Dogs Fighting

[Rhi*Jak*Ed]

Hi everyone,

It has been a really long time since I have posted anything here, and that could be because for a while there I thought we were living in blissful doggie land??!! Now though, not quite sure!!

Basically I am concerned by a number of things to do with my dogs' behaviour and am not quite sure how to tackle them. I will list my issue along with what I currently do etc and then please feel free to provide other suggestions etc on how I can do things differently and/or alleviate a situation or even avoid (which is the ultimate goal??!!).

I have two Jack Russells named Jak and Eddie. Jak is a desexed female and Ed is an entire male. Jak is on the verge of turning 4 and Ed is 2 and a half.

Jak seems to get incredibly "excited" - (for want of a better word) when I get home from work or when something else excites her or gets her attention. Often, but not always, she will lash out and bark and nip at Ed on his way through. He is the follower and she is definitely the dominant one of the two and it's almost like she doesn't want him to be a part of what is going on - that's a human perception there but it could well be her way of simply putting him in his place as the less dominant one.

That's the first issue.

The second one is their fights over food - and until tonight no blood had been drawn. But now it has and so I need to REALLY take notice. Previously if they have scrapped over food I have let it play out rather than intervene. Perhaps I should no longer be doing this?

Their meal gets served in different areas of the house. Jak in the hall (I have a small house) and Ed in the kitchen. This is because of their fighting over food. Treats are given to them sitting side by side, but this is when fights occur. I think I have just answered my own question on this one, but should the treats get given to them in different areas as well or is there a dominance/leader thing I should be doing so that I don't HAVE to feed them or give them treats in different areas?

That's the second issue.

The third issue is that if Jak bumps into or otherwise approaches Ed when he is sleeping, he is the one that lashes out at her. How on earth do I deal with that??

Looking forward to any helpful suggestions.

Thanks

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

I'd say this is fairly typical JRT behaviour - I honestly feel that one JRT in any household is enough!! I've had some here (as fosters) and I currently have an ex foster who is a JRT cross. I find most of them quite a handful, I love them but they are a handful. They are often feisty/bossy/scrappy little dogs with little provocation and very excitable which can lead to trouble with other dogs as they are just too much at those times.

Well, how I'd deal with it is avoid whatever causes the fights - no more treats when they are together for a start.

As for the waking the dog up when he's sleeping, when the sleeping JRT snaps and carries on, I'd put him outside for 5 mins or in a crate. Then when he's calmed down, let him out. I did this with my female JRT cross and the chi that I've got - they soon learned to behave better. I don't know if it would fix it but it's worth a try.

Edited December 6, 2010 by dogmad

[Vickie]

Didn't you get some help with jak when you first got her?

Might be time for a follow up visit...

Some thoughts in the meantime...most of what you are describing sounds like leadership issues.

We got our latest dog, a JRT mix a few months ago & I had to work through a couple of the issues you are describing.

Number one is not to greet either dog when you get home for at least 10 minutes & even when you do, do so calmly.

Number two, I don't let any of my 5 pick on another one. Rough play is ok, but if any of mine look unhappy, I step in. They are not allowed to discipline each other. I don't care who is dominant, there is no bullying allowed here.

Number 3, I tackle the food differently to many I guess. Mine all eat together & I like it that way. When a new dog comes in, I protect the others food & teach it that everything but their own bowl/bone is off limits. I do this b/c I am confident in doing so, it is not for everyone. Otherwise, feed separately.

For the treats...are they earning them with tricks/training? Or do they get them for nothing? I would start with each in a stay a few metres apart & reward for the stay & gradually decrease the distance. They should be too focussed on earning their treat from you to worry about each other.

Number 4, do they have their own crates to sleep in? Dogs like to have a place of their own where they will not be

disturbed. Ed might be less reactive if he has his own spot out of the way.

Just my thoughts, others may have different ideas.

Edited December 6, 2010 by Vickie

[weisnjac]

I'd say this is fairly typical JRT behaviour - I honestly feel that one JRT in any household is enough!! I've had some here (as fosters) and I currently have an ex foster who is a JRT cross. I find most of them quite a handful, I love them but they are a handful. They are often feisty/bossy/scrappy little dogs with little provocation and very excitable which can lead to trouble with other dogs as they are just too much at those times.

I'd have to disagree. I have 5 JRT's here who all live and eat together. I've never had a fight between them.

I agree with all of what Vickie is saying.

Edited December 6, 2010 by weisnjac

[Vickie]

Just thought of number 5

I have found our Peppi to be very high energy. She does not have the endurance of the BCs, but when she is full of beans, she is really full on. We use this time for training. I want her to use all that energy with us humans, not with the dogs. She is not as annoying to them & does not play so full on with them once we have drained some of that energy via ball games or training.

Edited December 6, 2010 by Vickie