9 Months And Getting Stroppy!

[BowWow]

My bully pup is now 9 months old and is in season. I also have her mother and an older Staffie male. Mum has the most beautiful temperament but she is being terrorized by junior. Puppy has started chasing the two older dogs away from their bowls/prize spot in front of the fire/bones etc. My beautiful older bully (god love her) is very passive and is in fact becoming rather timid around her terrorist daughter. I'm wondering if this behavior coincides with pup's first heat or if her behavior will get worse. The last thing I want is two females that don't get on. Mum has been speyed and I'm wondering if speying the little one will calm her down also. I was going to breed her but have decided against it as she has developed a slightly undershot jaw. She seems only to get aggressive around food times and shortly afterwards. I haven't had two females before and I know both bitches are well bred and trained so I'd really like to get on top of this before it becomes a problem. She seems less aggressive towards my male however. At other times Mum and daughter will also spend alot of time curled up together asleep or grooming one another, so I can't understand the aggression that surfaces every now and then. Any tips would be most welcome

[persephone]

Hi - firstly ,I would suggest you feed/give bones to all dogs seperately, out of sight of each other , and physically prevented from leaving that room/area. No one else's food in sight=less resource guarding/fighting ;) Pick up bowls/uneaten bones immediately .

Your bitch is now becoming mature- and is in season. She may well be now showing her true nature- or it may be a hormonal thing...Your management style might have to be changed to cope with her - and ensure there are no fights . May I suggest you consult a behaviourist too - they can actually SEE what is happening in your pack, and help put in place strategies.

[Stitch]

I agree with Persephone, this is absolutely typical bitch behaviour in the pack that you have.

Either the bitch pup will automatically and hopefully smoothly become the alpha bitch or else your older bitch will suddenly decide not to take the crap anymore and a fight will ensue.

Definitely start to feed separately and start giving the pup some serious dog training/obedience class lessons on a daily basis so you remain pack leader.

Desexing is a good idea as you are not going to breed from her however it won't solve all your potential problems.

Don't put the dogs in the situations that you know will bring on the aggression or competition - it is only asking for trouble!

[Nekhbet]

I would spey her if she's not being bred from.

Saying that she is a terribly dominant dog and now she's coming up to sexual maturity she's throwing her weight around big time. You need to stop her, retrain her that everything belongs to YOU not HER and you simply allow her to use it. When you are feeding them, make sure everyone stays at their bowls. What I do it tie up the offending animals far apart but within eyeshot of each other (unless they are absolute horrors around food then at the start out of sight) and do basic obedience commands for their food, let them finish, pick up all the bowls and spilled food then let them off when they are calm. You gradually get them closer and closer so you teach them to eat near each other without being stressed or causing harm, as well as understanding that they only eat out of their bowls and no one elses. Never have the dogs within reach of each other when tethered in case they do regress or fight.

As for the bed situation, again, she is now the young entire bitch and she's kicking them off their positions. I would purchase a crate and put the younger one in there at bed time with a bone so they cannot access each other. Do not let the other dogs do what they want either, its same rules for everyone. But you have one very dominant bitch who will naturally harass and fight off the ones she sees as inferior due to being older and desexed, so ultimately your responsibilites come down to control, training and harm minimisation.

[BowWow]

They are fed at the same time, seperate corners of the kitchen and nobody is allowed to wander over to the other's bowl once they're finished - that rule has been firmly established from day one! EVERYTHING is mine in the house - they all know and accept that and I insist on constantly asserting my rightful possie as leader of the household. If I yell, they all scarper!! Gosh I sound like a horror but it seems to work well!!! Just wanted to add to this thread that the little one is now going out of season and along with this goes her snappy little temperament and she's back to her sweet little self. Having said this, she's off to be speyed soon and the training will still continue daily. I must say I was surprised at the change in her behavior whilst in season, especially as I haven't had two bitches together before. Definately a learning curve and not for the feint-hearted! Thanks for the advice. Would be interested in hearing how others with multiple bitches manage theirs too.

[Skye GSD]

We have two SPEYED GSD bitches in the extended family (one is mine and the other is my daughters) so although they do not live in the same house there are visits every 2 to 3 weeks. All was well until 3 weeks ago when my 13 mth old decided to retaliate to the warning signal from the older female (6 yrs old) and it was all on.

We have just visited my daughter again this last weekend and are now having to split the bitches totally as there is a definite leadership war brewing.

Have heard other stories of bitch-feuding but have never experienced it until now - certainly not for the feint-hearted and I am definitely not a pushover for any of the family dogs.

Guess my point is that even tho' our bitches are both speyed, the problem can still exist and it can happen at anytime so we are now having to be extremely vigilant.

Hope your girls will fare better than ours.