 100 odd stitches later he was fine, but it just reconfirmed in my mind that dogs should be kept seperate for their own good. A friend of mine turned up here last night, she was supposed to come and see me on the weekend but didn't turn up. It turns out she was comforting her sister because her sisters two dogs (Dalmation and a foxhound) had a scrap and the foxhound tore into the dalmation, ripping off an ear, his genitals and opening up his jugular. He had to have over 300 stitches and it cost them $1800! I currently have two dogs, A 14 month old entire doberman and an 8 year old desexed Malamute. Both have different yards, are never allowed out at the same time, and both dogs are quite happy It's not worth the stress, especially as your dobe gets older too, they do not get along well with other boys.

[Sammykins]

I have 4 dogs so I know what you mean. My top dog Sam and she often puts the other dogs in there place but nothing like what you have described. I have never been quite sure what to do but have now decided that as I am the top dog and I can tell all the other dogs what to do and if I don't react then the dogs will assume their behaviour is okay. I suggest that next time Sniffy shows any aggression to Pepe Sniffy should be told to stop and taken into a quiet room and left there for 5-15 minutes. I think what you have described is very scary. All the dogs ganging up on one other dog is not a good thing. Show Sniffy you are the boss and that you will not let Sniffy go after Pepe but still treat Sniffy as the higher order dog if that is what Sniffy is.

[Kelpie-i]

Aaah, the joys of multi-dog households.

I have 4 dogs, all of varying ages and whilst the 14YO GSD is the general alpha of the dog pack, I won't/don't allow any of the dogs to dominate each other. Occassionally they may squabble over resources but these are very minor and short lived. If the squabble lasts longer than a few seconds then each of the dog involved is told off - there is no favouratism!

Has there been any changes lately ie. new/visiting dog, new baby, change of routine etc? Sometimes, life changes can upset the balance which may cause frustration/upset in some dogs. You will find that it is normally the beta ranks that fight amongst each other.

The best weapon for this situation is to boost your leadership with each of your dogs, especially the fighting two and do not allow any of them to dominate one another EVER - this must be rule no. 1! If the dogs are clear on who is boss, then the fighting will stop.

Rule 2: Try to refrain from treating any dog as "higher" rank than the other. The old belief about feeding the alpha dog first etc is unproven and causes confusion whenever there is a shift in rank which occurs numerous times throughout the day and is dependant upon resources. Best to treat all dogs as equal - remember you are leader - not the dogs- you pat/feed who you wish to pat/feed first etc - the rest must quietly wait their turn.

[ShellyBeggs]

Aaah, the joys of multi-dog households.

I have 4 dogs, all of varying ages and whilst the 14YO GSD is the general alpha of the dog pack, I won't/don't allow any of the dogs to dominate each other. Occassionally they may squabble over resources but these are very minor and short lived. If the squabble lasts longer than a few seconds then each of the dog involved is told off - there is no favouratism!

Has there been any changes lately ie. new/visiting dog, new baby, change of routine etc? Sometimes, life changes can upset the balance which may cause frustration/upset in some dogs. You will find that it is normally the beta ranks that fight amongst each other.

The best weapon for this situation is to boost your leadership with each of your dogs, especially the fighting two and do not allow any of them to dominate one another EVER - this must be rule no. 1! If the dogs are clear on who is boss, then the fighting will stop.

Rule 2: Try to refrain from treating any dog as "higher" rank than the other. The old belief about feeding the alpha dog first etc is unproven and causes confusion whenever there is a shift in rank which occurs numerous times throughout the day and is dependant upon resources. Best to treat all dogs as equal - remember you are leader - not the dogs- you pat/feed who you wish to pat/feed first etc - the rest must quietly wait their turn.

I agree with what Kelpie-i has said.....I have a 3 dog household (soon to be 4) and I treat all dogs the same. I always believe that people are always the higher ranking and definately the leader far above any of the dogs. To an extent, I allow my dogs to defend their food or if they are chewing a toy......another dog isn't allowed to come and take (but I make sure that I can)....again this is usually only a verbal growl warning and the other dog usually backs down straight away (it was likely only wishful thinking).....if they dont they know they are breaking the rules and will likely get in trouble from me and prolly both get a time out.

And any other "telling off" is done by me, it is not the dogs place to tell off another dog because the dogs do not decide what is permitted and what isn't.

There are some great topics on leadership if you 'search'.