Dog Gone Problems is a weekly advice column by David Codr, a dog behaviorist in Omaha. David answers dog behavior questions sent in by our readers. You can reach him at momaha@owh.com.
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Dog Gone Problems,
My name is Katrina. I have two dogs. Calvin is a Goldendoodle who is almost 2 and Roxanne is an English Bull Terrier who is 10 months old.
When we first got Roxanne, the two dogs got along just fine. However, over the last couple of months, Roxanne has gotten aggressive with Calvin. Thinking back, it may have started shortly after Roxy was spayed. She runs him out of the kitchen and away from the food. Even if he comes near us, she runs him off and bites at him, sometimes to the point of him yelping.
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We are at a loss of what to do to help the situation. My husband is to the point of wanting to re-home Roxy. I would really hate to see that happen. She has her moments when she can be the sweetest girl, but as we also have a 4-year-old daughter and my husband doesn’t like the road we are headed down with Roxanne.
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.
Katrina
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Hello Katrina,
It sounds like you have an adolescent dog who is testing the boundaries of the house. This is not unusual, is different than aggression and can absolutely be addressed.
But before I get to addressing the problems you write in about, I would ask you: What rules do you have in place for the puppy? It’s normal for a pup to challenge to see what he or she can get away with.
So ask yourself: Are you providing Roxy with the structure she needs? As a parent, you wouldn’t allow a young child to do anything he or she wants. Some things are not appropriate and some simply may not be good for a child. Providing boundaries and structure is equally important for a puppy.
If you haven’t provided the puppy with rules and also taught her how you want her to behave, then the blame really falls at your feet. While re-homing the dog may seem like a good option, it’s really kicking the problems you caused down the road for someone else to deal with. That’s not very fair to the new guardians or the puppy you decided to get.
This post includes 10 tips that can help you change the leader/follower dynamic so the dog starts to see you and your family members as the authority figures as well as how to stop Roxy from guarding you and the food.
But for the food, you should really add structure to meal time and stop leaving food in the bowl. If there is nothing to guard, that problem goes away rather quickly. Additionally, dogs place a great deal of importance on eating. Leaders eat first and followers after.
I’d recommend you feed the dogs one at a time, but only after you eat a few bites of something in front of them first. Once you finish, call Calvin over and let him eat while Roxy is kept at least 10 or more feet away. Once Calvin is finished eating, dump any remaining food back into the bag.
Once Calvin has moved away, call in Roxy and give her time to eat while Calvin is kept at least ten feet away.
This will help the dogs see you as the authority figure, practice self control and see that you are controlling the situation so they don’t have to.
Remember, you and your family made the decision to get the puppy. It’s your responsibility to train and teach it the life lessons it needs to be successful in life. It’s not too late. If the tips and techniques I shared here don’t address all the issues, give me a call. I’d be happy to schedule an in-home session and help address any lingering issues.
Good luck and remember – everything you do trains your dog. Only sometimes you mean it.
David
Submit your pet questions to David Codr by emailing a photo of your dog and question to momaha@owh.com. Visit doggoneproblems.com for more from David.
