BowWow Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 My almost-12-month old BT pup has started giving her mum and my other old Staffy male a hard time, growling and charging at them notably after feed time and when they try to get up to share their couch. Other times they could all be curled up on there together snoozing happily! My older BT is becoming quite nervous around the young upstart, and avoids her like the plague. Other times they sit and groom and cuddle one another! I realize the pup is asserting her dominance with age and wants to be queen bee, but it's becoming more frequent and her mum is becoming a timid wreck. I was hoping to get the younger bitch spayed whilst meanwhile trying to correct the behavior with vigilance and a firm hand. Do you think spaying would help? Luckily the older BT isn't aggressive one bit otherwise I'd imagine I'd have a fight or two on my hands but nothing serious has happened as yet. It worries me though that as the pup gets bigger, she could do more damage and I want to avoid this at all costs. Should I turn a blind eye when she snarls the others off the couch and generally behaves like a pig or should I react? She sometimes even has a go at her mum when mum walks near that couch area and won't let her into that zone at all. I'm aware of the pecking order of the pack and my interferring could make the situation worse which I don't want either. All in all our household (and all the other animals that live here) are content with no issues so I'm not sure how to handle this one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flye Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 Spaying might help, but sometimes there is nothing you can do. Even if they are mum and daughter, adult dogs can just not be compatible. I would get in a behaviourist and see if there is anything you can do to help the situation. Otherwise, you might have to consider keeping them separated permanently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geo Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 I would def see a behaviourist if there is a good one in your area. My male is 15 months and the 4 year old bitch we have can be quiet assertive with him, she is the dominant dog with toys etc, but with food around he is the boss and has no worries in walking upto her bowl and trying to eat from it..? They're seperated at food times and whenever there is meat around. We're extra vigilant for all the tell tale signs of biffo, which with us is easy as the bitch just keeps escalating her warning until he can't submit any more and fights back.. ie he runs after the ball which by her rules he's not allowed to do! so she chases him, growls and he gives up the ball and she doesn't even want it.. of course chase to him is great so he head butts her or drags her around by the collar until she snaps! This happens 99.9% all within their comfort boundaries and they play, wrestle quite happily all day long, and we've only had one escalate into a fight. The only advice i can give is to praise good behavior, ignore the pup if she comes for pats first and muscles the others out of the way when you get home and feed her last. If she has clearly made her way up the pack over one of the other dogs, then you'll have to go with that arrangement. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmolo Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 You MUST get a behaviourist. I was chatting to a friend and my OH the other day (we all work with dogs in this way) and we all agreed that every case of issues between dogs that we have seen has been left too long and would have been alot easier to resolve if we had been called out earlier. Don't wait for a fight between the dogs. Whereabouts are you located? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowWow Posted October 17, 2010 Author Share Posted October 17, 2010 You MUST get a behaviourist. I was chatting to a friend and my OH the other day (we all work with dogs in this way) and we all agreed that every case of issues between dogs that we have seen has been left too long and would have been alot easier to resolve if we had been called out earlier. Don't wait for a fight between the dogs. Whereabouts are you located? Hi there Cosmolo, I am located in Narbethong (near Marysville in Victoria). I would certainly be interested in having someone assist if they are able to come out. It's a worrying situation for me, more so as we have younger children. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulldust Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 sorry to hear she is still giving her mum and the old boy a hard time, shes been a bossy one from little hasnt she? And it started getting worse when she had a season at 9mths old didnt it? Did it get better after the season and then its just started getting worse again now? Id try a behaviourist asap, Bully fights are NOT fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowWow Posted October 18, 2010 Author Share Posted October 18, 2010 :D sorry to hear she is still giving her mum and the old boy a hard time, shes been a bossy one from little hasnt she? And it started getting worse when she had a season at 9mths old didnt it? Did it get better after the season and then its just started getting worse again now? Id try a behaviourist asap, Bully fights are NOT fun! Yes you're right on all these counts and certainly a pattern is forming! Having had to seperate fighting bullies on two seperate occasions in the past makes me even more aware of the need to intervene now as I don't want to go through that again! It's frightening for sure! I'll seek out behaviorists on here and get some help on this I think. Thanx for the input Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 Definitely get your dog spayed, unless you are breeding or showing there is no need for an entire dog and it causes many other hassles in certain situations plus it is better for the dog's health, especially female (and this comes from vets, not me personally). If you don't get a behaviouralist soon, you will probably end up with a terrible situation happening. Not nice and preventable if you are prepared to follow advice given which may mean a radical change in the way you all live. Better than a severely injured or dead dog though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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